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.