Mommy Talk

I went to The Hague to apply for a Philippine passport for my daughter. The Philippine passport is even a lot more expensive than the new biometric Dutch passport. I guess you have to pay for the cost of sustaining the diplomats who have to do some paper work and some legalization stuff? For whatever it is worth, I would like to give my daughter her birth right, to have the Filipino citizenship. My brother quipped that at least she can run for public office later (yikes!) and for practical reasons, her entitlement to 100% property ownership. The world is getting smaller and who knows where my daughter will eventually settle, at least she has several choices. Perhaps she may even acquire another citizenship when it is time for us to leave the Netherlands.

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Letting go is never easy. The first time I left my daughter with the babysitter, I had to stop myself from frequently calling home. Fortunately, I met this babysitter who is willing to come to our place a few times a week so at least I know that my daughter is within her own familiar environment. By early next year, when she is a little bit older, we plan to bring her to the nursery so she can have her own social network. Unfortunately, it is not that easy to get a slot at the daycare (at least the one within walking distance from our place), and we even have to be waitlisted for the days we want to bring her there. I occassionally receive emails from friends back home complaining about having a very busy life, juggling between work and home, and how difficult it is to manage the household (you know nanny or helper woes). I wish I could have that kind of luxury problem! There are times when I miss the small perks living in the Philippines, when you can have all the support you can get for all your household concerns. Sigh.

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I still get frustrated about the lack of customer service in this country, even if I have been living here for two years. Customer service is really not part of the Dutch vocabulary. In fact it is almost nonexistent.

Most often than not, I get the impression that sales people from the shops are not really interested to sell or if you did actually buy, it seems like you are the one who should be thankful for having the privilege of being served! And oh, ask them some question about the product, most often than not they don't have any clue.

Just a few weeks ago, I brought a Colombian friend visiting from London to a shop of a Dutch high street designer. It was not very busy and the sales personnel were just chatting and almost pretending not to have seen us, despite the fact that we were literally going through the clothes. I would have left instantly, but I know that my friend was really into the shopping mode and we were pressed for time. The only time the sales personnel entertained us was when we asked for the availability of our sizes. If I had a choice I would not have given the business to them, but I guess it was the sales personnel lucky day having sold (without really trying) several hundred euros worth of clothes. Oh, we were offered tea, coffee or water after.

Now that I have a baby, I realized that a lot of facilities here are not very baby or child friendly. It is almost a blessing to get into an establishment with some decent (i mean decent) baby changing facilities. There was a time when my husband and I ended up changing nappies inside our car or because out of desperation, had to settle for a small hallway or side table! It is almost as if the establishments don't cater for parents with children. Even the relatively big department stores have lousy changing facilities.

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2006 has been the year of babies. That's what they also claim in Hollywood. The last couple of months, I have been busy visiting friends or sending cards to relatives/friends who have also recently given birth. Last night my husband got a call from our friend to inform us that they are on the way to the hospital, and that perhaps the birth of their firstborn will happen any time soon. We could not help but remember that a few months ago, we were exactly in the same situation. There is a joke among our friends that pregnancy is very contagious. In a way, I find it cool because my daughter will have several playmates her age. My husband and his mates are looking forward to the day when they can sit out in the terrace, drink their cold beer while having their babies in tow. As for me, it is always good to meet up with fellow mommies---let the kids interact while the mommies play. Some years ago, I used to think that "baby talks" are boring, you know when the moms start exchanging experiences, while you can't wait to get on to the next topic (which will never happen anyway). I guess I would now be considered boring...