Silver lines to a bad day

And a bad day it has been.
But that is not what I want to talk about, I want to talk about the silver lines, or rather, the newspaper article that I read in todays paper when I had to wait in my vet's waiting room.

One of the nice things of going to my vet is that I can count on getting up to date with todays news. Being really honest, one of the worst things of not having a job, is having to go without a news paper. I used to spell every word, and when I get a chance, I will get totally lost in a paper on occasions like this.

Today I went a step further, I actually went out and bought it.
Why you ask? In todays edition they had a 2 page article about Philadelphia.
Pictures, maps and info on a place I visited only once, but totally fell in love with.
It talks about the Historic District, where Jack and I spend hours about the lines in front of Pat's King of Steak and Geno's steak. And I realize, I saw that, people standing in line around noon, long long lines for a Philly cheese steak.
It talks about Elfreth's Alley, a wonderful little street that takes you back to Ireland.
And in between all those words, it has this picture of those old, orange, yellow colored buildings and behind those the deep, dark blue new buildings of the inner city.
The first sky scrapers I ever saw.

It is hard to explain how you can fall in love with a city, how to let others know that you like the difference between the old and the new which is so apparent
in this town. How surprised I was by all the historic buildings and how well they are kept.
And how you will find little hints to the Netherlands on so many occasions.

For some funny reason it made me feel proud when I found out that the Netherlands was the first European country to have a consul in the US after the Declaration of Independence was signed.
Although...can someone tell me why it was J.H.C. Heineken?
Doesn't matter, we beat the French by a week.

But best of all to me was walking by the river. Philadelphia is a harbor close to the Atlantic. And I can't wait to go back and enjoy walking by the river.

For the rest, the article mentioned the great shopping opportunities.
Maybe we will get to that next time, just like the many museums. There is one that I absolutely want to go to.It is called the Mutter Museum. If you can stand it, more info can be found here: http://www.collphyphil.org As they say, it is disturbingly informative.
Anyway, time for me to leave and find some pictures to add to this story.

For the people who want to know, the article can be found in Het Algemeen Dagblad of Saturday the 7th of Febr.

Public transportation

Nope, not done yet with our trip to Philadelphia.
As you could read in my last blog entry, it was only about 15 minutes later that we arrived at the Philadelphia train station.
Again a huge building with high ceilings.
Here I didn't have the urge to whisper, it was more busy than Harrisburg and you could hear a lot of noise from everywhere. The big hall was one level up and in the middle a huge information desk was available for people to get info about traveling but also about the city itself.
A beautiful Christmas tree almost got lost in the space.
The other thing that stood out was the amount of security people walking around.
I am still not sure if it gave me a safe feeling or the other way around.

Anyway, the whole time I was too busy to look around because I was keeping a close eye on Jack, since finally we were in the 'big' city and I had no clue where we would be going next.
I am not a city person, I love living in the small villages and the few years I lived in Groningen don't count since that is such a small city, it took me 10 minutes on the bike to get outside the city borders.
And from what I had seen when I flew in to Philadelpia, the city is huge.

It turned out that Jack wanted to take the subway into the inner city. Great, another experience with a new transportation system.
Fully expecting that Jack had done this before, I followed him towards the underground where we found the place where they were supposed to leave.

There we met a little problem, Jack didn't know how it worked either.
After some hassle with a lady behind a desk who wasn't too helpful it turned out that we had to get some tokens to get through the entrance gates.
All in all, I think this was the first time we met someone that wasn't helpful.
But Jack figured it out and we went through the gate.

There we met our next challenge.
When you aren't used to it, it is close to impossible to figure out what subway to take. the signs look more like math to me and as clear as Chinese.
The subway station, which is underground is the total opposite from the train station.
No luxury, dirty and noisy. And the smell, yuck.

And as it turned out, Jack didn't exactly know where we had to go either.
So again we had to ask, the answer wasn't exactly as we hoped, but we got on one and got out at a place Jack thought was the right one.
Boy, was I glad to get out of there.
And when we got out we found ourselves only a block away from the museums and information centers.
Right in the middle of Philadelphia on a beautiful sunny day in the middle of winter.

Tickets please!

Not having a drivers license, I am used to travel by train and bus.
Sometimes taking the train can be pretty convenient when traveling to bigger cities, but it can also be a huge pain when you miss connections after a train or bus is late.
Over the years I learned to not worry too much because usually 'something' happens.
A train is hit by lightning, a technical problem or sometimes a train that is just too late. It all happens here, you get used to it and when it happens you better relax. Eventually you will get there. Unless you have a plane to catch, than it does get a bit nerve wrecking.

Besides that, traveling by train is pretty easy, the train stations are open and after getting a ticket at the machine for any place you like, you jump into a train that is standing there with open doors, hoping you picked the right one.
The station is a noisy place, you hear whistles, trains coming in and leaving and the bus station that is always close,you smell coffee, French fries and now and than you get a whiff of the place the homeless people use to relieve themselves or that typical smell of a joint that has been lighted after the stuff to built one was just bought somewhere around a corner.
By the time you find a place to sit,when it isn't too busy, you hope you aren't driving backwards. And that you get a spot for just two people, otherwise you may risk an awkward feet dance with your neighbor and all his or her bags,who is sitting opposite of you. This can be a challenge when you have two dogs with you.

Yeah, the joy of traveling with the Dutch NS.
Still, I do like it, train stations are lively places and I could spend hours just watching the people.

And than Jack decided we would take the Amtrak to Philadelphia...
Talk about culture shock.

First of all, it was a good thing that Jack knew where it was, since there were no huge roadsigns showing the way to the station. (In the Netherlands train stations have their own sign which will show you the way through every city towards the station) But we found it without too much trouble.
And yeah, it looked like a train station. But where were all the people?
It was very quiet and when we entered the big hall where they sold the tickets, I felt the need to start whispering. So clean, so empty, so much open space. The station in Harrisburg is a nice building on the inside though. For some reason I felt like stepping back in time and I wouldn't have been surprised if a steam loc
would have come through, blowing its whistle.

Getting tickets took quite some time, we had to wait in line and a real person helped us out. Turned out I had had the right idea by carrying my passport that day.
Every ticket was by name and we had to show ID. That already gave me the giggles.
You can imagine that it took a little before we had our tickets.
You better not arrive late at these stations, you will, for sure miss your train.
But after getting our tickets, we could go to the waiting room.
I do have to say, that is a lot warmer that sitting on a cold bench on the Dutch platforms.
But again, I never dreamed of someone opening up a door, allowing people to walk down the stairs towards the waiting train.
Geesh, I felt like the Queen herself.
The train in itself was really nice, comfortable seats and from what I could see around me, all modern possibilities provided.
And soooooooooo clean, sigh, really clean.
After our entree, we found a good spot to sit and the train left after our tickets were checked and a sign was put above our seats that we were aboard and sitting where we sat.
And still, I felt the need to lower my voice and keep our conversation as soft as possible.
Since we had to get up early for our day in the city I choose to look outside, enjoy the views and yes, sit close to Jack.
The part of the US we drove through is beautiful, so looking outside is no punishment.

By the time we came close to Philadelphia, our energy supply seemed to have a little problem.Our neighbor had a few problems with his laptop.
And than suddenly the lights turned down and the train slowed down.

Now, you expect this in a Dutch train, but not here.
But, immediately we were told there was a problem with our power, they had to look into it, wouldn't take long.
Everywhere in the train you heard people whisper and the whisper got louder.
LOL, finally I got the feeling I could talk normally.
Until the next message came. We were told there had been an explosion in one of the power houses.
I had something like, yeah right, they must have known I am in the train, since I am so used to that kind of stuff.

Just forgot that I was in the US...
Forgot the fear that is so all around.

I remembered when suddenly after that message almost everyone in the train got his or her cellphone and called home.
I think I heard the word a bit too often that moment. It showed me how deep the fear is.
Suddenly the fact that I had to show ID to get a ticket made sense to me.

Luckily it turned out to be a minor problem, faster than expected we could drive on and we reached Philadelphia only about 10 to 15 minutes later.
Which would be a minor delay in the Netherlands.
But even though I would like to laugh it off as Americans being Americans.
I won't, for some reason I suddenly got a bit of an idea of what happens when a country lives under a threat.

I will make fun of things in the future, when I think they overact.
But I do realize that there is a reason for it.
A good one.

News!!!

The story about our train trip to Philadelphia will have to wait for the moment because....

We got great news this week, we received our NOA1!!!
So now our petition is in their system and this part of our journey has officially begun.
As I said, I got a bit nervous about not hearing anything yet, so Tuesday Jack decided to call the bank and see if the check was cashed. And it was, even more, it had our case number on the back. As it goes with this kind of stuff, off course the message was in the mailbox also the same day, but hey, who cares, it was great to enjoy being happy together for a few more hours extra.

Also, from now on we can check our status on line with the USCIS.
And through Visa Journey we got an estimate on when to expect our NOA2: "Based on timeline data, your I129f may be adjudicated between July 3, 2009 and July 20, 2009*."
This may go faster or slower, mostly depending on luck I guess.
So maybe if you guys just keep your fingers crossed, it might go faster.

Which would be nice, since I would like to use these for what they are meant to be, our wedding rings.

Hot coals

I feel like I am sitting on them.
Why? Well, we sent out our application for the visa ( K1 )on the 30th of December and we should be getting our NOA1 any day now.
Too be honest, I am already starting to wonder if something went wrong because we know the package was delivered in Vermont only a few days into January.
Do I sound impatient? You bet!!!
That is the problem with Internet these days, there is so much information and it is so easy to find people who are doing the same thing at exactly the same time, that comparing situations is too easy.
Still, if it weren't for a few websites that we found, we never would have figured out where to start our journey.
The best site was this one: http://visajourney.com
It gives clear information and really helps to figure out things.
You also find a people there that go through the same process, which helps a lot, but, like in this case, makes me a bit nervous also.
Like the couple who sent in their package later, to the same place, but got their first Notice Of Action already.
Right now I feel like sending Jack out to his mailbox about 6 times a day.
(Don't worry, not doing it, but I sure would like to)

Just good that I don't have the time for that.
Think I owe you guys an explanation also for the fact that I don't write as much as I used to.
It is actually pretty simple, I am too busy these days.
Half way December I was given the chance to learn and work at the same time.
In the past I earned my money by cleaning but when I changed from being a stay at home Mom to being unemployed, I wanted more than the cleaning business and I was lucky enough to be given the chance.
Right now I am working and learning in an office for HR.
It is very challenging, exiting and also scary.
And by the time I get home I am glad if I find the energy to walk my doggies.
But...slowly I should be getting used to this and find the time to write for our blog again.

Because I do need to tell you about that time we went to Philadelphia and there was this explosion while we were on our way with AMTRAK...

Good Dog.......Bad Dog.

Not really. They are both great dogs but I had to post this picture that Petra made of my two boys because it captures their personalities better than any picture I have seen.

Tex, the white one, is easy going, never in the way and takes things as they come without any fuss. Johnny on the other hand, is the pathetic one, LOL. As you can see in the picture, he is afraid that he is missing out on something. He is the one that is glued to your leg with every move that you make and if there is just the slightest amount of space to lay next to you, he will find it.

I love this picture Petra.

This is Getting Serious!!!

You know a relationship is getting serious when you spend part of your Christmas Holiday shopping for a new washer and dryer for our house. LOL

We just ended our time together and as always, we had a wonderful time. This trip however was a little different. We are at the point now that we can start making definite plans for the time we will be together for good. The visa paperwork is finally in and now we start the waiting game and knowing how government departments work, it no doubt will be frustrating but we have no choice. Until we get the green light to go forward, we will have to find every opportunity to be together and I can tell you for my part, every time our visits are over it is becoming harder and harder to let go of each other.

We had a great time and did many things together. I will let Petra talk about that and include pictures but what was great was spending Christmas together and really beginning to get that feeling that this is OUR home and treating it in that way. We talked about the little things that couples do in making a home and that was really special to me.

I can't wait until the day comes that this blog will be about our life together and not just the journey of getting there.

I hope 2009 will be as special to all of you as it should be for us.