Unfortunately Daan broke his collar bone the
night before our take off, but after seeing a doctor and with his arm in a cool bandage,
we were on the road again.In February 1999 we moved out of Seoul. In two days all our stuff was packed in a container. With only two suitcases we stood in front of our apartment. A strange moment. Our life in Korea is over, history, the long weekends camping and driving, all what we learned about Korean history and the Korean people now. Luckily we have many good memories to take with us.
In February, Hans had some work to do in Singapore so Daan and I made a stopover there on our way to Holland. We joined Hans in Singapore, a perfect place to relax after the hectic days prior to our departure from Seoul. We enjoyed Singapore 's summer, the food and the city.
After a week in Singapore Daan and I went to Holland. At the airport in Singapore were many Dutch people and Daan started talking with them without stopping. He was very surprised to meet so many people who actually understood what he was saying, that was a new experience!
Hans continued his businesstrip to India, Taiwan and Japan but we went straight back to Holland. However after a few days, we departed already. With grandmother Gerry we went to Lanzerotte were we spent most of the time on the beach or near the pool. Daan learned the domino game and went fishing every day.
After Lanzerotte we returned to Holland were we had to wait until we could move to out final destination: USA. Our US visa was not ready and Hans was still on his businesstrip so we rented an apartment on the beach-side in Bergen aan Zee. Many friends visited us there and three times a day we went to the beach.
Most fun we had with the kite (thanks to Marleen and Bart) , the line broke and the kite was gone. so searching in the dunes took some time, but finally a man standing on his balcony called us that he had found the kite.
When Hans arrived in Holland we decided to rent a camper and see
a bit of Scandinavia. Our goal was Legoland in Denmark. Unfortunately Daan broke his collar bone the
night before our take off, but after seeing a doctor and with his arm in a cool bandage,
we were on the road again.
Denmark is a beautiful spacious country, many places reminded us of Holland, pretty farmhouses and nice tiny villages. Musea such as Andersen's birthhouse and the Viking musea were interesting for all of us and visiting Legoland was a dream fullfilled for Daan (and Hans).
We came back after a week, and drove the camper to Amsterdam to pick up our visa, where the pictrue of Daan and his bandage helped to speed up the process. We returned the camper, took the train home and one day later it was time to start our new live in the US.
We picking up a rent-a-car at Detroit airport and drove to our new home, a temporary appartment with swimming pool, tennis court and gym. Next trip was to the "Hiller" supermarket close by that Kimiko had told us about. We were impressed by the huge variety of products, and the over-sized packages.
Our first impression of Detroit was: Wow ! all you see is big: Cars, food-servings, people... No time for second impressions yet.
Very soon after arriving, Daan started to go to pre-school. The official :Kindergarten does not start till. 2000.
It is amazing how his English improves. Even at home, when he plays alone, he speaks and sings English now, and is using words we don't understand. Some are especially challenging, it tooks us quite some time to find out what "Pikachu" is, as it is only a recent addition to the English language and not listed in any dictionaries.
When Daan realized that he spoke Enghlish at home, he was sad. He was afraid to lose his Dutch and no longer be able to communicate with his grandma.
Daan also was afraid to lose his own Dutch personality. "They call me Dan, not Daan: he said and "The all speak English, but I am Dutch" he once cried.
With Dutch books (we enjoyed Wiplala very much, Erie) and a strict "Dutch-only" policy at home we try to have Daan maintain his Dutch.