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!!