Spring Time!

Sometimes it really feels like spring, but when you think you won’t need your coat anymore, cold is right behind the corner to surprise you. Now the temperature really depends on the sun, and because I don't spend that much time outside I'm usually quite warm all day, so I don't really realise how cold it is.

The other day I thought: "I'm just spending my days inside sitting, I really have to move more", so I convinced Carlos to go for a walk. He resisted at first saying it was cold, I couldn't believe him, I didn't feel cold at all during that day... as a result, I almost lost my hears, that's how bad it was. We couldn't even hold hands because I didn't think we would need gloves so I had to put my hands in my pockets...


Now that the day’s are finally longer and we arrive home with day light it seems we have more energy to do stuff at home. I think everyone is like that, right? Also most people feel less lazy in the morning and find it easier to get up, maybe most of the people actually get up earlier, but what is new to me here in The Netherlands is that it seems that people even go to work earlier (and leave earlier as well).

I notice that now when I arrive to work I have to park the car further away then I did during the winter... Given that I work in a contact centre that doesn’t seem to make much sense, are you really going to call people at 7AM? Even if the sun is shining it seems quite early…  You wouldn’t get to sell me anything, but maybe it’s easier to sell to people when they are still half way dreaming…

If I would get up earlier (which I don’t because I love to sleep in the morning…) I would just take more time having breakfast, maybe eat fruit, read the news, pet the cat, something other then go to work!!! Unless of course I could leave earlier and escape from traffic jams, but I have to be there at least from 9AM to 5PM so…

Cold winter goes on...

It's been a while... I miss writing here!

This has no interest at all, but I have to tell it here! Hehe!

After comming back from our vacantion in Italy, walking everywhere (not a single kg lost...) I went to work, set on my ass all day and after that got in the car and starting to think I had to make some excercise even if simple.

I decided that I should walk a little bit between my afternoon snack and dinner. The days are longer, there is no snow now... I tried to convince Carlos that it was not that cold and we went for a walk. A very, very little walk, I almost froze! I'm used to people complaining that it's cold even when it's not, but in this case Carlos was right, this is not the Algarve nor Sicily...

That's when I realise that I barely go outside... I go to the garage in the car, out of the car to work and back from work to the car and home again. No time to get cold, haha!

I told you it wasn't interesting... :D

White Christmas

Unfortunately I have been missing all the great stuff of winter here. Sinterklaas and zwarte piet arrival to town, Christmas fairs and exhibitions… All I got to do was a snowman, and damn… did it feel good! But I have a cold for 3 or 4 weeks now, I don’t know anymore… it been going on and off… I’m so sick of it!
As a result I have been trying to escape from cold, I don’t get out much, I go shopping for groceries by car… but it’s seems to be not enough to avoid the flu… I miss my bike!!!
After two weeks with a cold I couldn’t stop coughing and decided to go to the doctor. He observed me and gave me some cough pills, I took them for about five days. They actually worked; I got back to work as soon as I got better and stopped the pills. Two days later I had a cold again! I guess it was from running from one transport to another and the big difference of temperature from inside and outside. This time I tried some household medicines and teas with Vick, my doctor was on holidays...

 I was better again, got back to work, this time by car, so I wasn't exposed to such differences of temperature! After a few days I was sick again, in fact, I had to leave work in the middle of the day because I was feeling really bad; I actually threw up from coughing so much. This time (3rd) I'm feeling much worst, I even have fever. I called the doctor again, he was still on holidays, I explained the situation, I wanted an appointment with whatever doctor was available; instead, they told me to go to the pharmacy again to get my recipe: more cough pills! Five days taking those pills, all I did was measure my fever, fall a sleep and try to eat. I have to be quiet or else I feel like if my head is going to explode. Today is the last day of the pills, tomorrow it’s Monday, I’m going back to work, lets see how that goes…

Wish me luck!

Taking the train in Holland...

Definitely you need to be careful when you take a train here. 

The other day I was taking the train to Rotterdam. I was waiting at the platform when a voice announced something in Dutch (and people still ask me why I bother learning…). Everyone was going away, so I had to ask what was going on, basically the train to Rotterdam was now in another platform. So I went to the new platform and there were two trains on the same track. Someone told me which one was going to Rotterdam and entered the train, but I looked to destination on the train and it wasn’t the right one. 

Surprisingly enough everyone was confused because the destination of the trains was switched! The right train was actually the one indicated by the stranger. We had to ask the driver which was the one to Rotterdam, but do you think they even bothered correcting their info? No, they were too busy being Dutch, hehe!

New Year, old posts…

I’ve been so busy with my new job… Sure it’s just 9 to 17 but commuting time can be from 40 minutes by car when there is no traffic to 2 hours with traffic. Obviously the only rare times there was no traffic was on Christmas holidays (and I wish I wasn't on the road that period also, but no holidays for me…).

Because my car as no snow tires and traction is on back wheels I can’t drive to work when it’s snowing because he slides all over the place… So to get to work I have to walk to the train station (or get a very careful ride with Carlos), take a train, then 2 subways and a bus, when the bus runs... Because the bus has no driver and is dangerous in slippery road!

Sometimes I wonder… I never really wanted to live in Lisbon where Carlos lived before, because people there have crazy lives: traffic, stress, waking up at 5 am to go to work… I moved to The Netherlands to have a better life and what I get is a “Lisbon life”? So I struggle to see the difference, and that is mainly that my job is really 9 to 17 and I don’t have to think about it when I go home, plus I can work from home and hopefully I will be working from home at least some days per week in the near future. So it is still a better life! :)

Yee! A job!!!

Ok, most of you already know but… I got a job!

Yee!

Isn’t life ironic? Now that I was so busy doing other stuff and had so many personal projects… I got a job!

I’m happy, but I have no time for myself now (and after 1 month, I finally took a moment to write on my blog), I’m travelling at the very least 2 hours per day, in a day without traffic. And when it’s snowing… I have to take one train, two metros and one bus, I can’t drive that car with snow…

Anyway, it feels good not to be depending on others again!

Public transports!

Ok, so here I was, in Rotterdam for the second time! The first time I just had time to discover the center  and this time, I had an appointment, couldn't explore much.

The thing is I wanted to try public transports, if I would have take the car with GPS I guess everything would have been ok  - except maybe for the parking of course…

I took the train until the closest station and then I would have to walk about 750m, perfect!

The first setback was that after all, the train I got, didn't stop at the station I needed… I had check in the website but not at the railway station!

I also wasn't counting on the mess that Rotterdam streets are (at least in that area) were you have canals and the port, and moreover the place I was looking for is located in corner and has his name in the window, you can barely notice…

Usually my sense of direction is quiet good and I was counting on that, but in a rainy day all I knew was that I had to walk southeast, and where the hell was the sun? LOL

Every street seemed to be heading to a canal, but my guess was right, I made it to the river, but then, the pictures of my target that I had so well memorized, vanished!

I had to ask for directions, the only thing I saw was a gym… and a very fancy one! But I had to ask! So I entered and asked for directions, everyone was really nice. They didn't know that street, so they printed a map from their computer, asked me if I wanted a coffee while waiting (I said no), offered me mints… and finally... asked me if I wanted to join the gym… LOL

I said the gym was really nice but I’m leaving in Breda… Oh we have also a gym in Breda, you can sign here and train there… I even know which one it is! :D

Really I don’t know how I could be so strong, saying no, after them being so nice! But I was a girl (yes, I still think of myself as a girl!) with a mission! So I declined the offer (without even saying, yes, I’m already a member! I could say that I’m getting Dutch, but the true is, I was already like this, maybe my French influence? LOL) and continued my journey.

It wasn't easy to find, I was turning around, I knew it was close, so I didn't want to call them to ask, but after walking for a bit, I looked at the time, and I was getting late! So I called them to ask for directions, and it was easier because they gave a reference of a restaurant just the door next to them! Uff!

To come back home there was a train coming to Breda just when I arrived to that really small station, but I still had to check out of the subway so I didn't go on that one…The one I got on was a “sneltrein” which means fast train, but it stopped at every station… so it took me more than an hour to get home!

Still don’t get public transports here!

By the way, here are some useful links if you need to plan a trip around here, first one for trains and the other one plans your journey from A to B using all kind of public transports available:

http://www.ns.nl

http://www.9292ov.nl

Zeeland

Zeeland was a great discover!

It's amazing how Dutch thought "Let's just close this!", and actually did it!

Mook

Near Nijmegen is Mook, now that I know how beautifull it is I will go there everytime I'm on my way to Nijmegen!

Don't be picky...

As I already told here, finding a pharmacy wasn’t easy, but now I know were it is, I just go there and ask what I want. But going to the supermarket is always an adventure!

Every time I need eggs or taco sauce I will have to make 3 rounds trough the shelves until I find it. I always think that taco sauce will be near the tacos… it isn't! The thing is that I don’t remember because I don’t think it’s logical, I have a problem reminding things with no logic behind… and the eggs… could be near the baking stuff, desserts or near the pastas, but again… where the hell do they put them?

The other day I was having a party at our place and I wanted to make assorted gellows – there was only one flavour, luckily it was strawberry...

And what to say about cereals for instance? They don’t have many choices of types and brands… I dream about the corridors of cereals in Portugal’s supermarkets, they are huge and you have so many choice that you could stay for hours picking your cereals!

Anyway, I think Dutch people are just much simpler, if they need a product they just go to the shelf, take a quick peek and choose one of the three products available and go home take care of their families! :)