The first few weeks were spent living at my ex-in-laws who were very happy to have their son home again. He got a job within a week at a very nice restaurant just outside of Amsterdam, earning enough to show immigration that he could support "his" family of immigrants without the help of the government. We were on our way..or so I thought.
"My Ex" had his work contract and we had all of our paperwork in order so it was off to the Dutch immigration. The system, which had previously taken 3 to 6 months had been recently changed and there were MANY hold ups. No problem for us to be here legally but it took almost a year before I could go to school or work. Most of you who know me know that I work very hard and have never really been idle. That sucked like crazy!
In the meantime, we got a temporary appartment and was able to move out of my "ex-in-laws" house. Jeremy was going to school at a local high school and being privately tutored in the Dutch language by one of the teachers. He was also making friends and adjusting well. Minors here have the right to an education, no matter if residency is approved yet or not..thank goodness. It gave the kid some opportunities.
I, on the other hand, was having a few problems. I was here, not allowed to work yet and by law was required to learn the language and culture, yet I was not allowed to go to school either! This limited my opportunity to make friends outside of "My Ex's" social network, not to mention it limited our income. So I put a little ad in the local newsletter for the village and took on a few houses to clean. Just like any good little immigrant! It did not limit my ability to learn the language. I bought childerns word books, watched childerns television ( Dutch Teletubbies are awesome) and learned from everyone that I could talk to. One of the ladies that I started cleaning for ( still clean her house now) only spoke to me in Dutch and I spoke to her in English...Now we only speak Dutch!
The waiting game was still on, but I was happy with it.
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