Editor's note: the book reviewed here is written by a contributor to this website.
"At the USA" is a book by Petra Glorie, who documents her experiences as a recent Dutch immigrant to North Carolina. It is the result of a blog she started just before moving to the States and covers about four years. In a humorous and down-to-earth tone the book, written in Dutch, gives an insight in some of the subtle but important differences between the Netherlands and the USA.
Dutch in North Carolina
The book starts with Petra and Ron having arrived in the States, looking for a house in Fuquay Varina, North Carolina. Petra: "I started my blog in 2005, with our preparations for moving to the States. I wanted a way to stay in touch with my friends and family at home. The book picks up from the moment we arrived in the States."
The book describes Petra's everyday life in NC and her adjustment to new habits and lifestyle. For example, when Petra and Ron decided to build a brick path in their backyard, the folks at the local Lowe's were amazed that they were doing this themselves. Petra and Ron on their end, were almost intimidated by the level of service they received in the store, from the advice to the help with loading of their car with the bricks -- "We were smiling and couldn't possibly picture this great service at the Gamma store in the Netherlands..."
A recurring and funny theme are Petra's experiences at the DMV. Somehow, Petra ends up in many hilarious situations, which makes the book very entertaining (for example, the chapter on the escaped sheep). Her two dogs Connor and Stacey are main characters in many chapters.
For Petra, one of the highlights of the book is President Obama's visit to North Carolina. Says Petra: "He came to Raleigh a few days before he became President, and we went to see him. It really struck me then that I was in the States. In the Netherlands the American President was always very far, and now we saw him in real life!"
From blog to book
Petra says that the idea to make a book really came from her readers. "They encouraged me to write a book of our experiences".
"I started working on it in August 2009. It took me 18 months to make a selection of my blog posts for the book, and to rewrite them for publication." Her husband Ron adds: "She went through all 1250 articles, and carefully selected them. Only 106 articles made it in the book; that selection took a long time."
"At the USA"
Author: Petra Glorie
ISBN: 978-90-816629-1-8
229 pages, paperback. Written in Dutch.
http://www.attheusa.com