Hello people!

About 2,5 weeks, 16 days and less than 384 hours left. I’m going to cry.

What have I learned?

1. I’m so brave. I’m actually braver than I thought I would be. And that is because I have had to figure things out by myself. I got a very good start from my school (thank you Sari L) and from Jeroen, but sometimes there are no trains going to Amsterdam when I have to go to work or I have to go to the City Hall to get my BSN letter and stuff like this. I know that these things are normal in Finland too but it’s more difficult to be a foreigner when everything, like the announcements, are in Dutch. But that is life and I have survived pretty well. (And by the way the BSN letter was a piece of cake and now I’m getting my salary normally.)
2. I’m not lonely when I’m alone. I always thought that I’d be such a social butterfly – and maybe I still am – but being alone is not a problem to me. I enjoy the silence and the feeling when I can just relax and do just what I want to do. (I already crocheted two kettle holders for example :D)
3. I’m so much better in English. Yeah of course because I have to speak it all the time. I’m glad that my workplace is so international, there are people from Poland, Spain, Italy and Estonia for example so they speak English too. And sometimes I just notice that I’m also thinking and writing a grocery list in English accidentally…

What would I do differently in my workplace?

1. I have to say this again – garbage sorting. Everything goes to the same garbage bin. Plastic, tin cans, organic waste… Everything, except glass. And that is still a shock to me.
2. Hand towels = kettle holders. In Finland I’m used to use kettle holders when I take something out of the oven, but in here we use hand towels. That’s why I always take one or two hand towels to the kitchen with me. (I still think that kettle holders would be so much easier to use…)

What do I love?

1. My workmates. They are the biggest reason why my trip has been that awesome. I’m really going to miss them and all those inside jokes when I go back to home.
2. Amsterdam. Such a beautiful city.
3. Weather. Sun is shining and there’s 10 degrees almost every day. Couple weeks ago it was very cold, only 2 to 0 degrees plus a cold wind but mostly the weather has been very nice.
4. People. They are so kind and friendly. I sat in the train once and we heard an announcement, but of course it was only in Dutch and I didn’t understand anything. All the people left the train and I was just thinking that what was going on. But then one girl turned around and told me that I had to change the train if I wanted to go further than Alkmaar. That was so nice from her and I thanked that girl a lot. So that is what I mean when I always praise Dutch people.
5. Xenos. It’s a shop with everything – candles, bowls, jars, baking stuff, Christmas decorations, tea, spices and herbs etc. If you know the shop called Tiger, Xenos is kind of the same but bigger and even more versatile.

And then some pictures that Sari T took when she was here.

I have planned to go to Haarlem and Rotterdam this week. My workmates told me that Haarlem is the most beautiful city in the Netherlands and Rotterdam is on my to-do list too. Maybe on Tuesday when I have a day off but I’m not sure yet. Will see.

And I almost forgot! I searched from the internet if there’s any Finnish cafés or restaurants and I found one called A Piece Of Finland. It’s a beautiful Finnish design shop and a coffee corner in Amsterdam and I visited there on Thursday. It was so cozy! The owner is Finnish too so I spoke a lot with her and she made me a cup of hot chocolate and I ate a freshly baked bun. And thereby I started to miss Finland a little. But just a little!

Until next time,

Sirpa