The Inaugural

Here I sit and write my first blog post ever, woo! I wish I could just dictate and something would type for me. Your thoughts go much faster than your fingers can move. It's almost like writing poetry or something, you want to think of what is good to write. Are you writing and trying to impress an audience or is just an outlet for yourself? Anyway, I sit amongst a filth that is my room in the Netherlands. Last week, it was clean before I left for the Integration Trip, but as soon as I got back last Friday it's been a mess ever since again. This is mostly due to my absentmindedness and forgetting shit like my old Ipod. My dishes from dinner still sit on the table, I don't know why I have this aversion to getting things done, I continue to say in my head, 'yea it'll get done,' and it does. So let's not forget that my first day in Mainland Europe (Spain doesn't count as Mainland because the Pyrenees serve as a geographical boundary of sorts IMO), it consisted of lugging 2 huge rolling suitcases on trains and in an airport. Everything seemed fine at first, you know, sure the plane was delayed a couple hours, but I was due in originally at 8:15 AM, I was not in a rush, just get there when I get there. Well, 8:15 turned into 10:30 and it was probably around 11:30 by the time I caught a train from Schiphol Airport. BTW, for you non-Dutch, it's not 'shiffel' and it's not 'skeerpole,' it's simply 'skipple.' I was en route to Rotterdam Centraal on the right train and everything. And then at Den Haag station the trains stopped, the loudspeaker said something about delays and people started to get off the train. First I should mention that shit is built in this country like the people, tall and narrow. You get on the train alright the doors are wide, but I wanted to get down below to the seats, but there is a damn plastic restaurant kitchen-type door in the way that is maybe 3 feet wide. I grabbed and heaved my bags through those doors. And then of course there's nowhere to put anything  without it taking up massive space in the aisle. So I stack them on the seats. I'm like 'ah finally I can just relax for 40 minutes.' Well G-d didn't seem to have it in my plan that day for what I wanted. Now we are at Den Haag and I learn that everyone is going nuts and there are basically no trains adhering to the schedule. It turned out there had been an 'accident' on the tracks between Den Haag and Rotterdam, which, according to this DJ booker guy I met on one train, means another suicide, and apparently they are not rare. Of course, this happens on my first day when I have more stuff with me than I can handle and keeps falling down and bumping in to people and I'm sweating and shit. I made sure to know exactly how to travel the trains when I got here so as soon as I got out of the baggage claim I went to buy an OV Chipkaart. For those of you from Boston, it is similar to a CharlieCard. You refill it and use it. But the only difference is that you use it not only for the T, you use it for rail, bus, tram, and Metro (subway). It was 8 Euro, but it is the future of Dutch travel apparently. The Dutch with all their socialism get to choose free rides during the weekdays and 40% discounted rides on the weekend or free on the weekend and discounted during the week, as if free healthcare wasn't enough. Meanwhile, a trip on the tram to the supermarket  is almost 1.20 Euro for a trip that is less than 2 km (1.2 miles). One thing that is good is that you are charged for how far you go, not like in NYC where you can get on at World Trade Center and ride all the way uptown for $2.25 as would be the same price if you go from Union Square to 34th Street. But the thing is they have these check-in/out points, and on that first day in Holland, I had completely forgotten to check out because I was very confused by the now misscheduled trains, and it turns out they invoke a fine of 4 Euro when you forget to check out so the first time I go to 'top up' (yes this is English, it is akin to 'upload') my card, I find it has a value of -4 Euro, damn system. As if this first day wasn't confusing enough was the fact I was supposed to meet my 'buddy' (a Dutch student who is put into contact with a handful of international kids to serve as a reference contact) to show me around Rotterdam at 2pm, but without a cell phone I had no way of letting her know I couldn't make it. And then at Den Haag I realize my new Ipod is missing, the one I spent $250 on. I stupidly left it in the pouch in the seat in the airplane. I debated between going to the university and then just going back to the airport another day, but I thought time was money and with all this confusion and no trains going past Den Haag I'd go back to Schiphol, yes with all the crap I was dragging around, and try my luck. Well there was some sort of traffic in Leiden, so the train I was on decided to reroute itself to Amsterdam Centraal. This was after 3 times of going to the wrong platform at Den Haag because the stupid conductors kept telling me not to listen to the signs. So now I'm at Amsterdam Centraal, but then this lady from Spain needed to make a plane so she asked if they could stop at a sooner station to transfer to a train for Schiphol. (Can you imagine someone on the NJ Transit Midtown Direct, 1st stop destination Summit,a sking the conductors, 'uh can we stop at Brick Church please?') Ah, it's good to hear some good music. Listening to the Mad Caddies now, REFLECTIONS, let go, let go, child! They're coming here to the Netherlands. They cann't make it further east in 3+ years in the states than Pittsburgh but they can go to Europe; west coast schmucks. So I finally make it on a train to Schiphol and it's like close to 3 by the time I get upstairs in the airport. I get one of those carts I hear so much about that are free contrary on Newark Airport (!!) and I find the Continental Airlines desk, and whaddya know, it's closed!! Then I ask a lady in my bewilderment and few Dutch phrases I know: "Spreekt U Engels??" Yes she does! and then it seems like I cant speak English because I've had such a long day already, finally she says go downstairs to security and go back into the baggage claim and find AirServis or something. So I find security and the guy looks at my passport, and he's black, I don't know if that's relevant and he says 'you ever been to Texas?' and I'm like no and he's trying to be funny like 'well everyTHANG is bigger down thurr' and then he says where I'm going in Netherlands I say Rotterdam and he's like 'ooo lots of chickies there, be sure to buy some condoms!' I thought that wasn't such a bad sign of where I was to go. So then I make it to AirServis and I'm like well I left my Ipod on the plane, and he's like well it's a good thing everyone is so secure these days, they do a sweep after every flight to make sure no one left any bombs int he plane or anything, and it's a good thing they don't fly away. He calls up some guy with the description I gave and then he puts the phone down and says 'is it with a case? I don't know the word in English.' 'Rubber?!?!?' I say and he says yes thats it. I am now entering bliss as the Ipod I left on the airplane is now being acknowledged, so he says ok, go up to the Continental desk and meet the guy there in 15 mins, he will have your Ipod. Those were amazing words, it is awesome to get your things back that you lose. They could have sold it, and it was a good thing no one else on the airplane had left an Ipod that day and that the guys in my row were not pilfers. I thought I had checked the whole pocket but I guess not. So finally at 3:15 I get my Ipod and I'm starving so I go get some salad thing from To Go by Albert Heijn and I leave my cart in front of an administrative office door and the lady of course is trying to get out while I'm on line so I run over and repeatedly say "bedroefd! bedroefd!" except because I suck at pronunciation, I was saying "bedro-eft! bedro-eft!" Not only was I not saying the word right, it's not even the right word to use for 'sorry.' My stupid $10 pocket translator says 'sorry' = 'bedroefd.' But it took an authentic Dutch person to tell