Becoming Dutch

I am officially a working woman! I successfully made it through my first week of this 9-5 deal, and for the most part, enjoyed it. Through this process of starting work, I think I also became more Dutch. I now have a Dutch social security number, a colorful Dutch stamp that takes up a whole page in my passport, Dutch health insurance (its mandatory, them socialist),and I now know what the average Dutch man eats for lunch everyday.

But what has made me most Dutch is simply, a bicycle. Starting work meant starting to bike to work everyday. The bike paths are incredible, and everywhere.  Think of "Finding Nemo" and the scene of the ocean highways with fish swimming in every which way, but in an organized manner. Or think thousands of NYC drivers, just on bikes. The bike paths even have their own lights, so when they are red, a load of bicyclists/mopeds builds up. And when they turn green, its like the start of the Kentucky Derby, and we're off! My entire ride to and from work feels like a race; everyone is trying to pass each other, and they are always on the offensive. I've seen moms with a wheelbarrow on the front of their bike with rather large children in them, in addition to another kid attached to the back in various ways. I've seen infants attached to the front of a bike as a mom wizzes by. I've seen tiny little cars that use the bike paths, along with mopeds that think they are bikes, but just go way faster. I've seen girls bike past with 4 inch heels, men in full suits…nothing really gets between a Dutchman/woman and her/his bike! I've even seen a littler motrorized wheel chair 'put' down the path.

My path to work is quite pleasant. A little bit of busy roads, a lot of paths through parks, and I even cross a bridge that retracts when big boats come through. I've only got caught in the rain once (the guys at work have educated me on all of the radar websites), and didn't get lost at all after my first day. I have yet to talk on the phone/text while biking as many people do, but I have mastered the "hold your phone in one hand and use it as a GPS while biking" technique to get to different places thorughout the city.

I don't think I'll ever take public transportation in Amsterdam again.

The company I am working for is called NLR (http://www.nlr.nl/ if you're curious). I'm working on a project that is basically putting a brain on a parachute. So when the military wants to deliever materials to a base or a humanitarian site, all they have to do is plug in a target point, throw the parachute out the plane, and the device NLR is developing will direct the parachute and payload to land on target, while calcuating the wind and its own mass in the air.

To perfect this, a lot of testing has to be done. And since planes and fuel and parachuets are not cheap, they have created a simulation of the whole process on a computer program. But it has lots of errors and is basically unfinished, so my job, is to do some finishing. I'll be doing lots of coding, problem fixing, user-manual writing, testing etc.

The office I work in is great. I guess my biggest fear coming in was that it would be stressful, terrifying, and impossible work. Its quite the contrary, and one of the most stree-free environmnts I've ever had to work in (aka NOT MIT). People get their work done, but on their own pace. There is unlmited cofee/tea/hot chocolate, and people are always at the machine taking breaks. I've got a fancy two-desktop set-up and share an office with one other guy who is pretty legit. He's told me all about his paragliding adventures across the world. He's already helped me a lot so far, taught me some Dutch, and eats lunch with me every day! My advisor is also very nice. I think he enjoys showing me around instead of working, and likes to talk about his house and dogs and the touristy stuff I should do in Amsterdam.

It's actually pretty hilarious I am in the Aircraft Systems department. All of the other departments have younger student interns/women. My department is made up of about 25 men at least over the age of 50, if not older. Most of them are a little nerdy, have been working here since I was born, and talk about coding languages with each other and then laugh how I've never heard of them. If you looked in our cafeteria at lunch, you'd see an entire table full of old guys, with me (I am also the only woman), stuck in the middle. There are 3 men's bathrooms and 1 women's bathroom in our division, and I'm pretty sure I am the only one who uses the women's bathroom. Sometimes I wish I was working with some younger people...but most of the time I enjoy standing out, and getting to hear all of their crazy life stories. It's almost like I get to hang out with a bunch of Opa's each day :)

The Dutch love bread and milk, more than I ever would have thought. When they told  me the mlik was free in the cafeteria, I didn't realize that was because the workers would go broke if it wasn't. Every single man eats 2-4 sandwiches a day, with regular bread, with baguettes, and with big rolls (usually one of each), alongside 2-3 glasses of milk, and a cup of soup. The sandwhiches usually consist of butter (always), and then a slice of cheese, or some kind of liquified meat (liverwurst?). And depending on the type of bread, they eat it with a fork and knife. My peanut butter sandwhich, piece of fruit, and WATER bottle is quite shocking to them.