Holland....the beginning

Well well well. I just read my previous post. Its funny how life moves along. I have found a new adventure right on time. I can't seem to stick in any one place for longer than 1-2 years. I was around 1.5 years in Tahoe. In my last post you learned that I took a low stress IE job in Reno. I really just wanted to work 8-5 and not take anything home. No laptop, no blackberry just a commute and a paycheck. Well, here I am 1 year. I have a new laptop, a blackberry on the way and an all expenses paid 6 months in Holland to run and fix their semiconductor programming operations in Venlo, the Netherlands. It was an adventure I simply could not pass up. They got me a nice apartment in downtown, a car and huge responsibilities.

I must say that Dutch are quite the hospitable crowd. They have made me feel very much at home. Many have gone out of their way to help me get settled in. Strangers on the trains have helped out without being asked and pretty much everyone speaks english...some very well. The town is big enough but nowhere near the size of a big city. I have already arranged two bicycles for myself and am covering many kilometers when I have time. It is nearly flat everywhere so one ride for hours and not get tired.

Hmmmm....what can I tell you about my little town. I covered the people. They are fantastic. The Dutch are very tall. Everyone seems to smoke. Everyone rides a bike...and I mean everyone. Their bike lanes are like roads. They have their own traffic lights and everything. My town has very little diversity. Mostly white bread with a little turkish sprinkled in. The food is pretty bad. I have no idea how everyone here is not obese. Everything is fried, comes with Mayo and cheese. No one eats real vegetables and everything is carb heavy. I think a vegetarian would starve to death.

There are no discos nor sports bars in my town. People watch the football games at home. There are many pubs but they are mostly dark, narrow places with a nice patio on the mall or front street. Stores close early. Monday to Thursday and Friday they close at 5. Thursday and Saturday they are open till 9. It is quite a contrast to our culture of capitalism. I will have much to write about that in future posts.

My town is on the border with Germany. We have a mix of people and languages. A lot of German, Polish and Dutch all in the same town. I am...so far...the only American. I have met a few English but not one american. I can't even find the power adapters for our appliances.

I have not yet had any time to make friends. Work has basically consumed me. It has been 14 hour days 6 days a week and there are always visitors in town who I end up going to dinner with. I have not had the time to excersize like I normally enjoy...speaking of that....I am going to cut this short and go for a job before it gets dark.

I miss the good ol' USofA but am enjoying it here a lot. I'll write more later. I have tons of things I need to get down so I can share it all and remember it later.

Pierce