The first blog. I never know what to write in these things and tend to think that no one really cares, but here it goes. My name is Anna and I am originally from Texas. I am one of those Texans that takes pride in the place I come from and know boring facts about the city and it’s surroundings. I went to boarding school for the last two years in highschool thinking that I needed a change and wanted to get out of Texas. It wasn’t until my years in College in Maryland, the same state I ran off to for high school, that I came to love Texas. So it is strange, to me and others, that I ran off to the Netherlands in 2000 to be with the man I love. (queue the cheesy music ). I have been living here ever since and have bounced from one school to the next and one job to the next to stay in this country. I have managed to escape the Bush administration and seen first hand what the effect has been on Americans in a foreign country. I am pleased to say that after many trying, but fun, years we are going to move to America. I must admit that this decision thrills me to no end, but at the same time fills me with anxiety and remorse.

 I have had to leave Texas, my friends and my family, for a new adventure. I was fresh out of uni so I didn’t know what the world had installed for me. In the past 8 years I have not grown up as much as I thought I would, but I have become more worldly and it has opened my eyes to other cultures and has made me not the stereo-typical American. I do not mean that last comment in a harsh way but I still know a lot of people who think that Holland is in Amsterdam and that no matter where in the Netherlands you live you live in Amsterdam. That there are the same things here that there are in America, like, dare I say it, an American bank, and things they take for granted as everyday items and occurences. (Did I fail to mention some where that I can’t spell? the reason why I didn’t take French but stuck with Spanish and Latin in school LOL).  Now I can explain both the anxiety and remorse.

 Recently I found out that I have Fibromyalgia which sounds scary but just means a lot of pain and a lot of issues for the most part. I have the good days and just last week I had my first really bad day of staying in bed. Luckily it wasn’t as bad as people have described theirs but to me it was the pits. This puts a damper on the many interests I have in my life. I am a jack of all trades but a master of none. I have the attention span of a 2 year old when it comes to hobbies. Everything interests me but I find that I jump from one thing to the next. I have not really had a serious job over here in the Netherlands but that is mostly the language issue. I do speak Dutch but not enough for business. I know what I want and how to get it in a store and to tell people I am not interested in their offer to upgrade to such-and-such energy company that is going to screw us over cause they are not organised enough. Since Dennis and his family and friends all speak dialect I have picked up more of that than Dutch.

Did I mention I have the attention span of a 2 year old? Back to anxiety. I have always known what I wanted to be in my life but never really went through to get it done. When I go back I might be able to follow that path, the only thing is my interests have broadened since then. Making the choices of a career even harder. I want to slack off and work in a store and underachieve for the beginning but I have many people saying I can do better than that. But at the moment I don’t want to do better than that. I have spent years taking jobs that I didn’t like only because I could do it in English. My ideal job is not sitting behind a computer. It’s working with people, or animals, or pastries. I bake a lot for my friends over here and my brownies are enough to send anyone into diabetic shock. This is where the remorse lies.

I have friends here. They may not be the most popular of people but I don’t care. They are my friends. We sit in a basement and watch horror movies and eat brownies and drink red bull until the wee hours of the night. I will miss saying to people that I am going to Belgium to do just that, sit in the basement. I know that deep down I will see my friends again. One is threatening to come and visit. But it is the starting over again, I did it 8 years ago. The other thing is Dennis’ family. They live across the street and have been the greatest people. I love his parents with their Sunday dinners and his grandparents. His grandfather is 91 (until May) and can still kick my butt in Chess. I know that this may be the last time we see him. His grandmothers are in good health so I trust I will see them again. But Bompa is a funny man. He walks to the kitchen with his glass for his jonge and he pours one, drinks it, pours another and says that it is his first glass.

But I do know there are trade offs. When we move, I will get my family back. I can’t wait to be able to see my parents when ever I want. To go to my brother’s house and just talk or joke around. Murphy, our dog, will have a play mate so he will have a great time. I am just curious what the world has in store. This year is going to be an interesting one and I am ready to start. I want to see what happens from now until this summer when we start to set the real stuff in motion. And for those in the area, we have things to sell, but I’m afraid the fridge is taken