We received our certified marriage certificates yesterday. Multiple marriage certificates? Yep, we requested multiple copies since, for example, I need to send a copy including apostille to The Hague so our marriage will be legally registered in the Netherlands also (if we ever move there, at least they know we are legally married), I also need to send a copy to the USCIS for my adjustment of status (so I can get my greencard) and Michelle needed one for her name changes (since she carries my name now).

So today we were kind of busy to get Michelle’s name change into the systems. We went, for example, to one of the social security offices (where it was a bit more busy than last time when I had to be there) to get a new social security card for her and from there on we went to the DMV since Michelle also needed to do a name change on her driver license.

I told Michelle this morning that, if it would not be too busy at the DMV, that I would possibly take the eyetest and the written test (you don’t need an appointment as it is a walk in). I took my social security card with me because you cannot get your exams done without it. When we arrived we noticed that it was not very busy so both Michelle and I filled some forms out, Michelle for her name change and me for the Hawaii driver license.

When it was my turn (this was almost at the same time as Michelle had her turn, just at a different window), I asked what would happen to my current Dutch driver license. This one had to be invalidated according to the lady since you are not allowed to have more than 1 driver license (which makes sense) but it would be returned to me (they make a hole in it or something), which is nice since that makes it easier for me to request a new driver license in the Netherlands, if we ever move to the Netherlands (if I didn’t get it back, I could have requested a new one by just saying I would have lost my old one since, apparantly, that goes quite easy hehe, but ok, that is not needed ).

Ok, so it was my turn (I can talk sometimes, I know haha). First the lady was going to check my eyes… this is something which really frightened me as, some may know, I had to wear glasses until I was 15 years old since I got a really bad vision on my right eye, I can hardly see anything through that eye. And yes, with my luck, I had to read the sixth row with my right eye… all I saw was a white square, nothing else haha. I explained the situation to the lady behind the counter and she said that it was no problem and that I could try with my left eye and that went, as expected, without any problem at all. The left eye is completely ok, I can read small texts from quite some distance with that eye and I can see distances and calculate speeds with it and, fortunately, it was ok for the lady too as I heard that I passed my eye test

And then it was time for the written exam.. I got a sheet with 30 questions from which I needed to answer 24 correctly…. hahaha, I know, it is not much at all! Back in the Netherlands I had to answer 70 questions and was only allowed 7 wrong answers, that would be a bit heavier for a test I think but oh well. I thought that the questions itself were very simple too (and according to Michelle there are still lots of people who fail on it). They were all multiple choice questions and, yah, when there is an answer such as ‘this is done to harrass the driver’, then you will not pick that answer of course lol, oh well, there were still 3 other possible answers left haha.

Anyways, I gave my answers back to the lady after a while, I could take a seat and after a few minutes I heard the answer: Passed

I learned that I only had one error, according to the lady behind the counter this was pretty good.. I don’t know, it looked very simple to me, I have the feeling that almost every idiot should be able to get a license with these questions haha. I think I know the wrong answer also since it was a situation that I never experienced before and since it is not something that you would ever see in the Netherlands but oh well, just one wrong answer is doable hehe. The fun thing, at least in my opinion, is that I was not prepared for the exam, all I did this morning was trying a few questions which I could possible see at the exam (8 or something) and that was what made me decide to actually go for it or not haha.

So I got my “instruction permit” now, some kind of pass that almost looks identical to a Hawaiian driver license but with the exception that I am ‘only allowed to drive when there is an adult of minimal 21 years of age next to me with a valid driver license’. Basically it is the permit that allows you to go on the road and actually learn how to drive. To me it is a nice card but it does not have much value as of yet for me since my Dutch driver license is still valid (until I receive my Hawaii driver license). Ok, maybe it has some value tho… I don’t have to walk around with my passport since this is also a valid identification, and I can get “kama’aina” (locals) discounts on some things which are cheaper for locals, or even for free like some museums, since it is the proof that I actually live here (Michelle’s mom gave me, by the way, an American flag for this reason this afternoon, like I am already an American hahaha)

The next thing that I need to do in order to get the Hawaii driver license is the road test. From what I have heard of it, it shouldn’t be too hard, sometimes it is just a circle around the parkinglot but it usually does not take longer than 30 minutes (or so they say). I am curious what it will be… I could go tomorrow according to the people at the DMV since this is also just walk-in (in the morning that is)… I wont go tomorrow since I have to take the car of Michelle’s mother and something has to be done on that first (I can’t take ‘our’ (Michelle’s) car since it is not exactly totally legal with the tires and the dark foil on the windows lol).

Right, after this we went for some lunch, only to continue our excursion with the many banks that we had to visit. From the four banks that we visited we could only get Michelle’s name change done in 1 bank. Michelle has a joint account with her mother at the other banks and since they have to update their signature files, Michelle’s mother has to co-sign those signature files so after that we went home so Michelle could go to the other banks for her name change and after that, the day was almost over again hehe

One of these days I will request my adjustment of status, employment authorization and advance parole and such. Tomorrow we will make some passport pictures for this, and when I know more about all this, or something else, I will write it here again

It hasn’t been so long ago since I wrote a post but it seemed like a good idea to me to make an update since we have had some things happening the last few days

We had our wedding party last Saturday which was organized by Michelle’s mother. At first we just wanted to keep our marriage small and such but yeah, we really couldn’t do without a party haha. At first I was feeling not so happy about it, especially because I did not know anybody but it all turned out for the best, I really enjoyed myself and I have seen about everybody on this island now, haha, ok ok, not everyone on this island but at least most of the relatives and friends that live on this island. I think there was at least 60 people on the party hehe.

The party took place at our house; partially in the carport, a part at the side of the house under neath a roof and partially under a tent which was put up for this event. It was good that everything was covered since the weather wasn’t that great, it was a bit as if I never left the Netherlands last weekend as it was raining constantly (it was just a bit warmer than what it would have been in the Netherlands haha). We also had lots of food, lots of Filipino food and also Hawaiian food and where was, for example, also a complete roasted pig, as you can see on the next picture:

The gates were decorated with plants and so-called Tiki Torches. All in all it was pretty nice and I really enjoyed myself but, like I said, it was a bit sad that it was raining almost constantly last weekend.

And since I am talking about raining anyways, it is also like whenever it rains over here, you can’t really see far anymore and it looks like the clouds are very low also, its an impression which I get when I compare it to the Netherlands. And as you can see on the next picture, it is completely grey:

As you could see, it isn’t exactly a photo which you would expect to take on Hawaii hehe. And like I said about the low clouds, normally you should see the mountains in the distance of the picture (at least the beginning of them) but with that bad weather you don’t really see it, all mountains (in every direction) are completely gone into the clouds (Michelle told me last year already that you really need to turn on your foglights sometimes with that kind of weather in the mountains, I can imagine why).

And since we’re talking about things that does not really fit into Hawaii (or at least not according to our (my) European thoughts about Hawaii), what about the next pictures?

I do not think it will fit exactly in my thoughts about Hawaii.. and every time I am in that area (I am not much in that area, just sometimes), I get the feeling that I am not on Hawaii but in some part of North America or somewhere in Northern Europe. I can see that the trees and plants are different then in the Netherlands for example but since there are some sort of conifers over here (and yes, even some sort of pine trees (specially farmed though) as we know them in Europe) and other kind of trees which you don’t really expect to be here, it kinda makes it special.

Like I said to my mother before, you can basically find the world in small on Hawaii, you can find snow (on the biggest mountain (vulcano) of Big Island, at about 4 kilometers height), you can find rain forests here, forests, desert-like areas and you can go on about this. There are areas where it rains about 360 days per year and there are areas where they only have rain a few days per year. There is so much variation in the nature here, it is really incredible.

But ok, I started this post telling about things that has happened to us in the last few days. So, last Saturday I also received my social security number which is pretty fast (and which I don’t mind hehe).. I don’t like it too much, though, since I ‘may’ now pay taxes in the US but oh well, without this number you cannot do much in the States, you need it with so many things.. you need it when you want a drivers license, to accept work (when you have work authorization that is), to requests certain things in the immigration process, to open a bank account and it continues.

By the way, we went with my newly received social security number towards ‘the bank of Hawaii‘ to add me as an accountholder of one of Michelle’s bankaccounts. This way it will be easier to get credit (and something you really need in the US is not just your social security number but also a (good) credit history, it is a bit of a long story to tell so I wont at the moment haha) and to do other things such as spendi.. I mean saving money.. hahaha

I also have been added to Michelle’s membership of Costco and I got my own customercard now. I really like that store, it looks a bit like the Makro in the Netherlands.. It is pretty big, has lots of big shelves, you have to be a member to get in and you buy many things in bulk which can make things cheaper sometimes (and sometimes it doesn’t, just as with the Makro in the Netherlands haha).

As you can see, we try to keep ourselves busy, we will also do some real sightseeing soon since we still have quite a few things on our list.. to name a few: ‘Iolani Palace, Sea Life, de North Shore, and there are many more things we want to see or do but luckily we will have plenty of time for that

This morning we went towards the west, towards Kapolei, where I had to apply for a social security number (in Dutch you would say personsnumber or ’sofi’-number) at the SSA, the Social Security Administration.

I need this number basically to get a drivers license (I got a Dutch drivers license but this is only valid in the state of Hawaii for one year after entry into the US, plus a drivers license is a valid ID over here), to be able to open a bankaccount, to start certain insurances, pay taxes (oh joy :P) and there are so many more things which makes it necessary for me to get a social security number.

Requesting the social security number was pretty simple, I had the form with me to apply for the social security number, I had my ID with and some other papers which, eventually, I didn’t need to have as the form to request for the social security number and the passport were sufficient. It was my turn after about 20 minutes of waiting and after a short while I got to hear that my social security card would be sent to me within two weeks.

After this we drove towards Chinatown in Honolulu to see if we can find a white Hula shirt for me; I want one for our wedding next monday and on our way towards town we always pass by Pearl Harbor where lately you can find some large white ball on pillars in the water, it is some sort of a large radar installation. We took a picture of it from the freeway:

It might look a bit small on the picture but it is really big.

Anyways, we went towards Chinatown and found indeed a white Aloha shirt. It is unbelievable but we were looking for one since I arrived here in Hawaii, for some reason they’re all sold out at all the stores.

Since we were in Chinatown anyways, we went towards some restaurant where we ate at a ‘real’ Chinese. It may sound weird to say ‘real’ Chinese but we like to call it like that as they serve the real Chinese dishes and not the standard watered down Chinese for western people (I admit, it isn’t less yummy but still, I like the ‘real’ Chinese food also).

After this we went back home and on our way home we found out that on the receipt of the social security number request was a wrong zipcode. I called the social security administration and they asked me to go back to the office to get it fixed. After I dropped Michelle of at home (her mom had to leave so she had to watch the clients), I drove back to Kapolei.

Instead of the twenty minutes of waiting time earlier today, I was outside after being inside for less than a minute as there was nobody else (the people in front of me just left). I explained my story and it was no problem at all, they would fix it and I could go home again. I took some pictures on my way home of the area I was driving in (while I drove so some pictures may be a bit blurry):

The first two pictures are taken of the mountains, or the beginning of the mountains, at the west side of Oahu.. I see these mountains every morning when I wake up (a bit more of the side tho so they are a bit bigger and larger), the third picture is of the road which I took back to Waipahu and in the distance you can see the mountains at the east side of Oahu. Here are some more pictures::

On the first picture you can see, if you look careful, Honolulu at the far right side and you should be able to see that radar thing on the right side. In the second picture you can find Pearl City and the mountains in the distance again from the east side of Oahu and the last picture is where you enter Waipahu on the southwest side, a bit the busy side of Waipahu where we do not live (we’re at the east side). You can also see that it is about time for the rainseason to start as the grass can use some water (and from the looks of it, it already seems like the rainseason started a bit as it rained a lot of times the last couple of days (just as you think to get rid of all the rain by leaving the Netherlands haha).

So, now we just have to wait for about two weeks and I can try to get my drivers license, I can ask for a change of status and all those other things. But first: our marriage next monday