Thoughts about the Wisconin Recall process and our voting status in an email to Terry's aunt

I know canvassing is one of the worst jobs in the whole world, but I'm actually jealous that you're there and able to be involved! What great news about how many signatures have already been collected! I've always thought that gathering the signatures would be the "easy" part, and that winning the recall election would be the tough part. Are there literally NO candidates to run against him yet? I'm sure you're right about a lot of people having a similar mindset as you in that they will vote for anyone against Walker. I just can't believe no one has stepped up to run against him! This seems like such a great opportunity with a pretty good chance of winning given how many people already hate the opposition! What's Feingold up to these days?? I seriously doubt that many, if any, of the people who sign the petition don't already have their minds made up about who they'll vote for without even knowing who the Dem candidate will be, but the number of signatures required isn't quite the number of votes needed to win, which is too bad. What ever happened with that sketchy republican redistricting?

On a related note, T and I have come to the extremely disappointing realization that we will be ineligible to vote in the recall election! :( In order to maintain our WI residency we would have to say that we're temporarily abroad rather than permanently abroad, and that would require us to pay WI taxes on income we're earning in Europe (well for now what Terry's earning...), which seems like a bunch of baloney. T and I both care a lot about the recall election, but not quite enough to have to file a WI tax return because of it that we otherwise wouldn't have to file. At least we'll get to vote in the 2012 presidential election, which is really the big ticket. I think voting for president is the only thing we'll be eligible to vote on, which is crap as I've always been super involved in elections and done my research and voted on every measure, but I guess I've also never been a legal resident in another country and therefore so little affected by what happens on the state level. Still...more participation would be nice. Oh well.

Reflections on Christmas and an Update in an email to a CLP mom

It wasn't until I was 10 that I admitted that I knew that Santa had "helpers" because I was scared that if I let on that I knew Santa would stop visiting me! It became undeniable the Christmas we spent in Mexico with our whole extended family, and it was super obvious that all the presents were in the suitcases we brought. It must be such fun getting to play Santa! Towards the end my dad started suggesting that Santa might like something a little stiffer than milk to be left out for him. (:

I haven't found a job yet, so I am pretty much looking for one full time. I'm involved with a really great non-profit in the area that is keeping me engaged, but it's just volunteer, and no one affiliated with the organization is paid, so it's not the sort of gig that could grow into a "real" job. But at least it takes my mind off the boredom of sitting home ALL day looking for jobs, and it's something to have on my resume while I'm otherwise unemployed, and I think it will also be great for me to have a Dutch reference, even if I'm not getting paid for all the work I'm doing for them. Here's a link in case you're interested in checking it out: http://www.kalinga.nl/www/english/

Pictures!

http://kvisit.com/azZAY

Part of an email to Terry's aunt Sandy

Besides our new apartment there's not too much to report here. Terry is at language training this week, though he will be coming home late in the evenings for the night before heading back early the next morning. In general he's over worked and super stressed, and he had to turn down a "promotion" which would have basically meant him doing another job ON TOP of the one that is already caused him to take one sick/mental health day so far, so I'm proud of him for being able to say no to that.

I still have NO job leads, but I'm also not that stressed about it. I'm involved with a non-profit in the area and am doing some really interesting volunteer work for them, so at least I'm feeling engaged. Here's their website: http://www.kalinga.nl/www/english/. I'm helping them with grant writing, which is is something I could see myself doing in the future, if I could just find someone who wanted to pay me to do it!!

I'll be starting weekly language classes next week and I'm really looking forward to that. I've made a couple friends in the area so far, and one of them might be in the class too, which would be great. It's basically just a small group (5 people) conversation class at a Dutch woman's house (she'll provide tea, coffee and cookies), and we chat exclusively in Dutch (hard for someone who has NO Dutch skills yet, but hopefully I'll learn fast...), and then she'll give us "homework" like exercises and assignments and whatnot, and she will also help us with anything that we need help with like navigating Dutch websites, reading our Dutch mail, making reservations in Dutch and whatnot. It's only 10 Euro a week! I can't wait!

Other things we have to look forward to are a Christmas market in Aachen, Germany next weekend (http://www.aachen.de/en/ts/90_festivals_events/90_30/index.html) and then Terry's parents' visit over Xmas!  When they leave we're spending a couple days in Brussels on our own before flying to Barcelona to spend NYE with two of my close friends from my gap year in South America in between high school and Pomona, as well as, randomly, Terry's best friend Nick!

Contact Information!

My new phone number is +31 063 911 5935.

Our new address will be
Waterstraat 8
5211JD 's-Hertogenbosch
THE NETHERLANDS!

:)

Photos from Kauai!

 http://kvisit.com/a34UY

Photos from our Hawaii trip!

http://kvisit.com/ajYEY

A response to my aunt Leslie!

Hello! Yep, our clocks went back as well, but the US doesn't go back for another week or so - I just know it switches sometime while we're in Hawaii.

The problem with a barista job is that I don't speak Dutch! While "everyone" speaks dutch, it's not actually 100% of the clientele that speak Dutch. :( The older generations are particularly hit or miss, and they're the ones who heavily frequent the cafes during the day! Also, then everyone else I would be working with would have to speak English as well, or communication between staff would be pretty poor. I've even heard from companies who operate in English that they won't accept my application because their clientele are Dutch speakers (who obviously also probably speak English too...), but it's just not as professional or efficient to hire someone who doesn't even have basic Dutch - I can't even get by in a coffee shop!

The other thing is that employers are only supposed to hire me if there's a reason a Dutch person wouldn't fill the job requirements - for example if they need a native English speaker. So hiring someone for a position where I should speak Dutch doesn't really fall under that category! :( This is why the last person who came to work at Epic who brought their significant other had to wait 6 months before her boyfriend could find a job, and he was even looking at things like being a dishwasher! :(

Also, there aren't any jobs at Epic. I applied back when I was first looking in Madison for a non-existent travel coordinator position (they didn't have that job opening), but they therefore already have my phone interview and results to my personality test on file and would notify me if their needs "changed" so I feel like if there were an opportunity for me to work with them they would let me know. Also, they would especially not need me for their office here! There are only like 20 people out of 5100 here, and those people are here because they can't do the tech stuff remotely because they have to be on site at the hospital. Nothing I would do for Epic would require that, so the chances of getting a job with them here really are zero. :(

But you're right right that I'm not 8000 miles away from Terry, and I would be even MORE unhappy if I had a perfect job but didn't have him! :) Things will definitely get better - I had a great day meeting the head of the Kalinga Foundation, and it's such a perfect day out that I even enjoyed walking around doing my errands! Anything besides sitting in front of a computer looking for jobs that ask me to please have "hair on my teeth" is just fine by me!

I'm already looking for jobs outside of Den Bosch, but I'm now expanding my search so that I'm applying to NGOs I know are hiring even if I'm not qualified for the position they have available. We'll see where that gets me. The other thing to keep in mind is that we didn't come here to work, we came here to live in Europe and T's job is just the facilitator. So the important part really isn't that I find the perfect job, it's that we're able to enjoy our time here and explore a whole bunch during the year (or more) that we're here! For example, after T's parents go home on Dec 27th, we're taking the train to Brussels and spending a day and 2 nights there before flying to Barcelona for NYE, just because we can! This is really the point of our stay here, and no matter what it'll be a fabulous experience! Plus, with 25 (or more) days of vacation each year, that means that pretty much every other weekend I could take a 3 day holiday! MWAHAHAH! Though obviously we wouldn't do that as it makes more sense to take a week's holiday when Mom and Dad come, for example, but still. :) At best my job will be something upon which I can begin to build a career. Next best would be that I don't hate it, and then if worse comes to worst, at least it will be the enabler for me to enjoy my time in Europe. And in that case you can bet I won't be in the office a minute past 5pm! Hah! :)

So I really have nothing to complain about, I was just feeling a bit down yesterday as it was a pivitol point in my job search when I started applying to jobs I knew I would hate, but also applying to NGOs with open positions that I new I wasn't qualified for, so we'll see which one works out for me!

Thanks again for checking in! It's great to be on your continent! :) See you soon, and I'll see Amy even sooner!!
xx