2 x 14

This week was a bit difficult - but also good. School was pretty intensive as we had two 14 hour days. The first was an open night for primary school kids and it turned out pretty well. I set up a little room with activities for them to work on - giving a glimpse of some things we do. Mostly they skipped the activities and just asked a few questions. Most were a bit nervous about having two major subjects taught in English. The parents were generally pretty supportive of the idea though. We have to do the same thing again on Tuesday.

The second fourteen-hour day was on Friday. We went to a conference as a staff because we won a prize for the most innovative school in the Netherlands. This conference was our prize. There were a couple good sessions, but it was mostly a waste of time in regards to content. The main thing was just spending a day together outside of school.

I also had my final lesson observation this week. The results determine whether or not I will be offered a job this year. My supervisor was positive about it. It is a big relief to have finished my 'trial period' - a bit of a weight off the shoulders.

We have been working on wedding plans recently. It is a bit tricky planning two weddings - most couples don't need to think about that. At least they are two small weddings. So that helps. Now that some of that stuff is knocked out, along with taxes (we both got a refund!!!), we have started looking for a house.

The market right now is pretty unstable. Lots of houses have been sitting for a long time with no buyers. On the one hand, this could mean a good time to buy, but on the other we could be teetering on the edge of a landslide. The latter, along with the fact that houses in this area are below sea level, and that we are not attached to the area, make us look into renting.

Renting is really expensive for what you get compared to most places in the States. We toured the ultimate starter home yesterday - one of the cube houses I mentioned earlier. There are three for sale and we found out recently and additional unit is for rent. So we toured the rental. It would be a really amazing place to live as it is so unique and interesting. The location is also amazing - right in the heart of Rotterdam. The problem is that just rent is 1200 Euros a month and there are lots of additional costs on top of that. It is also 30+ minutes away from school.

Today we will check out a more reasonable option. It is close to where we live now and is a mostly stand-alone house - almost impossible to find here. I like this because we can play movies and music as loud as we want. It is significantly bigger than most places and has a backyard (also rare). The annoying thing is that it is right by the railroad tracks and a road. The price is right tho at 911 per month. Half the distance to school as the cube and nearly twice the space (depending how you look at it). Not nearly as cool though.

It is a gamble to figure out when to move. We save so much money by living here; but we would really limit our options if we wait too long. I think that if we find the ideal place, we should make the change. It would be sad to leave this place early...but it was only temporary anyway. We shall see what the future brings.