Musings on Moving

When I first reached the precincts of Netherlands, in very late September - I had not the slightest clue that I would be exposed to a variety of living. A variety too much to accept. The chill air and the yellow-green-red colored trees of Haarlem, simply fascinated me - at the very first view. The calm, rich and ethnic Dutch fashioned houses enchanted me. The ancient buildings, churches, monuments, this & that - I loved it all.  It was Mid Autumn and the carpets of dark colored leaves decorated the roads. The first impression of my house - A total Mess. Swami had just moved in on Tuesday, and I arrived on Friday. He admitted that he really could not do much, so as to impress me with a very beautifully looking cozy house. I was too shocked to express my real thoughts. I was, actually confused. Here I was after marriage – new to everything – The place, the house, the man, the life – just everything. It took me less than 3 days to get the house back in order. I had nothing else to do. Life moved. The weather became bad - rains, cold winds, freezing !  I was pleased to see the rains, but surely not when they came into our house? Water leaking from our roof? I had to put vessels - all shapes and sizes on our table, on the bed, on the floor. Things became out of control. We had to move. “In only 2 months time, I had just moved", cried Swami. "But, also we have no other go. I need no bathroom to shower, I could just stand under that roof". We started moving out with the first help of the Public Transport. Trains - Buses - Trams - Walks - We saw our stuff through them all. We were alone. 

Amsterdam - the most happening place in The Netherlands. Our new house was simple & nice. Partially furnished, we had no legal residential address - just a roof to stay. Fortunately, not leaking. We had very little stuff, and moved onto this new house in one week's time. And - with just the public transport to our aid. Haarlem & Amsterdam are two different cities. However, I thought that the small distance between them would hardly matter. Little did I realise that Amsterdam had much much more to offer than humble little Haarlem. Life was different. December through March - Peaceful Living. April's New Year was to bring us a shock. "The house owner is returning - you will have to move out.", told us this guy to whom we paid our monthly rent. And, we were left with only 15 days. 
North - South - East - West - We searched for a house - €1000, exclusive - € 1000, inclusive. We could not afford either of the two. Finally, there was one house to home us - a flat in Zaandam, North of Amsterdam, yet another small city of Windmills, remember Zaans Schans? -  Swami had no time to see the house. He had no choice but to trust my opinion. I went one evening to see the house. First Sights - Not very impressive - Very big - too open - crayon scribblings on the wall - cemented floor - carpeted floor - I could not see anything. I was totally blinded. At that point of time - All that I saw was a house where we could move. Nothing more. We soon hired a small van, €200  for one go - We stuffed, everything we had into the vehicle and celebrated the 14th of April in the new house. Zaandam, was harldy known to us. We had got so used to Amsterdam - so much so that we used to still shop there and carry the load to Zaandam. Ignorance was bliss, plus a lot of hard work. Life here was quiet. Evenings were so silent. If at all we wanted noise - we had to make it. Zaandam, yet another cozy little beautiful city so filled with silence in the air, and windmills on the ground!
"I plan to return to this house with my family", we heard one day. One year of peaceful living - illegal residence - registered elsewhere - was disrupted. "I give you 15 - 20 days time. Please find yourself a house somewhere else". By then, we also had decided to move to somewhere towards the south of the country. Swami was travelling ridiculously, shuttling between Rotterdam and Zaandam every other day – spending almost about 5 hours in travelling, that included a lot of waiting time. Bus Timings would not coincide. So many complications. Moving Out had now become of Prime Importance. "The Hague" - is probably the most suited place. Geographically, centrally placed between the two major cities of Netherlands - Amsterdam & Rotterdam - The Hague, we thought would be best suited for us. "One Month Comission - One Month Advance - First Month Rent". Swami signed a huge cheque off his bank account and we moved, now with a much bigger bus - Bag & Baggage to The Hague. It was the end of May, and summer was at its peak. The Hague - is the city for everyone else except the Dutch! It is indeed the melting pot of a lot foreign nationals. In some parts of the city, every third person here you see, could probably be a Dutch. Probably, eh! The city – so much like home. "Arey Udhar Math Jaaa . . . Gaadi Hain",  We could hear sounds of our country even at way past night. The Phone Booth, The Postoffice, The Market, The Bus Stations, The Shops - All close to home. Would you like some Mango Juice at midnight? Need a packet of chips for your snack (at 07:00 hrs on Sunday)? Vegetables & Fruits? "Oh god, rice has almost finished" - Never Mind! Here, we present - "The Mega Market" - Opening & Closing Hours - No one knows. It is always open! June, July & September passed brightly fixing our new house. It was a brand new house with just one room and small bedroom. Frankly, it was not enough for the two of us - Time and Necessities had helped us gather a lot of things - Nevertheless, we hardly spoke of this defect to each other - fear of being so rude. But, it was getting too much with the house owner. He was becoming more & more insulting, more & even more rude and pompous - Tolerable - but not at the cost of our self respect.
"Tomorrow, the 24 of September, we are signign a new contract for another house" ! 13th floor, same locality, about 200 metres from our present house. A much much bigger house – Legally Registered - no tension of anyone moving in – no unrefined, uncouth house owner - no leaking roofs (the building has 17 floors) - No Tension - No shit! In my 24 months of stay in the Netherlands, we have moved some 4 times and this one, is going to be our 5th move. I never had slightest hitch that Housing can be so big a problem. Remember, when you are probably in a nice house - Enjoy it and Be Thankful. You are one of the most luckiest. The week ahead is going to be really really hectic. We have to move out before the end of this month. Painting work - Carpets to be laid - Fixing the lights - So much of work to be done - Got to run! And, wish us luck and goodness, and a real long term stay here, atleast in this house. 
- Priya


P.S: Will inform you about our change in address, soon :o)