Many of you know it, moving around as a PhD/Post-doc, but maybe fewer of you have your whole family with four kids to bring with. This has lead to some funny stories. Here are three:

Our kids have been vaccinated in different countries (not Covid, the “normal vaccines 😉 ), but the countries differ in what is vaccinated when. To be sure that our kids are vaccinated correctly we went to the doctor with all the vaccines they’ve had and asked, as a consequence she had a minor heart attack. Soo, Arthur was more vaccinated than Johanna, despite Johanna being older. Nora had some vaccines three times, but skipped others. Arthur and Johanna were sent home from the nursery, because our vaccination attestations were too confusing and they weren’t sure whether they’ve been vaccinated against measles (Johanna twice, but Arthur not sufficiently…). But now it appears we’ve got it all covered.

Today (6th September 2022) will be Nora’s first day of school, what a big step. That is for most kids. This will now be her first day of school for the third time. She’s had one way back in Belgium, where school starts at the age of two and a half. And she’s had one back in the US a year ago. That said, she’s still quite exited 🙂

We recently moved to Landau in der Pfalz, Germany. At some point in our first conversation with a stranger (or better said: a potential new friend), people like to ask:
Stranger: “So, where did you move from?“
Wife: “We moved here from the US.”
S: “Oh wow! How did you get all your furniture here?”
W:”Ah well, that actually came from Belgium where it has been in storage for a little over a year.”
S: “Ah ok. That’s where your family is from then?”
W: “Uhm no, we lived in the French speaking part. I am speaking Dutch, my family is from the Netherlands.”
S: “Ah ok!” (By this time they think they have figured it all out … Then they just want to confirm their theory)
S: “So you flew here from the US and had your stuff come from Belgium?”
W: “Uhm no. We flew to Switzerland were my husband is from. His and my parents and siblings live there and we spent most of our lives there. We spent a month there to visit friends and family and then drove to Germany with everything we had with us on the plane.”
S: “Ok. So you are Dutch, lived in Switzerland for most of your life, spent some years in Belgium, then in the US and moved now to this little place in Germany. And you have 4 kids under the age of 7?!.”
W: “Correct . Johanna, our 5 year old, has lived in 4 different countries and has been fluent in 4 languages at some point in her life. “