Things I like about the Netherlands...

I was thinking the other day about some of the things that I really like about living here and I thought I should share them. It always helps the outlook on life to be positive about things anyway, right?

#1 The spring and summer seasons are fabulous! After a long, dark, and wet winter there is nothing more beautiful then the sun when it finally comes out from behind those clouds. And how can you not like how green and lush it is with all the flowers and buds. There are so many birds here that you can here them singing all day starting early, early in the morning. How can that not make a person happy.

#2 They don't spend thousands and thousands of dollars to buy the 'safest' playground equipment in the world for the schools. They are still using playground equipment that they have been using for decades if they have any at all. They even let kids use their imagination and come up with something to do on their own...Gasp! And if a kid gets hurt then it's not a big deal, everyone gets hurt sometimes, right. and DUH! if you were doing something stupid and got hurt. It's your own fault.

#3 If they don't like something, they will tell you to your face. I have seen sweet, old ladies shake their fists at cars that didn't look like they were going to stop for them in a crosswalk. Very funny! This can also be really hard to take when you are used to people being very polite to your face and you come here and they tell you that you should do this and know that and such:)

#4 Public transportation. I hear Hannah complaining about how unreliable it is all the time and sometimes I agree, but it is still better then having to walk. You can get to just about anything that you want with the transportation. Love it!

#5 Bike paths. They have wonderful bike paths that go anywhere and everywhere. They are well maintained and nice and wide, some with a lane going in each direction.

#6 Shopping carts in the grocery stores are interesting...all 4 of the wheels turn in all directions so you can move them into the tightest spots.

#7 You don't pay for incoming calls on your mobile phone. Love it...but they also don't have family plans...don't love that.

#8 Even though we live in the city there is a great recreational area really close that has lots of trails, water and even a few hills. I have seen lots of rabbits, fox and birds of every kind on my walks.

#9 How can I leave off the 'people'...there are people here from everywhere in the world. So many different backgrounds and cultures. That is not even saying anything about the Dutch people, who I think are wonderful. I have meet some really great people here that if we ever leave, I am going to miss tremendously!

#10 The thing that I find the most interesting at the moment is the attitude concerning the human body. This might take me a minute to explain. Some differences...when you go to the doctor here, first they sit down and talk for a while about what you need (more like counselors then anything) then if they need to they have you strip down to your underwear. No, worrying about having a nurse in the room if it is a male doctor and they don't leave the room while you do it. Then they conduct there examination. Another example...I was taking Alex back to school after lunch and I went into his room to talk to the teacher for a second and out of the corner of my eye I see him with his pants around his ankles. My first reaction was to go over a ask him what in the world he was doing, but then I realized that he was just changing for gym. For they younger kids they just change right there in the classroom. It is hard to turn off the prudish American in me:) Another example...If you go to a gym or anything with older kids, they have their own sex appropriate changing rooms, but it doesn't matter if adults of the opposite sex are in there to help out or whatever. In fact that is usually the only way to get into the gym through the dressing rooms. I had to go rescue Abby once from a bloody nose and the lady brought me straight through the boys dressing rooms while they were changing. Not a big deal. When Isaac goes to his martial arts class, all the boys are in the same room changing and all the parents are also in there too, helping out and just sitting there chatting. I have not come to a conclusion whether this is all good or bad, but I kind of like that there is that innocence about it at that age and that the body is not something 'bad' that you should hide. In the elementary school they have only one bathroom for each couple of grades too. Once the kids are older the only difference is that the doors are full doors and not partial. I also feel like the adults here have a healthier body image and are not so obsessed about what their bodies look like. I kind of feel like it is because of the way they grow up that they are like that. Maybe I am wrong about that. That is something that I want to learn more about. They are also not as concerned about wearing whorish amounts of make-up which is something that I appreciate a lot.

#11 I was talking with a teacher once here and she asked me what I thought the biggest difference was with the schools and I told her that I like how the teachers were not afraid to give a student a hug here or for the little ones they were allowed to sit on the teachers lap if they were upset about something. I told her how it is in the US where you can hardly touch a student anymore in anyway and she could not imagine it. I think that it is sad that it has to be like that for one thing and that the students are missing out on that physical contact that is so important for them. It also makes it easier for the students to have a good connection with the teacher. There is always the what ifs about all of this, but still sad that it can't be like that anymore.

These are just few things that I could think of off the top of my head. I'm sure if I put my mind to it I could come up with more:)