Ellen In Amerika!"MY EMIGRATION TO AMERICA AND MY ADJUSTMENT TO LIFE IN CALIFORNIA SINCE SEPTEMBER 2008"

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As I wrote last Tuesday, Dan has had the week off, and that was so nice. He worked mainly for Ruysdeal Design, but we did things together as well. Also on Tuesday, I talked with Marja and John. We talked about their visit later this year and how we can implement that with our work schedules. We all very much look forward to their visit! Tuesday afternoon at 3.15 PM, we picked up Ryan from school and because he needed a pair of black jeans, we went shopping. I really loved it. He  got himself a nice pair of 501 Levis which looks good on him.

Wednesday and Thursday I worked for the school district. It was again a delight. I had a big laugh with one of the kids. This boy is almost constantly in a fantasy world. Sometimes he is a G.I. Joe, and then he is Superman or the Hulk. But he is very serious in his “role”.  Wednesday, he was  the hulk, and he showed during the Art session how strong he was. He made his chest big and spoke in a low voice that he was so strong etc. I tried to be funny and rolled up my sleeves and showed that I have also big muscles. The boy looked at my bended arms and with a big amazed expression on his face he said loud: ” WOW”!! It was so funny. I laughed loud and he looked a bit disturbed at me because he was serious about it!

Thursday we planned a day off. Because I worked for the school district, we could not go until 12.30 PM. With our bikes on the back of the car, we drove up to  Santa Monica. Because Dan’s mom was having her birthday, we talked with her during our drive. At the beach of Santa Monica we ate our lunch. Two guys from Germany asked us to take a picture of them. Of course we did that and they were so kind to take one of us.

From there we biked on the bike path along the beach. It was so wonderful. It felt as a vacation. The weather was gorgeous  and we saw so many different people. We biked to Venice Beach in Los Angeles. There we planned to bike to the canals in Venice. Annet told us about it, but unfortunately, we got lost. We ended up at Marine Del Rey, a kind of harbor with lots and lots of yachts. Finally after driving 20 minutes further, we found it. We drove into the small streets behind the boulevard and there we found the canals of Venice! It is a total different world. First you bike on Venice Beach with all the crazy people and shops and then, suddenly it is quiet.

The canals, the beautiful small houses, the bridges and the side walks had an atmosphere of calmness, serenity. After enjoying our time there, we went to Washington street and we had a nice cup of coffee at a Starbucks. It started to get late, so we biked back to Santa Monica. It was a wonderful day. I am glad we were able to go there.

Friday I talked on the phone for some time with my son Niels and my brother Jos. My oldest brother is so much looking forward to the World Championship Soccer in South Africa which will start Friday, June 11th. I hope we here can see also this event.

At 3.30 PM, I had to go to the hospital for the evening shift. It went, by my own surprise, very well. It was actually kind of fun.  There were several code Blues, which I handled well. I found out that I would have the day off on Sunday. This was a very welcome surprise.  After Dan picked me up, at home we watched some Law and Order episodes. Ryan is also becoming a big fan of this series. That is convenient

Saturday,  I worked again the split shift in the hospital. During my 4 hour break we quickly did some groceries, had lunch and we took a nap, then it was already time for making dinner and go to work for the second part of my shift. At home later that night, I took a hot shower and we watched Payback with Mel Gibson. I did not really like the movie. It was a bit too violent for my taste.

Today, I enjoyed my day off so much. I did a lot though. I worked in the back and front yard. I had a nice break because Coby called me. Yesterday Dan bought more bird food and we have again constantly birds around our bird feeder. It is fun to watch them from our kitchen window. After a light lunch, Dan and I washed and waxed the car. That was very much needed. Now, the car looks clean and shiny again! Dan grilled hamburgers, and we had a nice dinner.  I made a lemon cake with fresh lemon zest in it. It was a nice dessert. Dan and Ryan ate two big pieces! It is almost 9.00 PM, Dan just finished a phone call with his dad. He and Ann are doing well, which is very nice to hear! Ryan had to work on a essay about Romeo and Juliette for his English class. Dan will bring him back to his mother’s house soon.

I am not sure if I need to work tomorrow for the school district. We’ll see. I wish you all a wonderful week!

Yesterday,  my nephew Remco had his birthday, and today my friend Sonja  is the birthday girl. Congrats to you both!!

Again it has been a pretty busy week. 1 day off in 10 days is not exactly what I wished for This new life of mine is so different, but still I enjoy it. Even when it is getting a bit too much. And, dear, dear Joy, I am okay. I am very touched by your comment, you asked if I were okay! It is just that I work often for the schools and then in the evening I work for the hospital. I do not have to accept every job offering from the school district, but the problem is, I do like that work so much. The only big downside of this all is the weekend shifts. I know for now, I just have to accept the situation and wait until the next school year. If I am qualified for the new position, and work full time for the school district, I can skip the weekend jobs at the hospital. Last Thursday, I had a talk with the HR department from the school district. Because of my previous exam results, I do not have to do the new exam for the Para educator III position, and I am already through to the next round, which will be the interview with the members of the school board and some teachers. That will be kind of tough, but we will see how things will go. Last week, I was sent to schools I’ve been before. It was so nice that the kids start to recognize me.

Last Friday I had an appointment for a blood draw at 7.00 AM. I had to fast so as soon as we were done, we drove back home, had a quick cup of coffee and then Dan drove me to the school in that “bad”  neighborhood. I had to work there until 1.00 PM. Around 1.30 PM, I came home, started to do some errands in and around the house and made dinner. Then, at 4.30 PM, I went to the hospital for the evening shift.  Saturday I had a split shift again. After the morning shift, Dan picked me up, and we went to the bank where we had a talk with our contact person. This talk was a bit longer than we anticipated, so after our talk, we had to rush to the stores to do the groceries. Back home, I made dinner and then it was already time to go for the next shift. Luckily, it wasn’t too slow, so the time went by very quickly.  Dan and I were pretty tired, so we just watched a little bit of TV and went to bed.

This morning I had a 4 hours shift at the hospital. It was pretty slow, so I could take off earlier. That was very convenient for me, because I had to buy some food and presents for my monthly gathering with my Dutch friends. At 3.00 PM, Dan dropped me off at the house of Annika, and we all had a great time. First, we went to the beach for a stern walk. It was very windy and sunny weather. The waves were spectacular. The downside was, that the sand was all over us: in our hair, mouth and shoes! Back at her house, we had some nice hors d’oeuvres and the main dish was also delicious. It was again a very nice gathering. It was funny, that we were talking Dutch with lots of English words in it! Marianne, one of the Dutch friends, is flying this Wednesday to Holland for a family visit. We envy her very much!

This coming week will be very busy as well. I am not sure when I can write again. I hope I will find some time because I do like to do this writing a lot!

Sunday, was a fun day, although I had the split shift again. After the morning shift, Dan and Ryan picked me up, and we drove to Simi Valley to pick up something from a friend. It such a nice drive to that area. In our city, which is near the ocean, it was cloudy weather and a bit foggy. In Simi Valley it was beautiful, sunny weather. After picking up what we came for, we drove back home. Ryan had to work on my PC for his homework and I started to make dinner. Around 4.45 PM, Dan drove me back to work. The evening shift was busy and went well.

Monday, was a day at the house. I had to do 3 big loads of laundries (we have a huge washing machine). I did not have enough space on my laundry pole outside, so I had to use the dryer also. I do not like to use the dryer that often. Anyway, around 3PM, I went outside to get the last laundry from the pole, when it just started to rain That was so weird. And, lucky for me, all clothes were dry. The rest of the day was normal cleaning stuff. I have to say, now and then, a day like this is nice. I also had a long talk with my sister Lotty.  She has a job again! I am so happy for her and also so proud. She has applied for a job day and night for the past 8 months. She is the living proof the perseverance always wins!  Congrats sis, and good luck  on your first working day! When I picked up the mail, I had a nice surprise again. My other sister Marja, had sent me another book of John Stanford! Wow! this was so nice again. Thank you big sis!

Today, I was assigned a job at the middle school, which is located  around the corner. The class I had to assist was with 7th and 8th graders. I wasn’t sure I was going to like this class very much. But it turned out to be really fun. The kids were very friendly and polite. But I have to say the teacher was pretty strict with them in a good way. They were not able to fool around with her. The day went by quickly. Ryan is here again because his mother has to work late. I was planning to make a salad, but he does not like that so much, so I have to come up with something else. I think I’ll make tuna sandwiches with tomatoes, lettuce (from our own garden),  bacon and tuna of course! I hope it will taste good!

Come to think of recipes, not sure of you readers have seen this recipe in the recipes section of this site, but this is my all time favorite one, and I invented it myself! (I am a little bit proud of that ) Please, try it out, and let me know if you like it. One tip: use lots of Italian seasoning, about 2-3 tablespoons, and when you have the warm pasta on your plate, top it with lots and lots of shredded and powdered Parmesan cheese.  Bon Appetite!

Ingredients for Olive Pasta with Chili and Garlic:

• 2 tablespoons of Olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of water
• 200 gr. small pieces of bacon or roasted ham or broiled chicken
• 4 Garlic chunks
• 1 red chili pepper
• 1 red or green bell pepper
• 3 tbs of Italian herbs and salt
• Fresh shredded Parmesan cheese
• Powder Parmesan cheese
• Fresh Tagliatelle, Angel hair or spaghetti etc. (no macaroni)

Directions:

1. Boil the pasta.
2. Chop the bacon or ham into small pieces.
3. Wash the veggies and chop the garlic, chili pepper and bell peppers in small pieces. For spicy pasta, leave the seeds in the chili.
4. Heat the olive oil and water in a wok or other wide pan.
5. If you use bacon, then put that in first, if it is ham or cooked chicken, you can add that later.
6. Add the veggies, garlic, Italian herbs and salt and stir it.
7. Cook it low for about 5 minutes.
8. Drain the pasta and add it to the mix and stir it well.
9. Leave the pan on the stove for a few more minutes and set the table.

This meal is so good when you have the pasta on your plate, and you add lots and lots of fresh shredded and powdered Parmesan cheese to it.

Serve this meal with a salad (Caesar) and garlic bread. Muscat wine goes perfectly with this dinner.

Eet smakelijk, bon appétit, Guten Appetit!

Source: Ellen Schaefer