Brooke and Derek (and Todd) do Delft. (and my new ski jacket) 

It's Delft pottery, real pieces only

With Derek back in town, the temperature greater than 0 degrees, and cabin fever setting in, it was time for a road trip. So, with Todd and today's great notification system, we headed out for Delft on Sunday which is about a 1/2 hour away. We were excited after having completed our "chores" for the weekend which included getting Derek and Todd full ski attire (I had already purchased mine last week) for our upcoming trip to Austria and Switzerland for skiing and (finally) being able to transfer Derek's parking pass to Brooke's car for parking at the apartment (no more parking 15 minutes away or riding the bike home from the office - I actually can't wait for the week to come to park here at the apartment). So, we decided a day trip to the city of Delft would be alot of fun. It definitely was. After reading about the city on the way there and educating ourselves about the different type of Delft pottery - that which is original and handpainted in the town and that which is made in China, we arrived at the city and visited the town center and the three churches. We found a nice spot in a cafe and were able to enjoy pancakes and fritters for lunch and talk Todd into tasting the Dutch syrup - which tastes nothing like the maple syrup from home. We visited a couple of stores which were open (not all of them because it was Sunday which is why I think the boys picked this day to go) and came upon one which was run by a family who painted the pottery onsite in the store. Particularly a tourist TRAP, but particularly cool, I selected one piece to purchase that had been handpainted in the store by the father of the family. (How could you be in Delft and not buy Delft pottery??). (It is a great little jewerly box which I am going to put next to my bed. ) After touring the town, we then headed onto our next adventure which was go-karting at Race Planet. This was a great indoor multi-level track in which riders raced go-karts that went very fast through a pretty difficult track. We raced 2 times, once by ourselves and once with other people, and had a blast. We were very aggressive drivers and we all tried to get the best lap time and be the first car - this resulted in Derek spinning Todd out and Todd crashing me against the wall. It definitely was a lot of fun, but we all were feeling a little sore when we got out of the car upon our return to Amsterdam.... perhaps we are not as young as we think we are :-) Dinner at a Spanish restaurant completed the trip - a great time with Todd and with Derek back in town. Now, it is back to work.....

Todd and the only remaining gate to the city. Thanks Todd for posing for the picture :-) 

New Church on the town square - built in the 1300's... hard to believe it is the "new" church! 

Delft town hall on the main square 

It is belly dancing time!!! 

Brooke, Jennifer, Nassia, Tarsha, Laetitia, Virginie, and Sandy 

The camel, the shimmy, and the shake... it is belly dancing time.

When living overseas in an environment which is totally different and where you totally have no control over life, I think one of two things normally happens. 1. You curl up into a little ball in your little apartment and you watch American movies which you brought with you from home while rationing your American Kraft Mac and Cheese in your "safe" place or 2. You say what the heck, I am up for anything, let's get out there and try something new. I can honestly say I have done both, but that I much prefer option 2. That is why I was interested in a new group of people I was introduced to called "meet in Amsterdam".

Moving to a new city means creating a new network of people to interact with. To date, that network has been great, but small, mostly consisting of the people at work and direct connections with them. So, see if you can follow this one...my co-worker Diane's neighbor Dave (an American who has lived here for about 8 years) invited Diane and I to go to a concert with him last week. He also invited a couple he met from Belgium on the internet and another guy, named Robert, who he had just recently met at Trivia night (which is every Monday in Amsterdam at Boom Chicago). Robert, an American who just moved to Amsterdam from Florida, learned about trivia night from this website and group called "meet in". I met Robert (who was nice and normal) and therefore became curious about this group which plans all different types of events around the city and country. Heeding my mom's comments and concern about a "cult", I had planned to attend my first event next week at their one year anniversary party. However, a last minute check of the website turned up a belly dancing class with 2 open spots for Saturday.

The class was at a studio (there was a link on the website - looked legitimate - I thought as I wondered if it could be a scam to lure people to a secluded area to rob them), it was during day light hours, and the guest list was all girls (even through the group has more than 600 members) - so I figured I couldn't get more safer than this... and belly dancing.... why not give it a try?

It was a blast. We learned some moves and by the end, were even able to do them to music. The shake, the shimmy, the camel - and we were given scarves, bells, and veils. And, not only was the event fun, but I really met some interesting people. I love hearing stories from others about what they are doing and why they are here - and the thing is - everyone has a story. And they are all so different and so interesting. Some people are students, some here on work, some work part time, some full time, some are writers, some are just traveling along - you never know what the answer is going to be. Although, you do know, it will always be interesting.

So, thanks to Nassia for planning the event and thank you to the group for welcoming me as a new member - now, it is time for a movie :-)

Nassia - who coordinated the event and the lesson. Thanks Nassia - it was a blast. 

The twist w/ a veil. 

This was called the "shimmy". Followed by the "shimmy kick" where you kick your hip out to the right and left. I liked the shimmy move. 

This move was called the camel. 

And now we do it with veils - it doesn't get any better than this. 

This is in the center of town - it was a very cute town and was alot of fun to visit. I liked this picture because of the flame. Maastrict - a neat place to visit. 

This picture is for Derek.... I am just checking if he is reading the blog while in NY..... 

I took this picture to show you just how much the Europeans like to be outside. Although these pictures look "nice" because it was a sunny day, the temperatures were approximately -4 C - which is very very cool. However, here is a bar with outdoor seating and BLANKETS. Can you believe it? Funniest part is - we saw people sitting outside.... I was freezing even with my long underwear on! 

Hi Mom! (and Dad!) It is me :-) 

One of the cool sights around Maastrict. The city was originally a Roman settlement, so the original water system still exists around and throughout the city. It was pretty cool. 

The American Cementry in Holland - where the 82nd Airborne Troop landed to liberate the Dutch. Near Maastrict, about 2 hrs from Amsterdam, this is where President Bush visited earlier this year to celebrate the 60th anniversary. 

8,000 graves here, twice that in Normandy 

I loved this picture with the flag in the background. I tried to get it in Normandy, but I couldn't because the wind wasn't blowing, but with the snow, I think it looks great. 

Old Glory 

Jen and Mark's going away party! 

Dinner 

l
The Amsterdam team (less some missing team members like Derek who is off working in NYC)....It is a great group to be part of!!

The group!!! We love Jen and Mark!!! Bon Voyage!!!