the holiday has begun

So today was the last day of work before the 2 week holiday begins. I got to leave an hour early because there was hardly anyone left in the building and no one was really focused on work at that point. I decided to do a little shopping with my extra time, so I headed into town. There is a big department store here called de bijenkorf that everyone has been telling me to go to so I thought I'd finally check it out. Its kind of like Nordstrom if I had to compare. Anyways I bought a dress and when the lady was putting it in the bag she saw there was a hole in it. So was about to return it when the entire store's computer system shut down! What luck, no one in the store could buy or return anything. So now tomorrow ill be hiking back over there to return my holy dress.
Kinda a sucky start to my holiday but tomorrow should be better.
Im going to a outdoor, house music festival with some friends. I am not sure what to expect but it sounds like fun! There are going to be a bunch of DJs playing throughout the day and the weather is supposed to be pretty nice for a change here (cold and dreary lately). AND then greece on wednesday!! yay

back at work

You can really tell the holiday is coming up at work (for 2 weeks). A lot of people have already left and the ones that are still there are getting into vacation mode. I am sitting with the export department this week because there are some open desks there. Since everyone is so easily distracted I got some dutch lessons today on some basic words and words to joke around with people. I also got some good recommendations for dutch foods to try at the grocery store such as their version of peanut butter (more like our natural peanut butter), something equivalent to chocolate sprinkles that they eat for breakfast on buttered bread, these "syrup waffles" which are more like thin wafer sandwich cookies, and loempias which are really really big spring rolls (like sandwich size). Also we got so into talking about the US my 2 colleagues did a times test to see how many states they could think of (they got around 40 in 10 min). So you can probably tell I got a lot of work done today, but it went by fast.

Brussels

So today I went to Brussels for some field research (as Belgium is the chocolate capital of the world). It was such a pretty city. Everything was so old but extravagant and the new modern buildings and art work somehow fit in just right. I saw a TON of chocolate shops and all the EU government buildings (its the EU capital) as well as the government and royal families buildings and such. I sadly did not get to try any belgian waffles as we didn't get a chance to stop in those types of stores but I did get to try their hot chocolate which is MUCH better than ours (really rich and actually tastes like nice chocolate). I also got to see the main attractions such as the mannequin pis, the Automium, and the palace where the king lives. Pictures to come

more amsterdam

my rented bike



This trip to Amsterdam (this time for work) was much more enjoyable! Because it was the middle of the week there was a lot less people crammed in the city. Also I rented a bike this time to help me get around this HUGE city. It was a great idea as I got to see a lot more, but I still didn't make it to half of the places I wanted to go. Next time I will definitely go to the museums! I did use Andy's book a lot though and it was such a big help!




Anne Frank House

Day in Amsterdam

the weekend has begun

Today I got to experience driving a car here! My boss's boss was going to give me a ride home but then asked if I could follow him in another car because he needed them both in Eindhoven. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be although, they do drive crazy here and me and the hatchback made it just fine. After that driving experience was over I went to get my bike. After a quick once over on how to use the lights and the wheel lock, I was guided in the direction towards my apartment. After a wobbly start (you have to sit so upright on this one!) I was on my way. Later, I went and got a real bike lock to insure that my bike doesn't become one of the many many that so often get stolen here.

After that I went shopping for a while (the stores stay open until 9 on fridays unlike every other day where they close at 5 or 6) and then stopped by the grocery store on my way home. As I walked up to the grocery store (the only one I have seen in the area), I realized it wasn't there anymore. The inside was completely gutted out and there was no sign that last week it was a full-functioning store. So confused and empty handed, I went home. I guess I need to figure out where another one is in the next couple of days. I let you know how that goes...

an update

It's been a while since I've written but I was waiting until I had something worth reading to write about (like winning the world cup or something :(...)well I still don't really have much to tell but I'll up-date you anyways haha.

I have been riding the bus to and from work all this week which hasn't been too bad. It takes about 40 minutes for me to get to work that way vs. in a car which takes about 30 (It goes the "scenic" route.) And the bus station is about a 10 minute walk from my apartment.
I was walking to the bus stop outside the office today and someone I work with that also lives in Eindhoven was leaving work and gave me a ride. And it was a good thing because a big storm was coming.
He had to stop at the grocery store on the way home, which ended up being helpful to me too because I needed to go and this way I didn't have to carry my groceries home from the store. We stopped at a different grocery store than the one by my house and this one was much more like the kind we have at home, they call them hypermarkets here.

When we left the store it was storming really badly! The rain was coming down sideways and we had to run to the car. When we got further into town all these trees had fallen into the roads. It was crazy but I was so glad that I got a ride home and didn't have to walk in that.

On another note: I'm getting a bike on Friday from a friend of my boss who has an extra one. I can't wait because then it will be so much easier for me to really see the whole town and I will be able to get around easier.

Work has been going well, I have been working on planning some out of the office research to get a better idea of the market and what types of things Europeans buy. I am planning to go to brussels with my boss and some peoeple in the office soon as well as amsterdam. The amsterdam trip is to check out some of the specialty chocolate stores they have there, so no one else in the office needs to go. I have made a big list of places I want to visit there and I might go this weekend for the day. I am looking forward to a "business" trip to buy chocolate that they will cover :)

Differences I have learned so far:
-Everything here is closed on sundays, and shops close at 5 or 6 everyday
-they are really really tall here and really friendly
-their national color is orange because the word "oranje" is in their queens name
-their coffee is MUCH stronger and they drink it in small cups and all day long (or tea)
-they put mayo on everything (not sure if its the same kind as us, I haven't tried it)
-they have egg rolls here that are the size of subs (huge)
-new york was settled by the dutch (then they lost it in a war with england)
-the sun comes up around 5 am and sets around 11 pm

Some pictures from the game and around where I live

Game day!

Tonight Holland plays Uruguay! Some people at work gave me a bright orange vuvuzela, cowboy hat, and t-shirt to wear for the game to make sure I would be interested in it and the game was all anyone talked about at work.

I am going to watch the game in the square with some people from work and their friends. Last time they said there were about 20,000 people there so I expect it to be at least that many tonight. I don't think ill be wearing all of the gear they gave me but I will definitely wear orange (so I wont stand out). I hope we win!

first day at work

Today was my first day at Agio which was more of an introduction day. I got a ride to and from work today so I didn't have to try and decipher the bus system as I didn't know where I was going. I got a general overview of what I will be working from my boss, Sander and then I met everyone in the office. There are a lot of people working there so I couldn't remember everyones names but they were all very nice. Most of the people working there are fairly young which surprised me. We ate lunch in the cafeteria which was mainly a build your own sandwich thing with soup or fruit or something like that. One thing about the lunch that surprised me was that milk was the only option to drink (at least that I could see). My boss explained that milk is what everyone there drinks with lunch (they drink a lot of fresh milk here). Anyways, after lunch Sander took me to the new factory they have in Belgium! It was really interesting to see how the cigars are made and to learn about how the tobacco is grown and all the different varieties that are sent to them etc. After that he gave me a ride back to my apartment (about 45-1 hour from the factory and 30-40 minutes from the office).

on another note:
I was excited to see that the reality company came today while I was gone and fixed my hot water which has been non existent since I got here (not fun).

Also yesterday Sander had me over to his house to have dinner with his family. We had a bbq in their back yard which was really pretty and very nice weather. It was the same general type of bbq we would have, with the only big difference being that they do not eat the meat with buns, they just cut it and eat it. So I still got to have a cook out on the 44th of July!

Later that night after I got home I realized that the sun doesn't go down here until almost 11pm (and it rises at about 5am)! I guess I was so tired the day before I didn't even notice. Also I might be getting a bike in a week or two because Jonas' (one of the owners of the company, who picked me up from the airport)friend won a bike and has an extra one. I hope that works out, if not I will buy a cheap one because I will be able to get around town so much faster and easier if I have one.

room

kitchen/ living room area

IM HERE!

So I have just arrived into my apartment and despite the fact that I was tired when I got on the plane, I did not sleep at all. I feel like a zombie so I will probably take a nap soon so I am sorry if this isn't that informative or makes sense I will write again later. My apartment is cute but VERY small and the mirrors and peep-hole are up so high because everyone here is tall. I have internet and TV though :). Also they have provided me with a phone but I have to wait until Monday to talk to Sander (my boss) to see if I can make international calls with it. Later today I plan to wonder around and find a supermarket so I can get some necessities. The apartment has just about everything I would need in it so that is really good (even a washing machine and iron)! Mom you would love it everything is either white or dark, dark brown. and VERY modern. I will post pictures soon. Love you all! goodnight