Rivers & Roads

Hello everyone!
I am very sorry for the summer hiatus I took on this lovely blog. At first I thought I would just take a few weeks off when I first got back to the USA but it turned into a 3 month break. Either way, I am back in action! Simon and I have been back in Gent for about a week now, and I must say it feels really nice to be back. We had an amazing summer traveling around the USA, and I will always love Colorado and New York and every other place that has made me who I am; but coming back to Gent this time was really exciting. I love the city, the people, our apartment, and the little life Simon and I have created here. Who knows what the future will bring us, in a few months everything could change drastically, but for now I am very happy to call this place my home.

In other news, I have started Dutch classes! They began on Sept. 1st, so I missed the first week, but I am going for 3 hours 4 days a week until Nov. 10th. I have starting at the lowest level, obviously, through a government subsidized program that cots 72 euros for each level. But if/when I get a national number I can start taking for intensive courses through the University. For now though I am very happy with my class. It is a pretty big class filled with people from all over the world. It is really fun to interact with all these new people knowing we are all in the same boat of learning a new language, new to this country, many of them also trying to find a job. Hopefully in the end I can make some new friends from the class too.

In Visa news, Simon and I are trying to apply for the Co-habitation visa. Most of the time you have to have been together for 2 years or lived together for 1, but we have talked to several people who think we should try anyways and because I am from the USA it should not be that much of a problem. There are a million steps we have to take though before they grant us this visa. To begin with, we went this week to turn a piece of paper saying we are both agreeing to live together, and they said I needed more official proof that I have never been married (I tried to show my tax return but it was not good enough). So next friday I have an appointment at the US Embassy in Brussels to get an official document stating that fact. Once we turn that in, then we must wait for a police officer to come by our apartment and check that we are in fact living together and that your relationship is not a scam. After that, there will be a lot more paper work and hoops to jump through but we are just going to be patient and take it one step at a time. I will keep updating my visa status though so that we all know what is going on!

Lastly, of course I am including a few photos from Gent so far. Simon and I bought a nice new dresser for 7.50 euros! It was painted terrible colors though so this week we have been working on it, Simon sanding and painting it, me making some fun stencils! We have not gotten the stencils on there yet but your can see your progress below. I have also included a few photos from the family reunion we went to which was really nice, the setting was not unlike the garden in Barneveld. I will be posting much more often, so keep an eye out!

Dutch word of the day: Zingen = To sing