Even though I do think it’s important to talk about the hard parts of our move, I prefer to mostly focus on what’s been positive so far. There has been a little less culture shock here than I anticipated, mostly because the locals are so friendly and willing to speak English (I’ve heard that even if you learn Dutch, if they find out you’re an English speaker they will just speak English to you.)

I’ve already mentioned how green everything is here — but seriously, it’s amazing. There are so many parks around here that are full of trees, grass and wildlife.

Like most other European cities, most of the windows here don’t have screens. The windows in our hotel room are large and open all the way, so you can literally have 5′ x 5′ open space in the room letting air in. Unlike California, you can leave this open all day and all night and no bugs will get it. It’s so weird! We have the windows open all the time and I think we’ve had one fly get in. ONE! It’s bananas. There are no mosquitos eating you alive at dusk, no mosquito eaters creeping along the ceiling — it’s so foreign.

And while some food items are a little tricky to find, most of our favorites are readily available. But more importantly, the dairy products here are sublime. The yogurt is AMAZING. It’s crazy to be so excited about yogurt, but seriously — if you tried it, you’d know.

Also, one of the grocery stores nearby has an “American Foods” section, which is hilarious. It’s chock-full of off-brand Cheetos and Cheez-balls, more Pop Tart flavors than I think I’ve ever seen in my life, candy and canned frosting. No wonder Europeans think we’re so unhealthy! Haha. At the same store there’s also a frozen meal/TV dinner kind of thing that’s called “The Big American.” KC and I think it’s hilarious.

And finally, the people here are so friendly with Prim. People in the states were friendly, but with Europeans it’s like a whole other level. People of all ages will routinely stop what they are doing to talk to her and touch her face or hands — one woman on the metro even gave Prim eskimo kisses and was kissing the backs of her hands while they were playing peek-a-boo together between stops. Can you even imagine if someone did that in America??

Yesterday at the grocery store a boy who was probably about eight or nine years old stopped to talk to Prim and ask her for a “high five.” I explained that she didn’t know what that was quite yet, but it was so sweet. Something about the culture here makes all the interaction seem very welcome and lovely (as opposed to in the states, where I feel like you’d be all, “OMG WTF get away from my child you weirdo.”)

(Don’t worry, the weird parts are coming up in tomorrow’s post! Haha)