Larry and Ruth's Wknd Visit

Had such a WONDERFUL weekend! Lots of pictures for you to see....

Larry and Ruth arrived on Friday evening. We went to dinner at a place a few blocks from my apartment. When you go out to eat here it can take a long time to get your food! Think we got to the restaurant around 7:30 and did not get food until after 9:00. One other thing that is different than back home is you do not get free refills of pop and water is not free. I am not used to paying for water, especially multiple glasses! We had some good wine and enjoyed catching up.

On Saturday we went to Utrecht. It was approx. 40 minutes away and is a popular college town. They had a flower market with gorgeous flowers!! All of the bouquets were really cheap compared to what they are in Amsterdam and even more so than in the US. They also had a lot of different kinds of tulip bulbs. I bought a bunch to send home with Brent for family and friends to share. It was fun to walk around and explore the area. We sat outside for lunch along the canal. It was such a beautiful view and relaxing to sit in the sun. We enjoyed visiting and people watching! After lunch we got some ice cream and walked around for another hour or so before heading back to Amsterdam.

On Sunday we walked around Amsterdam and went to a few shops. We stopped at McDonalds so we could get some coffee. When we were there I had to pay to use the restroom. Something we are not used to and take so for granted back home. Later that morning we went to a wax museum called Madame Tussauds. I had never been to a wax museum before and it was very cool to see how real some of the people looked.

After the museum we went to a few shops and then had a late lunch/early dinner and came back to my apartment. We ended the day playing games, and booking travel! I bought a Eurail pass for when Brent comes to visit. The pass is good for 7 days of train to anywhere in France, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands and Belgium. We are going to go to Germany the first weekend in October and will stay with Larry and Ruth at least one night, possibly two. Will also travel a few other long weekends while he is here but not sure where we will go. Ruth showed me a game called KenKen (similar to Sudoku). We played pretty late and got a case of the giggles. Pretty funny and makes me laugh just thinking about it. Was SO NICE to spend time with them. I am very thankful for their visit and really appreciate them coming to Amsterdam.

This is already my 4th week in the office! Hard to believe the first month is almost over. I am definitely feeling more relaxed and settled. Was so nice having company this past weekend and now this next weekend MY HUSBAND IS COMING!!! Brent is flying out Friday at 10:00pm and will arrive in Amsterdam at 1:00pm my time on Saturday. I will be waiting for him at the airport! Hoping we can relax and have dinner/drinks that evening and then go to the beach on Sunday if the weather is nice. Guess there is one about 20 minutes from where I am staying. Very excited to have Brent here with me. Only wish he could bring Olaf with. I miss my puppy!!

Lots of birthdays at home this past week or two… Tami, Morgan, Tim, Grandpa, Renae – Hope you all had a special day!

Plant Tour - Kroket

On Wednesday last week my boss Jennifer and I visited our IGMA and Soy location. We were able to tour the soy plant and had a great tour guide. We had lunch there and I tried a very traditional Dutch meal called kroket. The kroket was cut in half and put on an open face sandwich with mustard.

The Dutch kroket started its career as a way of getting rid of leftovers. Got any meat, fish or cheese left? Turn it into a kroket! The base was always the same: a ragout, more thickened than when served as a stew. Originally it was served as a first course, presented on elegantly folded napkins, accompanied by a sprig of parsley. It was then still called by its French name croquette. Quite a long way from the deep frozen snack food with meat of obscure origin in a 'ragout' thickened with gelatine that is so casually eaten today.

Can’t say that I loved it but it was fun to try something new.

Busy week!

Lots to catch up on since I did not post all week! Work was busy and I stayed late most nights so the week flew by. I had to do a talent talk certification on Thursday in order to be able to facilitate sessions on my own. Thankfully that went well and I found out today that I am fully certified! For those of you reading this who I do not work with... it basically allows me to facilitate talent discussions.

Thursday night I sat outside with two co-workers and had a beer. After that I went to the airport. My work is really close to the airport so I can take a train home from there. I have gotten really tired of sandwiches - feel like all people eat here is ham and cheese on bread! Since I was tired and starving I decided I could sit at the airport by myself to eat because everyone does that right?! I ordered a margarita pizza and sat down at a table. A nice guy was waiting to catch a flight and asked to join me. He workes for Groupon and is based in Germany. Was nice company during dinner! Might have to start eating at the airport more often : )

Friday after work I went to my first meet up event. Decided that since I had no weekend plans that I had to get out and do something. The event was a wine tasting at a local place called The Library. There were only four others that came but we had a good time. They had a few snacks out and we could try different kinds of wine for two hours. The owner was from California and has been working here for years. I was estatic when he opened a bottle of 7 deadly zins! Shauna, a coworker of mine got me a bottle of this for my wedding shower and it has been one of my favorites ever since. Amy, I know you really like this one too!

On Saturday I was really tired again and unfortunately had a bad migraine. Think it was from a combination of not enough sleep and not drinking enough water. Read a few books and relaxed the rest of the weekend. Was able to talk to quite a few friends, Brent and my parents. Brent is having a few people over to watch football today. Made me a little sad since I would love to be there but thankfully I have a LOT to look forward to.

Next weekend Larry and Ruth are coming to visit Fri-Monday. Larry was a professor at SCSU and he and Ruth were our advisors when I studied abroad in Germany. They are such wonderful people and I can't wait to have them here. We are planning to go to Utrecht on Saturday to explore the flower markets and have lunch. Then believe we will explore the city center and Amsterdam on Sunday.

Afternoon/Night out

Friday afternoon a coworker Daniella took me out to the city center. We had a cocktail on top of the Hilton Hotel where we had a great view of the city. It was nice to get to know her more and also sit outside in the sunshine.

After the drink we went on a boat tour through the canals. Was a great way to see the city. Amsterdam is so beautiful and has so much character.

During the tour I enjoyed my first beer in Amsterdam!!

After the tour I went and met Joelle and her husband Eric who are both from the US and have been living here for 5 years! Two of their friends also joined us (forgot his name... and Rachel) at a place called Gent. Was nice to sit outside and talk with them. They could relate so some of my struggles this week and will be great resources while I am here if I have any questions. Hoping that I will be able to do something with them again soon.

This was a great ending to my first week. I was exhausted Friday night but had a hard time falling to sleep. I slept until almost 11am this morning! I can't remember the last time I slept past 8. Guess I really needed to catch up on sleep - jet leg!

Went to the markets this morning and got some fruit. Planning to go out a little later and get a few more groceries. Still tired (somehow!) so will probably just relax and maybe read a book later today.

Brent is in Vegas for the weekend with some of our FAVORITE FRIENDS. I am slightly jealous because I know they are going to have an awesome time. They have been sending pictures which has been fun. Ill have to post a few tomorrow! Told them to all have a drink for me. My parents have Olaf for the weekend. I am sure he is being SPOILED! Have seen quite a few dogs around here and it makes me miss my furry friend.

Sure miss home but am trying to explore and enjoy this adventure.

Made it a few days!

Will try to give you a few updates on food, work and how things have been going.

I have not tried a lot of food yet. Went to a bakery down the street last night and got some fresh bread. The night before I found a little shop and bought a doner sandwich that was good. We used to get this a lot on pita bread when I studied abroad in Germany. It’s very similar to a gyro but better in my opinion. At this point I have eaten too many Luna bars so will have to start searching more for healthy, easy options at the grocery store!

Work is going well. Really like the people that I will be working with. Everyone talks to each other in Dutch and that is a little hard because I have no idea what they are talking about. My team will talk in Dutch to each other but switch to English when it is something for me. I am sure I will get used to it but it is hard to have no idea what is going on. On my second day someone came up and was talking in Dutch. I could not tell if she was talking to me or not. But by the time I realized she was it was a little late. She looked at me weird and walked away. I am sure she thinks I am mute or crazy! Makes me laugh now because I literally just sat there probably looking shocked that someone said something to me.

The last few nights have been a little hard. It will probably take me awhile to adjust. I have to remind myself that I am adjusting to a new environment, culture, language. Probably also still the time difference since I am so tired at night.

I really miss having a cell phone. Realizing how attached we are to them. Thankfully I have been able to use it at night with WiFi and can send messages and use skype. For those of you reading this if you don’t have it already whatsapp is a great app for your phone. It has free messaging internationally (thanks Katie B for telling me about this)! I may not be able to respond right away but would love to hear from you!

I found a few websites last night for meet up groups. I have heard that a lot of expats will join and meet for dinner and different events. My goal is to go to at leave one event next week or weekend. Hopefully it will help me meet people! I work with a few really nice people but our group is small. They have families and do not live close to me at all. Since I live 45 minutes from work it is hard to meet people there to do things with.

A few have asked what things I miss. Obviously my awesome husband and puppy!!! I think it is too early to miss a lot of things but there are a few things. My blowdryer and straightener do not work as well here which is a pain especially since my hair is so think/wavy.I also miss ICE! I kept looking for the ice machine at work and finally asked someone. They looked at me like I was crazy and I found out that ice is not common here. Makes beverages too cold. I love ice so that was a bummer… On a plus side, work has an awesome coffee machine that has fancy coffee for free - espresso, macchiato, cappuccino etc. Coffee breaks happen throughout the day so I have had a lot of caffeine : )

Will post again this weekend and try to add some photos of the markets and beautiful canals.

Day 1

I arrived in Amsterdam at 1 pm yesterday!! Made it to the hotel right away but it was out of town and nothing nearby. I forced myself to stay up late so that I could get used to the time change since it is 7 hours ahead here. Thankfully I was able to sleep since I did not on the flight over.

This morning I was picked up and brought to the Amsterdam expat center. There I received a stamp in my visa and received a social security number so that I can start work. After that I was dropped off at my new apartment. I carried my luggage 2 flights of stairs and considering I had 3 heavy bags, I got in a good workout! The apartment is really nice but I have some interesting wall art in the bedroom. Really not sure what to think of it yet.

Kitchen

Bedroom

Bathroom

Living/Dining Room

After signing the apartment documents I walked to the tram. Took the tram to the train station and then the train to the airport. Once I got of the train I had to find the Cargill office. I asked for directions but was sent the wrong way. Asked two additional people and finally found it with the 3rd set of directions. What should have been a 15 minute walk turned into an hour! Hopefully it goes smoother tomorrow. The office was very nice. Very modern and different from the Cargill office back home. Each person has a locker and does not have a designated desk. I met a few co-workers and sat in on one meeting. At 6 I left work and found a bus that goes directly to my neighborhood. Much easier than this afternoon : ) When I got off the bus I asked for help to find my street. My phone does not currently work unless I have WiFi so I could not look it up. A guy lived close to me so we took a tram. I realized as we got off that I could have walked the 5 blocks! I am a little nervous about finding the bus stop tomorrow morning but hopefully it will not be a problem.

View from the canal just down the street

After arriving back at my apartment I ventured out to get cash. Found an ATM and then went to a small market to buy a few groceries. I also managed to get dinner tonight and brought it back to my apartment. All things considering, today was a very sucessful first day!!