**Update** alls well that ends well! The bank account was active as of 13-Feb (with money in it!) and we will have OV-Chipcards for transit by Monday, 26-Feb. I have lots of suggestions to share with next year's group - and I have provided my feedback to Fulbright.
Much like the "drop" (delightful dutch licorice candy!) that I have come to be dependent upon, I have found my time here in the Netherlands to certainly be sweet and sour. Cold and rainy weather, incomplete information on registering as a citizen and having a residence permit, and not being able to access a bank account have plagued my first week and a half of being dutch. Some may consider me a mierenneuker for how uptight I've been about my transition to the Netherlands, and bless my poor husband for dealing with the tears and endless stream of details that need to be repeated over and over again, just so I can make sense to myself. This has been a mostly wonderful experience, living in a new city, learning the bike life and taking in the dutch culture. The food is erg lekker (especially when I pour mayonnaise, I mean frites sauce, all over my fries) and the people - for the most part - have been absolutely wonderful. I have certainly felt gezellig in my short stay here.
I am so appreciative, and Trevor and I are so very lucky to have this zoet opportunity, but my departure from Massachusetts definitely took more time than I realized, and I wasn't quite as prepared for my arrival in The Netherlands as I had hoped. One can read the websites and follow the steps that are provided by those that came before - but it is challenging to readjust when the outcome is not as anticipated. When one moves to The Netherlands for greater than 4 months, you need to register in your province/city. But wait... you can't just use any address (not that anyone tells you that) - and good luck finding accommodations in this lovely country. It's so lovely - there's barely enough housing to go around. And believe it or not, you do not need a residence permit to register as a resident in your town. Don't get me wrong, you need a residence permit - I'll get back to the blog when I know why. Once you register in your town, you get a BSN which is required for a bank account, except it's not required for a bank account, unless you are named Ashley. And you need a bank account, otherwise transportation around the Netherlands is EXTREMELY expensive, and many stores and shops only take PIN - no cash. Once you get the bank account, then you can apply for an OV-Chipcard, which (for a fee) gives a discount on transit. The current cohort of Fulbrighters were warned that it would be challenging but I guess I'm back to this label of mierenneuker and all I can say is "thanks for the warning...but now what do we do?"
So without ranting and raving for too long, "oh poor Ashley, she's living in The Netherlands on a grant to visit schools and share her thoughts... boo hoo..." , I guess this whole experience thus far brings up the idea of being comfortable with the ambiguity. Colleague Martin, who is also in Utrecht as a Fulbrighter, was sharing with me his experiences in Columbia University's SPA-NOLA program, where they (IMHO) aggressively pushed the idea of being comfortable with the ambiguity. In other words, learn how to just deal with it, roll with the punches, and rise to the challenge - whatever that challenge may be. I'm trying, and between the frantic web searches and translating the page to english, and looking at apartments and housing options, I guess I will adapt - not just adjust - to the ambiguity. Growing hurts, it is uncomfortable and rarely looks pretty, but I know that I will be better for it - and will be able to help the next cohort - on the other side.
I may be in de aap gelogeerd zijn as I try to figure out the legalities and yes's and no's of being in The Netherlands, but all I can do is move forward. I guess in this dutch culture of being straight to the point, logical and hard working, I need haar op de tanden hebben and not Van een vlieg een oliphant maken.
A special hello to the current cohort of the Fulbright NL team! And of course the hubz, Trevor!