I have returned from Milan and leave for London next weekend! The weekend after London I head to Portugal and the first week of December I am on a Christmas Market cruise.....but the icing on the cake is a trip to Lapland (Finland to see the northern lights)!! Every once in a while I work and put your tax dollars to work!
Milan was amazing, I remember thinking there are not enough superlatives to describe this city and everything it has to offer. I flew to Milan on Saturday and once I was checked into my hotel I went to the city center. Unfortunately on the way to Milan I realized that despite all of my good intentions I had forgotten the battery to my camera! So my first stop was the camera shop....I then went to La Scala which is the most famous Opera house there is. I didn't have a spare $445 to attend the opera so I went on a tour during the day. It was an amazing site, I was able to walk inside and see the stage-which was tiny. I then walked over to the Duomo (cathedral), this Duomo is very unique in that you can walk around on the roof. It was amazing-the sky was picture perfect and the views spectacular (once again not enough superlatives). I spent quite a bit of time just enjoying the view and the peace and quiet. After one or two or maybe even three gelato stops I made my way back to the hotel.
On Sunday I had a reservation at 8:30 to see the Last Supper-I didn't realize until I started researching Milan that the Last Supper is not a painting (embarrasing I know) but a fresco on a wall in a room next to a church. Sadly the fresco is slowly crumbling. They only allow 15 people into the room at a time and you have to be "sprayed" before you go in the room. When you walk into the room the Last Supper takes up a whole wall and it is breathtaking. You are allowed to be in the room for 15 minutes and can't take any pictures. Luckily there are benches so you can sit down and just drink it all in. Believe it or not at some point in history someone thought it was a good idea to cut a door into the fresco. After enjoying my short time with the Last Supper I headed to the train station and Lake Cuomo. At Cuomo I hopped onto a boat and headed to a little town called Bellagio. The two hour trip was (need a new superlative) spectacular. The Alps are visible in the background and the shore is dotted with little towns. I decided not to take time out of my touring to visit George Clooney-who famously has a villa on Lake Cuomo. Once I arrived in Bellagio I walked around the town and had a gelato or two or three. The town is built onto a hill which means quite a bit of up and down (which is a good thing when eating your weight in gelato)!
I have been enjoying listening to my beloved Cowboys on the internet! I still get nervous, even 3,000 miles away.
I am looking forward to Halloween, we have a party at the Marine House on Saturday I have decided to go as "joe the plumber" I have a plunger and a grey t-shirt what else do I need!!!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
A quiet Sunday night
Greetings from The Hague. Not much going on here in The Hague. I will be in Milan in two weeks and I am very excited. Usually I plan and research and prepare for every trip I take (those that have traveled with me understand......)but I have hardly done any preparation for this trip. I have my tickets, a hotel room, two passports and a couple of guide books, what else does one need? I did try to get tickets to the Opera but did not have any luck. I am trying to get a reservation for the Last Supper (not my Last Supper of course but the famous painting). You can make a reservation to see it for 15 minutes, after you have been sprayed down for any chemicals you may have on you-I think it sounds very interesting and very blog worthy. Work continues to be busy and interesting-before my next move I am going to research employment law and that will play a large part in my preference list. Who cares if it is a third world country and I won't have internet-I want to know if my new post has unlimited sick leave! I am still in awe of a country that allows employees to have unlimited sick leave, AND if an employee is sick they are paid for TWO years (granted the second year is only 70%). AND as you get older you accrue additional annual leave. When you are 65 an employee earns 32 days of annual leave a year on top of the 22 days of holidays we have. But enough about that.....I have a new "it's not possible story". I joined the gym down the street from my apartment. I went in the first day to look around and see what it is all about and decided I wanted to join for 1 year, after all it is cheaper and we all know about the dollar vs. the euro. I soon found it "it is not possible" to join for an entire year until you have been with the gym for a year paying a monthly fee. I just don't say anything any more, I just file the newest "iinp" (it is not possible abbreviation for future blogs) away, smile and nod and remind myself I am living in Europe! I have been entertaining alot and will be hosting an Embassy wide Wine and Cheese party on October 17th, I had my very fun dress rehersal W&C (wine and cheese abbreviation for future blogs....) but I have found that entertaining in a foreign country is like preparing for a party with one hand tied behind your back and a blind fold on. The simplest things that you take for granted are nowhere to be found-for example tooth picks-who knew that Dutch people don't believe in tooth picks? I was making brownies only to find it was not possible to fit my 9X12 inch pan into my oven! What can you do but laugh and serve brownie batter for dessert and tell people it is an Oklahoma thing? Well I am off to bed-I am still trying to recover from staying up until 4:00am to listen to OSU demolish Troy, then get up at 8:30 to go to a 3 hour brunch, come home to prepare for a group of 6 to come over and have dinner and watch football (do you know I am becoming quite adept at planning meals that don't require tooth picks OR my oven).
Monday, September 15, 2008
It's not possible......
The most well used words in the Dutch language...it's not possible. When I first arrived many expats told me about the favorite words for anyone related to customer service but I didn't believe them. I must say I am now in the "it's not possible" camp. I will share with you a few examples. Ziggo (internet/cable/landline company THE only internet/cable/landline company in existence) coined the phrase. One of my colleagues was having trouble with their tv-so they blocked 3 hours out of the day to call ziggo, which charges per minute if you call them using your cell phone, she was so frustrated because nothing they tried worked. They were able to get the tv picture but no sound. After the second call she finally asked if it was possible to send a technician to fix the problem, there was silence on the other end and a small voice said-but that is not possible, we only send out technicians for big problems!! Then I heard the story (true) of a friend who went to purchase a cell phone and a cell phone plan. She went the first day and found it was not possible to sign the plan AND leave with a phone on the same day. So being a true believer she went back the next day actually believing she would have a cell phone THAT day. The salesman said I can't give you your phone, nor can I tell you why I can't give you a phone, we have mailed you a letter that will tell you why you can't get your phone today. The logical line of thinking would be for the sales person to divulge the contents of this mysterious letter.....but it was not possible. But I must say the it's not possible to end all it's not possibles happened last week when a group of us went to a restaurant. I felt like I had fallen onto the front page of the Onion. There were 6 of us and we were going to *gasp* order dinner. The waiter came over and leaned over the table and imparted this gem...he says...with a table this large we could only order 3 different hot main meals after all we don't want to overwhelm the kitchen. As a newly minted member of the it's not possible club I wanted to say "well we had better not pay at the end of the meal after all I don't want to overwhelm the kitchen" instead we all just ordered another glass of wine and a every appetizer on the menu....it turns out all things are possible!
Monday, September 8, 2008
How 'bout them Cowboys
I must say I was very happy Sunday morning when I woke up to find that my beloved Cowboys had won-as I like to say we are still in the hunt for a National Championship!
All is well in the Hague-as soon as September hit we have had cold, windy and wet weather. The heat in my apartment is already on! Yesterday 4 of us went to the Army base about 2 and 1/2 hours away. You would have thought we had been stranded on a desert island for years rather than living in a first world country for 3 months! We could barely fit everything into my Jeep for the trip home-of course between all of us we probably had 35 bottles of wine but MOST importantly 2 jars of pickled okra. When I saw the pickled okra I think my cheeks became damp with tears I was so happy. The funniest part is that we all shopped as though we were going BACK to a desert island, after all I know I am going to need 7 brownie mixes and 5 cans of cream of chicken soup.
I have already planned my Columbus day trip, I am going to go to Milan. I was going to just go up to Lake Como but have decided to stay in Milan and then go up to the Lakes next time I go. I don't know what I am going to do in November when we don't have a 3 day weekend, we have to work the Friday after Thanksgiving and I am duty officer that week so can't go anywhere.
Paris was great-I went with 3 friends and we had a fantastic time. Lots of wine and cheese. I was very proud of myself, I was relaxed and didn't feel the need to organize and plan (for any of you that have traveled with me you know that is quite a coup). On the first day we walked to the Eifel tower and sat in the park and drank some wine, then we walked to the Champs de Elysses to go to the Louis Vuitton store, off to Sacre Cour-the best view in Paris. We then sat in the grass, ate our picnic and you guessed it drank some wine....the next day we slept in (what a surprise given all of the wine). We had our omelets for breakfast and made our way to the Orsay museum-which is my favorite museum. We then went to lunch, while at lunch we ordered some Asparagus as an appetizer. The waiter asked us how pink we wanted our appetizer-at this point you would have thought that we would have thought something was wrong at this point but nnnnoooo...we asked for our asparagus to be not so pink. Imagine our surprise when our 9 Euro aspargus turned out to be 24 Euro PINK lamb chops. Once again who has heard of pink asparagus?? We headed over to Notre Dame and walked around the Latin Quarter. For dinner we went to the park at the Eiffel Tower and had dinner which consisted of wine and cheese! When in France! Upon my return from France I learned that I am a true Cowboy fan. I settled on to the couch to watch the game against Washington State (I love Slingbox). To my dismay, even though I knew the score I was convinced the Cowboys would some how manage to not win the replay!!
I have to get ready for my (don't laugh) wine and cheese party on Friday night. I have invited all of the my coworkers that live in my apartment complex. It is really sad but I schedule my hosted social events around the week my housekeeper comes!
All is well in the Hague-as soon as September hit we have had cold, windy and wet weather. The heat in my apartment is already on! Yesterday 4 of us went to the Army base about 2 and 1/2 hours away. You would have thought we had been stranded on a desert island for years rather than living in a first world country for 3 months! We could barely fit everything into my Jeep for the trip home-of course between all of us we probably had 35 bottles of wine but MOST importantly 2 jars of pickled okra. When I saw the pickled okra I think my cheeks became damp with tears I was so happy. The funniest part is that we all shopped as though we were going BACK to a desert island, after all I know I am going to need 7 brownie mixes and 5 cans of cream of chicken soup.
I have already planned my Columbus day trip, I am going to go to Milan. I was going to just go up to Lake Como but have decided to stay in Milan and then go up to the Lakes next time I go. I don't know what I am going to do in November when we don't have a 3 day weekend, we have to work the Friday after Thanksgiving and I am duty officer that week so can't go anywhere.
Paris was great-I went with 3 friends and we had a fantastic time. Lots of wine and cheese. I was very proud of myself, I was relaxed and didn't feel the need to organize and plan (for any of you that have traveled with me you know that is quite a coup). On the first day we walked to the Eifel tower and sat in the park and drank some wine, then we walked to the Champs de Elysses to go to the Louis Vuitton store, off to Sacre Cour-the best view in Paris. We then sat in the grass, ate our picnic and you guessed it drank some wine....the next day we slept in (what a surprise given all of the wine). We had our omelets for breakfast and made our way to the Orsay museum-which is my favorite museum. We then went to lunch, while at lunch we ordered some Asparagus as an appetizer. The waiter asked us how pink we wanted our appetizer-at this point you would have thought that we would have thought something was wrong at this point but nnnnoooo...we asked for our asparagus to be not so pink. Imagine our surprise when our 9 Euro aspargus turned out to be 24 Euro PINK lamb chops. Once again who has heard of pink asparagus?? We headed over to Notre Dame and walked around the Latin Quarter. For dinner we went to the park at the Eiffel Tower and had dinner which consisted of wine and cheese! When in France! Upon my return from France I learned that I am a true Cowboy fan. I settled on to the couch to watch the game against Washington State (I love Slingbox). To my dismay, even though I knew the score I was convinced the Cowboys would some how manage to not win the replay!!
I have to get ready for my (don't laugh) wine and cheese party on Friday night. I have invited all of the my coworkers that live in my apartment complex. It is really sad but I schedule my hosted social events around the week my housekeeper comes!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Hello from the Hague
I wanted to impress you with a few fabulous pictures of my apartment, some of you may pick up a few decorating tips. Of course one of which is: use avacado green as sparingly as possible. I am sad the Olympics are over, I have enjoyed watching the Olympics, of course it is much different watching BBC (British Broadcasting Company) I have never seen so much rowing and badminton in my life! Did you even know badminton (or even hand ball)was a sport? But this is after the great Dutch Cable saga was over...I have yet to quite understand how anyone stays in business over here. So I am sure you are hoping to hear about the great Dutch Cable saga....I will begin at the beginning. After waiting for 6 weeks my cable was FINALLY turned on-but what no one tells you (or maybe they did tell me but I was too fascinated with on of my SIX adult channels)is that even though you have already ordered your cable and you are already paying for your cable you have to send in a postcard telling them what cable you want! If you do not turn in said postcard they turn off your cable (SIX adult channels and all). So I call the cable company and after waiting 30 minutes I finally talk to a real person, said real person says I am not in the system. I asked myself, how can one not be in the system but ones bank account can be in the system??? We finally straightened that small problem out and after much gnashing of teeth and unplugging and replugging I have traded my SIX adult channels in for ONE NASN (North American Sports Network!). I was able to watch Lee Corso and the rest of ESPN's game day crew the other day (it sure beat the first round of Latvia VS. Guatemala in badminton).
I am off to Paris for the weekend and I am trying to decide where to go for Columbus Day-I can't decide between Portugual or Italy. I am planning on Malta for Christmas.
Hope all is well in Stillwater.....
I am off to Paris for the weekend and I am trying to decide where to go for Columbus Day-I can't decide between Portugual or Italy. I am planning on Malta for Christmas.
Hope all is well in Stillwater.....
Monday, July 28, 2008
Viva La France!!!
What an amazing trip!!! I left for Paris right after work on Friday and got into my favorite city in the world (except of course for Stillwater, OK) at about 8:30 and hopped into a cab. You have to ride in a cab in Paris-nothing like putting your life on the line in the city of lights. I got to my little bitty 2** hotel that has never heard of air conditioning. I dropped my bags and headed out for a crepe...and a walk around. Saturday I got up and stopped at a Cafe and had breakfast (are you beginning to sense a theme to my trips....). I felt very chic sitting at outside at a French Cafe having breakfast. I ordered an omelet and the waitress looked very confused so I guess one does not have omelets for breakfast in Paris! I then starting strolling through Paris. I hopped on the hop on/hop off taxi boat and took it to the Latin Quarter. I came across an open air market which sold everything from bras and underwear to live fish. I then went to the Cluny museum which had amazing tapestries and stained glass windows in a fantastic old building. I then walked over to Notre Dame and then over to Ile St. Louis and walked down the main drag there. Of course I had to stop for the best gelato I have ever had (I was so enamored I forgot to take a picture!!). I then hopped back on the boat and headed to the Louvre but the line was to long to go in so I just wandered....and started to recon where I was going to watch the race. I found an English bookstore and browsed for a while. I then wandered up the Champs de Elysses. As I was crossing the "street" I held up my camera and tried to get a good shot of the Arc De Truimphe. It's not easy trying to get a pictures as you are dodging scooters, cars and busses! But I am willing to sacrifice for the sake of my blog. I then sauntered back towards my hotel and found myself.....at a Cafe for dinner. So I stopped for a salad and a glass of wine. I stopped myself at dessert (mainly because sitting next to me on the seat were pastries from Laudree.) I had to have a lemon tart and an eclair. I had sauntered quite a bit and felt they were well deserved!
When planning for the trip I made a rookie mistake and planned on coming home on Sunday. I won't make that mistake next year. Since I was leaving I decided to take a cab over to the train station and drop off my bag. I couldn't get a taxi to take me anywhere near the Champs de Elysee and it was only 10:00 in the morning so I finally just said take me as close as possible. I ended up near the Louvre and it was impossible to get around! They were already blocking off different streets. I finally took the back way and ended up at "my spot" I had decided I wanted to be on the "uphill" side of the CdE (Champs de Elysee) because the bikers would be going slower as they past me! I bought lunch and 2 bottles of water (no bathrooms=no wine) and scoped out my spot. I wanted to be on right against the railing. It made for fantastic people watching!!! I plopped down and ate my lunch, read my book and watched people. I ended up between a very happy group of Norwegians and on the other side some Dutch folks. The riders were scheduled to arrive at about 3:45...but before the riders arrived there was the strangest parade I had ever seen. All of the sponsers of the Tour had cars and 18 wheelers, some of the cars were made up into strange floats. Then they would swerve up and down the street honking!!!! It was the loudest parade I have ever seen-since when are 18 wheelers parade floats? I was wearing an OSU ball cap and sure enough I ran into an OSU person. She graduated a couple of years ago and is working in an architect firm. It is amazing how much you can find in common with another Cowgirl! The riders finally arrived at about 4:45. It was so exciting!! They just whoosh by. The yellow jersey rides with his team in the front and then all of the team cars drive by. Every time the Dutch car would drive by the Dutch couple and I would yell "Hup Hup Holland!" Everyone goes crazy as they ride by and then they go around the Arc De Truimph and then down the other side of the CdE. We all laughed because you wait for about 5 hours for 20 seconds of whooping and cheering, then you wait again while they circle around and another exciting 20 seconds!!! Since I hadn't plan well I had to leave after the 6th round!! I never dreamed they would be so late. But it was so much fun to see them drive by, see all of the cars with all of the bikes, tv cameras etc. drive by. I will try to go again next year, after they finish the race the riders come out and sign autographs etc!!
Well I had better start cleaning up. I am actually having company this week (I made the plans because I knew it would make me get organized!
Au Revoir
When planning for the trip I made a rookie mistake and planned on coming home on Sunday. I won't make that mistake next year. Since I was leaving I decided to take a cab over to the train station and drop off my bag. I couldn't get a taxi to take me anywhere near the Champs de Elysee and it was only 10:00 in the morning so I finally just said take me as close as possible. I ended up near the Louvre and it was impossible to get around! They were already blocking off different streets. I finally took the back way and ended up at "my spot" I had decided I wanted to be on the "uphill" side of the CdE (Champs de Elysee) because the bikers would be going slower as they past me! I bought lunch and 2 bottles of water (no bathrooms=no wine) and scoped out my spot. I wanted to be on right against the railing. It made for fantastic people watching!!! I plopped down and ate my lunch, read my book and watched people. I ended up between a very happy group of Norwegians and on the other side some Dutch folks. The riders were scheduled to arrive at about 3:45...but before the riders arrived there was the strangest parade I had ever seen. All of the sponsers of the Tour had cars and 18 wheelers, some of the cars were made up into strange floats. Then they would swerve up and down the street honking!!!! It was the loudest parade I have ever seen-since when are 18 wheelers parade floats? I was wearing an OSU ball cap and sure enough I ran into an OSU person. She graduated a couple of years ago and is working in an architect firm. It is amazing how much you can find in common with another Cowgirl! The riders finally arrived at about 4:45. It was so exciting!! They just whoosh by. The yellow jersey rides with his team in the front and then all of the team cars drive by. Every time the Dutch car would drive by the Dutch couple and I would yell "Hup Hup Holland!" Everyone goes crazy as they ride by and then they go around the Arc De Truimph and then down the other side of the CdE. We all laughed because you wait for about 5 hours for 20 seconds of whooping and cheering, then you wait again while they circle around and another exciting 20 seconds!!! Since I hadn't plan well I had to leave after the 6th round!! I never dreamed they would be so late. But it was so much fun to see them drive by, see all of the cars with all of the bikes, tv cameras etc. drive by. I will try to go again next year, after they finish the race the riders come out and sign autographs etc!!
Well I had better start cleaning up. I am actually having company this week (I made the plans because I knew it would make me get organized!
Au Revoir
Monday, July 21, 2008
Rain Rain Go Away
I don't think I remember the last time I saw the sun. It feels like a dreary spring. I can't imagine what spring will really be like. I am thinking a trip to Portugual or Italy is in my future. Of course this is after my weekend adventure to the Tour De France!! I am so excited. I am taking the high speed train on Friday after work and will come back Sunday evening. I wonder how many lemon tarts I can eat in a 48 hour period?
Life is very interesting in Holland. I went to Amsterdam on a business trip on Friday (In all my years I never dreamed those words would come out of my mouth!)I have a musuem pass and it is so nice being able to walk into the museums for just a few minutes and see Rembrandt's and Van Gogh's. Of course this is as long as the fumes don't get you on the way in. I was worried we would have a drug test this week-just walking around A'dam (as the cool people call it) is enough to give you the munchies. As much as I enjoy living here there are some frustrations. Most stores close at 18:00 except for Thursday night where they stay open until 20:00-which is happy hour night so not much shopping gets done on Thursdays. Stores are closed on Sunday and most of Monday. I do wonder how stores make money and stay in business but I guess it has worked for years without me throwing in my 2 cents.
Work is good-very busy. We are getting ready for the Ambassador's arrival. He will get here end of the month which will be interesting. Chances are I will get to "break in" another Ambassador before I leave post. I must say Foreign Service folks are very social. Alot of activites revolve around the Marine House. We have a group of Marines that work at the Embassy-but they have a very distinct job. They are here to protect the documents and not the people! We heard that 100's of times during training. What it means is that if the need to evacuate post (in Holland that might be due to a cheese shortage) the Marines are responsible for any documents or materials disposal. Anyway the Marine House is where all of the Marines live-for this duty they must all be single (I am old enough to be their mother) but they have a bar and an event once or twice a month. Those events are usually supplemented by Happy Hours so I keep pretty busy.
That's all from here-more after the Tour!
Life is very interesting in Holland. I went to Amsterdam on a business trip on Friday (In all my years I never dreamed those words would come out of my mouth!)I have a musuem pass and it is so nice being able to walk into the museums for just a few minutes and see Rembrandt's and Van Gogh's. Of course this is as long as the fumes don't get you on the way in. I was worried we would have a drug test this week-just walking around A'dam (as the cool people call it) is enough to give you the munchies. As much as I enjoy living here there are some frustrations. Most stores close at 18:00 except for Thursday night where they stay open until 20:00-which is happy hour night so not much shopping gets done on Thursdays. Stores are closed on Sunday and most of Monday. I do wonder how stores make money and stay in business but I guess it has worked for years without me throwing in my 2 cents.
Work is good-very busy. We are getting ready for the Ambassador's arrival. He will get here end of the month which will be interesting. Chances are I will get to "break in" another Ambassador before I leave post. I must say Foreign Service folks are very social. Alot of activites revolve around the Marine House. We have a group of Marines that work at the Embassy-but they have a very distinct job. They are here to protect the documents and not the people! We heard that 100's of times during training. What it means is that if the need to evacuate post (in Holland that might be due to a cheese shortage) the Marines are responsible for any documents or materials disposal. Anyway the Marine House is where all of the Marines live-for this duty they must all be single (I am old enough to be their mother) but they have a bar and an event once or twice a month. Those events are usually supplemented by Happy Hours so I keep pretty busy.
That's all from here-more after the Tour!
Monday, July 14, 2008
You know you are in Holland when.....
I finally got my cable hooked up tonight so I was scanning through my 60 someodd channels and low and behold about 6 of those are "adult" viewing! You know you are in Holland when roughly 10% of your cable is adult viewing.....I didn't even order the premium channels! I just wanted to have the North American Sports channel.
I returned from Dublin safe and sound. I had a great time. On Friday I went to the old castle and had a tour, then I went to one of the old churches (everything in Dublin is old) and was able to sit in on an evening prayer service (it was an Anglican church). The next day I got up and went to Trinity college where there was another guided tour. The tour guide was a college student which made it alot of fun. Along with the tour you get to see the book of Kells which are.....old books in what kind of library??? OLD! But the books were fascinating. I then went for lunch at a little place called the Queen of Tarts-I would have gone there just for the name but the food was actually quite good. I then went on a hop on and off tour bus so I could see more parts of Dublin. I decided to skip the Guiness Brewery it was 14 Euros to get in and I didn't have time to do everything I wanted to do. So I stayed on the bus and went to a very old jail! Actually the jail was my favorite part of the trip. We had a guided tour and I learned alot of the history. For being such an old place (I don't know if I mentioned that Dublin is old or not) there is also a very recent history with an uprising in the early 1900's in which about 15 people were executed (at the jail). After I finished the tour I took the light rail about 20 minutes out and went to a fishing village and walked around. It was beautiful-of course it was cold and rainy but I felt very Irish with my wind swept hair! I saw an old abbey and climbed up a hill to look out over the ocean. I should have stuck my toe in to say I had been in the Irish sea!
The next morning I got up and went for a typical Irish breakfast (of which I took a picture). A typical Irish breakfast consists of: bacon, an egg, sausage, blood sausage and something else I wasn't quite sure about. I only ate food I recognized-I'm not that adventurous! I spent the rest of the day walking around, I found a bookstore and of course was in there for hours! All in all it was a great trip. The hotel was typical European hotel, I had to walk up 3 flights of stairs, around a corner up more stairs and down a hallway (I kept hoping to run into Harry Potter!). The room had a heated towel rack-that is when you know you have arrived!
I am off to Paris in two weeks. I was watching the Tour de France Sunday and decided I needed to be in Paris to watch it end! So I booked a ticket and made a room reservation! I am very excited. I am proctoring the Foreign Service Exam tomorrow so I had better get a good nights sleep!
Jamie
I returned from Dublin safe and sound. I had a great time. On Friday I went to the old castle and had a tour, then I went to one of the old churches (everything in Dublin is old) and was able to sit in on an evening prayer service (it was an Anglican church). The next day I got up and went to Trinity college where there was another guided tour. The tour guide was a college student which made it alot of fun. Along with the tour you get to see the book of Kells which are.....old books in what kind of library??? OLD! But the books were fascinating. I then went for lunch at a little place called the Queen of Tarts-I would have gone there just for the name but the food was actually quite good. I then went on a hop on and off tour bus so I could see more parts of Dublin. I decided to skip the Guiness Brewery it was 14 Euros to get in and I didn't have time to do everything I wanted to do. So I stayed on the bus and went to a very old jail! Actually the jail was my favorite part of the trip. We had a guided tour and I learned alot of the history. For being such an old place (I don't know if I mentioned that Dublin is old or not) there is also a very recent history with an uprising in the early 1900's in which about 15 people were executed (at the jail). After I finished the tour I took the light rail about 20 minutes out and went to a fishing village and walked around. It was beautiful-of course it was cold and rainy but I felt very Irish with my wind swept hair! I saw an old abbey and climbed up a hill to look out over the ocean. I should have stuck my toe in to say I had been in the Irish sea!
The next morning I got up and went for a typical Irish breakfast (of which I took a picture). A typical Irish breakfast consists of: bacon, an egg, sausage, blood sausage and something else I wasn't quite sure about. I only ate food I recognized-I'm not that adventurous! I spent the rest of the day walking around, I found a bookstore and of course was in there for hours! All in all it was a great trip. The hotel was typical European hotel, I had to walk up 3 flights of stairs, around a corner up more stairs and down a hallway (I kept hoping to run into Harry Potter!). The room had a heated towel rack-that is when you know you have arrived!
I am off to Paris in two weeks. I was watching the Tour de France Sunday and decided I needed to be in Paris to watch it end! So I booked a ticket and made a room reservation! I am very excited. I am proctoring the Foreign Service Exam tomorrow so I had better get a good nights sleep!
Jamie
Friday, July 4, 2008
Happy 4th of July from Dublin!!!
Good morning!
I just arrived in Dublin and have already created the ultimate tourist faux pas....I took a picture of my lunch! I went to a "typical" Irish restaurant (full of American tourists!!) and ordered Irish stew and it was very good and very picturesque. It was also beef, probably the first time I have had beef since I have been overseas. Not much beef to be found in the Netherlands, I also can't find cheddar cheese! There is EVERY kind of Gouda and Edam but not a bit of cheddar!
I now have my first official 4th of July function under my belt. On Tuesday we had the official party, Dutch Parliament is out today and there was concern that the attendance would be way down if we had it today-which was great for me! It was held at the official residence-of course I had already been there to have tea with the staff....I didn't realize official functions would be such hard work! Being gracious for 3 hours is hard work! I met two of my "contacts" so it was well worth it. The day dawned bright and blue and I remember thinking, it is just as well we didn't bother with the giant tent in the back yard this year it isn't going to rain! Everyone stood around and drank beer and wine for an hour until it was time for the Marines to raise the flag. As soon as the Marines started across the lawn there was a deluge of rain! Everyone started to run towards the house, as we were going up the stairs my heel caught on the steps and I lost my shoe! I had visions of being trampled as if I was at Woodstock...luckily I made it under cover with both of my shoes and my dignity! During the afternoon I must have been asked 10 times who I thought would win the election and I responded "according to CNN it is a statistical dead heat, we will all find our in November" talk about being diplomatic! (I guess my 6 months in DC weren't wasted!) With my luck if I had given an opinion the headline the next day would read "American official predicts November election! Our Ambassador arrives on August 1st which is going to be very interesting as all Ambassador's political appointees or career appointees will turn in a resignation on the day of the inauguration.
I had better get back on to the streets of Dublin. I am hoping my internet is on when I get home. My phone isn't working here so I am not able to call my neighbor to see if they came to install it today.
Have a happy 4th!
I just arrived in Dublin and have already created the ultimate tourist faux pas....I took a picture of my lunch! I went to a "typical" Irish restaurant (full of American tourists!!) and ordered Irish stew and it was very good and very picturesque. It was also beef, probably the first time I have had beef since I have been overseas. Not much beef to be found in the Netherlands, I also can't find cheddar cheese! There is EVERY kind of Gouda and Edam but not a bit of cheddar!
I now have my first official 4th of July function under my belt. On Tuesday we had the official party, Dutch Parliament is out today and there was concern that the attendance would be way down if we had it today-which was great for me! It was held at the official residence-of course I had already been there to have tea with the staff....I didn't realize official functions would be such hard work! Being gracious for 3 hours is hard work! I met two of my "contacts" so it was well worth it. The day dawned bright and blue and I remember thinking, it is just as well we didn't bother with the giant tent in the back yard this year it isn't going to rain! Everyone stood around and drank beer and wine for an hour until it was time for the Marines to raise the flag. As soon as the Marines started across the lawn there was a deluge of rain! Everyone started to run towards the house, as we were going up the stairs my heel caught on the steps and I lost my shoe! I had visions of being trampled as if I was at Woodstock...luckily I made it under cover with both of my shoes and my dignity! During the afternoon I must have been asked 10 times who I thought would win the election and I responded "according to CNN it is a statistical dead heat, we will all find our in November" talk about being diplomatic! (I guess my 6 months in DC weren't wasted!) With my luck if I had given an opinion the headline the next day would read "American official predicts November election! Our Ambassador arrives on August 1st which is going to be very interesting as all Ambassador's political appointees or career appointees will turn in a resignation on the day of the inauguration.
I had better get back on to the streets of Dublin. I am hoping my internet is on when I get home. My phone isn't working here so I am not able to call my neighbor to see if they came to install it today.
Have a happy 4th!
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Cheese Cheese Everywhere
Good morning-I am at a little bagel place called Bagel & Beans down the street from me since I STILL don't have internet access at home!! Holland is the land of Monopolies (and I don't mean Park Place Monopolies!). There is only one cable/internet/phone company and they were scheduled to make an appearance last Tuesday but they had "overbooked" and would be more than happy to come over on July 5th (a Saturday, a Saturday of my first 3 day weekend in Europe!). Luckily my neighbor-who is having the same problem will let the cable company in. So I am keeping my fingers crossed that when I return from Dublin I will have internet. Luckily the apartment still has cable so I can get my daily dose of Dr. Phil at night with Dutch subtitles.
All is well here, we are preparing for the July 4th festivities(from my understanding no turtle racing or seed spitting contests) actually they are July 2nd this year because Dutch parliment will be out and no one would be here on the 4th (yeah us!). It is at the Ambassador's residence-which I got a tour of last week by the Residence Manager. I will have to attend because I need to meet my contacts-I didn't even knew I had contacts! It is very small this year because we currently do not have an Ambassador in residence. Then early on Friday I am headed out to Dublin!!! I am very excited. I found out last week that I don't have to go to the consulates 4th of July celebration (no contacts there I guess) on the actual 4th of July so I am free to travel. I found what I thought was a good fair to Dublin on Aer Lingus. THEN I started the process of filling out all of the necessary information.......will you be checking a bag? 15 Euro (the answer is no-15 Euro will buy some Guiness)...would you like a seat!!!!!!! I had to pay 5 Euro each way to have a seat! Of course I could have paid 10 Euro to sit closer to the front of the plane or if I was feeling flush, as all government employees do, I could have paid 15 Euro for a bulk head seat!!!! So by the time I paid for everything-I am sure I will have to pay to check in, pay to use the bathroom and might even have to pay to pedal the plane! I am still very excited about the trip.
I am taking this weekend very easy-you almost feel guilty if you are living in Europe and you aren't out and about touristing. But this is the first weekend I have had a chance to revel in the fact that my household goods came last week. I was very lucky in that my parents were here when my household goods came. I went in to work for a few hours and by the time I got home at 9:00am most of the truck was unloaded and a number of boxes unpacked. The movers were gone by 10:30! It was quite a luxury for me to come home every afternoon and see the progress being made by my helpers! Don't worry it was not all work and no play. We went to Gouda-which is about 30 minutes by train and walked around the town and saw an amazing church with 70% of the stained glass in the Netherlands. We then watched with great disappointment as Holland lost to Russia in the EuroCup. Sunday was almost a national day of mourning after the loss.
I had forgotten how stressful moving is. I still don't remember my address: I feel like I am six again and need to have it pinned to my shirt. But could you remember Schenevingsweg (which I am sure I have misspelled)? That is the name of my street-Schenevingen is the name of the beach which is about a mile away. During the war the Dutch would ask anyone they felt might be a German spy posing as a Dutch citizen to pronounce Scheneveingen-if they could they new they were Dutch if they couldn't they were caught!
I am about out of battery and I may have worn out my welcome so I will close. I will try to write next week from Dublin!
All is well here, we are preparing for the July 4th festivities(from my understanding no turtle racing or seed spitting contests) actually they are July 2nd this year because Dutch parliment will be out and no one would be here on the 4th (yeah us!). It is at the Ambassador's residence-which I got a tour of last week by the Residence Manager. I will have to attend because I need to meet my contacts-I didn't even knew I had contacts! It is very small this year because we currently do not have an Ambassador in residence. Then early on Friday I am headed out to Dublin!!! I am very excited. I found out last week that I don't have to go to the consulates 4th of July celebration (no contacts there I guess) on the actual 4th of July so I am free to travel. I found what I thought was a good fair to Dublin on Aer Lingus. THEN I started the process of filling out all of the necessary information.......will you be checking a bag? 15 Euro (the answer is no-15 Euro will buy some Guiness)...would you like a seat!!!!!!! I had to pay 5 Euro each way to have a seat! Of course I could have paid 10 Euro to sit closer to the front of the plane or if I was feeling flush, as all government employees do, I could have paid 15 Euro for a bulk head seat!!!! So by the time I paid for everything-I am sure I will have to pay to check in, pay to use the bathroom and might even have to pay to pedal the plane! I am still very excited about the trip.
I am taking this weekend very easy-you almost feel guilty if you are living in Europe and you aren't out and about touristing. But this is the first weekend I have had a chance to revel in the fact that my household goods came last week. I was very lucky in that my parents were here when my household goods came. I went in to work for a few hours and by the time I got home at 9:00am most of the truck was unloaded and a number of boxes unpacked. The movers were gone by 10:30! It was quite a luxury for me to come home every afternoon and see the progress being made by my helpers! Don't worry it was not all work and no play. We went to Gouda-which is about 30 minutes by train and walked around the town and saw an amazing church with 70% of the stained glass in the Netherlands. We then watched with great disappointment as Holland lost to Russia in the EuroCup. Sunday was almost a national day of mourning after the loss.
I had forgotten how stressful moving is. I still don't remember my address: I feel like I am six again and need to have it pinned to my shirt. But could you remember Schenevingsweg (which I am sure I have misspelled)? That is the name of my street-Schenevingen is the name of the beach which is about a mile away. During the war the Dutch would ask anyone they felt might be a German spy posing as a Dutch citizen to pronounce Scheneveingen-if they could they new they were Dutch if they couldn't they were caught!
I am about out of battery and I may have worn out my welcome so I will close. I will try to write next week from Dublin!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Hallo from Amsterdam
Greetings-
I decided to pop into Amsterdam for the day before picking my parents up from the airport. I won't have internet connection until June 24th so when I saw the opportunity to post a quick blog I took advantage. I do want to make it clear that any errors in typing or spelling come from a European style of keyboard not from anything that is offered in Amsterdam!!
All is orange in Holland so I feel very much at home! The Euro Cup is on and Holland is shocking the world! They won the first match against Italy in convincing fashion on Monday. I had the tv on in one room and was doing something elsewhere in the apartment when I start hearing all sorts of loud noise from outside-I thought I was going to have to duck and cover and start preparing to evacuate when I realized Holland had just scored a goal! If you look out on the streets during a game there is not a soul in site. Last night they beat France (and Who doesn't like to beat France!) so they are automatically in the quarterfinals-very exciting stuff! I made alot of friends when I wore some of my orange this week to work! (Orange is the national color).
I must say I felt very civilized last week when I rode the tram home from work, got off with my reusable shopping back, stopped in to at the local Cheese monger, purchased my cheese for the week, moved on to the bakery and bought some bread and finally stopped in at the local grocery store to finish my shopping. I then loaded up my reusable bag and started walking home. I felt so very Dutch. I have decided this should be the newest diet rage: you only eat what you can carry! It does make a difference in what you buy when you realize you must carry it home. (Thank goodness chocolate doesn't weigh very much!) I could have also stopped at the Herring stand for my freshly gutted herring covered in onions and eaten in one bite but I decided that there is not enough Heineken in Holland for me to take a chance on Herring!
I haven't ridden my bike yet BUT I have unlocked it and walked it around the parking lot. I haven't had a chance to register for local health care so I figure I had better wait until I do that before I begin biking.....I will be a pro before this is all over.
Well my 15 minutes on the internet are up. I am looking forward to having company for a week and hopefully my household goods will arrive while I have an extra pair of hands.
More later....
I decided to pop into Amsterdam for the day before picking my parents up from the airport. I won't have internet connection until June 24th so when I saw the opportunity to post a quick blog I took advantage. I do want to make it clear that any errors in typing or spelling come from a European style of keyboard not from anything that is offered in Amsterdam!!
All is orange in Holland so I feel very much at home! The Euro Cup is on and Holland is shocking the world! They won the first match against Italy in convincing fashion on Monday. I had the tv on in one room and was doing something elsewhere in the apartment when I start hearing all sorts of loud noise from outside-I thought I was going to have to duck and cover and start preparing to evacuate when I realized Holland had just scored a goal! If you look out on the streets during a game there is not a soul in site. Last night they beat France (and Who doesn't like to beat France!) so they are automatically in the quarterfinals-very exciting stuff! I made alot of friends when I wore some of my orange this week to work! (Orange is the national color).
I must say I felt very civilized last week when I rode the tram home from work, got off with my reusable shopping back, stopped in to at the local Cheese monger, purchased my cheese for the week, moved on to the bakery and bought some bread and finally stopped in at the local grocery store to finish my shopping. I then loaded up my reusable bag and started walking home. I felt so very Dutch. I have decided this should be the newest diet rage: you only eat what you can carry! It does make a difference in what you buy when you realize you must carry it home. (Thank goodness chocolate doesn't weigh very much!) I could have also stopped at the Herring stand for my freshly gutted herring covered in onions and eaten in one bite but I decided that there is not enough Heineken in Holland for me to take a chance on Herring!
I haven't ridden my bike yet BUT I have unlocked it and walked it around the parking lot. I haven't had a chance to register for local health care so I figure I had better wait until I do that before I begin biking.....I will be a pro before this is all over.
Well my 15 minutes on the internet are up. I am looking forward to having company for a week and hopefully my household goods will arrive while I have an extra pair of hands.
More later....
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
3 days and counting until the Herring Festival
I have to say I am counting down the hours until the Herring Festival on Saturday. I am not exactly sure what it entails but I do know that lots raw herrings, onions and brown bread. It will be this weekend at the Harbor (did I mention that I live 1 mile from the beach?). I haven't decided if I am brave enough to see what it is all about.
Work has been crazy busy. I have told myself that I leave at 6:00, I could stay all night long but everything will still be there in the morning. Tomorrow there is an awards ceremony and guess who gets to MC? I have spent the entire day practicing my Dutch pronunciation.
I have my bicycle, I feel like I am 6 years old again-I plan to practice by riding around the apartment building, then up and down the street and then maybe over to the next street and back-maybe by the time I leave I will have worked my up to riding to work. The big big accessory are the saddle bags on the back of the bike-they come in bright flowery patterns (I think that is the only way you can pick your bike out of the hundreds that are lined up on the street).
I am starting to get used to Dutch food, my sponser was nice enough to provide me with groceries at the apartment. I remember looking at some cookies the first day and they word Rom in the title so I thought-I think those look really good but I don't want to eat anything with Rum in it when I am so jetlagged. I finally found out that Rom meant cream and they were cream cookies! My restaurant dictionary is my most important accessory.
Dutch tv is very interesting. I have 34 channels-some are in French, some are in German we have one or two in Dutch (to include Hannah Montana), CNN and BBC sometimes I will be watching something for a few minutes and I finally realize it isn't in English (especially Hannah Montana!) I had a great weekend I didn't hear the words Obama, Clinton and McCain for a whole weekend and it was fantastic (I don't think it will last).
We have a three day weekend coming up for the 4th of July-hhhmmm what should I do? Am I in the mood to head to Barcelona? Maybe Ireland or Lake Cuomo in Italy?? Life is rough!
Work has been crazy busy. I have told myself that I leave at 6:00, I could stay all night long but everything will still be there in the morning. Tomorrow there is an awards ceremony and guess who gets to MC? I have spent the entire day practicing my Dutch pronunciation.
I have my bicycle, I feel like I am 6 years old again-I plan to practice by riding around the apartment building, then up and down the street and then maybe over to the next street and back-maybe by the time I leave I will have worked my up to riding to work. The big big accessory are the saddle bags on the back of the bike-they come in bright flowery patterns (I think that is the only way you can pick your bike out of the hundreds that are lined up on the street).
I am starting to get used to Dutch food, my sponser was nice enough to provide me with groceries at the apartment. I remember looking at some cookies the first day and they word Rom in the title so I thought-I think those look really good but I don't want to eat anything with Rum in it when I am so jetlagged. I finally found out that Rom meant cream and they were cream cookies! My restaurant dictionary is my most important accessory.
Dutch tv is very interesting. I have 34 channels-some are in French, some are in German we have one or two in Dutch (to include Hannah Montana), CNN and BBC sometimes I will be watching something for a few minutes and I finally realize it isn't in English (especially Hannah Montana!) I had a great weekend I didn't hear the words Obama, Clinton and McCain for a whole weekend and it was fantastic (I don't think it will last).
We have a three day weekend coming up for the 4th of July-hhhmmm what should I do? Am I in the mood to head to Barcelona? Maybe Ireland or Lake Cuomo in Italy?? Life is rough!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Goedemorgen von Den Haag
As you can see my Dutch is progressing admirably! Well I have finally reached the Hague and I am actually at an internet cafe where everything is in Chinese so I fit right in!
I left on Wednesday and had a lincoln town car come to pick me up, I figured I might as well head out in style. The driver was crazy, he kept wanting me to watch (as he was watching) the streaming video on his IPOD-I wondered if I would get a discount if we ran off the road. I arrived at the airport and each of my bags weighed about 65 lbs so I had a $100 surcharge before I even got off the ground! Before my plane left I found a place in the airport that does 10 minute pedicures so I had my last bit of pampering before I left. The flight was fine, somehow I was in economy plus which means that I had 5 extra inches of foot room and it was very nice. I arrived Thursday morning and my sponsor picked me up. Prior to my arrival I emailed my sponsor to ask him what proper attire would be in case I was going to have to go straight into work, he replied no worries he would be the only person I would meet. That made me very happy so I just wore jeans, afterall when I made my first appearance on Friday I would be in a suit and make sure that my crucial first impression was a good one.......it turned out that my sponsor had forgotten my cell phone so we just were going to run in for a minute to pick it up. 5 hours later I left! As soon as I got there he took me in to meet my boss, she then took me up to Country Team meeting which is when all of the section heads meet for the week. She wanted to make sure everyone met me and knew me. I was thinking surely noone will recognize me the next time they see me and I have had a shower, don't have airplane hair and the drool from sleeping off the plane has been wiped off of my shirt. Then I had a series of meetings about situations that needed immediate attention. I wanted to hit the ground running, I need to be careful what I wish for.
I then went to my apartment which is fabulous. It is in a very wooded, green area. I am on what I consider the second floor but when I took the elevator the other day I found out I am on the first floor. I figured this out after a couple of tries trying to get into the wrong apartment! The apartment is very spacious and open with huge windows on either side. There is also a front and back balcony which I have decided is just for show because there isn't any room for a chair much less a table and chairs. The avocado green bathroom is everything I hoped it would be and more, in addition to the avacado green sinks and tub I was blessed with an avocado green bidet. I promise to send pictures. Finally this morning I realized that yes I do have hot water in the shower/tub. I finally figured out that one side of the "faucet" was how much water you want and the OTHER side is temperature. This does make the bathing experience much better.
To get to work I just walk across the street and jump on a tram which takes me about 3 blocks from the Embassy. I am sure you are thinking-how nice to just have to cross the street but it is much more than that. To cross the street you must first look both ways to make sure you don't step in front of a bicycle, once that hurdle is crossed you can cross the street, then another bike path and then the tram tracks. When you walk anywhere you must be aware of bicycles, trams and cars I am sure that at one point I will be hit by one of them and I am hoping it will only be a bicycle. There are bikes and bikers everywhere. I have even seen bikes with cart type attachments in the front so people can put there children in them!
One of my neighbors took me walking around the neighbor hood yesterday. I have a grocery store, bakeries, cheese shops, a butcher and a hardware store just done the street. This morning I tucked my Target reusable bag into my purse and headed to the Albert Hein (my neighborhood grocery store). I put my .50 euro piece in the grocery cart so I could use it and started shopping, I never could find sugar or bars of soap but I am sure they are there. I then bagged my own groceries as all good Europeans do and walked home. I must say knowing you are going to carry your groceries home does change your shopping habits (maybe it is a good thing I didn't find the sugar and the soap).
I hope that anyone that was thinking of coming for a trip will. I have found the Hague to be absolutely charming, I was thinking with all of the government entities here it would just be a big city (Charles Taylor of Liberia fame is on trial). But it is an amazing city that defintely has a small town European feel to it, of course I am going to say that until I get run over by a rogue bicyclist!
Off to the museum and then some exploring. I promise to be a better blogger now that I have exciting things to write about.
I left on Wednesday and had a lincoln town car come to pick me up, I figured I might as well head out in style. The driver was crazy, he kept wanting me to watch (as he was watching) the streaming video on his IPOD-I wondered if I would get a discount if we ran off the road. I arrived at the airport and each of my bags weighed about 65 lbs so I had a $100 surcharge before I even got off the ground! Before my plane left I found a place in the airport that does 10 minute pedicures so I had my last bit of pampering before I left. The flight was fine, somehow I was in economy plus which means that I had 5 extra inches of foot room and it was very nice. I arrived Thursday morning and my sponsor picked me up. Prior to my arrival I emailed my sponsor to ask him what proper attire would be in case I was going to have to go straight into work, he replied no worries he would be the only person I would meet. That made me very happy so I just wore jeans, afterall when I made my first appearance on Friday I would be in a suit and make sure that my crucial first impression was a good one.......it turned out that my sponsor had forgotten my cell phone so we just were going to run in for a minute to pick it up. 5 hours later I left! As soon as I got there he took me in to meet my boss, she then took me up to Country Team meeting which is when all of the section heads meet for the week. She wanted to make sure everyone met me and knew me. I was thinking surely noone will recognize me the next time they see me and I have had a shower, don't have airplane hair and the drool from sleeping off the plane has been wiped off of my shirt. Then I had a series of meetings about situations that needed immediate attention. I wanted to hit the ground running, I need to be careful what I wish for.
I then went to my apartment which is fabulous. It is in a very wooded, green area. I am on what I consider the second floor but when I took the elevator the other day I found out I am on the first floor. I figured this out after a couple of tries trying to get into the wrong apartment! The apartment is very spacious and open with huge windows on either side. There is also a front and back balcony which I have decided is just for show because there isn't any room for a chair much less a table and chairs. The avocado green bathroom is everything I hoped it would be and more, in addition to the avacado green sinks and tub I was blessed with an avocado green bidet. I promise to send pictures. Finally this morning I realized that yes I do have hot water in the shower/tub. I finally figured out that one side of the "faucet" was how much water you want and the OTHER side is temperature. This does make the bathing experience much better.
To get to work I just walk across the street and jump on a tram which takes me about 3 blocks from the Embassy. I am sure you are thinking-how nice to just have to cross the street but it is much more than that. To cross the street you must first look both ways to make sure you don't step in front of a bicycle, once that hurdle is crossed you can cross the street, then another bike path and then the tram tracks. When you walk anywhere you must be aware of bicycles, trams and cars I am sure that at one point I will be hit by one of them and I am hoping it will only be a bicycle. There are bikes and bikers everywhere. I have even seen bikes with cart type attachments in the front so people can put there children in them!
One of my neighbors took me walking around the neighbor hood yesterday. I have a grocery store, bakeries, cheese shops, a butcher and a hardware store just done the street. This morning I tucked my Target reusable bag into my purse and headed to the Albert Hein (my neighborhood grocery store). I put my .50 euro piece in the grocery cart so I could use it and started shopping, I never could find sugar or bars of soap but I am sure they are there. I then bagged my own groceries as all good Europeans do and walked home. I must say knowing you are going to carry your groceries home does change your shopping habits (maybe it is a good thing I didn't find the sugar and the soap).
I hope that anyone that was thinking of coming for a trip will. I have found the Hague to be absolutely charming, I was thinking with all of the government entities here it would just be a big city (Charles Taylor of Liberia fame is on trial). But it is an amazing city that defintely has a small town European feel to it, of course I am going to say that until I get run over by a rogue bicyclist!
Off to the museum and then some exploring. I promise to be a better blogger now that I have exciting things to write about.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Four weeks and counting
Well by the end of the month I will finally be in the Hague. I must say I am feeling a slight since of Deja Vu-wasn't I just getting ready for the movers to come and filling out change of address forms. Next week I am sending out my UAB (unaccompanied baggage, goes by plane and will hopefully be there within a couple of weeks) and my HHE (house hold effects), the UAB can only be 200 lbs including the packaging and HHE has to be at least 200 lbs so there is alot of moving between piles and of course shopping to ensure I have at least the necessary 200 lbs.
I have been getting information from post-one of the pieces of information was a list of what is "hard to find" in the Hague, needless to say everything on the list is now in my living room. After all who wants to be without 6 boxes of Jiffy Cornbread and 2 boxes of Angel Food Cake, I have never in my life made Angel Food Cake but I don't want to be without. So those of you coming to visit plan on a meal of Angel Food Cornbread.
I was able to meet with the HRO that I am replacing and I found out many of important things: that there is a bakery down the street from my apartment, that there is a cheese store down the street, that there is a grocery store down the street and a butcher store down the street....who could ask for more? She said she would go to the bakery every other week and I figured I would folow in her foot steps but I am thinking more along the lines of every other meal, after all going at lunch as well would be glutinous. She also told me about the "Chicken Man" this is someone who comes to the Embassy once a week with fresh chicken, cheese and eggs! I think that is the neatest thing-I do have concerns about how fresh the chickens will be.......
I have gotten pictures of an apartment that is in the same building as mine so I am really getting excited. The apartment is on the tramline straight to work and a couple of miles from the beach. I have already bought a bike and have my housekeeper lined up (I may have talked about this before) but she will come one a week, to do laundry, clean and cook.
Hope all is well and more before I leave,
Jamie
I have been getting information from post-one of the pieces of information was a list of what is "hard to find" in the Hague, needless to say everything on the list is now in my living room. After all who wants to be without 6 boxes of Jiffy Cornbread and 2 boxes of Angel Food Cake, I have never in my life made Angel Food Cake but I don't want to be without. So those of you coming to visit plan on a meal of Angel Food Cornbread.
I was able to meet with the HRO that I am replacing and I found out many of important things: that there is a bakery down the street from my apartment, that there is a cheese store down the street, that there is a grocery store down the street and a butcher store down the street....who could ask for more? She said she would go to the bakery every other week and I figured I would folow in her foot steps but I am thinking more along the lines of every other meal, after all going at lunch as well would be glutinous. She also told me about the "Chicken Man" this is someone who comes to the Embassy once a week with fresh chicken, cheese and eggs! I think that is the neatest thing-I do have concerns about how fresh the chickens will be.......
I have gotten pictures of an apartment that is in the same building as mine so I am really getting excited. The apartment is on the tramline straight to work and a couple of miles from the beach. I have already bought a bike and have my housekeeper lined up (I may have talked about this before) but she will come one a week, to do laundry, clean and cook.
Hope all is well and more before I leave,
Jamie
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Counting Down
Greetings from Wet and Windy DC. Well the countdown is on....I have finished my 7 weeks of Human Resources training and my brain is full! I try to read 30 minutes from my class books every night because it is so much information! I will be taking a class on the European Union next week and I am taking classes on being the duty officer this week. On Friday I will go to Hagerstown MD where they have everything in storage. I need to go through all of my boxes and decide what I want to take and what will stay here. When I get to the Hague they will provide me with housing, it should be a two bedroom apartment. I try not to talk about it to my friends going to other parts of the world where they will have 3 bedroom houses with gardens!! It is interesting to read about the housing in different parts of the world. The apartment will be furnished but I have heard horror stories about the mattresses provided so I am taking my double bed. I also want to take some of my personal fun things!!! I am very lucky because the person I am succeeding has a housekeeper that I am "inheriting" she comes once a week for four hours!! Once again comparing to friends going to other corners of the earth have a housekeeper four hours a day for the same amount or LESS! I will also inherit her bike, housekeeper bike what else do I need in life. I also found out a very fun fact about the Dutch-the national color is ORANGE! I was told I need to make sure that I bring some orange to wear on holidays. I am hoping one of those holidays will fall on Bedlam!
I just got back from a spa weekend in Hershey PA. I know you are seeing a theme here, spas and chocolate. I do have a funny feeling that in Holland it will be cheese themed spas but I am up for anything! Back to Hershey, it was fabulous! When you check into the Hershey Lodge they give you a FREE candy bar, at the spa there are brownies, the best hot chocolate in the world and bowls of hershey kisses everywhere. I also had a "whipped chocolate" bath. I have hives on my legs and I truly think I overdosed on chocolate!
More later as I start to get ready to get to Post.
I just got back from a spa weekend in Hershey PA. I know you are seeing a theme here, spas and chocolate. I do have a funny feeling that in Holland it will be cheese themed spas but I am up for anything! Back to Hershey, it was fabulous! When you check into the Hershey Lodge they give you a FREE candy bar, at the spa there are brownies, the best hot chocolate in the world and bowls of hershey kisses everywhere. I also had a "whipped chocolate" bath. I have hives on my legs and I truly think I overdosed on chocolate!
More later as I start to get ready to get to Post.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Checking In
I didn't realize how long it had been since I had written until I received a mildly threatening phone call from the Stillwater chapter of the Bookless Book group, that is not a group to mess with! I apologize for not updating earlier. I started my HR class about two weeks ago, it is a huge learning curve. It is a very diverse class, one person has been with the State Department for 20 years, while I am working on month number 2! I have a big test next Friday which will complete one portion of the class, I will then move on to 2 weeks of compensation and another 2 week class, THEN a variety of classes until I leave end of May first of June. Luckily I will have time with the person I am succeeded (one does not replace in the Department of State rather we succeed one another) so she can catch me up on all of the ins and outs of The Hague. I have heard from my sponser, he recommended buying a bike so I can't wait to get a bike with a big white basket on the front (and maybe training wheels in the back, it has been a long time!)
I had a fantastic time in New York, I went to the Met which has a fabulous exhibit of Egyptian artificats. It was amazing, the museum was so big I got lost trying to get from one end to the other. It was very relaxing, I went to the Spa on Saturday and then again on Sunday and well the brownie bar at the Spa was well worth another massage on Monday before I left.
Since my life is not exciting enough I have taken up knitting. I am going to take knitting classes at Knit Happens (to me just saying the name is well worth the price of admission!). I figure I have the next two Christmas taken care of, you will all get your right sock this year and the left sock next year. I can only imagine how cool I will look biking through the Hague on my bike with my knitting in the white basket!
More until later-not much later though.....I am still fearful of the wrath of the bookless book group!
I had a fantastic time in New York, I went to the Met which has a fabulous exhibit of Egyptian artificats. It was amazing, the museum was so big I got lost trying to get from one end to the other. It was very relaxing, I went to the Spa on Saturday and then again on Sunday and well the brownie bar at the Spa was well worth another massage on Monday before I left.
Since my life is not exciting enough I have taken up knitting. I am going to take knitting classes at Knit Happens (to me just saying the name is well worth the price of admission!). I figure I have the next two Christmas taken care of, you will all get your right sock this year and the left sock next year. I can only imagine how cool I will look biking through the Hague on my bike with my knitting in the white basket!
More until later-not much later though.....I am still fearful of the wrath of the bookless book group!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Say Cheese!!!
Well lots has happened since my last blog. We celebrated flag day last week. This is a ceremony where everyone is presented with the flag of the country where they will spend their first assignment. Luckily they tell you what the flag is before your name is called or you may not know where the flag is from!! I have to say it is not as exciting when you know where you are going. As most of you know I will be going to the Hague in the Netherlands. When I was presented with my list (list of one!) you could have knocked me over with a feather, I would have thought I had a better chance to go to Toronto then to Europe. I have to admit I was a little disappointed at first-I was hoping for a country that didn't have a McDonalds, but I have given it much thought and how can you be disappointed in a country that has cities named for cheese? Gotta love being able to stop off in Gouda on the way home from work.
Last Friday was our swearing in at "Main State" Oklahoma was well represented with three Oklahoma friends. Ambassador John D. Negroponte was our guest speaker and swore all of us in-I must say I was a little teary eyed and I am not ashamed to admit it. This week I have been in security training will have medical training tomorrow and start HR training on Feb. 25th.
I am very excited about my trip to NYC. I have made reservations for a massage Saturday night and for a pedicure on Sunday morning at Bliss spa (the spa is in my hotel). My reasoning behind this is now I get to go the sauna, steam room and (this was the point that solidified my decision) and BROWNIE bar both days. I also have tickets to the Butterfly conservatory at the American Museum for Natural History (unfortunately no brownie bar there).
I hope everyone has now located the Hague on the map and is making plans to come visit over the next two years!!!
Last Friday was our swearing in at "Main State" Oklahoma was well represented with three Oklahoma friends. Ambassador John D. Negroponte was our guest speaker and swore all of us in-I must say I was a little teary eyed and I am not ashamed to admit it. This week I have been in security training will have medical training tomorrow and start HR training on Feb. 25th.
I am very excited about my trip to NYC. I have made reservations for a massage Saturday night and for a pedicure on Sunday morning at Bliss spa (the spa is in my hotel). My reasoning behind this is now I get to go the sauna, steam room and (this was the point that solidified my decision) and BROWNIE bar both days. I also have tickets to the Butterfly conservatory at the American Museum for Natural History (unfortunately no brownie bar there).
I hope everyone has now located the Hague on the map and is making plans to come visit over the next two years!!!
Monday, February 4, 2008
All is Well!!!
I have managed to survive into week 3 of our training. I will begin my Human Resources training on Feb. 25th which will last 7 weeks. Next week will be an exciting week. We have flag day on Tuesday, this is the ceremony in which we will be given the flag to represent the country that we will be starting our career in. The big deal is now making sure you know what the flags from your list look like (of course since I have one choice on my list it SHOULD be rather easy). On Friday we have our final swearing in. So that means I have to be on my best behavior twice this week. Our past two weeks have consisted of a team building exercise, taking the modern language aptitude test (don't even ask.....), choosing our insurance (it was not easy with a choice of 538 plans) and a day discussing culture. One of the big stresses was that they moved our name plates around after class on Friday, this meant mass confusion on Monday (it also meant two new people I had to be nice to!). The big excitement was that on Friday when we were discussing crisis management an unexploded ordinance from WWII was found on the grounds when they were doing construction. This meant that we were evactuated and got to go home at 12:00!
The first two weeks the main excitement were evening excursions to Trader Joe's (two within driving distance) and Target (two within driving distance). I kept thinking that I had heard there was more to do in DC than Target and Trader Joe's so this weekend 3 of us headed down into DC to expand our horizons. We went to the National Portrait Musuem, the Archives to see the Declaration of Independence and then on to the Natural History Museum! I saw the Hope Diamond-which I think means man I hope I get a Diamond that looks like that some day!!
I am going to New York City for President's Day weekend (surely they have Target and Trader Joe's!) to go to some museums, have some spa time and visit the mecca that is Tiffany's.
More this week after Flag Day!
The first two weeks the main excitement were evening excursions to Trader Joe's (two within driving distance) and Target (two within driving distance). I kept thinking that I had heard there was more to do in DC than Target and Trader Joe's so this weekend 3 of us headed down into DC to expand our horizons. We went to the National Portrait Musuem, the Archives to see the Declaration of Independence and then on to the Natural History Museum! I saw the Hope Diamond-which I think means man I hope I get a Diamond that looks like that some day!!
I am going to New York City for President's Day weekend (surely they have Target and Trader Joe's!) to go to some museums, have some spa time and visit the mecca that is Tiffany's.
More this week after Flag Day!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
I survived day 1!!!!
Yesterday morning I woke very early to start getting ready-I was very fashionable in my black and white checked blazer and pink button down. I met some other nervous but very nice Foreign Service Specialists on the shuttle to the Foreign Service Institute. We all gathered (about 65 of us) in the lobby for our swearing in service. I began looking around and realizing that the State Department "uniform" does not include pink shirts much less black and white checked blazers, it is much more of a muted dark suit, white shirt "uniform"! I stood out like the only Human Resource Officer that I was, my fears were substantiated when the speaker stated he always liked to see a class of dark suits, then he knows that the evaluators have done a good job of recruiting the best and the brightest! I could only imagine what he that of the fashion don't in the back of room in her checked blazer. Needless to say today I am wearing a lovely dark brown suit-but I still have a little bit of fashionista in me and I am wearing (gasp) a light blue button down!
There are a number of Foreign Service Agents (Security) a couple of Diplomatic Couriers and quite a few Office Specialists. Everyone is very friendly and we are al in the same boat which makes for some bonding.
Well I had better go-I have to make an introduction of an ambassador today-no pressure (but hence the brown suit!)
There are a number of Foreign Service Agents (Security) a couple of Diplomatic Couriers and quite a few Office Specialists. Everyone is very friendly and we are al in the same boat which makes for some bonding.
Well I had better go-I have to make an introduction of an ambassador today-no pressure (but hence the brown suit!)
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
The Adventure Begins.....part II
Well I have made it to Washington DC and I start training tomorrow. I must say that I have the "first day of school" butterflies: will I be able to sit at the cool table at lunch, will I be wearing the right clothes?
I am moved into my studio apartment. The State Department has a contract with a complex called Oakwood. It is very interesting, it is one big room with a couch, sitting chair and 2 tvs! (Plus the bed taking its half out of the middle of the room!) there is also a small kitchen fully furnished. A maid is provided one day a week, for those that know my housekeeping skills (or lack thereof) know that this is a benefit that has no equal! The other benefit is that there is a Target 1.3 miles away.
All of my worldy possessions were packed up and are currently stored in Maryland. I must say it was a little sad to pack everything up when I have no idea when or even where I will see all of my things again. I figure one of two things can happen: 1)it is so long until I am settled an can unpack my clothes that they are out of style or 2) it is so long until I am settled an can unpack my clothes that they have gone out of style but have made it BACK into style!
I had better get go over my check list for tomorrow again-I want to make sure I don't forget anything. I should have my list of choices tomorrow so I will update soon.
I am moved into my studio apartment. The State Department has a contract with a complex called Oakwood. It is very interesting, it is one big room with a couch, sitting chair and 2 tvs! (Plus the bed taking its half out of the middle of the room!) there is also a small kitchen fully furnished. A maid is provided one day a week, for those that know my housekeeping skills (or lack thereof) know that this is a benefit that has no equal! The other benefit is that there is a Target 1.3 miles away.
All of my worldy possessions were packed up and are currently stored in Maryland. I must say it was a little sad to pack everything up when I have no idea when or even where I will see all of my things again. I figure one of two things can happen: 1)it is so long until I am settled an can unpack my clothes that they are out of style or 2) it is so long until I am settled an can unpack my clothes that they have gone out of style but have made it BACK into style!
I had better get go over my check list for tomorrow again-I want to make sure I don't forget anything. I should have my list of choices tomorrow so I will update soon.
Friday, January 4, 2008
The Adventure Begins.....
I am new to the world of blogging (I know that comes as a surprise to many of you..) but I decided this would be a great way to keep in touch as the adventure begins (truth be known I just want something to come up when I am googled!).
For those of you that don't know, after 2 long years of waiting and worrying the chance of a lifetime is here. I will be leaving Stillwater on January 17th to head to Washington D.C. and begin Foreign Service Specialists orientation at the George P. Schultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center. Upon arrival in D.C. I will be staying in a furnished studio apartment provided by the State Department. During the first week of orientation I will recieve a list of upcoming vacancies from which I can request my choices. I will have an opportunity to research my "bid list", hopefully that research will provide information on who has ESPN reception and if there is a local branch of Tiffany's (could I be THAT lucky). Keep in mind that one of my conditions of employment is worldwide availablity so I am prepared for anything and everything. I have to say the more exotic the better! But then again what could be more exotic than Stillwater? After orientation I will have HR training at least until April 28th (which means I will Stateside for March Madness which is of great importance). Depending on where I will be going I may stay in D.C. to learn a language. That is everything I know for now, when I get to DC and I have more information I will continue to update.
For those of you that don't know, after 2 long years of waiting and worrying the chance of a lifetime is here. I will be leaving Stillwater on January 17th to head to Washington D.C. and begin Foreign Service Specialists orientation at the George P. Schultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center. Upon arrival in D.C. I will be staying in a furnished studio apartment provided by the State Department. During the first week of orientation I will recieve a list of upcoming vacancies from which I can request my choices. I will have an opportunity to research my "bid list", hopefully that research will provide information on who has ESPN reception and if there is a local branch of Tiffany's (could I be THAT lucky). Keep in mind that one of my conditions of employment is worldwide availablity so I am prepared for anything and everything. I have to say the more exotic the better! But then again what could be more exotic than Stillwater? After orientation I will have HR training at least until April 28th (which means I will Stateside for March Madness which is of great importance). Depending on where I will be going I may stay in D.C. to learn a language. That is everything I know for now, when I get to DC and I have more information I will continue to update.
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