New friends! New friends!

Sitting here all by my lonesome tonight, reviewing some IBM e-learning on my laptop, there was a knock on the front door. My first ever knock on the door since I´ve been here!

Open the door and there is a typical Dutch couple: clean-shaven boy and well groomed, blonde girl in boots and tight jeans. With out-stretched hands.

They have come to meet and invite me to a party! Next Satuday at 9pm. A kind of house-warming. And I have luck on my side... they do not know anyone in Hilversum and besides from her sister in Utrecht, no-one in a 2 hour radius from here.

So maybe I have some new friends.

Something I have always taken for granted, but only now realise how difficult and precious it can be.

Indoor Beach Volleyball

We played indoor beach volleyball as a company outing. At first I was horrified at the thought, but it turned out to be a fun activity!

Anne-marie - my colleague @ Rabobank!

My first house guests...

I had my first guests at my house. Fellow South Africans, Elma & Johann. Check out the salad....

Blurred World

I forgot my glasses at home today. This was my world today....

Some more photos...

Some me-photos...

Me with yet another IKEA purchase...

Me, having vlaamse frite!

Me, shopping at.... IKEA!!!

My pa kom kuier... volgende week...

Ek is baie opgewonde! Selfs ´n traan gepi(n)k....

Domestic Goddess

I cannot believe how much of a mess one person can make! It seems that all I am doing is cleaning, dishes, putting clothes away, doing the washing etc... I really miss hired help!

The path to my house....

The door is just under the Diamond sign on the right...

Ring the bell....

Up the stairs...

A little bit on and then right around the corner...

Straight on...

Here is my balcony... but forward for the front door...

Up three steps, open the door...

Public area - turn right....

And open my front door on the right....

Dom Kerk - Utrecht

The biggest church in the Netherlands

Is frustration a sport?

Yumm.. dinner

A tip for dinner...

Salmon packages with a dill sauce,

with bacon-enhanced spinach

(who can eat the stuff plain anyway?)

Ander perspektief

Mense skryf oor hoe hulle die deure ooplos, met die trein werk toe ry, kinders in die straat speel en allerhande ondenkbare dinge vir Suid-Afrikaners wie nog nie na die buiteland verhuis het nie. Self, glo ek al die dinge en dink ook dit is belangrik vir verhoogde lewenskwaliteit. Maar tog klink al die briewe dieselfde. En ek bespeur amper altyd ´n weterbeterige ondertoon, met ´n jammer-gevoel vir die `agtergeblewenes` in Suid-Afrika.

Dit is ´n moeilike ding om te verdedig, want tog is elke een anders, en het elkeen sy eie kriteria van `goed lewe`. En dit is die feit wat gereeld uit die oog verloor word. Feit, nie persepsie nie. Ek is ´n groot voorstandaander van persepsie is realiteit, en geen voorbeeld is so sprekend soos die een nie. Vir die nuwe familie, een dalk twee peuters, kan nommer een wees om naby hul eie familie te wees vir ondersteuning en opvoeding. Vir die ouer pare met kinders op skool, kan taal en kultuur ´n groot motivering wees. Vir die rugby-spelende, castle-drinkende, biltong-etende student, is daar geen land soos sy sonnige Suid-Afrika. En die dinkies (double-income-no-kids) kan hulleself nerens anders voorstel as die ewige-hip Kaapstad nie.

Net so, kan die jong dokterspaar in Kanada na 6 maande nogsteeds nie hulle salaris en werksure glo nie. En die 20-jarige universiteits `drop-out` het binne twee weke ´n werk gevind in London wat huur en ´n bier op ´n Vrydag kan betaal. Asook die reis-mal IT konsultant wat nou die wereld aan haar voete het met die perfekte werk wat 80% Europese reis vereis.

So, as ek hier in my sitkamer (met ´n oop deur) in Hilversum, Nederland, sit, en verlang na my familie en vriende, is ek gelukkig en tevrede. Want dis my keuse.

Anton Goosen in Den Haag

Terrible Tuesday

Today is not a good day – firstly, since I washed my hair before work, I realised at about lunchtime that I look like something from the Cosby show, irrespective of the amount of straightening lotion I applied. Nothing like fuzzy hair to spoil an otherwise perfect Tuesday.

Secondly, I received news that the logistics for my current job (e.g. access, email etc) have not been arranged. I have been waiting for 3 weeks for it to arrive, yet nothing has been started. After a fiery display that was last seen at a MTN Cameroon status meeting, I decided to walk outside for 10 minutes and enjoy the sunshine and watch the planes.

Having just come back, I feel better, however cannot wait to lay on the couch tonight and watch mindless television.

First glimpse of the humble abode...

Spot the irony...

Friends in Amsterdam Train

Wie kan dit glo?

en kyk bietjie nader.....

Hamsterjam...

Having never seen The Red-light district in all its splendour at night, we decided to risk it on Thursday. This is not for the faint-hearted. It seems that it is divided into a section that is more touristy and another ‘local’ section that is eerily quiet. For those that have not been, it is literally the ‘red-light district’: It is basically windows (with rooms behind it of course), with a glowing red light bar across the top. And anything is available (and I trust anything goes). Black, white, thin, fat, blonde, brunette, one, two etc. The girls stand in the window (that can open to talk to someone looking promising) – some do a dance, some just stand and some even smile coyly. I must admit, these girls are gorgeous. Something to the effect of footballer’s wives, if you know what I mean. Perfectly groomed, and that look that is achieved just before it looks like the make-up was applied with a trowel.

Aside from viewing the display, it was quite apparent that more services are available. Not once, not twice but countless times men walked past whispering ‘coke’ or something obscure in my ear. So close I could feel his breath.
Uggghhh…

Still, even though I am glad that I have seen it, it is definitely not something I will go back to. And as my Dutch colleague said: ‘It’s a horrible, horrible place.’ Unfortunately, it seems to taint my overall view of Amsterdam at the moment. Maybe I should find something else to go see there, and it will change…

Inferior Desecrating

I have been told to be careful when shopping at IKEA. It is apparently called the IKEA-factor. The risk of having your house looking like an IKEA showroom. I am not quite sure what exactly the problem with that is, but I am since wary of it and try to buy from other stores as well.

As if in an old black and white movie it all happened in slow motion…

I was driving (very carefully on the right side of the road) around the corner at my house, to offload my new IKEA purchases, when I saw his face. Pure determination as he ran past my right door. Seconds later a slick Turkish-looking man followed at about the same speed. After him, a suited-up sales person from V&D Department Store. Frame-by-frame we followed with our eyes down the pavement, and watched (not having a clue what is going on) as man number one tripped and fell. Unfortunately man number two was not close enough and he got away. However, he dropped a smart-looking leather jacket with fur collar in the process. Satisfied that they got the loot back, men numbers two and three picked up the jacket and returned to the store under wild cheers and high-fives. Even though it was my first encounter with any criminal activity whilst in The Netherlands, it was peaceful, even funny.

A couple of peculiarities of living in The Netherlands exclusively for your entertainment:

Last week I read in the paper that supermarkets are now experimenting with letting customers pay with a credit card in their stores. The experiment has proved that given this option, customers will spend more per visit. Mind blowing stuff…

A news report on my local TV station (Hilversum TV) reported that the police found a collection of more than a 100 golf balls in some or other street. They are spending all the time in finding out how it arrived at that spot and who is responsible. At the same time a warning has been extended to all dog owners that their dogs might die if a ball (or balls) is swallowed.

Having something delivered relates to the very painful root canal I once underwent. Firstly, only about a third of the stores I visited are willing to deliver. Furthermore, only about a third of those friendlies are willing to deliver on the first floor. Added to that nobody delivers on a Saturday or after 5. So after I was fortunate enough to find the right product, at the right price, with a delivery plan, and having to pay 22 euros for some removal tax (they are not removing anything!) my new fridge and washing machine is arriving tomorrow. Unfortunately I still have to take off work to welcome the new babies!

Cash is not very common here. Instead you can pinnen or chippen. The first refers to what we call debit card or Maestro, and the second is a gold chip on your bank card. The chip however is a strange concept. You need to load money on it (not auto-linked to your account) and then you can pay for things like parking and train tickets.

Talking about train tickets: I have been here for approximately a month, and I have never been asked for my ticket on the train. Of course I always bought one…
The other day though, I was travelling on the train and in walks the conductor. As I hand over my ticket, I realize that I have not stamped it at the stempelautomaat at the station. Of course the conductor takes one look at the ticket and frowns… Then mumbles something in Dutch about the stamp. I am ashamed to say here that I just continued in English, pretending that I didn’t know what he was talking about. Hey! It worked in Taiwan. Like a dog realising that the shoe does not taste like a steak, he left me alone and went on with his rounds. Phewww….
Now I stamp. Every time.

As a novice driver in this country, I have noticed a few weird things about the road and it’s rules here. Firstly, the hierarchy goes like this: cyclist, pedestrian, bus and then car. Secondly, buses have their own lanes AND traffic lights. Imagine what the taxis would do with that in Joburg!

I found out with shock and horror that it is quite standard to remove all the lights from a house that you have been renting when you leave. Therefore leaving the poor next tenant (read me!) in almost complete darkness!

Everything is closed on a Sunday. Except of course, McDonalds! You cannot believe the difference in this town between Saturday morning (lively streets with performers, shoppers, kids and ice cream vendors) to Sunday – ghost town.

Episode two to follow...

So this is how life works here...

I get up at about 7 or sometimes even earlier. Get ready, have some yucky tea with box milk ´cause I am only getting my fridge on Monday. Remember my umbrella, and head off for the station. It is about a 5 minute walk, so it´s not too bad. Hopefully I made the 8:02 train, otherwise I wait for the 08:21. Oh, and maybe buy a ´koffie verkeerd´ (read latte) on the station.

Once on the train, watching the people is of course the most interesting, but some days I do remember to bring a book or some soduko. The trainride is about 17 minutes until we pull into Utrecht station, which is exactly where the office is.

A bit more walking to the office, and then I need to find a desk. They work on ´flex plekke´ which means anyone can sit anywhere. Now, being the new girl, I am careful not to offend anyone, so finding a seat could be difficult, even with the whole flex-thing going on.

Okay, then work work or rather try to keep myself busy, and then LUNCH!

Since I am still setting up my apartment, I usually grab something from Albert Hein (like Woolworths) and walk around in the huge mall looking for house shops.

After lunch it´s a long stretch to 5 or 6, and then catch the train back. Some more walking and I am back in my apartment.

Since I do not have internet at the moment, tv seems to be my main companion, and they have some nice channels here. Discovery, MTV, some movie channels etc.

Contrary to popular belief, I actually can now go to bed at 10 here... and sleep!

And tomorrow it all starts again.

I am trying to find my rhythm in all this routine, but I think from next week it might go better. The first month in a new job is the worst.

I promise to write sooner, especially when I get my internet at home.

Miss everyone dearly...

So far so good...

Apologies for not posting for quite a long time.

However, I do not have internet at home at the moment, and the access at work is very restricted.
Photos of the new flat will follow soon.

My New Couch

My new rental car!

Painting friends...

See if you can spot who's who...

I must admit - Photoshop helped a bit!

My new hobby...

I know this blog seems to read more as a diary than as a thought-provoking, interesting travellog, but for the moment I am overwhelmed with everyday stuff, so that is unfortunately what you´re getting!

Hopefully when I settle down I can do some serious writing again...

For the moment, I am painting again! I thought to start with a copy of Van Gogh´s Starry Starry Night. Just to get back into things. Here is the original and then my humble attempt:
(I had to paint the whole thing without any black paint, and I know the proportions are not 100%)

My new place...

I moved today to a cute little town called Zeist.
Much smaller and I think better neighbourhood than before.
It´s a small hotel apartment, but much bigger than the previous place and with a nice table to work at.
Here is a picture...

The Circle of The Netherlands - elementary drawing...

As you can see... this is my circle of life for the moment...

Now: Check the order in which things should happen.
Then: check the dates when I am able to do these tasks (for various reasons...)
I feel like I am in Taiwan!

Moving on..

My current accommodation in Utrecht is only available until next week, so then I have to move again until the end of the month. After literally hours and hours of searching on my friend google, I found the following:

http://www.steynhotel.nl/appartement.htm

I promptly called, and made a reservation for the DeLuxe Apartment. Yay! Hopefully it would be ok enough to stay for two weeks.

Onto more practical and permanent matters, yesterday I went to look at an apartment to rent in Hilversum. It is quite spacious, with two bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom, sitting and eating areas. There is even a little space under the stairs (kind of) where one can put a desk and a chair. In true lisl-impromptu-fashion I immediately signed a pre-contract, that will be presented to the owner for approval. Hopefully he will like me (and the fact that I have IBM next to my name!) and pick me for his apartment.

I have decided to decorate everything in white, and my chosen one-stop-shop is http://www.ikea.com/ms/nl_NL/local_home/utrecht.html.

I am even considering buying a flokati carpet - who can remember those!!!


There is a spar bedroom, so please feel free to book any overdue european trips!

Bad news...

Oh, forgot to post this...

With sadness I have to announce that my 250GB harddrive did not make the trip here, and wants to be formatted. This seems to mean at the moment that all my data will be lost. This includes all old emails, addresses, photos and some music.

Small steps...

Today I managed to:

• Wake up before 11am
• Find out where to rent a house
• Phone the belastingdienst to make an appointment to get a tax number - they will call back
• Get a Vodaphone Dutch mobile number and load some credit on it
• Kind of sort out the mess with the TravelWallet from Standard Bank - they will call back
• Register on a website that will help me to find a house
• Extend my current place for another week

That´s what friends are for...

That´s what friends are for...
Originally uploaded by lislvp.

Beautiful flowers received from Constant & Godfrey today!

Map to the Artemis

artemis kaart
Originally uploaded by lislvp.

Amazing Race Day 1

As I am sitting the The Artemis Hotel in Amsterdam again I am reflecting on my day.

Firstly, from my hotel window I could see about a 20 minute fireworks show (through the trees!) from the Madonna concert that is in Amsterdam today. All green monsters raise their hands! Unfortunately the only tickets that were left were about 400 euros, so I didn´t get to go...

Secondly, I truly felt like an Amazing Race contestant today. It went something like this...

Starting point: 42 Narciss street, Utrecht.
First challenge: Pack everything you need for second day at work as well as maps, passport, money, laptop and birth certificate into a small backpack.
Next: Walk to the next point in your journey - Hoog Catherijne shopping centre. No indication of distance or direction given.

Stage 2: After finally making it to Hoog Catherijne without any detours, I had to find a place to eat. After sleeping most of the day, I was starving. A nice meal at a coffeeshop did the trick, and I received my clue for stage 3: A sign that read ´Station´.

Stage 3: Without too much hassle, I managed to buy a ticket straight to Amsterdam. On arrival I saw my next clue. A blue ticket machine for the metro.

Stage 4: After negotiating my way through many Chinese and American tourists, I was on the metro platform. The question was just: which way do I want to go. I followed my trusted method: My gut said the right one, so I took the left one. Always works!

Stage 5: This was one of those Decision Points - not sure what is the correct 'Amazing Race' term... A sign on the metro noted that certain areas of the metro is out of action due to repairs.. But there is a pendelbus. Mmmm... Now, not understanding exactly where I am going, and if I will be affected, I had to choose. Get off at the station where the supposed bus is, or try and continue and see what happens. As with all winning contestants, I decided to try the quickest (but most sure to fail) route.

Stage 6: I am happy to announce that I arrived safely (and probably quicker than the bus) at Stage 6, otherwise referred to as the Henk Sneevlietweg Metro station. Good!

Stage 7: For the final stage, my common sense and general knowledge was put to the test. Being given a map of the area by my dad (pictured above), I had to find the hotel. By foot. Mmm... I will just say one thing. Jokes about me not having any direction and not being able to read maps have officially e-x-p-i-r-e-d! I walked straight there without turning around once.

The homecoming: I was greeted as the winning contestant at the front desk and promptly presented with a room card and a Wieckse Witte beer as my prize. I am the champion. For today.

Tomorrow of course, I do it all over again. Just in the other direction...

Artemis Hotel Room

100_0388
Originally uploaded by lislvp.

This is the hotel in Amsterdam next to IBM that Godfrey booked for me.

Artemis Hotel Bathroom

100_0389
Originally uploaded by lislvp.

Pension Iris