And the journey begins. Off to the Netherlands!

We left Portland, Oregon, on Tuesday, September 3rd, 2013.  We made it through check-in without a hitch, thanks to the extra hands of Brant's wonderful parents, which made carting around 6 suitcases, 4 backpacks, a pack-in-play, 2 carseats, a double stroller, and 2 kids much less stressful.  It was a tearful goodbye, that really had started about a month prior, as we had started our "goodbyes" in SoCal at that time.  I have been preparing for this moment for a year, and as I have told so many of you, "Just get me overseas, and then I will adjust and become excited about the experience."  Dreading the flight over there is not an overstatement; I was definitely not looking forward to it one bit.  The biggest reason for this, is because we chose to have Geoffrey as a lap-baby (since he is still eligible to fly for free), making the journey sound even more exhausting for me. 

We had three flights to take in order to get to our final destination.  The first leg took us to Dallas, Texas.  There were no complaints from us about the flight, especially because both kids fell asleep almost immediately, for a nap that took them through half the flight.  Our second leg was the damper of the whole journey.  Our plane had arrived, but instead of boarding, they announced that there were 5 mechanics on board, trying to fix the navigation system, the air system, and the entertainment system, which were all out.  Fast forward ahead to 2.5 hours after we were supposed to have taken off, and we finally boarded. 

The 8.5 hour flight over the Atlantic was grueling for me.  I mean, the plane was nice, and the entertainment and food that was all available could have made it bearable, but having a big boy like Geoffrey on my lap overnight, was really tough.  Brant didn't have it much easier either, as he was stuck between Maddie on one side, and me, with a sleeping, moving boy kicking into his space on the other side.  As a result of our delays, our connecting flight in London was all mixed up.  To make an annoying story short, we missed our first connecting flight from London to Amsterdam (as expected), were put on a second flight, which the airline decided to keep us off of due to their concerns with the amount of time it would take us to get to the gate, and finally got onto a third flight (and a pretty decent one, too).  The flight is less than an hour, our kids were great, and we could "see the light at the end of the tunnel," so everyone's spirits were up.

Two students had arrived to pick us up, and greeted us with a big sign that read our last name.  One spoke English quite well, while the other was intimidated by her limited English skills, so did not say much.  We loaded our enormous load of luggage into their 2, small, European cars, and hit the road for 1.25 hour car ride up to Kampen.  It was a bit of a bummer that we arrived so late at night, as we were not able to see much outside in the dark on the drive.  Regardless, we arrived, exhausted, hungry, and not able to comprehend much whatsoever. 

The University in Kampen has been very good to us, and generously taken care of so much on our behalf.  The most obvious, is that they have provided housing for both our family, and the Cooke family, who is also here from Fuller, at no expense to us.  For this first month, both of our families are living together in University housing, which is located directly across the street from Brant's school.  The house is a newly-renovated 3 story townhouse, with 5 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, a large family room, large dining area, and 2 kitchens.  Our families are quite comfortable with so much space, and we are co-existing very well.  The reason for the temporary housing is simply because both of our new homes will not be ready to move-in until the end of the month.  Here are just a few pictures of the inside of our space - taken on the first full day we were here.  Some things have changed (as in, not as many suitcases are out), but not much is different.  We are not "settling and nesting" too much here, as we are aware it is only temporary.  Soon enough, that will happen, and we can't wait!

The family room - a nice space.

Dining space, taken from the family room.  All of this is located on the middle level.  Three rooms are upstairs, and one big room and kitchen are located on the bottom level (where the Cooke family is residing).

Kitchen, with no oven or dishwasher (as expected).  I will have an oven at our next place.  The fridge is not as small as I had feared (still smaller than in America), and is concealed in the cabinet to the right.

Our room, which as of the last 3 nights, has now also become Maddie's bedroom. :)

Steep stairs are everywhere.  We've already had a few spills. :(

Two of the three upstairs bedrooms, and a place to dry your clean laundry!

It has been nice to live in such a central part of Kampen, as it is helping us get our bearings just a bit more.  We are literally around the corner from one of the grocery stores, a few blocks away from the main street in old town, and as mentioned before, directly across the street from Brant's school. 

So, we made it!  We left Portland one week ago today, and the jet-lag has mostly left all of us.  Transitioning? Yes.  Adjusted? No.  But we will get there.  My next post will include pictures of this beautiful, old town, and explain a bit more about what we have been up to in the past week! 

Totziens! (Good-bye!)