First Filipinas I met in The Netherlands

Aside from my cousins, Rowena and Cristina, many Filipinos are living in The Netherlands. I was so glad that the first Filipinas I met were Ate Lulu,  Ate Tess and Ate Chyrll. They are both good friends of Ate Rowena. They are so nice to me. Sometimes, they give me some helpful advices about the culture there and the Inburgering exam. They are also living in Vlissingen with their own family.

 

From Left: Ate Lulu, Ate Tess, Karen, Me, Ate Rowena and Jennifer

Ate Chyrll with Niels

Vlissingen

My cousin, Rowena, and her family is living in Vlissingen where I stayed there for three months. It's a nice, simple town. They lived first in an appartment and then transferred into a bigger house.. 

 

Vlissingen is a port town in Zeeland. It is sometimes referred to in English as Flushing. It is the second large town of Zeeland, and has 34.000 inhabitants.

The town is industrial in character and is connected by a large canal to Middelburg and onwards to the Veerse Meer inland lake. Vlissingen is wellknown because of his 2,6 km long Boulevard. 

~Wikitravel

It's a Baby Boy!

05 October 2010- That date was very special day for Rowena and Stefan because their third child and first baby boy was born. They named him "Niels".

Baby Niels!

Ate Rowena had difficulty in delivering Niels. She had Gestational Diabetes where the consequence of having it was the baby would grow bigger than the normal. They thought that Ate Rowena would undergo Cesarean Section. But thank God, Niels was in normal delivery.

First Time I bike in Vlissingen (Eerste keer dat ik fietste in Vlissingen)

Riding a bike(Fiets rijden) in The Netherlands is  not so easy. You need to be familiar to all the roads and traffic rules there.But still, I did enjoyed strolling around the Vlissingen with Stefan and Jennifer. Thanks to Stefan for teaching me how to ride a bike properly.

First Travel Abroad

Visiting my cousin's family in The Netherlands was my first tavel abroad. My cousin, Rowena, who  got married with a dutchman, invited me to go there and stay there for three months. She needed a company for taking her children while her husband was in abroad. So that time, Ate Rowena was already near in the end stage of her third pregnacy. After I passed the Nursing Board Exam here in the Philippines, I arranged all my papers in going there. Ate Rowena sent all my papers I needed. So, She and her husband supported everything while I stayed there. I was flight last September 25, 2010,having with Schengen visa.

 

 Me with my two niece, Jennifer(left) and Karen(right)

            Three of us together with Ate Rowena

 Together with Stefan(Ate Rowena's husband)

 I was so excited. I didn't expect that opportunity to go abroad. Everything that happened to me that time was all first time to me. First time to take an airplane. First time to go abroad. Ate Rowena and her family picked up me in the Schiphol Airport on the next day I flight. When I arrived in their home, I saw a bouquet of flowers on the top of the table. I was so surprise with that and really appreciated it. Thanks to them! So that time, I started to adjust there. I adjusted to the weather, time, language, people, places ect.

 

 Flowers from Ate Rowena's Family