Moving Day

Moving Day started weeks before the actual Moving Day. In another sense, years before, when I met someone very special. But that's another story.

This one is about the adventure of one California girl becoming Dutch.

Between the US and Netherlands there exists the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty. In essence, it says Americans can come to NL for the purpose of starting a business, with relatively low investment levels required. You need to be non-criminal and net 81% from your business operations and make enough to support yourself. And that's about it. It's an easier bar to reach than if you're coming from another EU country to start a business actually, as Dutch business permits for foreigners other than Americans require that the business serve the country's economic interests and meet a point system of qualification. None of that for Americans. (The Dutch can likewise go to the US to start businesses under similar standards.)

So here I am starting a new business. :)

Arriving in Holland, my biggest concern was that I'd be in Customs and Immigration for a week or so, given that I had three large suitcases and once they asked the standard, "Purpose of your trip? How long are you staying?" questions and I wasn't going to give the standard, "Pleasure. 2 weeks" answers.

Having last slept for more than a couple hours at a stretch on Sunday night, I reached the Immigration checkpoint at close to 11am on Wednesday. (Granted, you have to take away 9 hours that are time difference, but still.) Handed my passport to the guy at Immigration, slightly surprised that it wasn't the same guy I usually see. (Swear I've had the same guy at the Immigration counter on three separate visits.) He opened it, stamped it, and handed it back.

Well, there's something new and different. No questions at all!

On to Baggage Claim to get my hoooooge bags. Done. They were the first ones off the plane. Yayy. Off to Customs. I head for the door that's labeled "Nothing to Declare," because amazingly, in three large bags, I had nothing to declare. Ahhh here we go. A Customs official approaches me, with another right behind her. "Why do you have so much luggage?"

Ugggh this is going to suck. Oh well. Smile and breathe and I say, "Because I'm moving here."

At this point, of course, her job is to ask for my completed forms in quadruplicate that I don't have and the purple holographic 3D stamp that I needed to get from Immigration and didn't and the.... "Oh OK. Go ahead, then."

And she stepped back.

I really didn't even know where to begin to process that interaction, so I just nodded and walked out into the Arrivals Hall. My very special person was waiting for me there and when I told him what had just happened, he laughed. "Yes of course. They're laughing right now. You see, it's all been a plot. Holland is really a terrible, oppressive place to live. The whole country's celebrating because we just tricked another American into coming here."

:-/ I got him back. I made fun of the Asser Bos (Assen's Woods) on the way back to his house, pointing at a stand of about 6 trees and asking, "Oh, is that the Asser Bos?" [He informed me that Asser Bos is holy and not to be made fun of, and then we laughed ourselves silly.]

More soon. Tot ziens!