De Ville Groningen

No photo's this time guys!<br>I just wanted to share the fantastic news with you all that I am officially a Dutch resident.<br>The lawyer called us with the news on Monday morning.<br>We are ecstatic. This means I can reapply for a five year residency in July next year.<br>It also means I can now search for work.<br>I will keep you all informed of how that search goes and of my ongoing travels.<br><br>Wish me luck!<br><br>Shannon.<br>

... in the main arena and did several celtic dances to celebrate.<br><br>As we were so close to the german border, I had to go there and jump from side to side between Germany and Holland... Just so I could say I've done it! hahahaha.<br>After my antics, as we were heading back to the car, we realised we were surrounded by a gigantic Hemp plantation and I decided to get some more humerous shots of myself amongst it.<br>It's not like you see that everyday!!!<br>

On Saturday, Petra, her mum and I took a day trip to Appingedam.<br>This city has the famous hanging kitchens.<br>The kitchens of the houses closest to the canal hang out over the water.<br>This was so, back in the 16 and 1700's, the occupants could drop a bucket down through their kitchen floor and gather water for the house.<br>We also had a look ...

Well I'm on my way at last: how strange after such a build up..... <br><br>Been resting, sleeping and chilling out with friends in Groningen after a mad dash onto the Dutch flyer overnight ferry and then connecting trains to Groningen. My friend Helen ...

... bezoekers zijn welkom nadat zij eerste even gebeld hebben voor een afspraak. In a big hurry written: At friday 26 of march our sun "Daan" is born at the hospital in Groningen. Mom and Daan are completely ok but have to stay a few days in the hospital. Hereby in a big hurry some pics. Lots of greetings, Jeroen

... the shoe for the child. ack Pete dolls everywhere in the shops and when you go to the supermarket leading up to Sinta Klaas, there are areas where kids leave a shoe in a hole in the wall and the supermarket leaves a gift in the shoe. This was an amazing experience as the Potse family had set up a couple of the local girls to come around to their house dressed as Black Pete and they ran in throwing Papernoten ...

... eating! Oh well, we guess it's good preparation for the leaner times ahead. The countryside around here feels like a giant garden. Everything is so neat and proper and even the frequent animals (cows, sheep and horses) seem very civilized! We have marvelled at the Dutch engineering (we actually got some tips on polder formation that could come in handy with the gloabl warming ahead!) and seen a ...

... city one of the few ones that i would actually be able to live in Europe. Then the following day I headed to Glasgow which was a bit of a dump, it wasnt nearly as nice as Edinbourgh thats for sure. Then I headed back to London and stayed with my freind for another night and then I headed off to the Netherlands. Once I arrived, I caught the train to my freinds place up north. It was good seeing him, because i had seen him we studied in Germany ...

... and to see the town and even the house were my Oma was born. What a cute little town. We went for a beautiful little walk in the woods. Then we met Diek's sister Margriet. She looks a lot like my mom actually. We all went out for a fantastic dinner together in a little restaurant looking out onto the town square. I'm loving Holland. It's my homeland!

... without any success. Now my last chance was here in Groningen and when I went into a takeaway shop as a last resort the man behind the counter looked at me with about as much incredulousness as if I&#8217;d asked him for a lap dance. Had the people at my school been making this whole Olliebollen thing up? Had they thrown together any old household refuse they could find into balls, deep fried them, covered them in icing ...