Arrival in Amsterdam
Trip Start
Apr 06, 2003
1
2
69
Trip End
Ongoing
Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Monday, April 7, 2003
I have arrived in Amsterdam and am working on about 3 hours of sleep in the last day plus so please forgive me if some of this sounds a bit weird. Right now I am at an internet cafe. I must say this is the first time I have ever been to one and it's quite remarkable. There are probably 200 computers set up and everyone is just bangin' away at their keyboards. Kind of a strange sight to see. I have not yet been to the office. I called my manager, Lisa, to see what she wants me to do and she told me to take it easy today. She commented that during the first few weeks, I will spend much of my time here getting personal things in order. I was hoping to begin that process today but Petra, the woman who will help me get organized, doesn't work on Mondays. I think I am in for a bit of a culture shock, but to her credit, at least she isn't on "stress leave".
The weather in Amsterdam is gorgeous! It's a bit chilly but it is warmer than it is in Chicago and the sun is out. I stopped for an order of fries with mayo and satay sauce. Yummy. I also sat at an outdoor cafe and had a few Heinies. One other little observation which is not unique to Amsterdam but if you've never been to Europe, it would surprise you. The concept of paying to use a public toilet. It's like your pissing your money down the drain. Sorry about that - that was definitely a joke I can hear my dad saying. Anyways, I will tell you all about a few things - the flight, the corporate apartment, and the United States Embassy. In addition, I am attaching something I wrote on the plane yesterday. It might be a bit cheesy but this was how I was feeling at the time and this is MY journal.
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THE FLIGHT
What the hell am I doing here? I board the plane and am invited up the stairs to business class. I don't know if I can ever fly coach again. The seats recline all the way back so that you're almost horizontal. I put the new Coldplay disc in the CD player to get me in the Euro mindset. Each seat has it's own audio/video unit with a few channels to choose from (I opted for "The Hot Chick" followed by "Adaptation"). The meal came and I was expecting the same crappy frozen kosher meal I always seem to get. Instead they brought me some kosher steak thing. It was good but not as good as the one Julie makes. Even the bean salad was good, although the sight of garbanzo beans reminded me of the first time I met Joey...we were at a Hebrew school retreat and by sleeping on the bottom bunk beneath Joey, I learned that his stomach doesn't react well to beans...'nuff said. Anyways, I had a few drinks and I was finally able to doze off. Reading this now, I guess I don't really have much to say about the flight, just that business class is awesome!
CORPORATE APARTMENT
My corporate apartment is right in the center of town. It is about 10 minutes away from the Red Light district and although I haven't had a chance to take a walk through there yet, Josh, I am certain you can find a Chinaman with very soft skin. It is just off the Rokin which is a major street, however it seems to be tucked away pretty well because you can not hear any street noise. I am on top of a marijuana store just off a canal - I guess it fits the image of what you would think an Amsterdam apartment would be like. I took a handful of pictures but I will not be able to share them with you all until I have a personal computer to load them onto so you'll just have to be patient. Anyways, you enter off the street through a door and about 2 feet beyound the door is a steep set of stairs. They are very steep however they are pretty wide and evenly apart for Dutch standards. They rise quickly and I must say, bringing up 3 pieces of luggage and 2 carryons might have been the most extensive workout I've been involved in in some time. Once you enter the flat, to the left is the kitchen. It is very small as I expected but really nice. On the other side of the floor is the den. This is also small but has a TV, VCR, and radio and seems to be pretty cozy. The windows face the street and get some good sunlight. There is another set of stairs that lead to the bedroom. Again, the bedroom is nice and will serve it's purpose. Most apartments in Amsterdam do not have closets but as this is a furnished apartment, it has an armoire with plenty of space. Also on the third floor is a bathroom with a laundry machine and a WC (water closet). Ironically, the WC is the size of a closet. Once you enter the WC, there is barely enough room to rotate your body towards the toilet and then rotate it back to the sink (it will be a real challenge for me to do my standin'). The bathroom is marble and has one of those showers that is a bath with a handheld nozel. Also on that floor is another set of stairs that lead to a loft which has 2 single beds. I guess this is where Julie will be sleeping when she visits next week. Overall, the apartment is much like I expected. It is small but clean and decorated nicely. It has new carpeting in the bedroom and new hardwood floors in the den and kitchen. It also has lots of little Dutch articles that add to the feel. The one negative is that the ceilings are really low. This is pretty surprising as the Dutch are really tall. In a room of 10 people in The States, I am usually the tallest or 2nd tallest person. Not here, more like the 5th or 6th tallest person (this might be an exageration but we are about the same height). Anyways, I might have to wear my bike helmet around the apartment just to be cautious.
UNITED STATES EMBASSY
An ex-expat who was here in 1989 suggested that I stop by the United States Embassy to let them know I am here in case something were to happen. He also said it was a good idea to know someone there in case I ever needed anything. So I headed out to the Embassy. It is in Museumplein, a huge park that has most of the museums boardering it. I wasn't sure where the Embassy was so I asked a woman at some Van Gogh souveneir stand. She said, "It's behind the red containers". I wasn't sure exactly what that meant until I left the store and saw what looked like 30 red garbage dumpsters that created a barrier. As I continued walking, it began to set in that while the Dutch are very much pro-US, there are those in Europe who want to create harm fot the US. I finally reached the Embassy and was a bit surprised to see the entire building behind 3 layers of fences, 2 Dutch servicemen carrying guns that looked to be a bit sophisticated than your normal handgun, and a tank. I think that's when I realized that the United States' involvement in Iraq is not too popular among some here. I still feel that this is a safe place and like most other places, if you are smart, you should be ok. I don't want to scare anyone, I just wanted to tell you about this. I thought it was interesting.
Well. I hope all is well at home. I am not sure when exactly I will have access to my work computer (Lisa mentioned 3 weeks earlier today - they do things at a different pace in Europe) so if you want to email me and would like a response in the next year, please email me at sbkantor75@yahoo.com.
Love to all.
-Stephen
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April 6, 2003 - Aboad KLM flight from Chicago to Amsterdam
As I sit at the international terminal bar with Julie, Joey, and my last good ol' American Bud Light, it still hadn't sunk in that I was 1 hour away from leaving the United States for 3 years. Yes, I will be back between now and then but it will be as a visitor. I will not have a home on the west side of the Atlantic for some time.
I have been trying to deal with this over the last few days. As I spoke to many friends and family members, I never felt scared or nervous or sad or excited. It was very odd. I didn't feel anything. This process has been just that, a process. Now I was finally leaving and it felt like nothing. If anything, I felt concern because I felt nothing. Although I was about to leave all my friends and family, leave a very good job with an awesome group of co-workers, leave my regular routine, I felt nothing. No more Yuki Hana sushi on Sunday nights. No more Badger football games in the fall. I have enjoyed my life in Chicago. I love my friends (although I miss my LA group terribly). I have a family that supports every decision I make, even when it involves lengthening an already great geographic distance between us. I have a wonderful family-in-law as Julie's relatives from her sibs to her cousins have all welcomed me. My career was moving along as planned. Why the fuck would I decide to leave all of this and head over-seas? Maybe because everything was going well. Maybe because I am secure with my friendships, knowing that they will survive and possibly even stregthen with this distance. Maybe beacuse my career was going well and I am confident that I will be able to learn this new task just as I was able to learn to work within the branch and the role of a commercial lender. Maybe my family have always encouraged me and believed in me, urging me to follow my dreams. Come to think of it, why wouldn't I move?
So here I am, sitting on the plane, looking out the window upon a snowy Canada realizing what a great decision this was. Realizing what an experience I am about to embark on. Realizing what a challenge I have ahead of me. And realizing that my friends and family Stateside have all helped ,e to get to where I am and will help me to get where I want to go. I am still not sure what to feel but Iam confident that this was the right decision.
I hope that as I begin this new chapter in my life and become a resident of Amsterdam, that it will be as fun, educational, successful, and involve as many great relationships as my previous experiences as a resident of New Jersey, Los Angeles, Madison, and Chicago.
With Love!
-Stephen
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