(Tell me something, do you even look at the acknowledgements in the
books you read? I didn't think so; me either. But we understand why they're
there.)
My time in Holland and working at ISA can safely be called one of the
best experiences in my life. I will feel better if I thank a few people for
helping me make it that way. (I will feel just as bad afterward when I realize
whom I left out.) Since last November when I started writing Waking Up In
Holland, I have mentioned many, many people. I hope that due credit has already
been given. I’d like to mention some of them again and few I’ve
neglected.
with Gwaz in Heaven |
Jim and Ev in Den Haag |
Thanks to Jim and Eveline for just about everything from
being my family far from home to their
practical advice for living in Holland.
It was their big idea that I apply for the job at ISA in the first place.
Susan and Sarah |
Thanks to Dr. Ed Greene and Miss Sarah Grace for hiring me
to teach at ISA. Thanks to Assistant Head Susan Loban for all her concern, care
and intervention. (I still think they should revisit calling someone “head”. OK
I’ll stop.) Thanks to the many, many ISA staff members who supplied everything
from friendly conversation to direct assistance. I should mention my “reading
buddy” Laura Doolittle, the grade two teacher whose class was mentored by mine.
(To Andrew, the GQ guidance counselor in the upper school, I meant it
when I said I wasn’t going to introduce my wife to you. Did you ever meet her?
See?)
Thanks to the many, many strangers who provided answers to
my questions. I am on record regarding the anxiety that accompanies getting on
a train when you are not absolutely sure it’s the right one! Way back when I
decided, whenever possible, if I had to ask someone a question, it would be
someone who looked least likely to want to help me. Worked like a charm. Big
scruffy footballers, neon-haired Goth-types, businessmen reading their morning
papers with briefcases in hand…never once—not a single time—did someone refuse
to help. Most times they went out of their way. (I shall never forget the sweet
old lady in a Paris underground who walked me to my platform, then waited with
me until the train was due to arrive. She didn’t speak English and it wasn’t
her platform!) I decided early on that I would do the same for lost strangers whenever
I could. I sure know what it feels like to spin a map round-and-round wondering
where the heck I was.
Thanks to P.G.C. Hajenius. An occasional Cuban was one of the
great pleasures of living here.
Ronan at Hajenius |
Thanks to the H-Tel staff. They probably thought more than
once when their phone rang or they saw me approaching the front desk, “Uuut, here
we go again.” A special mention of Michael: He is a poster-boy for customer
service.
Many thanks to all my chums back home who sent me cards and
emails. As Cindy has pointed out, living in Europe creates separation on
various levels: one is literal and another—so very much more challenging—is
psychological. Knowing that your family and friends are thinking about you
reduces the proximity. Speaking of that, Gwaz, MLS, Beam and Anna know how much I
appreciate the Facetime/Skype sessions.
To the parents of my students: thank you for trusting me
with your children. You made an old teacher feel pretty good.
…and to Adi, Anna, Ava, Daiki, David, Emma, Goncalo, Kouhei,
Lily, Mitchell, Nicholas, Sara, Sophie, Thomas, Tom, Victorine, Vienna, and Will: We
were only together for six months, but you will stay with
me all the days of my life. You know how I feel about you because I told you so
almost every day. (Am I going to I miss you? Yes! And I won’t change my mind!)
...oh yeah, thanks to you for reading Waking Up In Holland. It's been a gas.