Today i didnt get nearly as much done at work as i wanted. i'm trying to learn a new finite element modeling program (plaxis) and its tough. good news is that two of my co-workers had a birthday today, and instead of us getting a cake for them, they bring cake and pie for everyone else! it's reversed here! and i love it!!! i had the most delicious, sweet, tangy, mouth-watering piece of cherry pie. i do love pie.
after work i followed Elisabet to the Ypenburg gym (the one i couldnt find last friday). i went to a kickboxing class. but it wasnt a watered down american tae-bo type kickboxing. it was some real no shit kickboxing with gloves and heavy bags. you're probably wondering why i'm swearing today. all of the TV and radio is unedited here. i'm listening to Ice Road Truckers on tv in teh other room. they've said fuck about 18 times in the past 5 minutes alone. when in rome...
the class was so awesome. after a warmup you basically do combos of punching and kicking the heavy bag. towards the end of the class we got to do some roundhouse kicks!! this will be a good way for me to learn my dutch numbers (1 through 8) and the words for 'right', 'left', 'kick' and 'punch'. after the class i was so pumped i haven't felt this good in awhile. the dark days and constant rain are getting to me. i dont feel depressed, just a little less motivated i would say. i bought a pair of my own gloves for about 10 euro so i wont have to borrow again next week. actually hitting something is infinitely better than that tae bo shit.
overall notes about the gym. in the locker room, people just hang out their clothes and leave their stuff out. only some people put thier bags in the locker. just shoes tucked under benches and coats hung up on the racks. what is with dutch people and gel roll-on or spray deodorant?? it doesnt even work that well! didnt they get that memo??
there's a pool at the gym, its pretty small though, crappy for doing laps. i'll bring my suit next time and jump in the pool after boxing. oh and of course there's a very nice coffee and pasty bar in the gym, with big tables and lounge chairs. i think i might do some dutch language studying here after going to the gym. there are definitely a lot of cute guys here. i have some of my workout clothes with me, but i have a lot of cute stuff still back at home. maybe deb can make room in her suitcase for a few things :)
went to the grocery store on the way home. the grocery situation is that for the most part the food is ready-made. here there's a ton more ready made food than in the US. elisabet explains that since people don't go out to eat that much (i can see why - going out to eat at a restaurant is a 3 to 4 hour ordeal), that they like to cook these ready-made meals at home. you can still buy all the ingredients for making from scratch if you want. my guess is that dutch people arent that concerned about food that tastes really good. they just want to eat something. that would explain the basic lunches at least. ive never heard of any famous dutch chefs.
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