I can't complain about Dutch weather right now because this weekend was gorgeous. Our neighborhood is holding some kind of festival which involved transporting a small beach's worth of sand to the front of the apartment building and holding a tournament. There is also a mini soccer field, skating arena, and dance party type thing for kids set up around the premises. We've been hearing the latest teen dance tracks piping into the apartment all afternoon.
Speaking of dance, Charles and I attended Today's Art in Den Haag yesterday and we ended out the evening at Paard van Troje (Trojan Horse, I think?) where we saw a punk band perform a strange mix of American pop songs including "Sexyback" and "Billy Jean." Pictures to come.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Papa's brand new bed
So last weekend, Rachael and I went to the Woonwinkels (lit. Living Shops) in Rotterdam. We went there with the sole purpose of securing for ourselves a new means of sleeping.
Our apartment was furnished, which is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, we had a full set of appliances and eating utensils upon moving in (as mentioned in a previous post), yet we have to deal with some very unfortunate curtain and couch upholstery.
Never the less, these minor transgressions I'm capable of living with. I do not ask much out of my color combinations. The biggest problem was the master bed.
You see our bed is perhaps one of the finest on offer from IKEA. Many metaphors leap to attention, so I'll pick one at random. That's like picking out the best smelling turd in the sewer. The mattresses we have (the dutch always use 2 for their larger beds) are here. I can't find the frame we have.
Anyways, after a month, it has slowly worked it's magic and now has me waking up each morning with my upper thigh killing me and my back stiff.
The first place we look at had some interesting models, but we had difficulty figuring out what the prices included. e1500 is a great deal on a full set, a crappy deal if it just includes the frame. When we were finally ready to get some help from a sales person, it was some sleazy guy giving us the hard sell. We got out of there, regrouped, and headed to:
Linker Lisse.
That is not in fact our bed. It was next to the frame we did get though! Picture it without all of the oranments on it. It's actually a really nice stainless steel frame.
Anyways, we'll get it in 5-6 weeks. They're delivering it 2 weeks earlier than usual, out of sympathy for the ikea stuff
Our apartment was furnished, which is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, we had a full set of appliances and eating utensils upon moving in (as mentioned in a previous post), yet we have to deal with some very unfortunate curtain and couch upholstery.
Never the less, these minor transgressions I'm capable of living with. I do not ask much out of my color combinations. The biggest problem was the master bed.
You see our bed is perhaps one of the finest on offer from IKEA. Many metaphors leap to attention, so I'll pick one at random. That's like picking out the best smelling turd in the sewer. The mattresses we have (the dutch always use 2 for their larger beds) are here. I can't find the frame we have.
Anyways, after a month, it has slowly worked it's magic and now has me waking up each morning with my upper thigh killing me and my back stiff.
The first place we look at had some interesting models, but we had difficulty figuring out what the prices included. e1500 is a great deal on a full set, a crappy deal if it just includes the frame. When we were finally ready to get some help from a sales person, it was some sleazy guy giving us the hard sell. We got out of there, regrouped, and headed to:
Linker Lisse.
That is not in fact our bed. It was next to the frame we did get though! Picture it without all of the oranments on it. It's actually a really nice stainless steel frame.
Anyways, we'll get it in 5-6 weeks. They're delivering it 2 weeks earlier than usual, out of sympathy for the ikea stuff
Saturday, September 15, 2007
The varied impressions of the Dutch work ethic
I am reading a book called Dealing With the Dutch right now and although I am only about 1/3 of the way through it has definitely got me thinking.
The book is directed towards foreign people working in the Netherlands or with a lot of Dutch people. It is written by a Dutch person. So far a large portion has emphasized the egalitarian values of Dutch culture and the work ethic which is described as very focused but also balanced with ample time set aside for personal activities.
One thing I have heard repeatedly from Dutch colleagues--and also from this book--is that Dutch people are motivated to work by a sense of personal satisfaction and achievement and not necessarily by money. I think there is even a Dutch word to describe this, but I don't know it. However a survey on Dutch workers reported on in the book revealed that over 3/4 of them would not go to work if they didn't need the money.
Last night on the train home from a BBQ for my husband's company, I was sitting in a train compartment with my husband, two of his foreign colleagues (one from Afghanistan and the other from Suriname) and a random stranger who is an immigrant but has lived in Holland for 17 years. We started talking about the Dutch work ethic and the random stranger strongly disagreed with the statement about the Dutch not being motivated by money. She seemed very angry and resentful about the topic and stated that she believed that the Dutch pretend to be motivated to work by noble and admirable reasons, but it is really all about the money.
I haven't been here long enough to state an opinion, but I think it's an interesting issue. I plan to keep my eyes, ears, and mind open.
The book is directed towards foreign people working in the Netherlands or with a lot of Dutch people. It is written by a Dutch person. So far a large portion has emphasized the egalitarian values of Dutch culture and the work ethic which is described as very focused but also balanced with ample time set aside for personal activities.
One thing I have heard repeatedly from Dutch colleagues--and also from this book--is that Dutch people are motivated to work by a sense of personal satisfaction and achievement and not necessarily by money. I think there is even a Dutch word to describe this, but I don't know it. However a survey on Dutch workers reported on in the book revealed that over 3/4 of them would not go to work if they didn't need the money.
Last night on the train home from a BBQ for my husband's company, I was sitting in a train compartment with my husband, two of his foreign colleagues (one from Afghanistan and the other from Suriname) and a random stranger who is an immigrant but has lived in Holland for 17 years. We started talking about the Dutch work ethic and the random stranger strongly disagreed with the statement about the Dutch not being motivated by money. She seemed very angry and resentful about the topic and stated that she believed that the Dutch pretend to be motivated to work by noble and admirable reasons, but it is really all about the money.
I haven't been here long enough to state an opinion, but I think it's an interesting issue. I plan to keep my eyes, ears, and mind open.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
My two favorite (and least favorite) Dutch appliances
Last week we made a trip to Media Markt to pick up some basic appliances we have been missing. We got a microwave which we desperately needed. Our convection oven just wasn't adequately heating up the tasty schwarma sandwiches we pick up at Jumbo. So the microwave is good, but my most favorite appliance is my Senseo machine.
Now most people probably know I am a bit of a coffee snob so they might be surprised that I am singing the praises of a contraption which uses prepackaged coffee pods. However, if you only have one minute in the morning and don't want to make a big mess, this makes a decent cup of Joe...especially if you buy the premium or fair trade blends. Seriously, I don't know why these things aren't more popular in the US.
My least favorite appliance here has to be our washer/dryer. It is one of those energy efficient combination machines and it is very small. It also takes about 3 hours to complete a load.
Now most people probably know I am a bit of a coffee snob so they might be surprised that I am singing the praises of a contraption which uses prepackaged coffee pods. However, if you only have one minute in the morning and don't want to make a big mess, this makes a decent cup of Joe...especially if you buy the premium or fair trade blends. Seriously, I don't know why these things aren't more popular in the US.
My least favorite appliance here has to be our washer/dryer. It is one of those energy efficient combination machines and it is very small. It also takes about 3 hours to complete a load.
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