The first three months on Curacao

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OK I guess this a little bit overdue, but things have been – quite  simply – too busy. I guess what they say is true; it will probably take close to a year to really settle in a new place. It’s safe to say there are still many things to do and many people to meet!

After my previous post, we sold our house and moved in with family for a while. Then, on Monday 5 February we said goodbye to the Netherlands and flew to Curacao. We were accompanied by Liesbeth’s mother, who would remain with us for  the first two months of our stay, to ease the transition for Jona, our son.

The first few days we spent at a rental apartment. After that, we moved into our new house; and the next day, the shipping container from the Netherlands arrived. This execution of planning was done in a very “un-local” fashion, people told me. I just guess we were lucky.

The first procedures regarding immigration went very quick and without hassle; our meetings at the “Toelatingsorganisatie” and “Kranshi” were very short. But of course, there comes a moment when the local pace catches up... For me, this happened when trying to arrange an appointment for Liesbeth and myself to collect our “Sedula’s” (local id cards). Making an appointment for this is something that can be done in an online calendar. When I tried, however, I didn’t see any available timeslots. So I figured that the system didn’t work on my laptop. After a phone call, it turned out the online calendar was working fine but the next possible date was a few weeks from now… Oh well 😊

So things can’t be arranged at the same pace as in Holland. At first, this feels like a nuisance. It’s not very nice to travel to the city for just a couple of things and then finding out that you have to wait for a few weeks for the next step in the process. But – less multitasking means more focus. I might learn to like that.

Two weeks after our arrival, Jona went to school for the first time. He goes to the Schroederschool, a Dutch school. Dutch language, Dutch system, Dutch teachers. We intended this, as we expect that at some point Jona will study in the Netherlands and we want him to be prepared for that best we can. Still, there is plenty to get used to. New kids, new teachers. The sun and the heat outside and an air conditioned classroom.

School has the same times every day of the week. It starts at 7.15 and ends at 12.30. This means that on a  weekday I normally rise around 5.30 to prepare everything. This sounds very early, but it’s not. The mornings are longer and the evenings are shorter. Curacao climate definitely favors “morning people”. Also, the day/night rhythm is stronger than in the Netherlands, especially in the neighborhood where I live.

And when Jona gets home? Well, there is a swimming pool around the corner of our house. Although he hasn’t learned to swim, we soon removed his floaters to see how he would do – for me, a scary thing at first. It turns out he’s a real acquaman though,. After a few weeks he was diving to the pool floor in the deepest part (2 meters) to bring things up.  

Also, after school, kids come by. Many kids living in our street are schoolmates of Jona. In our old apartment, we lived 12 stories up. There were some other kids, but “outside” was an elevator ride 12 levels down.

In March, Liesbeth started working at the hospital. The stories she brings home indicate lots of adventures, adjusting to the local culture and work ethic and trying to make things work in a managerial position. Where before we had a similar work rhythm, it’s now very different; I work from home and she works at the hospital. In the sense of connecting to the local culture and learning the language, it feels like she’s lightyears ahead of me. At some point, I will have to catch up, especially when I start to deliver training locally.

Speaking of work… after 2 months I returned to the Netherlands, to conduct the Spring cycle of training at Sapienza. I’ll save that for my next post. 

Picture at the top: Liesbeth and her mother at Fort Nassau

Pictures at the bottom: Jona's fifth birthday and in the pool