White Easter

I'm dreaming of a white ... Easter. Temperatures went as low as -4 degrees C last night and snow is predicted for today or the tonight! I remember seeing snow in Holland in April once, but I didn't expect this would be another year like that :-) On the other hand, wouldn't it be great for Emma and Janne, to see snow during their first month in the Netherlands? At the moment (8 am), there is not a cloud in the sky and it looks like a wonderful (winter) day.

Emma, Janne and me all have a cold, only Pieter has a escaped until now. Not for long probably, with the three of us wheezing and sneezing around him. I went to the doctor with Janne earlier this week, because she has a little eye infection. When I called the doctor, the first reaction was that I should wash her eyes and if it was still not ok the next day, I could call again to make an appointment. Difference #1 with Taiwan. I asked the docter if there is anything I can give Janne for her cold. 'No, there isn't anything for a cold, it's best if she gets over it by herself'. Difference #2. If one of them had a cold in Hsinchu, the doctor imediately prescribed a nice mix of medication; one for cough, one for sore throat and one for runny nose. And if the runny nose turned yellow or green, antibiotics where definitely required. Medical care in Taiwan was fast, efficient, cheap and extremely service oriented. They were also very easy with medication, which is not always necessary.

Yesterday, we did our first weekly grocery shopping. It wasn't too bad. Cost of a cartload of items was about the same as in Hsinchu, which is what we expected. We were pre-warned, that it would not be cheaper and might even be more expensive here. First experience is that is seems to be about the same. I wonder if this means that the COLA (cost of living adjustment) index will go down even more for ex-pats in Taiwan?

Congratulations to Ma Ying-Jou (my Sun Moon Lake swim-buddy) and the KMT. They won the presidential elections in Taiwan yesterday. After 8 years of democratic party rule, the country is back in the hands of the nationalist party. Eveybody is interested to see if/how this will change the Cross Strait Relations (with China).
I added a picture of our temporary house in Veldhoven this time,because it is such a very typical Dutch house. The one us Lowlanders apparantly are famous for; the so called 'doorzon-woning'. These houses have a living room that runs from the front straight to the back of the house, so the sun can shine through the house. This means that anyone walking by, can look through the house as well ...

The wonderful sunny, albeit very cold, morning means that Emma and Janne are going to look for easter eggs in an hour or so. Maybe we can even go for an Easter walk.

Happy Easter!