Another W000h0000 Day

Yayy. Of sorts. But I'm yayying anyway. I'll take what I can get.

So those of you following along with the adventure know that I went in mid-December to the gemeente (local government) for my first inschriving (enrollment, letting the government know who lives where so they can ensure appropriate and adequate services are provided for the populace).

The very nice man at the gemeente said I should expect to hear from his office in a week or two weeks with my burgerservicenummer (like a Social Security Number). That's the number that I need to get health insurance--which I need for the IND (immigration), and to complete the registration of my business with the KvK (Chamber of Commerce)--which I need for the IND, and to set up a bank account--which I need for everything.

And there's been no word. (Insert scowly face.)

On Wednesday, I got a letter from Werkplein Baanzicht letting me know that I have to come see them next Wednesday because they have to determine whether or not I'm required (at this time) to complete an inburgering cursus (social education course covering basic language, history and customs of NL). That letter had a "kenmark" noted on it. A kenmark is a unique identifier, but it can be something as simple as a customer number from a business.

But still no word from the gemeente.

Today, however, I got a letter from Social Verzekeringbank. For the purpose of retirement, that's like the Social Security Administration. They let me know how to check at any time on the balance of my SVB Pension. And they casually inserted at the top of the letter: "Burgerservicenummer." With a number. My number. Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

So while I haven't officially been notified by the official in charge of notifying me of what my BSN is, I have one and I know what it is!

So today I made an appointment with the KvK to register my business (on the 16th), and next week I'll open my bank account and talk to the Werkplein people. (As I understand it, I am not required--due to the terms of the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty--to do an inburgering cursus in connection with my residency permit, only if I later decide to become a Dutch citizen. But I'll go talk to them.)

Partytime in Me-Ville.

BOOM

Cover! Cover! Cover! The city is under attack!

OK it isn't, but you wouldn't know that by the sound of it. I woke up this fine Old Year's Day (as it's called here) to the sound of explosions. Pop-pop-pop mixed with bang and whistle-BOOM. No I've never been in a war, but it sounds just like gunfire and bombs from movies! (OK Maybe they use fireworks for their sound effects.)

And fireworks it is. The town woke up this morning early and started blowing things up. Not cars- and house-type things, but paper and cardboard things. The explosions have not stopped all day, and there's so much explosive smoke that it's hanging over the town like a light fog, mixing with the mist that's present today. Once the sun goes down, it intensifies and as midnight approaches things will really get going.

The Dutch celebrate Old-New Year by setting off fireworks. As many as possible. Apparently, the booms and bangs frighten away evil spirits who, not being then in the right place at the right time, will miss the incoming of the New Year and be banned. Yayy. The explosives are legally sold for three days before the Year-Change Night and may legally be set off from 10am Old-Year's Day until 2am New Year's Day. (They've been going off for days and started around 8am this morning.)

In practice, it's noisy during the day but absolutely gorgeous at night. Growing up, my experience with fireworks came in two flavors: firecrackers and bottle rockets that people can play with sometimes, and real fireworks... the "go up and explode in a big starburst and change color and whistle" kind. In Netherlands, people get to play with the real ones! I've had the pleasure of seeing this before, but I forgot that it's an all-day event.

This time of year (even in a winter so mild that the geese haven't migrated) the ground is soaking wet. Roofs here are made of Spanish tile or thatch (thatch is also quite damp right now), so the risk of fire is minimal. There are some concerns about safety, but surprisingly few people manage to blow themselves up. Last year 710 people were injured using fireworks on New Year's; this is an estimate based on the fact that 84 people actually went to the hospital for firework-related injuries. A third of the treated injuries were to eyes. That makes sense--you're more likely to get treatment to a burn around/of the eye than a burned finger. Two people died (none in the previous two years, five in the three years before that).

Granted, that sounds like a lot in a country of fewer than 17 million people. But the Dutch spend around 65 million euros on fireworks. That's around 4 euros for every man, woman and child when a 96-shot extravaganza package can be purchased for 30 euros. It's 710 injuries for around 7 million people playing with explosives. Well done, Dutchy people!

For those following along with my personal adventures (there must be one of you), my BSN has not yet arrived. *sighs* I'm feeling very impatient, but pretty much everyone is off work from Christmas to New Year's so it's not too surprising, really.

*Exhale*

My very special friend keeps reminding me that we're not done yet, but for some reason I think (after the visit to the IND) that today was the last hoop that I saw as a real obstacle.

In case you're not up to speed, today was the Inschriving (registration) by the gemeente (local government). In preparation for this, last week after the IND appointment, we called and made an appointment today for the inschriving. They sent over the form for me to fill in as preparation for the appointment.

[Cultural note: Mail in NL is super-speedy fast: typically, 1-day service from anywhere in the NL; often 1-day service from Germany, UK, Belgium & France (the neighbors). TNT provides mail service here. *whispers* US... call them. Set up an interview. Hire them. They kick butt.]

So we called Wednesday and I've had since Thursday to contemplate this form. They asked way more questions than the IND did. How long have I had my name and when did I acquire it? Where was I born? When? Who were my parents? What genders are my parents? [Yes. There was not a box for father and a box for mother. There was column 1 and column 2 and each column needed its own gender identification. Go NL!] Where were my parents born? When? What is my marital status? Divorced? Fine. When were you married? Where? To whom were you married? When was that person born? Where? When were you divorced? Where? Do you have children living with you? Do you have children not living with you? When were they born? Where?

And the clincher... Oh and by the way, we're going to need authenticated documentation for all of that. (I only have my own birth certificate.) *panic*

Being able to move on to the next step (registration of my business with the Chamber of Commerce) depends on being registered with the gemeente in order to get a BSN (Americans read, "SSN"). Getting health insurance depends on the BSN. Having a bank account depends on the BSN. Nothing else can happen until I have one.

Nonetheless, off we went to the gemeente to keep our appointment, where we met with a very nice young man who didn't speak English but didn't speak *too* fast, either, and only cringed when he learned that I had two former last names for a total of three names. He had no problem with the fact that I acquired a new name by the usage method after a divorce 20 years ago, he just didn't want the additional headache of having to check three names in the computers instead of one. :-|

He let us know that my birth certificate is no good to him; it has to have an apostille. The consequence of this fact is that my registration will say that my birthplace is Unknown until I submit a properly authenticated copy. He let us know that, since I do not have marriage and divorce certificates (CA doesn't even issue divorce certificates), I can't get married in NL unless I establish that I am, in fact, single. And he said that since I do not have a birth certificate for my son, my son cannot move to the NL under family unification should I later become a citizen unless I provide one.

And I'll receive my registration with my BSN number in one to two weeks. Have a good day.

Hold up.

So I have basically no documentation except for a passport. And you don't care. (To myself I said that, not to the nice man who could change his mind and be a pain in the neck if he wanted to, I'm sure.)

So... Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.