Nederland!

I officially arrived in Holland Tuesday morning. After a few hours sleep on the plane I was picked up by the family I am au pairing for. Their youngest son Quinn (he is almost 2) was home, but the older children Skylily (5 years old) and Declan (8 years old) were both at school. Although I was exhausted, I knew it would be best to stay awake all day in order to adjust quickly to the 6 hour time change. I went into the little downtown of Wassenaar with Sharon and Quinn which is only 2 small streets. We got lunch at the Bagel Alley and got Quinn a new pair of shoes. After chasing Quinn around for another hour, we picked up the other children from school and then I was off to my first practice at HGC.

Practice was a little intimidating at first. Although our coach is Australian, he runs practice in all Dutch. (Which makes sense, we are in Holland after all!) That took a little getting used to since I don't really know any Dutch. I followed along and asked the girls a few times to explain. All of the girls were very nice and were always making sure I understood. We had two practices that first day, but it was nice to move around and get to know the girls right away. Best of all, one of my teammates from college, Kim, is also playing for HGC and is an au pair just a few blocks from me. It is amazing to see her, catch up, and play with her again!!

After a good nights rest, Wednesday was just as busy! I watched Quinn for most of the morning before going into Amsterdam for Sharon's nieces 1st birthday party. All the kids were so cute and the cake was delicious! Once we got back, I was off to practice again. This time we had running before training. It was not too difficult for me besides the fact that I was still a little jetlagged, but I think it was pretty tough for the rest of the team. It is not surprising that we do a lot more fitness/running in the US! Training went well as I started to get used to the girls, their style of play, and working off of them. I'm still learning all of their names, but again they all have been extremely understanding and helpful.

So far, I have had a really good experience with the family and the team. I have also been lucky it hasn't rained yet! Although, it is a bit colder than I'm used to. I look forward to our first scrimmage this weekend against Kampong and some time off to explore what is around Wassenaar and Den Haag.

More to come soon! Pictures coming also!
Doei!