I spent most of today travelling back and forward between Zaandam (where I’m currently officially living) and Zaandijk (where the city hall is) and Koog-aan-Zijn (the nearest train station), picking up my residence permit. Every few minutes now I take it out of my pocket and look at it, just reassuring myself that it hasn’t vanished like fairy gold… Four months waiting, it’s arrived just in time to not really be very useful for the rest of the year. But it’s here, and it’s got my name on it, and the photo is terrible, so it must be geniune.

Next week, sofi number for the tax office. Next month, my first full paycheck. Stay tuned…