So this is my 3rd day at work. I told everyone about the James Bond vikings at work and they were thoroughly amused. i forgot to write yesteday that outside of the theatre we were talking to some locals and i was eating some french fries and ketchup (my favorite). i offered to one of them and he exclaimed in disgust to his friends "she's eating cold chips!! with KETCHUP!!!" this coming from a guy who was wearing a cape and a plastic sword. native netherlanders apparently eat fries with mayonnaise. i'll stick to the ketchup :)
I went on a field trip this morning to a big dewatering site about 1 hour from Leidshendam. I beleive we were heading east but anyone who knows me can attest that my sense of direction is completely lacking. i rode in the car with my coworkers Henk and Claartj. Claartj is a sweet person, 26, recently married, and enjoys visiting castles. i liked chatting with her in the car and she seems like a wonderfully genuine person. Henk sat in the backseat and told me about his place in Den Haag, surfing, and riding his bike to work. he's seems too cool for school. i try to convince him to have a party at his house next weekend. he didnt seem too excited but i'll keep trying. he helped me pump the gas in the fugro car and was surprisingly non-condescending at my naivite. cars here can take either leaded or unleaded gas depending on the car. who knew???
we get to the project tour (called an excursion here). there is about a 1 to 1.5 hour powerpoint presentation in dutch and it is all i can do to stay awake. i was biting the inside of my mouth, singing in my head. it was torture. i dont want to be rude. maybe james bond wasnt such a good idea last night. i blame the jet lag.
presentation is over, they break out the sandwiches and coffee for lunch (of course), and i enjoy a foot-long baguette with one slice of ham and one slice of cheese. yum. so moist...
we head outside and tour the site which consists of walking about 2 miles around a lake. the weather was perfect and it would have been very enjoyable except i borrowed my co-worker's steel toe boots that were about 1.5 sizes too small. my little toes were hurting. but, i did get an opportunity to talk with another co-worker, i can't recall his name right now, but he's cool and interested in working in the ventura office for a transfer. he will email me for more info soon i'm sure and then i will get his name. he works in another office in north holland. he translates the presentation for me as we tour the site. thank god!!! he has an easy disposition and curly brown hair. he seems very knowledgeable about the dewatering system and is originally schooled in hydrology.
on my way home from work, elisabet took me to the gym. after about 30 minutes of intense conversation in dutch, she was not able to get them to waive the 50-Euro entrance fee, which is normally waived for fugro employees. ugh. i just went on a guest pass and we are going to try again on Tuesday for spinning class. there is a coffee bar in the gym but not one water fountain!! i'm dying of thirst. it seems no one drinks anything but coffee and buttermilk here. there are two locker rooms, one women's (which i see a teenage boy come out of) and one is co-ed. i pick the women's but maybe on tuesday i'll check out the co-ed. there are about 4 people in the gym. they dont look like they're working too hard. i run for about 30 minutes on the treadmill and boogie home to meet dany. i skip the coffee bar.
meet dany at home, and we head to the downtown area in search of boots for me and a hat for dany. the shops are open late on fridays (until 9PM, ordinarily only until 6PM). there are tons of people downtown. i get a SIM card so i can have a local NL phone number. Elisabet is going to give me her old phone to put the SIM card in. i dont find boots but i do find a great pair of super skinny jeans. everyone here is wearing super skinny jeans with high boots. i will definitely fit in now. the flared jeans are a dead giveaway.
we grab a deuner (spelled donner with two dots over the 'o') for dinner as suggested by shonna. she told me what type of donner but i can;t remember so i text her. in the meantime, i ask the man behind the counter if he remembers my friend shonna. he doesnt speak english, but i say she is american, red hair, my friend. he says "short one? Yes, duram donner she gets". hahaha!! shonna. so memorable.
me and dany head home and check our guidebook for amsterdam tomorrow. we crash around midnight. exhausted.
I went on a field trip this morning to a big dewatering site about 1 hour from Leidshendam. I beleive we were heading east but anyone who knows me can attest that my sense of direction is completely lacking. i rode in the car with my coworkers Henk and Claartj. Claartj is a sweet person, 26, recently married, and enjoys visiting castles. i liked chatting with her in the car and she seems like a wonderfully genuine person. Henk sat in the backseat and told me about his place in Den Haag, surfing, and riding his bike to work. he's seems too cool for school. i try to convince him to have a party at his house next weekend. he didnt seem too excited but i'll keep trying. he helped me pump the gas in the fugro car and was surprisingly non-condescending at my naivite. cars here can take either leaded or unleaded gas depending on the car. who knew???
we get to the project tour (called an excursion here). there is about a 1 to 1.5 hour powerpoint presentation in dutch and it is all i can do to stay awake. i was biting the inside of my mouth, singing in my head. it was torture. i dont want to be rude. maybe james bond wasnt such a good idea last night. i blame the jet lag.
presentation is over, they break out the sandwiches and coffee for lunch (of course), and i enjoy a foot-long baguette with one slice of ham and one slice of cheese. yum. so moist...
we head outside and tour the site which consists of walking about 2 miles around a lake. the weather was perfect and it would have been very enjoyable except i borrowed my co-worker's steel toe boots that were about 1.5 sizes too small. my little toes were hurting. but, i did get an opportunity to talk with another co-worker, i can't recall his name right now, but he's cool and interested in working in the ventura office for a transfer. he will email me for more info soon i'm sure and then i will get his name. he works in another office in north holland. he translates the presentation for me as we tour the site. thank god!!! he has an easy disposition and curly brown hair. he seems very knowledgeable about the dewatering system and is originally schooled in hydrology.
on my way home from work, elisabet took me to the gym. after about 30 minutes of intense conversation in dutch, she was not able to get them to waive the 50-Euro entrance fee, which is normally waived for fugro employees. ugh. i just went on a guest pass and we are going to try again on Tuesday for spinning class. there is a coffee bar in the gym but not one water fountain!! i'm dying of thirst. it seems no one drinks anything but coffee and buttermilk here. there are two locker rooms, one women's (which i see a teenage boy come out of) and one is co-ed. i pick the women's but maybe on tuesday i'll check out the co-ed. there are about 4 people in the gym. they dont look like they're working too hard. i run for about 30 minutes on the treadmill and boogie home to meet dany. i skip the coffee bar.
meet dany at home, and we head to the downtown area in search of boots for me and a hat for dany. the shops are open late on fridays (until 9PM, ordinarily only until 6PM). there are tons of people downtown. i get a SIM card so i can have a local NL phone number. Elisabet is going to give me her old phone to put the SIM card in. i dont find boots but i do find a great pair of super skinny jeans. everyone here is wearing super skinny jeans with high boots. i will definitely fit in now. the flared jeans are a dead giveaway.
we grab a deuner (spelled donner with two dots over the 'o') for dinner as suggested by shonna. she told me what type of donner but i can;t remember so i text her. in the meantime, i ask the man behind the counter if he remembers my friend shonna. he doesnt speak english, but i say she is american, red hair, my friend. he says "short one? Yes, duram donner she gets". hahaha!! shonna. so memorable.
me and dany head home and check our guidebook for amsterdam tomorrow. we crash around midnight. exhausted.
1 comment:
that is so freaking hilarious. of course he would remember me... and HELLO i went in TWICE. red hair? no! its dark brown with a little red tint!!
how did you like the doner?
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