tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35247168309805253882024-03-21T12:24:05.327+01:00Alice in the NetherlandsA modern Alice's adventures as an expat in the country of tulips and windmills.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-38157102261255965032015-12-02T10:11:00.000+01:002015-12-02T10:11:06.246+01:00Exploring the Dutch island of Texel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's almost Christmas, but I haven't been posting in so long that I have a huge backlog of stories to share. Since "why not?", I thought I would post some shots and memories from our summer trip to the Dutch island of Texel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">News of the heat wave hitting Italy this summer really made me appreciate the mild temperatures we enjoy during the Dutch summer. True, summer in the Netherlands starts late (as in "we've been freezing our butts off until the end of July") and ends early (as in "three weeks later"), but when it's here we enjoy the most ideal conditions you can wish for: 25°C during the hottest hours of the day, 16° at night, a mild sun with a light breeze. Perfection!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It is the ideal weather to cycle, enjoy an open-air lunch or a glass of wine after work, and spend the weekend exploring this green, luscious country.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">That's exactly what we did in August, when we spent a weekend on the island of Texel, one of the 5 Dutch Frisian Islands of the Wadden sea. Having never heard of the "Waddenzee" before moving to the Netherlands (I did not even know that the Netherlands have islands to be honest) I feel it is necessary to say that it is a stretch of water in the south-eastern part of the North Sea, that spans from the north-eastern part of the Dutch coastline, across the whole northern borders of Germany, to the south-western part of Denmark. It is an intertidal zone, or - in simple words - an area that is above water at low tide and under water at high tide. Yes, you've read well! When the tide is low, the water can become really shallow, so much that I've been told that in specific times and seasons you can actually WALK from Den Helder on the Dutch mainland to the southern tip of the Texel island. There is even a word for this activity: Wadlopen or "mudflat hiking".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Texel was the first Wadden Island I visited and it is so beautiful that now I wish to visit them all. Thanks to ever changing tides, the landscape is rich in biological diversity - a true paradise for birds and other animals, including seals. So much that the Wadden Sea has been inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List, and about one third of Texel is a protected nature reserve!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Texel, oddly enough, is just 2 metres above sea level, but this is not so surprising as it's part of the Netherlands. The island measures 25 km in lenght and 10 km in width, and all its beaches are on the north side, a long 30 km stretch of flat sands.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But apart from geography, I'd say pictures speak for themselves. This island is an absolute paradise for nature lovers. And, of course, bike lovers: it's almost flat so it's easy to reach any destination with minimum effort, and the scenery is worth the exercise.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The first day we did the northern perimeter. From Den Koog we cycled the 15 km to the Lighthouse on the northernmost tip of the island, stopping along the way for a walk on De Slufter, a dune valley into which seawater streams through creeks during high tide, allowing for vegetation to grow and creating a rich environment where birds love to nest. During the summer the area is suggestively purple-colored because of the sea lavender growing everywhere. Charming!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">From the lighthouse, we continued southward along the east coast, until reaching the small town of Oudeschild, where the Texels Brewery is located. This artesanal brewery is renowned in the whole of the Netherlands for its great beers, and here you can taste it straight out of their barrels, enjoying the sun and local cheese in their patio. From Oudeschild we crossed the island back to Den Koog, crossing green fields with happy cows and sheeps grazing. The whole trip, 50 km, wasn't tiring at all (ok maybe we felt our legs a little after the stop at the brewery), and took us less than 8 hours to complete, including two long stops at De Slufter and the brewery, a picnic at the lighthouse, and various short stops for pictures.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The second day we cycled south to reach the vast beaches facing Den Helder. The low tide in the morning (when you can actually walk your way across the canal) means that the beach is so huge that you have to walk for 15 minutes before reaching the sea. We chilled in the sun for a couple of hours and then cycled back to Den Koog, just in time for another delicious Texels beer and to catch the 17:18 bus to Den Helder.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Fun fact: the same bus will actually take you in and out of the island as it actually boards the ferry connecting it to the mainland. Don't make the mistake we did on Friday evening and get off the bus when you board the ferry: the crossing only takes 20 minutes and if you are not back before reaching the dryland, you will be left on foot in the middle of nowhere, as the bus is super quick to desembark and retrieve its route. This happened to us and we would have had to wait for 1 whole hour before the next ferry (and bus) arrived. Luckily, we hitch-hicked our way to the camping thanks to some very nice islanders. People are very friendly on Texel: maybe it's because their main source of income is tourism...or maybe because for the most part of the year the island is cold, grey, and nobody comes to visit...or maybe they are just happy to live in such a special place. Anyway, we only had positive experiences with local people!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-32846466264415234172014-05-28T10:01:00.001+02:002014-05-28T10:01:05.877+02:00Fietsenstalling Jaarbeursplein - the new huge bicycle parking lot in Utrecht<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I had already mentioned in a post on Facebook that the city of Utrecht was preparing to launch a new huge parking lot for bicycles. Well, the inauguration took place on Monday May 19th, and yesterday I finally used it for the first time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The parking lot is located just outside the central station, where I park my </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">bicycle </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">every day, but so far I had not yet tried the new structure because of the good weather ( the parking is underground ) and because I am always late in the morning, and this kind of makes me habitudinary.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Yesterday the rain was pouring down, I was early, and - most of all - the racks where I used to leave my bicycle had been fenced off to prevent access: a great reason to try the new parking lot. The gradual removal of the racks around the station is in my belief an attempt by the municipality to clean up the city by abandoned </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">bicycles </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">- a plague only known to the Netherlands - and renovate existing facilities, to make the parking system more efficient. For weeks, various signs and straps affixed to the </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">bicycles </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">were informing citizens of the date on which the racks would emptied, inviting them to move their </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">bicycle </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">and use the new huge </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">bicycle </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">park (which is called Fietsenstalling Jaarbeursplein, or "bicycle parking lot in Jaarbeurs square" - but Huge B</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">icycle </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Park sounds better to me) .</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, how is this new huge </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">bicycle </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">park? Super cool!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Modern, technological and indeed huge - 37 lanes of double-decker racks, arranged over 3 floors, which can accommodate up to 4,200 bicycles. A remarkable figure, but not enough to meet the demand for </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">bicycle </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">racks in the area: in fact, 40% of the 1.2 million travelers who take the train every morning in the Netherlands arrives at the station by bicycle. If you consider that Utrecht has 330,000 inhabitants and is the main railway station in the Netherlands, with commuters leaving their </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">bicycles </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">both ways, I'd say that we are short of at least 25,000 </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">bicycle </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">spots. At least!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Some more information about the parking lot: open 24/7, guarded day and night, equipped with digital displays indicating the number of free spots for each floor and lane. Parking is free for the first 24 hours (which means it's always free for people like me who take their </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">bicycle </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">to work every morning and go back home at the end of the day). If you leave your </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">bicycle </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">parked for more than 24 hours, you will pay a daily rate of € 1.25. One-year subscriptions are available for € 75. Check-in and check-out times are registered with the ubiquitous OV- Chipkaart, the single prepaid card that is used for all means of transport here in the Netherlands. Just like when travelling, you check-in by approaching the card to a sensor at the entrance, and check out in the same way at the exit. The only difference is that in the huge fietsenstalling the check-out is supervised by an employee with a scanner, probably to discourage theft. So, if you have not checked-in, they will notice and you won't be able to take the </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">bicycle </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">away.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The parking lot is a pilot project by the Dutch railways (NS), the municipality of Utrecht and ProRail (the company that maintains the railway network), that together share the costs of the structure and that in 2 years will evaluate its performance and see what's next. The city indeed needs to build more parking lots, as it is planned to have 22,000 new </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">bicycle </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">spots built over the next 5 years.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Below are some photos I took yesterday in the fietsenstalling, and an official video by ProRail introducing the new parking lot (it's in Dutch but if you read the post you already know everything about the place ;)).</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-68698845229508146502014-01-08T11:42:00.002+01:002014-01-08T11:49:05.139+01:00Crazy hot winter!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Nothing suits small talk better than a good ol' weather discussion. But this year the Dutch indeed have a good reason for bringing this subject up: look at the images below!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It is indeed strange to see that Bologna, 1250 km south of Utrecht, has the same temperature we have here. How crazy is that?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I had been warned that January would have been f***ing freezing, and was expecting to have a real bad time when back from my holidays in warm Italy. But honestly, the difference was oh-so-slight!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I know the weather is unusually mild for Italy as well, but look at this: the average temperature in the Netherlands, in January 2013, has been around 3°C!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://weatherspark.com/history/28802/2013/Amsterdam-Noord-Holland-The-Netherlands">http://weatherspark.com/history/28802/2013/Amsterdam-Noord-Holland-The-Netherlands</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Quoting from <a href="http://www.dutchamsterdam.nl/801-amsterdam-weather-in-january" target="_blank">Dutch Amsterdam</a>: <i>According to the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI1), January is the coldest month in most of the Netherlands. </i>(...) <i><b>Normally the average temperature in January is 5° Celcius</b> (41° Fahrenheit). But the Netherlands just had the warmest January 3rd on record , with 11.9° Celcius (53.42° Fahrenheit). Not only that, but <b>we also just experienced the warmest January 6th on record — 13.1° Celcius</b> (55.58° Fahrenheit). In fact, <b>so far this winter is the sixth warmest ever in the Netherlands </b></i><i><b>(since meteorological record keeping began, in 1901)</b></i><i>.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am shamelessly happy in this unusually warm weather. I mean, I know it may be the global warming and everything, but I can't help enjoying the average 10°C, especially when I take my bike in the morning! More so when I think that these days last year it was snowing in Utrecht...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lots of love and positive vibe to the folks in NY who instead are going through an insanely snowy weather! Hold on guys!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And you? How's the weather in your city? And how are you reacting to it?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lots of love,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Linda</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-16682735774503070772014-01-07T08:59:00.001+01:002014-01-07T08:59:07.125+01:00Welcome 2014!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hello!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Welcome to the first post of the year. It's a bit late, but I have been busy lately...yeah, busy eating, drinking and sleeping during my 2-week holiday in Italy! :D</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's been great to be back, be with my love, meet my friends and family, and enjoy the food and polemics frenzy that are typical of us Italians.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Even if we are 6 days into 2014, I thought I would pay tribute to 2013, as it has been a great year. Full of love, travels, new people and places, big decisions, changes, inner growth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">These are 24 of my favourite Instagram moments (if you know me, you know I LOVE Instagram)...in chronological order, from January to December 2013. Let's see if you can guess where these pictures were taken?</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-77368755242156088572013-12-19T11:59:00.000+01:002013-12-19T11:59:54.859+01:00Expat Interview #2: Claudia, Fashion & Design Buyer, Berlin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here we go with another expat interview! I am so excited about this project and very happy that we are having a second interview in such a short time-frame, because there are so many interesting stories to tell, so many smart and brave expats out there, that I can't wait to meet and introduce to you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Today I have the pleasure to interview <i>Claudia</i>, an Italian senior buyer who has been working in the fashion market for years, and is now into design in one of the coolest capitals of the world, the eclectic Berlin. We will be discussing the decline of fashion and street style. Don't miss this interview, she's a force of nature!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Hi Claudia,
thanks for having this interview! Would you mind telling me a little bit about
yourself?</span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">My name is Claudia Caldara, I am 33, I come from Puglia, the deep South of Italy.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">I have a degree in Fashion Marketing and I have earned a Master in Marketing for Fashion Buying and Merchandising at the Ent-Art Polimoda Fashion School of Florence. I have always been fascinated by the fashion market and I believe fashion, art and food are all part of our Italian DNA.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>You have been an expat in Berlin for almost 2 years, and you seem very happy about this choice! What do you love about this city?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The first time I visited Berlin I was on a short trip. It was the end of March, it was freezing compared to Italy, but I immediately fell in love with this city. Living here happened by chance, as almost all good things in your life. The impact with Berlin was strong, emotional, full of vitality. What got me so attached to the city is the incredible creative energy you can feel just by walking down its roads, talking to the many young people who came here from all over the world. Here I have friends of all different nationalities: French, Korean, Americans. Berlin is a young and cosmopolitan city.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>There’s recently been a big wave of expats among young Italian professionals. How do you feel about that and what do you think draws so many people abroad?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The much debated crisis in Italy is a generational crisis. People my age and even a bit older - young adults - have inherited a system built by their parents and grandparents which have lately lost all its credibility. We migrate in search for a better life, a better future than that lying ahead in our home country.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Being a senior buyer both in the fashion and design field, of course you are a seasoned trend expert! Tell us a little about what’s trendy in Berlin.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Berlin holds a lucky spot, 'cause most of the new fashion and design trends come from Northern Europe, especially Scandinavia, and they all flow into the city, that welcomes them, cultivates them, and spreads them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The fashion mood here is dominantly street-wear. Nike for example launches special make-up editions exclusively for the German market, which is a sign of the importance of this trend. Leader design websites such as <a href="http://eu.fab.com/" target="_blank">Fab.com</a> or <a href="https://monoqi.com/en/" target="_blank">Monoqi.com</a> have their headquarters in Berlin. This all shows how fundamental it is to be in Berlin if you wish to make a statement in the fashion or design world.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBUao5xCsFtYozXbwtpgbUGrKqLPw-UcaqQlq2yJrrLLkcUrcLBEc-9DIsw0mmcyRwxmSKo87svpnp61GXcVesMVrcdnfL5jm0AlzvOf9pFKusEJvAKWiUSBtxWyBE0O-cvw_pT9BIgKk/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBUao5xCsFtYozXbwtpgbUGrKqLPw-UcaqQlq2yJrrLLkcUrcLBEc-9DIsw0mmcyRwxmSKo87svpnp61GXcVesMVrcdnfL5jm0AlzvOf9pFKusEJvAKWiUSBtxWyBE0O-cvw_pT9BIgKk/s320/unnamed.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Claudia and her previous team at Zalando, in Berlin</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Do you think Italy is still a reference for style, like it used to be? What do you think are our strong and weak points? And which country is the current trend-setter?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Italy in the collective imagination is still viewed as the land of high quality. But it has two main problems. The first one is that we are not hatching any new creative talents. There was a dramatic halt where we stopped creating, daring, letting our creativity free, and this was our strong point in the fashion market, together with the unmatched quality of the products. And this brings us to the second problem: Italian products are manufactured in China, Portugal, Turkey, Romania. Nothing is left of the "Made in Italy".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I know you recently started working for an e-Commerce website selling Design items. Design is currently a big hit…do you think it is going to replace fashion?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I firmly believe design is the future. It is a consequence of the cultural revolution that is happening lately: you think less of external appearance - clothes, shoes, accessories - and more of making your home or workplace a unique, special, refined place. People look after products that are colorful, efficient and high-quality. Ikea is not satisfying people's needs anymore.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">D</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">o you think that
your Italian origins have an influence over your buying choices and career? I
mean, Italy is regarded as the Style Mecca and we are more likely to be
fashion-aware than other countries are… Is this a valuable asset for you, or is
it just a cliché?</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Being Italian is what allowed me to get where I am. In Italy the education is excellent, and we have fashion (and food, and art) in our cultural DNA. It is part of our economical and cultural identity.</span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tell me about your
professional plans for the future: what are your goals and how do you wish to
achieve them?</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I actually prefer not to have specific goals anymore, especially in this period of my life. I prefer to enjoy the positive feeling and the vitality that come from the huge love I feel for my job. There is honestly nothing else I'd rather be doing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Tell us about your roots. How do you feel about Italy and being Italian? What do you think of the current situation in the Bel Paese? And how do you think me, or you, or any other expat can help? I mean…some believe you have to stay if you want to help our country get better.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I feel deeply sad about the current situation in Italy, and like me all the other Italians abroad I spoke with. We've got the feeling that this is never going to change, as Italy is like a terminally ill. I can't help my country, I would not know how to help it, I can only bring with me the positive values that are part of being Italian. To make it worse, leaving Italy was not a choice for me, but a necessity in order to be able to live a normal life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Do you think you will ever go back to Italy?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I don't know.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I have one last question for you… if you could turn back time, is there anything you would do differently?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Yes, I would leave earlier.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thank you so much for your time Claudia, and for the outspokenness and transparency with which you discussed your thoughts on fashion, design, and Italy. Best of luck for everything, I hope we'll be able to do something together again in the future!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-58966987950753485292013-12-17T11:12:00.003+01:002013-12-17T11:24:22.750+01:00Expat Blog Awards 2013<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hi guys,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b>I enrolled the<i> </i></b><span style="line-height: 21px;"><b><i>Expat Blog Awards 2013</i> of the <a href="http://www.expatsblog.com/contests/843/10-dutch-words-you-seriously-need-to-know-living-in-netherlands" target="_blank">Expats Blog</a> website</b>!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">I had to write a blog post with a "top 10" list related to my expat life or the country I live in.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;"><span style="background-color: white;">My post title is </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.expatsblog.com/contests/843/10-dutch-words-you-seriously-need-to-know-living-in-netherlands" target="_blank">10 Dutch Words You Seriously Need to Know For Living in the Netherlands</a></i>.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">Would you like to <b>help me win</b>?!</span></span></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #0b5394; line-height: 21px;"><b>Go to my </b><span style="line-height: 22px;"><b>contest entry (<a href="http://www.expatsblog.com/contests/843/10-dutch-words-you-seriously-need-to-know-living-in-netherlands" target="_blank">link here</a> and from the logo below)</b></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 21px;"><b style="line-height: 22px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Leave a comment</span></b><span style="line-height: 22px;"> (</span><u style="line-height: 22px;">at least 10 words!</u><span style="line-height: 22px;">)</span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 21px;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">You will be required to confirm your email address, so please </span><b style="line-height: 22px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">check your inbox</span></b><span style="line-height: 22px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span>after posting your comment</span></span></span></span></li>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 22px;">Please support my contest entry! I may win...well actually just fame, but also some Amazon vouchers!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">Thank you and if you have any questions please write it in the comments :)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">Linda</span></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-38745496777935807242013-12-16T14:29:00.000+01:002013-12-16T14:29:47.245+01:00Expat Interview #1: Margherita, Psychologist, the Netherlands<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hi everybody, hope you had a lovely weekend!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Today we start with what I hope will become a regular appointment of the blog...expat interviews. For sure it is not an original idea, but I thought I would like to use this space to share real life stories and experiences of those who left. Whether you plan to leave, to stay, have left or returned already, I believe it is interesting and inspiring to have some insight about the reasons that prompted these people to live abroad and hear what they found - both at personal and professional level. And apart from being expats, I think life is always interesting, and I love to read about everybody's personal voyage...so I hope you'll love it as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The questions I ask are not just focused on "the expat thing", but will deal with the professional background of the interviewee, since most of the expats I know have really cool jobs and it is just so mind-blowing to learn a little about so many different things.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The honour of the first interview goes to Margherita, a young and talented Italian </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">psychologist</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> living in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Not only will she tell us about her journey from Verona, to NY, to the country of windmills - she will also share some of her professional knowledge in a very touchy field, as she owns a </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">specialization in forensic and child psychology.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>If you are or was an expat, and you wish to be interviewed, please contact me through my personal website <a href="http://www.lindadellomo.com/" target="_blank">lindadellomo.com</a></i></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Q. Hello Margherita! Would you mind telling me a little bit about yourself?</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A. Hi Linda! I was born in Verona, Italy, and I lived there most of my life. I love going back there, walking on Ponte Pietra, seeing my family, my friends and breathe my memories around the city. I try to do that as much as I can! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I love to travel, a lot, to see how people are different depending on the territory they live in, among other things. I enjoy cooking for friends and, and I love to listen to people, to their stories and their experiences. Maybe this is one of the reasons why I studied psychology, I am so curious about mankind!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This desire of exploring brought me to US in 2007. In New York I met Marco and there we got married in a very private and funny ceremony at City Hall. About one year ago we moved back to Europe and now we are here, happy expats in the Netherlands!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Q. I know you are a very experienced expat: first New York, now the Netherlands. Let’s start from the beginning…can you tell me why you decided to go to the States and what did you do there?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A. I think I had always known that at some point I would have left Italy to experience another culture and these thoughts became real in 2007. One of my oldest friend called telling me that her cousin in NY was looking for a girl to take care their two 3 years old twins. It was a really nice experience, I had to stay with the children few hours in the afternoon, and then I had all the time for myself. The first month I was pretty much by myself and so I explored the city, walking everywhere. It was freezing and beautiful, I still can totally feel those first steps in the city…amazing! I then started an English course, where I finally met some friends and I started to look around for a master…then I met Marco and everything came naturally. I stayed there for almost 6 years!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Q. Why did you choose not to go back to Italy after your first expat experience in NY was over? And why did you decide to come to the Netherlands?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A. Well, I think that once you are out of your own country you start seeing things that you kind of knew before, but that also become clearer. I would like to pursue an academic career, among other things, and I honestly didn’t want to see myself struggling for nothing, knowing how meritocracy is a concept that right now is totally missing in Italy. We decided to come to the Netherlands because we wanted to be fairly close to Italy, we didn’t want to learn a new language right away, and here everyone speaks English. We are really happy of our choice! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is really sad, especially because I feel that I really would love to go back at some point. For the past 7 years I have been saying, that we would go back sometime in the future. But the more time passes, the more I am not sure about that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Q. I imagine there is a huge difference between being an expat in a big city like New York and a relatively small city like Utrecht. How are you dealing with that? What do you enjoy most of the Netherlands, and what do you dislike?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A. New York is really amazing. It is a vortex, it puts you in a unique dimension, if I think I had the chance to live it for 6 years, I feel really privileged. And it gave me a lot. But I don’t think I could have ever lived there for my entire life. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With Marco, we agreed that we needed something less stressful and quieter. Well, I love Utrecht! It is a small town (like my Verona), but there is also a good vibe, it is full of student and very lively. I love NY, it’s my second home, and it will always be like that. But I have done everything I had to do there, and I think my time was over. I miss a bit my places, my streets and atmosphere, but I do not miss my life there. The only thing I can say I miss is the chance to do a compulsive, satisfying and healthy shopping session, from time to time. The stores here are not as gratifying as they were in Italy or NY. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Q. You are a developmental-clinical psychologist with a specialization in forensic. How important was the influence of being an expat for your career? Do you think not being in Italy has helped your professional development, and how?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A. I graduated in Italy with the 5 years old system, and I have to say, I would NOT change it for anything else. During the master in US my preparation was deeper and broader than my colleagues’ one. Abroad there is a very high consideration for Italian students and researchers. Several times I was told that we are seen as hard workers provided with fine intellects. What I gained during my studies in US (I took a master in Forensic Psychology) was a more practical competence, the chance of applying what I studied to real situations, real cases. In this I think they are ahead.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Q. Tell me about your professional plans for the future: what are your goals and how do you wish to achieve them?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A. I actually have several goals that I am trying to pursue. Beside my private psychology practice I am working on a PhD proposal on children’s testimony in court. I have been studying this topic for the past years, in Italy first, then in US as well and now I am trying to see how the situation in Europe is. This is really my topic, I am passionate about it and I think there is a deep need of communication between mental health and legal professionals (which is actually already happening but not as much as I think it should).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Even if it is going to take time to have the chance to do get into a program, I feel it is something that I will do, no matter how long it is going to take. I am pretty stubborn and determined in this, so I hope at some point I will get a position!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Beside this I am working with two colleagues to a project. I don’t want to say too much because we are still in the planning phase, but I can say that it will be focusing on services for immigrant women and mothers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Let’s see how it will go!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Q. If you ever go back to Italy, how do you think this will affect your career? Do you feel you will have to make some adjustments to your goals?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A. I really hope things will change in the next few years, but I know that if I had to move now, I would definitely have to adjust my goals. And actually this is the main reason why I am here and not there. I am not saying that here everything is easy or doable, but there is the feeling (and it is what actually happens) that if you work hard, you can make it, whatever you want to do (more and less !!!). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Q. From your professional point of view, how do expat parents’ kids experience their stay abroad? I wonder if this is going to be an advantage for them, since they are exposed to various cultures and languages since an early age. But could this be confusing them or making them feel insecure?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A. I think I wouldn’t say that living abroad is always an advantage but it could be considered a positive experience. Generally speaking, these children can have the chance to experience two, if not three, different cultures and this surely improves their adaptation skills. However, parents are required to be even more present to their kids than non-expat families. Challenges can be overcome together, but it is important that a parent realizes that children cannot be left alone in facing these challenges. A 5 years old child that changes routine, language, friends, but also climate, type of food he was used to eat, smells, really needs to be accompanied in this path. They can feel disoriented and become more anxious or moody. They don’t tell you what is wrong, and that is why expat parents need to pay more attention to small things and their kids’ feelings and behavior. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Q. I’d like to ask you about your roots. How do you feel about Italy and being Italian? What do you think of the current situation in the Bel Paese? And how do you think me, or you, or any other expat can help? I mean…some believe you have to stay if you want to help our country get better.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A. This is something that I ask myself almost every day: “shouldn’t I be there, instead of being here and being sad about my poor country and complaining? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I don’t know. The people I know, the articles I read, the voices that get to my attention are all for a global, deep change. But I have been seeing this for the past 15 years. Every election, every time there was a chance to do something, I saw it vanishing. And I am not 20, I travelled and moved twice and every time it is like starting again. I don’t feel I want to start in a country where my rights (of working, being a mother, being a woman) are not protected at all. A country where the gender gap is still an unacceptable reality, where women have been considered, for a long time, with different standards than men, where my gay friends are not respected.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am not saying that this is all there is in Italy. I actually hope and think that something is finally changing, but, egoistically speaking, I do not have time to wait that maybe things in 4 years are going to be better. When I left I didn’t think I was going to stay abroad. But then I didn’t find any good reason to go back. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Q. I have one last question for you… if you could turn back time, is there anything you would do differently?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A. I tend not to have regret, I think every choice I made was the best one possible at the time I made it, considering who I was at that time and where I was in my life. And so, no, I wouldn’t have done anything differently!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Thank you very much for your time and insightful answers Margherita. You introduced me to some important topics that would need to be better investigated...but I am glad that we could raise some awareness today. I wish you best of luck with your projects and hope to interview you again when they have launched!</b></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-76046410179500141922013-12-12T12:22:00.001+01:002013-12-12T12:22:23.299+01:00A new house under the Christmas tree...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hey Folks! I am very happy today 'cause Christmas is approaching :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Less than two weeks to family gatherings, presents, traditional Italian food, cats and snuggles with my boyfriend. Yay! I can't wait.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am leaving from Amsterdam on the 20th and will be off for 2 full weeks. How nice is that!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Also, some changes will be waiting for me when I am back: I will leave my current room and move into a nice apartment in the very city-centre of Utrecht! I am very excited about that, although of course I am not looking forward moving again, especially after less than 3 month since the last time I did. But I really haven't brought much stuff to the Netherlands, it all fits into one single box...so it should be pretty nice and fast.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have already packed everything that I am not bringing with me to Italy, and this Sunday we are going to bring it into the new house, where it will sit waiting for me until January.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My housemate J. is going with me, so she can also see the house. I feel pretty sad about not sharing the house with her anymore...but I know we'll still be friends and that is such a nice feeling :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As for the new house, I got quite a nice deal since the girl who's renting it is leaving for some volunteer work in the middle east, and she was looking for a sub-renter to keep her house until her return. She pays a low rent since the apartment is part of a social housing building. <b><i>Social Housing</i></b> in the Netherlands (<i style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;"><b>sociale huurwoningen</b>)</i> is very common. Basically, <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;">private housing associations manage </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;">low-rent apartments </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;">with the aim of providing </span>affordable housing. In the past such buildings were owned by the government and only managed by non-profit organizations - after 1995, the law changed and these organizations became <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;">financially independent, started owning the houses directly, and began focusing on their role as social entrepreneurs. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.1875px;">There is a <b>minimum availability of social housings in every city</b> of the Netherlands: this is often very high, bordering <b>50% of the city buildings</b> (!) in cities such </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.1875px;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Amsterdam</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.1875px;">, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hague</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.1875px;">, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Rotterdam</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19.1875px;"> and </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Utrecht</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. (source: </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_housing#Netherlands" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" target="_blank">Wikipedia "Public Housing"</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Access to these apartments is of course restricted to citizens with low income, students, or people with other special conditions. The waiting list is pretty long and it can be years before you are assigned one of these apartments.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Me, I was lucky enough to get to sub-rent one of them (it is all legal, a sort of "house-sitting" contract where I only get to live in the house while the renter is away, called <i>huisbewaarderschap</i>). I am not paying such a low rent as the girl's one, but my fee includes all expenses and furniture...and it's still good compared to rental pricing in Utrecht.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am a little scared by this new, umpteenth change, but I am sure everything will turn out fine. Stay tuned for more updates!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A holly jolly festive count-down!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Linda</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS7h1M7gab6Aj-4EmFpgEXtxjQZfA-BQvrt0OlT-E2A0kgmJTS0ZFfqVax2ScDKUmOBOr3bcnOnzQAdHatvQiDYjCBq2dD77a8sCnp0I-0k_wJeUKdPDs-oZvb_HAwuqLAK8yrjGWevIQ/s1600/foto+(10).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS7h1M7gab6Aj-4EmFpgEXtxjQZfA-BQvrt0OlT-E2A0kgmJTS0ZFfqVax2ScDKUmOBOr3bcnOnzQAdHatvQiDYjCBq2dD77a8sCnp0I-0k_wJeUKdPDs-oZvb_HAwuqLAK8yrjGWevIQ/s400/foto+(10).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a sneak peek into my new house ;)</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-79069282147194401962013-12-09T14:34:00.001+01:002013-12-09T14:34:52.669+01:00A Dutch love story with fried snacks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dutch people absolutely looove fried snacks. Fried snacks are everywhere.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The canteen at my company smells like fried food 365 days a year. Which is also the frequency with which they use the deep frier.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In Italy fried food is popular as well, but it's mostly about "healthy" ingredients - vegetables, meat or fish. And it's generally a Sunday treat or a little snack for the happy hour. In the Netherlands, fried food is a daily appointment and the ingredients are definitely not a healthy choice. The list of fried snacks is endless, although most of them look and taste very similar</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">They can be paired with beer, enjoyed on their own as a snack, or stuffed inside some bread for a quick meal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I must confess I am not a big fan of fried food. So I am always amazed at the quantity of fried things my Dutch colleagues put in their plates. Below is a whole gallery of snapshots I took with my phone at lunchtime. It has become a sort of tradition that my colleagues also enjoy :)</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuljDARj4CqIF6NHrJhEmqN0sklef0_KYh22NuB39CfNlJ5SYNUka7YqzAN2Ks_l0Vm663MaL8OAmpk3G_9xNVCW-XBnMEWVX06-fNtpLnb8srYO_CGQkaH5fyI2gDV0X7cD53x_Y_Q5g/s320/image.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kroketten</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnnpkt5IDrQn7IaUSKLnsknVoC-MV8mofh7jRZ8Ln_2V4gIn7CwMrOGr96I4SMylerJC_5wtsFMn8k0eNHT1QkZdj1pxoC8d9vj9yUXWQ_uOnQ-nnMS4aYTBvWuR9V0wlGIU7Wb5i5zGU/s1600/image_10.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnnpkt5IDrQn7IaUSKLnsknVoC-MV8mofh7jRZ8Ln_2V4gIn7CwMrOGr96I4SMylerJC_5wtsFMn8k0eNHT1QkZdj1pxoC8d9vj9yUXWQ_uOnQ-nnMS4aYTBvWuR9V0wlGIU7Wb5i5zGU/s320/image_10.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mexicano</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuljDARj4CqIF6NHrJhEmqN0sklef0_KYh22NuB39CfNlJ5SYNUka7YqzAN2Ks_l0Vm663MaL8OAmpk3G_9xNVCW-XBnMEWVX06-fNtpLnb8srYO_CGQkaH5fyI2gDV0X7cD53x_Y_Q5g/s1600/image.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMPZHHvCR837I6j0_Mwrapd4PuSg4uz5jmclaN3WVgJ5luOg5n0Q4BHZ1T_yLsr883qBbUjmICu5W7-twB67Ttof8OI57ADcjcjqAo8rB0L56dVu-g23LJtBiYxWAYwbDxyEr0NyxIYTY/s1600/image_7_ed.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMPZHHvCR837I6j0_Mwrapd4PuSg4uz5jmclaN3WVgJ5luOg5n0Q4BHZ1T_yLsr883qBbUjmICu5W7-twB67Ttof8OI57ADcjcjqAo8rB0L56dVu-g23LJtBiYxWAYwbDxyEr0NyxIYTY/s320/image_7_ed.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Patat Speciaal (french fries with mayo, curry sauce and raw onion)<br />
In the back is a frikandel (a sort of fried sausage made with meat sub-products).</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Of all these fried food, I recommend that you try <i>bitterballen</i>: a typical pub snack, they are a mix of béchamel and mushrooms that is then deep-fried and served boiling hot with a side of thick mustard. Delicious and 100% Dutch!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_lezqLyxBCcUtDq0unmmJAETA1pf0h1hpbisypSL30IFf8u9qf8NleGIj8HzwhbqrydL7NAVUSwEG-uOSIJBbijLfAfuHztNfuqYmCD9XG9Zf5X4-XrBXDANQnWtGYPW3-Bty5lPJmME/s1600/foto+(9).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_lezqLyxBCcUtDq0unmmJAETA1pf0h1hpbisypSL30IFf8u9qf8NleGIj8HzwhbqrydL7NAVUSwEG-uOSIJBbijLfAfuHztNfuqYmCD9XG9Zf5X4-XrBXDANQnWtGYPW3-Bty5lPJmME/s320/foto+(9).JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bitterballen spotted on the right side of the pic!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A sign of the Dutch love for fried food is the diffusion of shops called "Febo". It's like a huge vending machine for fried foods, where you don't need to order at the counter, but you just insert some change, open a little flap, and take your hot snack. You can spot a Febo by the knot of people standing and eating fried food in front of it. It's a typical Dutch experience that you cannot miss!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBzNUn0j99txsgBmrtECU_hgvLxbg_pKaVUZX4_d5j_5aZo2If9ZIFF-ajGhchourftSvSyMBEOIZhj6qH0spfvD7hRuyt3dwVGNuJcQKzwI7w8hhZY-BuxznivC0p3x1U-Fzg-1sdv9g/s1600/Distributeurs-febo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBzNUn0j99txsgBmrtECU_hgvLxbg_pKaVUZX4_d5j_5aZo2If9ZIFF-ajGhchourftSvSyMBEOIZhj6qH0spfvD7hRuyt3dwVGNuJcQKzwI7w8hhZY-BuxznivC0p3x1U-Fzg-1sdv9g/s320/Distributeurs-febo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikdh0CsJWVCm4QSOl3kZBbbaWosbN8wQ-7OF68wdRklMD9H19VFudSS0PUPYjMo5xmT6PxDFQhysYLMbz2yHSIS7Qf2FB9ttw79CCrZaSEabJnjp_u-xi5sS8L0y4_lvizI9OV5C4HUAw/s1600/Rotterdam-Binnenwegplein-opdracht-straatfotografie-Beeldfabriek-FEBO-a20441546.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikdh0CsJWVCm4QSOl3kZBbbaWosbN8wQ-7OF68wdRklMD9H19VFudSS0PUPYjMo5xmT6PxDFQhysYLMbz2yHSIS7Qf2FB9ttw79CCrZaSEabJnjp_u-xi5sS8L0y4_lvizI9OV5C4HUAw/s320/Rotterdam-Binnenwegplein-opdracht-straatfotografie-Beeldfabriek-FEBO-a20441546.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fonte foto: web</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Speaking about food, I take the chance to post some pics of other dishes we are being served at the canteen. They make an excellent job at illustrating what I meant when I said that Dutch people don't really care about food, since eating is regarded as a necessity and not a pleasure. Of course there are also some very nice, hearty and delicious Dutch dishes that I recommend that you try: </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>maatjesharing </i>(</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">brine </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">raw herrings</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">), </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">rookworst </i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">(smocked wurstel), <i>stamppot </i>(mashed potatoes with vegetables), <i>gehaktballen </i>(meatballs the size of a tennis ball) and the amazing traditional <i>appeltaart </i>with cinnamon...</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tomato soup and a sandwich</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnhwdPWl7mH6Az7F7JWRYTy9OTBF9moWQFona8dAmqe9ojCV3ZBghapiG9AjNcdtAfe8ENlSLscuniTIZH2A6xKir2FmPxHQi9QX74OB-BHyNg2Hk0LakuSLFXn623S558MvRFdcJWo1M/s1600/image_4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnhwdPWl7mH6Az7F7JWRYTy9OTBF9moWQFona8dAmqe9ojCV3ZBghapiG9AjNcdtAfe8ENlSLscuniTIZH2A6xKir2FmPxHQi9QX74OB-BHyNg2Hk0LakuSLFXn623S558MvRFdcJWo1M/s320/image_4.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sandwich with omelette, ham and ketchup</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoOctdm__ElfEPeO4D-_8n9E-Mk52dbYDMyLcbwxaZea3PymLSx-q5vrfjeq8vbhWQFZDHkvB0lZ2V5_EWnFLTv2TFEhtB3igoToxOz7Of4lVACNjL6_FKAwbnJfT9IFxLOGzd_hKbtEs/s1600/image_5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoOctdm__ElfEPeO4D-_8n9E-Mk52dbYDMyLcbwxaZea3PymLSx-q5vrfjeq8vbhWQFZDHkvB0lZ2V5_EWnFLTv2TFEhtB3igoToxOz7Of4lVACNjL6_FKAwbnJfT9IFxLOGzd_hKbtEs/s320/image_5.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rookworst and mustard bun</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizSBs48PZ39oBGYO5M10O1DAQ794kRZ0cm4V6U3qmgZDEJEgqS40-mH9U83cpWfUztTnIyJGIfQr632RRabEg5fFtaAt_DMXq7u3tDyThr8bMVBuwk7uCwK8ji70KI3neVaQQmi4rk5No/s1600/image_6.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizSBs48PZ39oBGYO5M10O1DAQ794kRZ0cm4V6U3qmgZDEJEgqS40-mH9U83cpWfUztTnIyJGIfQr632RRabEg5fFtaAt_DMXq7u3tDyThr8bMVBuwk7uCwK8ji70KI3neVaQQmi4rk5No/s320/image_6.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Something sweet...</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-25043997651439899492013-12-03T09:44:00.001+01:002013-12-03T09:44:33.587+01:00Cultivating art in the Netherlands<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This Saturday I was in Amsterdam with Mr. and Mrs. M to visit the Rijksakademie. No, not the Rijksmuseum (I was also confused at first). The <i>Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten </i>(National Academy of Fine Arts) is all but a museum, since it is dedicated to the development of artistic talent, not its conservation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was amazed and admired by this approach the Netherlands have to art. They are not just content with hanging old paintings on the wall, they also wish to promote new art. It is a much more modern, farsighted and constructive attitude than the Italian one, where modern art is often perceived as extravagant or difficult, and frowned upon by the vast public. The government is also reluctant to spend money on modern art, and so it becomes a prerogative of the élite of experts and intellectuals. In the Netherlands art is supported by the government: the Rijksakademie is in fact financed by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sciences, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Amsterdam City Council.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To better explain how it works, here is an introduction I found on the <a href="http://www.rijksakademie.nl/ENG/rijksakademie/" target="_blank">Rijksakademie website</a>: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam (founded by decree in 1870) selects exceptionally talented artists and offers them high quality artistic, technical and theoretical facilities, thus creating an environment in which approximately fifty talented artists from all over the world can, under optimum circumstances for a maximum of two years, work on deepening, broadening and accelerating their profession – individually and socially.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The resident artist can dispose over a world-wide network of contacts maintained by the Rijksakademie. Amsterdam functions as a hub for the Dutch and international art field that continues to gain artistic, social and economic significance through existing connections and the fusing of new partnerships. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Artists often experience a huge creative development during their residency at the Rijksakademie. As a result, it is common to find their works in important collections around the world and at international showcases like the Venice Biennale and Documenta in Kassel</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The name Rijksakademie (1870) refers to the classical Akademia, a place where philosophers, academics and artists meet to test and exchange ideas and knowledge. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Rijksakademie don't just offer a place to work and other facilities, they also pay the artist a yearly wage of 12000 € and they offer low-priced apartments for rent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This should be of inspiration to the Italian government, resting on the laurels of our glorious artistic past, not even willing to invest in the conservation of our heritage.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-12996343425673693532013-11-29T13:26:00.000+01:002013-11-29T13:26:52.615+01:00Sinterklaas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">November is almost over, the sky is crystal-clear, the air is freezing, and it's raining rarely. A cold winter is coming! This is probably my favourite time of the year (but I say it at every change of the season so it's not very trustworthy).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I guess in Italy the usual Christmas carousel has already started: a loop of <i>Panetton</i>e <i>Bauli</i> ads on TV, flashy gift packs with cheap versions of the traditional <i>zampone</i>-lentils-parmesan, plastic Christmas trees in the shops' windows, garish lights in the streets, and so on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I won't lie, Christmas is a commercial holiday in the Netherlands as well. It is also less charming than it can be in Italy, since the decorations are few and cheap. But it's not about the much debated Dutch thriftiness - it's that Dutch people are not focused on Christmas at this time of the year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is partly because only 50% of the population has some sort of religious belief (the North is generally protestant, the South catholic), so Christmas is just a commercial spree for many. But the main reason, I believe, is that some very important element of Christmas does not exist here...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">...brace yourselves for the shock...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">...IN THE NETHERLANDS SANTA CLAUS DOES NOT EXIST!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And, being Christmas empty of its religious meaning, not having good old fat Santa is obviously making the whole tradition much less appealing. But of course the Dutch have their own alternative tradition, which is not very different from ours.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Dutch alter-ego of Santa Claus is <i>Sinterklaas</i>. This guy looks just like</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> Santa, with his white beard and the red clothes, but he's a...catholic bishop. Which is weird since only a small part of the population is catholic (but who cares, actually). Sinterklaas lives in Spain (he must not be fond of the weather here). Around mid-November he travels to the Netherlands on a steamboat (he evidently got fed up with Ryanair, and who can blame him for this). In the Netherlands he goes around on a white horse called Amerigo, who can fly up high over the roofs. Sinterklaas travels together with his helpers, the <i>Zwarte Piets </i>("Black Peters"), black guys dressed in colourful moorish suits (they actually look like Django when he gets to choose his own outfit).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">From mid-November until December 5th there are many parades in every city, where Sinterklaas and his Zwarte Piets distribute sweets and candies to the little ones. The most traditional sweets of this period of the year are <i>pepernoten</i>, small round cinnamon biscuits the size of a coin, that are sold for a few euros in huge dangerous bags. They are incredibly addicting, and the moment you think “this is the last one” and look down at the bag, this is desperately empty. They are even more dangerous in the chocolate-coated version.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeHOaFj0j8T2-tGHJKk4y8IcWDr5iEmFXMpAcQr3rFyMnh7xo6G8M1XRVs1eocC7kj7xl3Kf7FjktRFU0YnE4EE4-aMe9wonyi-MF4gXRZEoQxpt9p5eFa6el1jUj6wWcMYc3rmd1IC4g/s1600/8628pepernoten.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeHOaFj0j8T2-tGHJKk4y8IcWDr5iEmFXMpAcQr3rFyMnh7xo6G8M1XRVs1eocC7kj7xl3Kf7FjktRFU0YnE4EE4-aMe9wonyi-MF4gXRZEoQxpt9p5eFa6el1jUj6wWcMYc3rmd1IC4g/s320/8628pepernoten.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The last day of Sinterklaas celebrations is December 5th, when kids put their shoes under the radiator (used to be the fireplace) alongside a carrot for Amerigo and some chocolate for the Piets. The Piets are the ones doing the dirty job, so while Sinterklaas waits comfortably on the roof, they climb down the chimney and leave small gifts for the kids (or salt, if they haven't been good). Such gift can be simple toys or sweets, and always a chocolate letter (</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">the first letter of the child's name</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">). There is also a short poem dedicated to the little receiver. Also adults celebrate Sinterklaas: they gather with friends or family, exchange chocolate letters and poems </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px; text-align: start;">which often teases the recipient for well-known bad habits or other character deficiencies</span>.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkEDBDg_GlJz1Av9IDaHThunQ5QzlaDHHeZ3_6SXKXFOqtjsZleVMLI7_YUZP9kd6aMCp0B28nTaa_6NPm-FzLhDpCxnSXJhijjcuuh9eGZqtP12Lp4l1SdFo3F45QBOu__bcXYnJr55U/s1600/10948331454_d2dbb6cec0_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkEDBDg_GlJz1Av9IDaHThunQ5QzlaDHHeZ3_6SXKXFOqtjsZleVMLI7_YUZP9kd6aMCp0B28nTaa_6NPm-FzLhDpCxnSXJhijjcuuh9eGZqtP12Lp4l1SdFo3F45QBOu__bcXYnJr55U/s320/10948331454_d2dbb6cec0_c.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sinterklaas arriving into town</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqAEIH6OKMDNAB685AI16VRqFWsGoshW9KeOpUXcp6xh9ej1r5WgBhRi7jH9CZDLbNqjV8QlKFq_Y25d11mUkWNVTo-YCK4cx7cytHS_VXKnm3efPsEXCmWYxqmzBKzt31Mot1-WIth0g/s1600/10948235006_f07689fdfe_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqAEIH6OKMDNAB685AI16VRqFWsGoshW9KeOpUXcp6xh9ej1r5WgBhRi7jH9CZDLbNqjV8QlKFq_Y25d11mUkWNVTo-YCK4cx7cytHS_VXKnm3efPsEXCmWYxqmzBKzt31Mot1-WIth0g/s320/10948235006_f07689fdfe_c.jpg" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sinterkaals is not very different from Santa Claus. But the differences that stroke me most are the following:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Children dress up like Zwarte Piets - you can see hundreds of them every day, and they are so cute with the feather on the hat and the black little face.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sinterklaas is not about the gift (to me, Christmas is, eheh). When I was a kid, we chose our gift in advance among a wide range of expensive and useless toys. Here kids are content with the sweets, the parades, the feathered hat, the poems. And it's so much better.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Zwarte Piets are black, and because of this the Dutch have been accused of being racist. This year a certain Verene Shepherd, head of a group of experts from the UN <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">High Commissioner for Human Rights</span>, sent a letter to the Dutch government asking for the tradition to abolished. There was a revolution! In a matter of hours a Facebook page in favour of the Zwarte Piets was created, which got 2 million likes (and there are only 16 million people in the Netherlands). Dutch people will tell you that the Piets are black since they climb down the chimney. Which I don't think it's the reason behind that. But I also believe that it is not worth questioning such an old tradition, especially when so many kids are so happy to dress up like a Piet and have their face painted black.</span></li>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Order now Black Klaas and White Peter! (and let's not forget the white horse...)"</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This said, I think the Zwarte Piets costume is pretty ugly... And you can find some really creepy images of Piets around the web...</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-79200686762922832742013-11-11T16:37:00.000+01:002013-11-11T18:37:19.630+01:00Expat Life<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Let's face it, <i>dai</i>, it's not always a bed of roses.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Being an expat can be though, just like life itself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But when you are an expat you are standing over a border, you are neither here or there. Your certainties and your social codes are brought into question. You feel shaken. And everything you used to take for granted is questioned.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You may find yourself wondering "was it worth it?", you feel a bit lonely, you picture yourself as a romantic migrant who just disembarked the Titanic. And all the social media, Skype, Facebook, the online newspaper, are useless. You feel cut out. You are torn between the desire of clinging to your roots and that of diving head down in the new culture, which you love and hate at the same time, and that you will always be looking at from the outside. Like a cat left out of the house in wintertime (yeah, just THAT pathetic). Torn up as to wether you should go inside or pout in disappointment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Is it worth it then? Just like anything in life, yes. Nothing that leaves you indifferent will leave a mark.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Oh, how many times during this first month I have looked back and forth, I have been brooding over my situation, I have felt confused. “Is this the same for everybody?”, I wondered.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I finally got the idea of asking other expats, who have been in this situation before me, what their feelings are. I wanted to collect their emotions, smiles and sighs. I prepared a little survey that I shared among my friends and acquaintances who went to seek luck abroad. These are the results. Please note this is not scientific, it is based on a small group of persons (22), mainly Italians, and cannot therefore represent the expat life at global level.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Who are the expats of this survey and where are they?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">They have gone everywhere: to the north and the south, far away and close to home, to wealthy and not-so-wealthy countries. More than half of them moved towards a colder country, to rainy nations such as the Netherlands and the UK. On average they have been abroad for 4.5 years already, but there is someone who moved 14 years ago and someone who just left 3 months ago (the latter answers questions hesitantly, as if to say "but maybe things will change over time"). Almost 80% of them is still an expat, and is young: boys and girls in their thirthies, who - unlike the previous generation - are not married yet and still not thinking about having a baby. But you also have the brave one who left with his wife and two kids.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Why did they do it, so?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>THE TRIGGER</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Most of the interviewed expats left for hope of a better future. Some left for a PhD, some for a Master: today's migrants are different from those of the past, they are educated and highly skilled, ambitious and determined, they know they'll have to struggle to reach their goals, and they know that excellence and prestige in Italy are either an heritage or a utopia.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Curiosity is also strong: there is who, like N., left because they had “always wondered how living in New York was”. One or two left for love. Nobody left (or admits to have left) out of despair.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Is it easy to start a new life in a different country, with different people and different habits?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">No. Almost everybody agrees on the difficulty of making new local friends. Someone is still an optmist, others have given up. L. even says “I live like an old immigrant with my Italian community”. Many blame it on the closeness of the people, claim that making new friends among expats is easier, probably because they are in the same boat as us, and they also speak our same language of gestures, rituals, and social interaction.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(Not) surprisingly enough, those who moved south, like expats living in Italy or other mediterranean countries, had a completely different experience: “I never found it difficult making friends in Italy. Most people are nice and open minded”, “Italians are very friendly”, “there's no problem with making friends”. Hurray! At least we have one thing to be proud about! Let's pat pur shoulders - not for being a flourishing economy of course, but at least for being friendly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We are regarded as friendly people also when we are abroad: when asked "was it easy to make friends?" two different Italian expats replied “everybody loves Italians!”. When we can be proud, us, the "jennies from the boot", we are super proud.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>DIFFICULTIES</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Personally, I had expected that practical stuff would be the most difficult thing about moving: finding a house, choosing a health insurance, opening a bank account with the website in Dutch. That I feared and for that I was prepared. then, as usual, life surprises you. What was most challenging, not just for me, was dealing with a subsident, uneasy and constant feeling, that of "not being home”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“I never get used to be far away from my family”, “I don't feel fully at home”, “You remain a foreigner with a different cultural background also after several years", "After many years living abroad you see your friends from school having kids who grow up where you have been grown up, and you realize you will not be able to share this by having kids in a different place", "You might feel homesick and alone from time to time”, “Getting familiar with a new people (intended as "popolo") is difficult”, “I dread the overall hypocrisy”, “Sometimes I don't feel "at home"”, “it's hard to get used to the culture of the country”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Those moving to Italy, instead, only complain about the ipercomplicated and exhausting bureaucracy. But also “all the types of coffee available” and "the polemica: (that, in my view, unhealthy habit of making a big fuss just about anythig)”.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>JOYS</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I asked everybody to tell me “what is the BEST thing about being an expat”. Many, many of them replied “to get to know new cultures”. We do have a heart: we don't just leave to make a career.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Some of the expats, though, are more relieved than happy: they are not enthusiastic about what they've found, they are happy about what they've left behind. “We screwed our country up”, “a few things I was used to live with are now absolutely unacceptable”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What about expats living in Italy? This time they agree with the Italians. They, too, talk about discovery, enrichment, and “eye-opening experience”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">HOMESICKNESS</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What do our adventurous Italians miss when they are abroad? I am sorry, this is gonna sound cliché. But it's true. Mama's boy Italians miss their famiglia, of course.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“My family”, “friends and family”, “family and friends”, “I miss my family”, “I'd like to watch a football match on the couch with my dad”. And so on. Everybody used the words “friends” and “family”. But I think it's normal, not just for us, the pansies. Being apart from your loved ones will make you feel eradicated and defenseless, and it's one of the toughest experience you might have in your life. All expats living in Italy also put family and friends in the first place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What comes second in the list? We are Italians...of course it's foooood! Someone wrote down his shopping list: “prosciutto crudo, mozzarella, tortellini, parmigiano”. The saying is true, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Answers that I liked the most, however, talked about cheap happiness, simple everyday pleasures: having breakfast at the bar (with the iconic cappuccino and croissant), weekend trips to some of the homeland beauties, a special place that you used to love. Someone is nostalgic about the colour of the sky.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As for me, I still don't feel homesick about family or food. I do miss my boyfriend of course, but I would miss him even if I was on holidays in paradise. What I miss is being able to relate with people in a spontaneous way. I am not trained or educated for what I found here. The total lack of ceremony and pleasantries that we are so used to in Italy. I know I hated it when I was still there. But I had become good at it. And now I have to learn a totally new way of interacting, negotiating, having fun. "Going Dutch", to me, also means becoming straightforward. And it is as difficult as closing the bike's lock with frozen hands.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>TO GO BACK OR NOT TO GO BACK?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The last question of the survey was the typical one-million-dollar question: will you ever go back?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Yes, no, maybe. Most of the expats want to go back at some point, but they don't know when or how, and they are not sure they will be able to adjust to what they left behind. “I like to think I will be back at some point, but the more I see happening the more I am not sure about that. Especially if I compare what I would not have there with what I have abroad: chance to grow and hope that I can make it”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">They are not afraid to speak of “roots”: either it's for "reconnecting" or "affection", they all feel they have an indissoluble bond with Italy, and they hope to be able to create their family there. No matter how long they have been away, how cosmopolitan they may have become, almost everybody mentions the wish to see their children grow in the same land that they were born, hear them speak with the same accent, watch them play in the same streets and under the same sun.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Foreigners in Italy do not have this kind of thoughts: here we feel good, they say.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then maybe it's us, the Italians, who don't know how to enjoy our land? Maybe it's not so bad as we think? Maybe we just like to complain? Or maybe you need to be far to appreciate the beauty of this country as a whole? Italy is like a gorgeous but petulant woman, who got under your skind and you don't know how to get out of your head. You know you can't stand her, but she still gives you shiver when you think of her.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-19568406629741668882013-11-01T14:54:00.002+01:002013-11-01T14:54:35.960+01:00Expat? Please take this short survey! ♥<div id="surveyMonkeyInfo" style="width:600px;font-size:10px;color:#666;"><div><iframe id="sm_e_s" src="https://www.surveymonkey.com/jsEmbed.aspx?sm=x1xT3Na2n8ppAQfR7bLNww_3d_3d" width="600" height="600" style="border:0px;padding-bottom:4px;" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" ></iframe></div>Create your free online surveys with <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.com">SurveyMonkey</a> , the world's leading questionnaire tool.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-56731579882071557582013-10-30T17:05:00.002+01:002013-11-01T14:32:53.298+01:00A few random updates and oh I bought a bike<script src="https://www.surveymonkey.com/jsPop.aspx?sm=x1xT3Na2n8ppAQfR7bLNww_3d_3d"> </script><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Let's see, where shall I start from. Not that my life here is sooo more exciting than yours. But I like to share my quirk thought and Dutch findings here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Well, first things first. Autumn has arrived. Rain and cold had preceded it, but leaves have just started to fall, and it's beautiful. Splashes of yellow and orange brightening up the streets.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNoqlyW28m3Y3NYqIKWeLK-NSwGl-XykMs0IwcPfEDx3uUyp-UiYhKzkyVA2P1e1fIAug0pRb2qZFruM157ILpolZ0yYOZzfeuNvXUGqSdaWTTErOJQm10GWmdz4Nj-V_O5Hex7wepIE/s1600/2013-10-27+14.24.25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNoqlyW28m3Y3NYqIKWeLK-NSwGl-XykMs0IwcPfEDx3uUyp-UiYhKzkyVA2P1e1fIAug0pRb2qZFruM157ILpolZ0yYOZzfeuNvXUGqSdaWTTErOJQm10GWmdz4Nj-V_O5Hex7wepIE/s320/2013-10-27+14.24.25.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgikadIg8vStsPl0KVIVWEElNuNDVc7DYbMgkmNkRI4NtmczVsDY-dwl7ufugUHxe0ucgxiAoyftes2wMNMveG-ytD9c-CQj67947eDdU34J7tWLezXAI7KEPovTJwdIYb9SfIbenIV-Dk/s1600/2013-10-27+14.24.41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgikadIg8vStsPl0KVIVWEElNuNDVc7DYbMgkmNkRI4NtmczVsDY-dwl7ufugUHxe0ucgxiAoyftes2wMNMveG-ytD9c-CQj67947eDdU34J7tWLezXAI7KEPovTJwdIYb9SfIbenIV-Dk/s320/2013-10-27+14.24.41.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You might also have heard that a couple of days ago a storm hit us.. It did not have a fancy girl's name as its US sisters, but was nicknamed "St. Jude," after the patron saint of lost causes. Ahah - how ironic. St Jude brought winds up to 160km/h and 20 to 40mm of rain in just 9 hours.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In Amsterdam, 2 people died, hit by a falling tree. It's so sad and tragic, because it's such a surreal and improbable death.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">All trains to and from Amsterdam's central station were blocked and many flights in Schiphol were cancelled. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Me, I did not even realize how bad it was. Except from a little difficulty cycling to the station in the morning, I spent the day at the pc and was safe inside.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBTUfSpup-kD0ztGSKWjSxTtzdoR5kvMPniRQZoEwePCKkzmMBHSlDidL8VLy6890nbfzC_egdiPnJmW923TowVzHTRPEQkLWergTGxOC1AwXwTpIgMf4AfHDMTpvbV6c68y5ErXRTgaQ/s1600/911a12ce3ffe11e3b19622000a1f9d89_8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBTUfSpup-kD0ztGSKWjSxTtzdoR5kvMPniRQZoEwePCKkzmMBHSlDidL8VLy6890nbfzC_egdiPnJmW923TowVzHTRPEQkLWergTGxOC1AwXwTpIgMf4AfHDMTpvbV6c68y5ErXRTgaQ/s320/911a12ce3ffe11e3b19622000a1f9d89_8.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo credits Tamara Bok</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The weekend was nice. Lots of nice people, places and things do see and do.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQqcjwoPRLLlkZmap9Q4WJFGUSMDw1xny3iJ1qRBfhseh7J_z4o0NCrzBXpP6H_c6UXEPsd8MVymA0xXNFbYwMIHJ4c81Ipw4rcudmzEuN0hJ2hbYIPXEIgbreXblrwOT-CI3MqC1JwU0/s1600/2013-10-27+18.01.38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQqcjwoPRLLlkZmap9Q4WJFGUSMDw1xny3iJ1qRBfhseh7J_z4o0NCrzBXpP6H_c6UXEPsd8MVymA0xXNFbYwMIHJ4c81Ipw4rcudmzEuN0hJ2hbYIPXEIgbreXblrwOT-CI3MqC1JwU0/s320/2013-10-27+18.01.38.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On Sunday afternoon I decided to inaugurate my new Dutch grammarbook and I went to study to Utrecht University's Central Library.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's such a beautiful place!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Back in my university days, I was studying in a small city of Italy, and the university buildings were all small, old and sad. I am not used to fancy classrooms and libraries. Imagine my surprise when I saw THIS!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Free wi-fi, a cool bar, couches, a beautiful view...the small-town girl that it's in me could not believe her eyes.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSK-tZg4F8rlUcJRrS4xOrlorVmsVrsLrQLefCCZYXQpvkRbfP5j0NcpEr5K-IMtDEIts7PBMkKtcgsqutTW5VSr7CbdvD6L4EphSympwi93k_6oG7dBSlIb72QVZT4CjURQOVmBkbBIo/s1600/2013-10-27+14.58.18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSK-tZg4F8rlUcJRrS4xOrlorVmsVrsLrQLefCCZYXQpvkRbfP5j0NcpEr5K-IMtDEIts7PBMkKtcgsqutTW5VSr7CbdvD6L4EphSympwi93k_6oG7dBSlIb72QVZT4CjURQOVmBkbBIo/s320/2013-10-27+14.58.18.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheJOJT8rmzjQ_FX9cB2yAHGN2yTnciPFW4TZVLJA2obdKK8VWIsLoiJLo-S4LGOls7DMnv_Tz6mqJ5QtdazLMM97A45cPd6nseBFt0jQLF2ZXLiht7UoAtZj6ZjL524zpmqvZPxMWxD6U/s1600/2013-10-27+15.12.07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheJOJT8rmzjQ_FX9cB2yAHGN2yTnciPFW4TZVLJA2obdKK8VWIsLoiJLo-S4LGOls7DMnv_Tz6mqJ5QtdazLMM97A45cPd6nseBFt0jQLF2ZXLiht7UoAtZj6ZjL524zpmqvZPxMWxD6U/s320/2013-10-27+15.12.07.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVU9FxZBFR6D82RxRymPWjhtSdvv1iTK-_EVUL-t1x_bM3uw2uiIxJJLv9ow2gTmPmFX1coy-4BDkfdJdiQndW5Zk_EcxMTWiv2-4J3MMkUOsNMP8A7WRkJHg_JdrK0R71dOfJ_qmPZaQ/s1600/2013-10-27+15.22.33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVU9FxZBFR6D82RxRymPWjhtSdvv1iTK-_EVUL-t1x_bM3uw2uiIxJJLv9ow2gTmPmFX1coy-4BDkfdJdiQndW5Zk_EcxMTWiv2-4J3MMkUOsNMP8A7WRkJHg_JdrK0R71dOfJ_qmPZaQ/s320/2013-10-27+15.22.33.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjidBZxndpxz2ZODlLUIH9RZaJ3L19cdPUQFU3RoJZMozePQ7KXtEHQkB1u1dfRWbUHhRf2UBaIXA9ZeKv3L5ExqaRhPtwy1LJPOtcz77GFd6R95n-iyM1hkk8Iv2kNaMAd4PYINVSvwfA/s1600/2013-10-27+16.41.45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjidBZxndpxz2ZODlLUIH9RZaJ3L19cdPUQFU3RoJZMozePQ7KXtEHQkB1u1dfRWbUHhRf2UBaIXA9ZeKv3L5ExqaRhPtwy1LJPOtcz77GFd6R95n-iyM1hkk8Iv2kNaMAd4PYINVSvwfA/s320/2013-10-27+16.41.45.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWzomy-ParC3dLTS7M3R8LfnEDPJsSkyQZhEwtj8P8pei-uMDA7erPggRbT4nkLe1vUrcWU8AV9xgLIqxsoA-ZYioV2TYcb8drOZhDCpYVNFmeA5lzIa9NtMZrCj8RXdusHvAy6eXj3u8/s1600/2013-10-27+17.04.40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWzomy-ParC3dLTS7M3R8LfnEDPJsSkyQZhEwtj8P8pei-uMDA7erPggRbT4nkLe1vUrcWU8AV9xgLIqxsoA-ZYioV2TYcb8drOZhDCpYVNFmeA5lzIa9NtMZrCj8RXdusHvAy6eXj3u8/s320/2013-10-27+17.04.40.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here is another Utrecht highlight that I photographed on my way to the library: Nijntje zebra crossing! You cannot really tell from the picture, but the shape of the traffic light it's hers!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirQitkrlJ19iu3cqLzFFUEi-O8mYB-77G3kL2QH8rqiQ-KfON_1TOCeq0zvu63hlFU1TTDRb4oahbqUwHwRZILGBM0uTNhDKZaCkF6mD63cW3zhLCecBuqj9o25HFafiO-ND15VQqW6tQ/s1600/2013-10-27+14.51.53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirQitkrlJ19iu3cqLzFFUEi-O8mYB-77G3kL2QH8rqiQ-KfON_1TOCeq0zvu63hlFU1TTDRb4oahbqUwHwRZILGBM0uTNhDKZaCkF6mD63cW3zhLCecBuqj9o25HFafiO-ND15VQqW6tQ/s320/2013-10-27+14.51.53.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But here we come to the highlight of my incredibly adventurous life: ik heb een fiets!!! I have a bike!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I really needed to buy one after using J's bike for almost a month. I was looking for a classic "omafiets", one of those vintage bikes - the name literally means "grandma's bike" - that you were almost run over by while wandering one of Amsterdam's narrow streets.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I could not find the bike I wanted in one of the many second-hand shops in Utrecht, so my colleagues suggested that I check Marktplaats.nl - the Dutch ebay. It's all in Dutch, but thanks to my friend Google Translator and J I was able to locate a few that I really like. The price is cheap, I paid 70 € for a bike in perfect conditions, and I was willing to pay more because I am a silly Italian fashion-victim who really wanted a pretty bike over a bargain ahah. Dutch people usually pay 30 or 40 € for a used bike, so I know I was naive, but I don't care! I love my bike!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnIjjb6yxtTYQxr-orPwcH6Zrs_lNvKUzo7I7rucwP3plIDS2WGum6RrDBF43Js7lbhtXMdLp__s2mOMII-uYCGi91ovuuqyFcD-_MUnOPd8IUFBqn0OB3YLeACwrNIxfVbAUsGmTwfCk/s640/blogger-image--977160649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnIjjb6yxtTYQxr-orPwcH6Zrs_lNvKUzo7I7rucwP3plIDS2WGum6RrDBF43Js7lbhtXMdLp__s2mOMII-uYCGi91ovuuqyFcD-_MUnOPd8IUFBqn0OB3YLeACwrNIxfVbAUsGmTwfCk/s400/blogger-image--977160649.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-45721320820343497842013-10-28T14:55:00.002+01:002013-10-28T14:55:42.182+01:00BSN<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGuCSRevmb479yC6eamhMMXWYf5jChMqHYbSvE63gVyeh9SLTwuHS7tnrrOukheO5AMu7QaDlAYqc-YKRmdrZbF86cx41iIrxf90LPOd5j5f0HMUI1lJvOkWF4puPM0g6yJrKofyzpZ0E/s1600/foto+%25285%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGuCSRevmb479yC6eamhMMXWYf5jChMqHYbSvE63gVyeh9SLTwuHS7tnrrOukheO5AMu7QaDlAYqc-YKRmdrZbF86cx41iIrxf90LPOd5j5f0HMUI1lJvOkWF4puPM0g6yJrKofyzpZ0E/s320/foto+%25285%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(please note this post is a late translation of the BSN Italian post from 21st October)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's here...finally!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My BSN has finally arrived!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This means that I finally EXIST. BSN ergo sum.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I can open a bank account, subscribe to a mobile service plan, get a Health Insurance, go to the doctor...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I know this kind of "bureaucratic" posts is not very popular, but I am posting it for someone who, in the future, might need to go through this process.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you move to the Netherlands from another country, you have to register within 5 days after your arrival. You need to register if you are staying in the Netherlands <b>for at least four months</b> within a period of six months.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;">You have to register personally. Your partner and children also have to attend, if they are moving with you.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;">Documents needed for a BSN application:</span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><br /></span></span><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">valid identification (ID or passport)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">a lease or deed of your house. If you do not have one of these documents, you must have <a href="http://www.utrecht.nl/images/burgerzaken/pdf/BZ-127%20lees%20www.pdf" target="_blank">written and signed permission</a> from the owner of the property, together with a copy of his or her ID.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">a recent birth certificate (when born abroad)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">a wedding certificate (if and when married abroad)</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;">If you do not have EU/EER nationality, you need to apply for a residence permit at the Naturalisation and Immigration office (IND).</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><b>If your stay is shorter than four months</b>, you can apply for a ‘<b>Sofi-nummer</b>' (Tax and Social Security number).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To find out where you should go to apply for the BSN, google the website of the municipality where you are going to live, or check <a href="http://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/bldcontenten/belastingdienst/individuals/other_subjects/citizen_service_number_tax_and_social_security_number/obtaining_the_citizen_service_number/offices_where_you_can_obtain_the_tax_and_social_security_number" target="_blank">this link</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's a good idea to call and schedule an appointment in advance, so that you won't have to wait. On the agreed date, just show up with all the documents and in 15 minutes you will be out again!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">From the day you apply for the BSN, a countdown is started: for example you have 4 months to get a health insurance or apply for the 30% ruling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The BSN is issued within a few weeks, but waiting times change a lot between cities: while Amsterdam is super fast (many acquaintances reported they got it on the very same day of the application!), in Utrecht I had to wait for 15 days. Keep that in mind when planning your relocation, as without the BSN you won't be able to get paid, and many companies have tight deadlines for your data to be inserted in their payroll.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The BSN is nothing more than a number. Weirdly enough, it will be sent via standard mail, not e-mail. It's sad that they are waisting such a useless amount of paper in a civilized country like the Netherlands...but in this respect the country is not as advanced as I would have thought...for example they do not separate their rubbish! And, they always ask you if you want a receipt in shops, but they'll print it anyway, and throw it away if you say "no"...what is this???</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lol, enough for today, see you soon!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-70803666112730628192013-10-16T13:49:00.001+02:002013-10-16T14:25:07.411+02:00About Rain<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib4ltFp7UP90OgIJ6K6GrP78W-dY78ufkpuaUVGfQYZ8N-MQomOFsefIiBGKK62kTuw0LTCwv1ihMjY-GJp2RlNMvjkMzilyFxqD_KgCJyaUG3Mu1wC3d5hIbG6zkJeiujAi6ZTy6IU_w/s1600/bikeRain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib4ltFp7UP90OgIJ6K6GrP78W-dY78ufkpuaUVGfQYZ8N-MQomOFsefIiBGKK62kTuw0LTCwv1ihMjY-GJp2RlNMvjkMzilyFxqD_KgCJyaUG3Mu1wC3d5hIbG6zkJeiujAi6ZTy6IU_w/s200/bikeRain.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Everybody I met here, from colleagues to housemates and friends of friends, has been asking me why I </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">left Italy (pictured as a fairytale land where the sun is always shining) to live in the Netherlands. M</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ost of them believe that the weather here is shit, and when I point out that so far it hasn't been that </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">bad they smile a sardonic smile and tell me "wait and see".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We indeed had a few days of non-stop raining, but the sky is almost always dry on evenings, and today </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">not a single drop was shed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It may be true that things are gonna get tough when the winter kicks in and the rain will be paired with </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">strong winds and icy temperatures: but I hope by then my immune system will have raised its guard. And </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">after cycling under the rain for a few days, I must say it is not as bad as I thought, but not a </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">pleasant experience either ahah :/</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The worst part of it - I am gonna be totally honest with you guys - is that rain makes my hair go curly. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">No joke here. This, for me, is the worst thing. I have been fighting a battle of brushing for years </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">against my sloppy curls, and it is quite frustrating to be defeated by the weather. Imagine spending 30 </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">minutes of your time brushing, combing and straightening your mane with surgical meticulousness, then </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">after 10 seconds of closing the front door watching your silky and perfect locks turn into a wild frizzy </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">mass that is more intricated than a rastaman's dreadlocks. I am horrified.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The second worst thing is not being able to use an umbrella, A. because it could dangerously function as </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">a sail and drag the bike (and you with it) to smash against a pole or a garbage bin, B. because the </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">umbrella is gonna be all torn and bent by the wind and you might as well throw it away. So, what do you do? You wrap </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">your scarf around your head (Ducth people don't even do this) and then everything smells like rain and </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">wet wool. Plus, you get a sore throat for having your scarf on your head and not your neck.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZgjaTZOJ3wMJTA_TsK-LtDHP2t5lTan0TaRvqukD8YCTjDP9p43lKB_RskDxjoVsa2yDqrHPIUf4z9k2H7uYCLGH48HDmvdFTmVILaP8a-bbqiVinDPRyKenuEuCw5zB67xZfK5Ecos/s1600/nl-dutch-1334_rain_man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZgjaTZOJ3wMJTA_TsK-LtDHP2t5lTan0TaRvqukD8YCTjDP9p43lKB_RskDxjoVsa2yDqrHPIUf4z9k2H7uYCLGH48HDmvdFTmVILaP8a-bbqiVinDPRyKenuEuCw5zB67xZfK5Ecos/s320/nl-dutch-1334_rain_man.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Using an umbrella on a bike is not a good idea</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The third worst thing is putting your buns on the seat to find it soaking wet. You can feel the wet </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">sensation extend rapidly through the layers of clothing until it reaches the soft skin of your butt. Not </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">nice. Then you sit on a white suede chair at a friend's place and leave a dark wet stamp (true story). </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Definitely not, not nice. Please don't tell me I should wipe the seat before sitting on it, 'cause </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">unlocking the bike under the water is not a fun experience and I would not want to double the torture by </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">having to carry aroung a wet towel or wet seat cover.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The fourth worst thing is having your hands wet and full of dirt after you unchain the bike which was left under the rain. Pair the dirt under your nails to your hands being red and swollen from the cold, and you'll get the perfect desperate homeless look. Maybe I should get some waterproof gloves, or just give in to the weather and do as Dutch people do: ignoring the rain and pretending is not there. The only concession they make is some technical water-proof jacket, but I am not surrendering my fashion sense to bad weather.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My next purchase will be a nice vintage cape, which will make me feel oh-so-cool and oh-so-hipster while I succumb to the rain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Maybe I am gonna succumb for real, like, I mean, falling with the bike and everything into a canal due to a sidewalk landslide. Sweet. Picture taken on my way home from work.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQYgHQdlBIMHs3kHrwDDH4WGMNkmj53zj3auXu2G69zlfPRcIJnysoUF7NrH2KaoMMHxDwKwWIvDRtelW1X2O5uNxZn5pviDZ_eCZxcCzfyQCxDtF0IaMttjid2_3qDuo_Z3OLZ8JQW2g/s1600/smottamento.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQYgHQdlBIMHs3kHrwDDH4WGMNkmj53zj3auXu2G69zlfPRcIJnysoUF7NrH2KaoMMHxDwKwWIvDRtelW1X2O5uNxZn5pviDZ_eCZxcCzfyQCxDtF0IaMttjid2_3qDuo_Z3OLZ8JQW2g/s400/smottamento.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Have a nice water-proof day!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Linda</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-23450844471272770172013-10-15T13:07:00.001+02:002013-10-15T13:07:49.879+02:00A weekend in Utrecht<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's been more than a week since my last post, a quiet week without surprises, which is why I had </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">nothing new to post.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Time flies, and my second weekend in Utrecht came and passed. I was planning a quiet weekend at home, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">with a good book and a cup of tea, since rain had been forecasted. On Saturday morning - to my big </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">surprise - the sky was showing some blue between the clouds. I did not feel like wasting the day, so I </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">took my bike and cycled towards the city-center for a nice breakfast.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My first stop was Sector 3, a café that - despite the horrible name that makes me think of a sci-fi B </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">movie - is very nice and cozy. It is also a bakery and they make some delicious croissants. I sat on a </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">couch right under the big windows facing the main canal of the city, and I spoke my first undying words </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">in Dutch: <i>Mag ik een latte macchiato en een croissant, alstublieft</i> (which very mundanely means "I'd like </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">a latte macchiato and a croissant please").</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After polishing off the breakfast and reading a few pages of my book, I left the café and walked to my </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">second stop: the Utrecht Centraal Museum. The building where the museum is located is very beautiful, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">with old red-brick walls and a contrasting modern and eclectic interior. The collection though is not as </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">interesting as the location, with the exception of the famous Rietveld's De Stijl chair. Another </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">interesting item is the 1000-year-old boat that is kept in the museum's basement and which really smells </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">terribly! The strong smell is due to the preservative substance used to treat the wood, which is the </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">same used for rails (that indeed smell bad, too). The boat is animated by an artistic but gloomy </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">installation with creepy sounds and lights which made me run away in no time. The rest of the </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">collection is temporary exhibitions and a few paintings bu the Utrecht Caravaggisti (who, as the name </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">suggests, were inspired by the Italian painter Caravaggio).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The third stop was cute: the price of the Centraal Museum also included access to the Dick Bruna Huis, a </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">little museum dedicated to the character of the little rabbit Nijntje (in Italy it is known as Miffy) </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">and her creator Dick Bruna, who was born and bred in Utrecht.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I really LOVE Miffy! </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The museum is full of toys, drawing materials and books that kids can use freely. The Netherlands really </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">is a children- friendly country: you see a lot of them around, and there appears to be a large number of </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">places and activities for kids everywhere.The best part of the museum is a documentary about the work </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">and life of Bruna, which also shows his drawing techniques: he draws the outline of the image on a </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">transparent sheet, and then colours it using hand-cut coloured cardboard in just 5 colours - green, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">blue, yellow, orangey red and sometimes brown. He draws inspirations for his work from Matisse and </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mondrian.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After leaving the museum I thought I would have a little walk. Down by the Oudegracht canal I run across </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">the Saturday flower market: it is not as huge as the one in Amsterdam, and during the autumn the variety </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">of flowers is somehow limited, but it is truly stunning. It was fun hearing the peddlers shout just as </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">they do in Italy at food markets!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I then entered Hema, the iconic Dutch department store where you really can find anything: from bycicles </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">to makeup and clothing. The Hema has a reputation of selling the best smoked sausages in the </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Netherlands, and I could not help myself! I bought a mixed pack of sausage + stamppot (mashed potatoes </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">with cabbage or other vegetables) and I left with a smile on my face!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On that night I had planned a girls' night out with my housemate J. After a nice dinner and a home-made </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">mojito, around 11pm we cycled under the rain to a bar on the Oudegracht. The place was a sort of Irish </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">pub with a lot of people standing and drinking beer before they headed to some club. It was very busy </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">and we were sharing a small table with some very social Dutch guys with whom we had a chat. We then went </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">to a small club where we danced the night away. It was good fun! I am lucky to have J. as a housemate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On Sunday I had lunch at Mr. and Mrs. M, my Italian colleague and his wife (but I should say friends by </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">now!). Mr. & Mrs. M are sweet and kind people who have helped me a lot with settling down in Utrecht. T</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">hey've become an important reference in my new life. On top of it, they are generous and wonderful </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">hosts and Mrs. M is an amazing cook! On Sunday she had prepared hand-made gnocchi for us. It was a </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">lovely lunch with some of their friends as well, who are also fun and interesting people. I had good </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">fun!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thumbs up for this second weekend. Now I am looking forward the coming one, which will also be filled </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">with love, friends and merry gatherings!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-8678823129005229342013-10-06T13:08:00.003+02:002013-10-06T13:08:23.611+02:00Cycling around Utrecht<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">First weekend in Utrecht. Yesterday I went cycling around Utrecht with my housemate H., who promised to show me "something very Dutch". The sun was shining, the temperature was perfect, the meadows incredibly green.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It was a beautiful day...</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-55961762354701491022013-10-04T15:03:00.002+02:002013-10-04T15:03:36.418+02:00Ladies and gentlemen, the Netherlands!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's amazing how many things happened since the last time I posted.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Over the last 5 days I moved to Utrech, I got settled into the new house, I tried the thrill of being an immigrant queuing outside the town hall, I cycled like a real Dutch girl in a new city which was also (incredibly) full of sun, I made friends, I started to work in a new company, read signed and approved tons of paperwork.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But let's go in order.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On Sunday I found my housemate H. and some of her friends waiting for me at the airport. We had a beer, then H. and I got on the train to Utrecht, to fin J. at the station waiting for us with her car (and saving us a long walk home with the luggages...yay!). Janne also prepared a fusion dinner with pizza, kroketten and frikandel. What lovely housemates!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you are following me on Instargram you'll have seen that my place is absolutely LOVELY: my room is small but cozy, and there are a big living room and a dining room decorated with great taste.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I took some pics which I wanted to post, but I've had some problems with my laptop, and I haven't been able to download them. As soon as I fix the computer, I will post them!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On Monday morning at 9 I had scheduled an appointment at the Gemeente Huis of Utrecht for my BSN.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I already had all the paperwork done (including the much logned for address statement) and at 8.48 I was already outside the building, waiting. The door opened exactly at 9 o'clock, and by 9.15 I was outside again. The Netherlands is no game for Italy and its wearingly slow bureaucracy...but not so much, as I will only receive my BSN within 2 weeks from the application :(</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sooo, without a BSN, unable to subscribe to a mobile provider, opening a bank account, or doing anything else, I just cycled around and had a slow breakfast in a beautiful café overlooking a canal. Then I went for groceries, unpacked, took some pictures of the house, and STUDIED DUTCH (ghghgh) until my homies came home and we had dinner together.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The next day I was up to a bigger challenge...my first day of work at the new office!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The fateful day started with me snoozing the alarm (set at 6.30) and opening my eyes half an hour later. My resolutions of straightening my hair calmly, having breakfast calmly, packing my lunch calmly and leaving home calmly were blewn off. But I still managed to do all od that, and at 7.55 I met with my Italian colleague to cycle together to the station, from where the company shuttle leaves.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My first great cultural shock was parking the bike at the station. The picture below shows my bike (actually J.'s bike, who very kindly lent it to me) while it's being loaded onto the upper level (UPPER LEVEL) of the bikes rack.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, it was about to fall on my head</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You cannot compare the size of these bike racks to those of Amsterdam's station, but it's still quite an impressive view.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They're all bikes!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The bus was full of young people from different nationalities, and this had a nice feeling to it. The sun was shining outside and the view outside the window was all green and tidy...could you ask for more?!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Once we go to the office I met some of the new hires and together we waited for the HR to pick us up from the lobby, where we were entertained by a Britney Spears video.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A good beginning makes a good ending</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We spent the first hour with the HR team, handing in some documents (I was the only one not having done them yet :( ...), briefly going through company policies, and soon enough off we go to our team! I was greeted by smiles and handshakes, then my boss introduced me to the company, the organizational chart, the team, etc etc... He gave me a bi-weekly planning of my training, with names, topics, times and rooms...I was surprised by how accurate it was. He had even prepared an organizational chart of our team, the e-Commerce team, with pictures of my colleagues! Mine as well! "This wasy it should be easier to remember their names" he said. Love it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was soon lunch time (12.30). Together with my team we went to the company canteen, where (for just 3 €) I bought a tartare hamburger, an apple and a bottle of water. You can also pack your lunch and eat it there, use the microwave and condiments, buy the ingredients for a sandwich, or just buy a hot meal. Awesome.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I noticed what they say it's true: Ducth people think of food as a source of energy, they don't give it the same important we do as Italians. Two slices of bread with some cheese is a proper meal, so the lunch break is quite short (half an hour). At 1pm we were back to our desks, not before we all had free coffee (and chocolate, and tea)!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The afternoon was heavier, as my boss showed me some complex reports, but it was pretty interesting and you could tell that he was putting a lot of passion in it. Passion and dedication, but never excessive: at 5pm everybody goes home, and that's just normal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The bad thing was that at the end of the day I was feeling sick, either it was the cold or a virus, I started to feel nausea, headache and a burning in my throat and eyes. After work I went straight to a sort or supermarket/drugstore - but of course I could not understand a shit of what was written on the boxes, so I made the mistake of trusting a shop assistant/pharmacist, who gave me some expensive homeopathic pills who didn't have any effect apart sweetening my mouth...</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the shop, still full of hope</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Luckily J., who's a nurse, gave me something that made me feel good at once!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then some cake and a tea before going to bed set me on foot again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The rest of the week passed by quite quickly, things at work are still slow, but I feel I am gradually adjusting to the new environment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My goal for the weekend is going out, doing something pleasant, and studying Dutch. Let's see if I can get it all done!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Linda</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-30939130092106405472013-09-29T14:59:00.001+02:002013-09-30T14:29:09.048+02:00Ready, set, GO!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm bringing with me a huge luggage and a trolley with anything I might need in the next few weeks (basically: heavy shoes! Jumpers! Wool, wool and more wool!). You should have seen me dragging around these 35 fashionable kilos, it was something worth seeing.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Giuseppe left me at the train station in Bologna, and H. is picking me up at Schiphol airport. It's strange and cute that I already have someone waiting for me :)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's time for my adventure to start!!!</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Linda</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-9973615323358916952013-09-28T20:08:00.001+02:002013-09-30T14:29:47.906+02:00-1...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The countdown is almost over...tomorrow I'll be in Utrecht!</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I already closed my luggage and checked all the entries in my to-do list. Except one: I have to stock up on cuddles until the very last moment.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I already know getting some sleep will be hard tonight.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-58611798600325343042013-09-28T19:44:00.001+02:002013-09-28T19:44:26.540+02:00Home sweet home!<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Some of you may have heard it already, but here is the official announcement:<br></span><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I FOUND A PLACE TO CALL HOME! :)</span></div><div style="text-align: start;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div style="text-align: start;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I am renting a room in a super duper cozy apartment that I'll share with a Dutch girl. The first month we'll be three, cause the girls were so kind as to welcome me in their house before my room was free. This pretty much sums up how lucky I was.</span></div><div style="text-align: start;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">But it does not stop here, as H. (the girl whose room I am going to rent) is also picking me up at the airport. She's an amazing young woman, strong and positive, with whom I immediately felt at ease, even if we never met. She even invited me to her farewell party on my first weekend in the Netherlands (she's going to be working for an ONG in Africa...I told you she's cool)... The world is really showing some good love to me lately.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div style="text-align: start;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I feel really lucky. I haven't arrived yet and I already feel at home.</span></div><div style="text-align: start;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Of course I am a little scared, too...afraid of all these novelties, of the grey weather, of being separated from my love. This is why I can't wait for my new life to begin, to get over with all this anticipation. But I know I'll feel nostalgic of so many things: having breakfast with my colleagues, laughing at lunch time, going home with Giuseppe, cooking for two and watching a movie nestled in his arms. All things that is breaking my heart losing.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div style="text-align: start;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I take comfort in all the nice things that have happened and are bound to happen to me, and looking at my new house's pictures. I am posting one in case you're curious, and I promise I'll take more pics when I am there :)</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">As for our apartment in Italy, we are still looking for new renters. If you happen to know someone who might be interested, please share my contacts!</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Linda </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQuNahOs-XMe__Llh9UwmZTVVr1IFWyJw9lN2kuHA1NvQzIUNox89xaa9vf0EEWd1um1wj9DwxbsPCgpWgxOOyjB1qcqdJQ_TdJQQksueMceAc1-UUVM1C4KKnP9Hy8D75_CYu20PC0x8/s640/blogger-image--240738414.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQuNahOs-XMe__Llh9UwmZTVVr1IFWyJw9lN2kuHA1NvQzIUNox89xaa9vf0EEWd1um1wj9DwxbsPCgpWgxOOyjB1qcqdJQ_TdJQQksueMceAc1-UUVM1C4KKnP9Hy8D75_CYu20PC0x8/s640/blogger-image--240738414.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-40301628173939287922013-09-26T11:34:00.003+02:002013-09-26T11:45:57.196+02:00Goodbye...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: justify;">What shall I say? May I shed a little tear?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Yesterday has been my last day at work. Tuesday will be my first day in the new office.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: justify;">I'd never thought so many people were supporting me. I'd never expected so many emails, cheers, hugs and "I'm sorry you're leaving". I'd never imagined I left my small mark on that big blackboard.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: justify;">I'd never thought leaving would be so hard.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The word cloud you see below has been created with all the nice messages I got today from my colleagues. Not my idea, I stole it from someone I very much admire, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">although I realize now I never told her clearly enough. I would have linked her post but I cannot find it anymore. Thanks Carlo, you rock.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-5951720708774130572013-09-23T15:00:00.003+02:002013-09-26T11:34:45.995+02:00House Hunting<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnPqloCcI0otZ6EPfjiVR57YPSt92uaB5YSXrYi2pkZ7hCved5K8R9AZMtQrBBzWmn9bcUjc2x8iyB5xc4WyctDaQwhda6sJZ48tLLyiJgXpqxX1xiPiaB8Tbq9dkSAnZ0MsELFoDwXkE/s1600/House+Hunting.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnPqloCcI0otZ6EPfjiVR57YPSt92uaB5YSXrYi2pkZ7hCved5K8R9AZMtQrBBzWmn9bcUjc2x8iyB5xc4WyctDaQwhda6sJZ48tLLyiJgXpqxX1xiPiaB8Tbq9dkSAnZ0MsELFoDwXkE/s320/House+Hunting.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Although I still don't have a roof over my head (but wait, as there's something brewing!) and I can't therefore consider myself a pro in this activity, the last frantic days of house hunting have given me enough knowledge of the Dutch estate market as to be giving some advice to those of you who are out there exploring this world too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Let me tell ya: it's a big bad world.</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">it's expensive</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">it's VERY expensive!</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But don't give up: the Netherlands are full of international students and expats coming and going, and there's a big turnover both for rooms and apartments. You're also very likely going to move to some of the big cities like Amsterdam or Utrecht, not in the boondocks! The market will be full of opportunities there and you'll surely find your perfect match.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The main difficulty is finding the right channels for your hunt. The websites and resources we use it in Italy (like Bakeca, Kijiji and the damp estate newspapers out for display at news-stands) are not in use in the Netherlands.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I called for the help of friends and acquantainces living in the Netherlands and they suggested a few websites that I could use. Below you'll find a list of those that I've come to try (in order of preference) and a short review!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><u>Real Estate Websites</u></b></span></div>
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<li><a href="http://kamernet.nl/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Kamernet.nl</span></b></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">: THUMBS UP! On Kamernet I found a great variety and quantity of valid, redent ads, in line with my budget and taste. Signing up and viewing ads is free, but you need to pay a subscription fee to contact the renter (from a minimum of 21 € for 15 days to a maximum of 36 € for 60 days). It is worth the cost, cause all ads are REAL, posted privately, and for all budgets.</span></li>
<li><a href="http://kamerhuren.nl/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Kamerhuren.nl</span></b></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">: works like Kamernet, meaning that ads-viewing is free, but there's a fee for reacting to them. There is no subscription and you pay per reaction, but to get the renter contacts you have to send a sms from a Dutch mobile at the advantageous price of 1,50 € per sms. To sum it up, it is not easy nor convenient, unless you already have a Dutch phone and a lot of money and time to waste. It appears to me that is also not as popular as Kamernet, there are less ads and more dated. But it's still worth a glimpse, if you should find something you really like then 1,50 € it's a cheap price to pay.</span></li>
<li><a href="http://pararius.nl/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Pararius.nl</span></b></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">: you will find a lot of ads here, but they are all managed by real estate agencies. If you like estate agents you'll be pleased by this site, where contacting them is free (although visiting the place may not be - some agencies require and advance payment). I personally don't like estate agencies, but if you are interested these are their prices:</span></li>
<ul><ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Equavalent to 1 month of rent</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mediation fee (Equavalent to 1 month of rent)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">VAT 19% (calculated on the service fee)</span></li>
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<li><a href="http://erasmusu.com/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Erasmusu</span></b></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">: specialised in rooms in shared flats, focused on students but also useful for young workers who wish to find a cheap accommodation. Subscribing is necessary to react to ads and costly (much more than Kamernet): starting at 15 € for 5 days, and up to 60 € for 6 months (hope it doesn't take 6 months to find a room...).</span></li>
<li><a href="http://rentstudentroom.nl/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Rent Student Room</b></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">: a sort of forum where registering and answering to posts is free. Rooms are posted on the site and users can react to them in a thread or by private message.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you are looking for a temporary accommodation, you may find something on <a href="http://www.airbnb.com/" target="_blank">Airbnb</a> too. Many of the rooms and apartments posted are by people who wish to rent their place while travelling or away.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is quite common in the Netherlands, where people have an open and pragmatic mind, and think it is a waste to leave the house empty when they could raise some money out of it. On the contrary, in Italy we are very attached to our house and rarely ready to share it with anybody!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you are lucky enough to have some local acquaintances, don't forget to tell your friends that you are looking for a place to stay and ask them to get some information for you: word of mouth is the best way to get top apartments and prices.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Another possibility is to check if there's any Facebook page dedicated to expat in the city where you're going to live, they may help you with your hunt or at least suggest neighbourhoods to avoid.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Finally, as suggested by my friend Gaetano, try to google "free rental service" + the name of your city. You may find some other websites offering agency-free rentals. You never know...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Glossary</i>:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">TE KOOP = for sale</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">TE HUUR = for rent</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you know about other channels and resources please tell me and I'll be happy to add them :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Linda</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249902932754348474noreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524716830980525388.post-9676622100798551532013-09-18T12:41:00.004+02:002013-09-26T11:35:07.441+02:0011 days to go<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here I am with some updates!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I guess the last two posts were a bit boring for those of you who are not looking for a job in the Netherlands and are only here for a sneak peek into my little adventure...today, to make up for that, I'm telling you what's been going on over the past days.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: justify;">I am leaving on Sunday September 29th, from Milan, flying Easyjet. It's a journey of hope, with 2 luggages, 1 train, 1 bus, 1 flight, and 1 more train.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I can hear you say now...."what on earth are you doing this for?!"...ehrm...you're right :(</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sometimes I am so stingy (especially when it comes to flights) that, just to save a few bucks, I can embark on journeys that would make Frodo shiver. On top of that, 3 days after the booking I was quite disappointed to find in my inbox the KLM newsletter announcing seasonal offers on flights to Amsterdam. Ouch.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But let bygones be bygones, I've stocked up on books and I have enough readings for all that traveling. However, there're still many entries on my to-do list!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: justify;">First: find a house. Initially I wanted to start looking for an apartment once in Utrecht, so that I could see the neighbourhoods and be aware of distances, etc. Therefore I booked a flat for 2 weeks on Airbnb. Sadly, it is a bit costly...I tried to look for something cheaper, and I was even willing to share a flat with a woman, her two children and another tenant, but things didn't work out and I "fell back" on a more expensive solution. This miniature studio, with burners in the middle of the entrance/living room/kitchen and no extractor fan, clearly has a high opinion of itself and adjusted the price on its ego, not size.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Second: get my documents in order. I started to get information on the bureaucratic steps I need to take to lawfully live in the netherlands, and I found out about the existence of this mystic number: the BSN (Burger Service Nummer). Despite the name, it is not Mc Donald's take-away line, but the expat's holy grail in the Netherlands. Without the BSN in the Netherlands YOU DO NOT EXIST. You cannot rent a place, open a bank account, work, get paid, or go to the doctor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Our good-natured fiscal code is no match.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As you might have grasped, getting a BSN it's a necessary step for any other task, and the sooner you get it, the better. I then started to chase this magic number, and I found to my surprise that one of the requirements is being in a rental contract. Ah-ah. Loving this catch-22 situations.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I asked my temporary Airbnb host to sign me a document where he declares that I live at his place, and of course he turned me down: off-the books sublet is not just an Italian plague.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: justify;">All right. After this I started looking for a different accommodation where they would let me register my contract. Waiting until I found a final accommodation was not really an option, as this might take some time and in the meantime I would be unable to open a bank account and receive my salary. Also, as I am quite restless, I already had scheduled an appointment with the Utrecht Municipality on the day after my arrival, to register my BSN. I didn't really want to reschedule that. So there I was, quite in a hurry to find someone willing to declare that no, Linda does not live under a bridge.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Luckily enough, one of my future colleagues is a super duper nice Italian guy who is really helping me a lot with my relocation. He asked his landlord if I can register my address at his place, and the landlord said YES! See how nice people are in the Netherlands???</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now I feel relieved!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The adventure got a happy ending, but I still learnt a lesson: do not wait till the last minute, start early instead!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: justify;">So I had a second thought on my house-hunt project and I started looking for a long term accommodation from Italy. I was happy to find that rental prices are not as high as I had feared: I mean, they do ARE high, but not as high as I had figured.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Let's say that if you are willing to share a students' house with 3 other people, you might get a room starting at 300 € (of course it's not the Hilton and it's not Amsterdam). The closer you get to the city-center, the higher the number of housemates, and the cuter the room, the higher is the price you'll have to pay. Still the budget I gave myself (which, to be honest, was scaring the shit out of me) is now looking more than adequate and this is heartening.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A few notes on house-hunting in the Netherlands:</span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You do not get many replies (so far I only got 3 replies out of the 20-something applications I sent). Is it because Italians are not regarded as good housemates? Why, when we know how to make pasta and other such stereotypes. Meh.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Visiting a house before renting it is a girlie thing. There is even a "viewing" field in every ad, and very often the answer is "NO". Ain't pics enough? Get lost. I must admit I am not so annoyed by this habit, as it comes in pretty handy when you look for a house from abroad.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On Saturday I had a sort of Skype interview with the owner of a flat where I might rent a room. I thought it would be something of a chat, just to avoid exchanging emails, but it ended up feeling as a test. When we hung up I was quite tense. They were lovely, but had I knew that the call was so important to get the room, I would at last straightened my hair...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Soooo....here I am, fingers crossed, hoping I get the room... Pleasepleaseplease say yes!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The location is great, the house is super cute, my hopefully future housemate is a stunning blonde and a sweetie, the rent is fair, everything is perfect... There is only one tiny downside to this is place, and that's that it is only available in November, which means I should start looking for another temporary accommodation for October, but they were kind enough to say that I could stay at their place for a few days before I take the room...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Guys, please, cheer on me!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Sorry for the extra-long post. I'll try to write less but more often ;)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Until next time!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Linda</span></div>
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