The week that has been ....

I realise I haven't written anything of remote interest recently.

As I review my last few posts, I discover, I have written about laundry, travel statistics, and some other random depressive shit, than.... nothing, for days on end.

I tend to do that when I end up living my life instead of blogging about the life I wish I was living. Then once an event filled week (or month) has ended, I can't ever really remember what I have been doing.

So as I listen to some old school Kylie Minogue, perhaps I shall take some time to reflect on what I did this week.

So, last time I really wrote, it was a Wednesday, and I was checking out of my hostel.

Well, my studio that I am living in at the moment has been B.L.I.S.S - So quiet, so private, my own space. And this neighborhood is great. I really love this part of town.

For reference sake; here's a rundown on what I have learnt about Amsterdam geography.

North: considered to be traditionally old working class, poor, and a grungy, but as per any of the following suburbs around the world, it's being redeveloped and rebranded as "cool". MTV have just set up offices here. The north is technically anything above Centraal Station. The ocean ( i think) separates mainland Amsterdam from the Northern areas. Hence locals that live in the north need to catch (free) ferries from Centraal Station to one of 3 or 4 islands that they live on.

There is also another part of the north that is above Centraal Station (just), that is still part of mainland Amsterdam, and has been totally redeveloped ( about 2-3 years ago) with warehouse style apartments. This area is close to Philips HQ in Amsterdam, and the Amsterdam Passenger Terminal for cruise ships etc, and is called Zeeburg (pronounced 'Zay-burgch'). I will be moving into an apartment there in about 3 days!!

Yes! I found a room, and I didn't say anything initially because I was sort of suspicious about whether it would all work out etc, but IT HAS!!!

I will be living with a 32 year old American lady from Boston, who does something to do with business or something. She is awesome, her name is Amber and she calls me "dude". The apartment is brand new and totally luxe!! My new living room overlooks the River Ij and my bedroom is about 17 or 18 metres squared, which is AMAZING, because the rooms here are tiny, and you pay through the nose for them (like 8 metres squared for 500 EU a month... I had a closet once that was about 4 m2...... can't wait to post pictures up soon!

Ok, back to the geography and culture lesson of Amsterdam.

East:I haven't really explored this area yet, but I have been in the inner city fringes of it. East CBD (Centrum) of Amsterdam is home to the Red Light District, where I lived for about 3 weeks. While I wouldn't recommend staying in this area for prolonged periods of time, contrary to popular belief, it's pretty safe ( like most of Amsterdam.) Sleazy but safe.
My general feeling is that the inner city East is quite expensive and a bit toffee, especially around the Artis Park (Zoo). Once you get past this area though, it starts to get very multicultural, and a lot poorer, with a lot more ethnic diversity, with local and immigrant Surinamese, Morrocan, Turkish, and Carribean communities.

South: Old, rich and posh. The area called the Old South have treelined and wide streets, and the sidewalks are lined with beautiful delicatessens filled with gourmet breads, cakes, pastries, fish, and produce, and boutiques brimming with well tailored garments and the well off ladies that like them, and cafes with sprinklings of hip youngsters with lots of time on their hands, and even more money.

Also home to a groovy little area with funky cafes and restaurants called De Pijp (Literally, 'The Pipe'), Vondelpark (Amsterdam's biggest recreational park, always full on a sunny day, or a day where the sun isn't that apparent, but the wind isn't either) Museum area of Amsterdam, and other entertainment areas in the Centrum.

West: Home to the funk and soul AND the young and loaded.
You can meet real old school Amsterdammers in Brown cafes, and also the young and uber wealthy in trendy pubs. The suburb of Jordaan ('Yor-daan') is arty, trendy, vintage and full of gorgeous canals, canal bridges and little streets. Everybody wants to live in Jordaan, but very few people get the opportunity. The Old West where I am staying now isn't as pretty as Jordaan, but it's still pretty damn cool. It's the quintessential Amsterdam suburb, where people live in tall and skinny buildings that are about 3 stories high, and with shopfronts on the ground floor. A few coffeeshops here, an asian grocer there, a Coffee Company around the corner (think Hudson's coffee or Cafe Nero), a turkish bakery over the road, a laundrymat to the left, a boutique or three just around the bend, and an African restaurant or five dotted around the place.

Anyway, I was supposed to be talking about the week that was.

Ok, so Wednesday, I went pounding the pavement, looking for a job. I dropped off about 10 resumes, not really thinking much about it.

The thing that sucks is that there are signs all over the place looking for fulltime help, or part time help, in cool trendy boutiques, bakeries, and restaurants... EVERYWHERE!!! But everybody asks, "Do you speak Dutch? Unfortunately if you don't, we can't hire you."

Sometimes I just put on a sweet smile, and lie and say in dutch "I can speak a little bit." (It's true - I can count from one to ten. And say thank you. And goodbye. That is classically defined as "a little bit.")

This has gotten me 2 interviews so far.

At around about this time last week, I remember clutching my resumes in a plastic cover in my hand, and gripping them in frustration, recalling a conversation I had with the Ducth Embassy in Canberra...

Me: ... Thanks for all your help with the visa application form. Just a quick question... will it be a problem that I don't speak Dutch, when I look for a job?

Lady: Not, not at all, especially if you just want a job in a shop or a restaurant. Everybody speaks english there.

Anyway, on Thursday, I met my friend Laura for a Big Day Out ( on a limited budget.) We decided to cheer ourselves up because we had no jobs, and nothing to do...

So usually we meet in Dam Square, in the middle of the city centre, but I suggested meeting in Leidseplein ( a tourist square in the inner south ) for a change of Chi. We proceeded to H&M, where we bought thrifty warm items like scarves (Laura) and cheap hosery (2 EU for a pair of tights! Bargain.)

Then we went to the Albert Cuyp markets in the Area of De Pijp, which is sort of a bit boho, and daggy with counterfeit clothes, and used mobile phone stalls, witha few cute stalls here and there. I bought a new pillow, because my neck was crying out for a fluffy little supportive friend.

I got depressed while we were shopping, and Laura had this great idea of buying a bottle of wine, and a bread stick and some olives from the supermarket and going to Vondelpark to sit in the sun (it was unusually sunny that day.)

So we did that, and then I sat on the back of her bike and we made our way to the park. Laura and I get up to heaps of crazy adventures, and they usually start with us meeting for a drink and then deciding to go somewhere else, and I sit on the back of her cool, flower covered mountain bike that she rode around Iceland in, and I sing her songs while she peddles me around Amsterdam.

Usually the songs go;

"Laura and Rani,
We're broke
and we have no money,
But it's always so funny....."

We found a sunny spot in the park, and had out little picnic. She wore her new scarf and I kicked back on my new pillow. About half an hour into our relaxing afternoon, we met these two guys, Leon and Sam, who were actually dutch. (Shock, horror - Dutch people are reknown for not really wanting to mix). Leon and Sam are buddies through their Anthropology course that were doing at the University of Amsterdam.

Then a junkie tried to sell me this bike he was riding on. And I bought it. Well, actually Laura bought it for me. For 20 Euros. And it was too tall for me. But I liked it.

Sam and Leon wanted to show us their favourite bar in Amsterdam, and they took us to this cool bar in the West called "Soundgarden"; a grungy little pub that had a terrace overlooking a canal. We met more of their Anthropology friends, who were nice - then they started drinking beer from someone's shoe, and that sort of freaked me out a little bit. But they were cool nonetheless.

As we were all parting ways, I fell off my bike, in the bike lane outside the pub as it was closing, and everyone was milling outside. Karma's a bitch.

The next day I had to meet and greet some visitors from Indonesia at the airport at 6am. Needless to say, I was not impressed after a big night observing local Anthropology students drink from each other's shoes. I ended up in Den Haag, another town about half an hour's drive away from Amsterdam. Don't ask.

On Saturday, I had a trial shift at a beauty store called "Sabon"; it's like the Dutch version of the Body Shop. It was supposed to go for 3 hours. I was sent home after 1. It was the weirdest trial shift ever. I hadn't even had an interview yet, and they invited me to come in.

They spent 15 minutes talking to me about body scrub, and then they wanted me to experience the products, so one of the girls gave me a facial for half an hour. Then they wanted me to approach customers. I approached 4 and did the things they told me to do, like talk about the products, and give them opportunities to play with this body scrub. And then the store manager told me to come back on Wednesday night for a group interview.

I went out and bought a lock for my bike in an effort to piece together my self esteem, and figure out what the fuck just happened. A trial shift and THEN a group interview?!?

That night, I met up with Sam and Leon, and my friend Sverre and his friend, Mustafa for a drink. Or four. To help forget that I was unemployed, and a Soap shop didn't want me to stay on at a trial shift for free labour that day. It worked, and I managed to forget. I also ate a chocolate muffin that night which heightened my spirits immensely.

On Sunday, I met my visiting aunty and took her and her friends out for the day. No comment.

Today, I met up with Laura again after I had a job interview at a restaurant. I got the job. I start tomorrow.

I can't figure out if I should be happy for the potential income, or if I'm crying on the inside because I hate hospitality and it feels like I am starting a prison sentence tomorrow.

We went out for lunch, and then she went out and bought a new mobile phone, because her's dies everytime you call her and talk to her for 2 minutes. I went to City Hall and collected my tax file number.

I got home and checked my email, and found out that a company I applied for a job with had written to me expressing interest in my application to be an English Content Editor for their website. It's like the European version of Wotif.com . They were just wary about my working visa status. I wrote to them and told them I could work for one year and could send them a copy of my visa. I am beyond ecstatic. If I get this job, I will ONE VERY HAPPY LITTLE LADY!

Keep your fingers crossed people - I don't want to serve coffees and english breakfasts to people for 40 hours a week for a year.

That was my week.