Culture shock is not what I thought it would be

I'd read that the Netherlands, and The Hague especially, was a great place for novice expats to move to because of how many people speak English. Perhaps this set my expectations too high because it's been a more difficult transition that I'd expected.

I was prepared for a bit of homesickness and longing for familiar people and places.I wasn't prepared to feel exhausted from trying to understand my surroundings.

I knew we wouldn't find all of our usual foods, but I didn't know that every trip to the grocery store would involve google translate.

I wasn't prepared to have to use google maps every time we left our apartment.

As a tourist, these kinds of things are fun. It's all part of the adventure, and you know that it will come to an end in a few days. But, when your kids ask to go swimming and you spend an hour trying to understand where the local pools are, when they're open and how to get there, it doesn't feel fun.

It feels frustrating, and exhausting.

I don't know where to buy black socks for the kids' school uniforms. I can't understand the ingredient list on the shampoo bottles. I couldn't tell you what half the businesses are because the signs are (understandably) in Dutch.

Most of the time, people have been very understanding and accommodating.  And of course, Friedel has been a lifesaver. But, I'm not used to feeling so dependent on others for the day-to-day things and I don't like it.

So, while I was prepared for "culture shock" it wasn't at all what I thought it would be. 

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