Can you talk to me in English?

My five year old is worried about his English. Today in the car:

'Mum, can you talk to me in English?' 'I'm afraid I'll forget my English when we go to school in Australia'.

We've been in Holland now for three weeks. Three weeks ago his sentences consisted of 60% Dutch and 40% English. Now it's 95% Dutch and 5% English. Young children can switch so easily.

I explained to Sebastiaan that he'll remember his English as soon as we arrive in Sydney. He then asked if we could wait sending him to school until he thinks his English is good enough. So cute.

Sinterklaas (continued)

Today was a wonderful day with lots of sunshine and...Sinterklaas (again) and his Black Petes (Zwarte Pieten). Australia seems so far away when I'm here. This is a picture of the Zwarte Pieten at the 'Wijnhuistower' of Zutphen built in the 17th century. Wow!

First blog post

It feels strange to write this first blog post. It's strange because it's the first post and the blog looks so empty. It's also strange to write in English. My previous blog (www.marcelsandra.blogspot.com) is in Dutch. On this blog I will write about our Australian experience but foremost I want to share information with others interested in Sydney.

I write this blog post as if I already live in Australia. This is not the case! I'm still in Holland where I try to explain my kids about the two Santa Clauses: the Dutch Santa Claus (or Sinterklaas) and the English one. The Dutch Santa Claus or 'Sinterklaas' celebrates his birthday on December 5. He then goes back to Spain. Does that make sense?

Tomorrow I will dress up my kids as Black Peet (zwarte piet) to see the arrival of Sinterklaas in the Dutch city of Zutphen, a beautifull old town in the East of the Netherlands. If you want to visit Zutphen (about 1 hour by train from Amsterdam), this is the website from the local tourist office. The site is in Dutch and in German. No English. Sorry.

This is a picture of my daughter watching the arrival of Sinterklaas in Woerden last week: