Monday, October 09, 2006
4 months Europe.........
4 months have passed and tomorrow we will fly back to Australia, via Hong Kong where we hope to meet Yin Kwan (Edith) again after she finishes work (she is a teacher). We are sad to leave so many nice people behind, some of whom are struggling with their health. But we are looking forward to seeing our kids and friends again.
We have spent time with both Tanneke’s parents and my mother and we are delighted that my mother has fully recovered. She is home again and will get some help from different organizations with house cleaning and she can order food if she wants to, which gets delivered to her door. This morning we rang her neurologist and it has been confirmed that she has been dismissed from hospital without conditions, which means she is out shopping with Tanneke at the moment and Oma is driving her car again! She is allowed to walk and bike, whatever she wants to do.
Tanneke’s primary school reunion was unforgettable, with almost all (4 have passed away and a few could not make it) students turning up and the headmaster being the centre again; Jan Abma is 80 and still extremely active. Old stories of love, original drawings and “poesie albums” were circulating and during the 6 hour get-together the committee had organized a boat tour through the canals of Leeuwarden.
During that time I had a look at the Lauwers meer, and the new polder not far from our farm in Kommerzijl. Everything has changed of course, but the Dutch are still the hard working and innovative people who seem to adapt well to new market forces.
My mother treated us and Addy and Willem with a very nice meal at a restaurant within walking distance of her apartment.
Today we are packing and doing some small jobs around the house.
We want to thank our parents, our families and all our friends for making us feel so welcome and sharing so many good times. We regret that we were not able to see everyone that we had hoped, but we trust that there will be another time. Of course you are welcome to visit us in Australia, but remember that for at least another year, we will be “homeless”. If you like camping, just bring your tent and join us!
We will try to continue this blog while we are traveling around the Australian continent but there will be times when we are “out of range” unless you can get us on the HF radio.
