Sometimes you just come across something a bit unexpected in the Netherlands. I would think SPAM energy drinks qualify…
The two well-known meanings of spam in America..
1. Spam: the food – who knew it was short for spiced ham? spiced-ham? That almost makes it sound edible. I know some people in this world like eating it. I think.
2. Spam: e-mails you don’t want and didn’t ask for.
And now, I guess I have to add ‘energy drink’ to the mix! It even has its own Facebook fan page.
Sorry for the lack of updates! Yesterday was April Fool’s Day, so Marco and I pulled a prank on the game that we help run. It lasted 24 hours so we logged in a lot. Most people were happy with the prank, although there were a few folks who were unhappy with how it turned out. Admittedly it was a bit serious sounding – ownership changes. But all in good fun…
Today was pretty interesting. I had a list of things to get from Albert Heijn, including tortilla wraps (we made fajitas for dinner), cookies for coffee, and coffee pads. The coffee was on sale – two bags of coffee pads for €4 instead of €6.40. But when I went into the line I was surprised that the total price was just over €9. After I left the line and was packing my items, I realized that I forgot to hand over my bonus card. Normally the cashiers prompt you for it.
So I had a dilemma – I could go back and ask the cashier what I could do, but I didn’t want to do it in English. I hate assuming that everyone knows English as it’s not always true. I also wasn’t sure what to do because I had answered “no” to whether or not I wanted a receipt so I had no proof. I usually just throw those away.
So after a few minutes I steeled myself up and went back to the line I had been in. Thankfully I only had to wait for one person to finish. I then managed to explain my predicament to the cashier in simple (simple) Dutch!
Ik heb een vraagje. Ik spreek een beetje Nederlands maar ik vergeet mijn bonuskaart en de koffie is voor aanbeiding. Ik zei “nee” voor een bonnetje. Wat kan ik doen? (may or may not be good Dutch)
I have a question. I speak a little Dutch but I forgot my bonus card and the coffee is on sale. I said “no” to a receipt. What can I do? … It wasn’t quite what I said at the time, but you get the idea. After a few more lines I had to switch back to English because I didn’t understand what she was saying, but thankfully she spoke English. She mentioned that I need to give my bonus card – I understand that. I think she thought I was blaming her for the trouble – far from it!
She explained (in English) that I could try at the customer service desk, so I thanked her and went there. Again I only had to wait for one person ahead of me in the line. I spoke in Dutch again, and actually only had a few lines in English. I even said my Dutch wasn’t that good but I was trying, and she smiled and said I was. She said her English wasn’t that good either but she was trying as well. (I am sort of paraphrasing the conversation but it was 90% Dutch.)
It went pretty well – she asked who my cashier was and pulled up my transaction. She confirmed that it was mine and then gave me some euros back (in coins). I was somewhat embarrassed about the situation in general but quite glad that if I am desperate I can survive on my own if needed. I was also glad I didn’t let the language barrier stand in my way if I wanted something.
Of course, sometimes when you’re happy about something, something else happens to shake you up a bit. 😉 When I was walking home, I stepped on a tiny branch and heard it snap. I took one more step, slightly distracted. I tripped and managed to fall. I didn’t trip over anything in particular – I just didn’t pick up my feet enough I guess!
A gentleman that had been passing by me stopped and asked if I was okay. I started talking in English as I stood up, quite embarrassed Considering I had just been proud to speak a bit of Dutch at Albert Heijn, it’s amazing to consider that in times of distress, all you have left is your native language. It is all you can remember in the heat of the moment. Though I did utter a quick Dag! (goodbye) before I turned to quickly walk home.
It wasn’t that bad of a fall, in the end. My left knee was scrapped up, but nothing a band-aid can’t fix. My right pinky is definitely sore but I can stretch it fully if needed. It hurts slightly when I curl it up too far. I figure a good night’s rest will help a lot.
So… just some of my language observations on a day I thought would be much more quiet than it ended up being. But it was overall a good day.
A few week ago I went with Marco’s mother to Zoetermeer. We went to the shopping area (Stadshart) near Zoetermeer Centrum, mostly to shop and have lunch. We ended up having lunch at Napoleon Brasserie where I had the bal gehakt, which is mainly a meatball sandwich – of sorts. It was pretty decent, although I was expecting there to be some juice alongside. But no, just the meat and the bread (and some mustard packets).
What can I say – I liked the candles!
I also took a picture of an Easter tree display in one of the stores (maybe Blokker, not sure). You can buy little birds, butterflies, and similar to hang on an Easter tree as decoration.
Now if only Spring would come for good. It snowed a little bit yesterday! Though not for long and nothing stuck.
It’s Friday! Here’s some cat figurines, in the style of Delft blauw:
A random purchase that Marco’s mother made. Where exactly she made the purchase will have to be for another time, as we’re going out tonight to a friend’s birthday party.
Since I haven’t been in the Netherlands too long yet, I do not have a bank account. Now that I am registered as a legal resident, I technically can get one at any point, however. One thing that I find a bit strange with the Netherlands is the apparent passivity to receiving and spending large denominations of euros – particularly €50. Especially when you consider that right now €50 is closer to $60.
Oddity #1: Dutch ATMs prefer to give you a €50 bill at all costs. If you ask for €60, you will get a €50 bill and a €10 bill back. In the US, you always get back $20s. Of course, I could ask for €20 each time, but I am still using my American debit card (tied to my Chase account) to withdraw money, and there’s a $5 fee for use in foreign ATMs. That’s fair, but it does mean that I will always try to withdraw €100 to reduce how many times I have to pay the fee. I might withdraw even more (like €200), but considering my luck, the machine would probably give me two €100 bills!
Oddity #2: Most stores seem oddly nonplussed about accepting €50 bills. Of course, this is limited to the stores I have frequented so far, but half the time I expect an alarm to go off and the police to swoop in an arrest me for trying to hand over a €50 bill for a €15 purchase. (I’m joking, but I did have to break a €50 for a €15 purchase today.) I have memories of the hometown Burger King refusing to accept $50 bills even for a purchase around twenty five dollars. So I had it ingrained in me as a child that you just don’t do that. If you can help it. Exceptions: buying clothes, etc, where the total tends to be higher by default.
Oddity #3: Dutch banks will look at you funny if you ask for smaller change. This one I only know from asking questions, but I don’t doubt it. I am used to the US where I had to ride the bus back and forth daily. It wasn’t that far of a ride, so I only needed $1 bills (about $4 a day), but… My routine was to go to the bank every week and break a twenty dollar bill into singles. The bank tellers knew me by name, and sometimes even started counting out singles before I was at the desk. (Useful except when I was really there to withdraw a rent.)
I did see a sign in Xenos (a thrift-ish store) saying no €100 bills or higher, though I do know they will accept €50s (even if your purchase is less than €8…!). Hmm.
Yesterday I received another letter from the city of The Hague. Specifically from the mayor, Jozias van Aartsen. But this was definitely a form letter – you can tell because it starts with “Dear Mr., Mrs.,”…
“Welcome to The Hague!” letter
Since the city now knows that I exist, they decided it would be a good time to welcome me into the city. Interestingly, one side of the letter is written in Dutch and the other side of the letter is written in English. But the information isn’t completely the same – for example, the Dutch side of the letter talks about finding out more information about the municipality (what they do and what they can do for you specifically) by reading the newspaper Stadskrant and De Posthoorn. But the English side of the letter instead has a section on the International Centre of the Hague, something that is completely missing on the Dutch side.
“Ik wens u een mooie tijd in Den Haag!”
I wish you a beautiful stay in The Hague!
On an unrelated note, here’s the lid off a dessert that Marco and I bought at Albert Heijn:
This dessert is a chocolate brownie dessert – somewhere between a brownie and a pudding consistency. Getting it out of the container is always fun. You need to take the lid off (shown above), and then turn over the container on a plate. You then take the cover off the bottom of the dessert, exposing a small hole for you to blow air into, forcing the dessert to slide out of the container and onto the plate. It works pretty well actually.
But now for what the lid says above:
zeg tegen je moeder dat er een muis over het aanrecht loopt,
Tell your mother that there is a mouse walking on the counter
tegen je vader dat er voetbal op tv is
tell your father that there is football [soccer] on tv
en tegen je zus dat haar vriendje voor de deur staat
and tell your sister that her boyfriend is at the door
en jij? Eet smakelijk 😉
and you? Dig in! (or perhaps translate it like Bon appetit!)
Today I spent more than €15 at Albert Heijn. That, of course, means that I was given a keukenmini!
an unwrapped keukenmini and an example of a keukenmini on the right (an empty box of rice)
keuken = kitchen. So it’s a mini “toy” for kids to play with. Of course, to really play with it the parents need to buy the stove for €15. The stove is a few feet tall and the idle place to put the mini items that your parents get for spending €15…
Of course, if you’re on this side of the pond (the Netherlands) and you are desperate to find the last remaining keukenmini your child needs, you can always try marktplaats.nl – an Ebay website of sorts.
I figure the reason Albert Heijn needs to entice the kids in such a way is because it doesn’t have the traditional impulse buys American children have right next to the cash register’s conveyor belt. Candy.
Can I have a candy bar Mommy?
Can I? Can I pleeeeease have the candy bar?
So yeah. Albert Heijn has to get the kid’s attention somehow!
Today Marco and I went to the Albert Heijn in Rijswijk. This location was actually “Albert Heijn XL”, meaning that it is a pretty large version with more variety in stock. One of the perks that this store has is the option to do self-checkout using a barcode scanner.
green beans (brand name), applesauce, and potatoes
To do the self-checkout you first need to pick up a barcode scanner near the front entrance. You scan your bonus card and one of the many scanners available (50 or so) lights up to let you know which one to grab. You then take it and scan each item that you put into your basket.
At the very end of your shopping you go to the self-checkout area and place the barcode scanner back into its holder and scan your barcode. It then takes the information from the scanner and charges you that amount. Afterwards you pay and bag your stuff (but it is not like America where the weight of the bag is checked). The last step is scanning your receipt, which if successful will allow you to exit the self-checkout area and be on your way.
And you don’t even have to wait in line!
For some months now it has been known that a new Apple store would be moving into The Hague – the largest Apple store in the Netherlands, in fact, even larger than Amsterdam. They would be taking over space from another well-known bookstore that goes by the name of Selexyz (pronounced something like sa-leks-yas). They would be moving into the De Passage, a shopping area I have blogged about occasionally.
That store, in turn, would be moving in with another bookstore, De Slegte. I don’t visit that bookstore that much, partially because they have a lot of books but nothing that seems to interest me particularly.
When I visited De Slegte, most of the stock was already gone – it was probably only about 20% full:
Of course, there were still some books available, but it was definitely a very small amount:
Of course, the most interesting thing is this:
As part of the terms of its lease with ASR Vastgoed, Apple will prohibit the decade-long tradition of displaying a large Christmas tree in the rotunda of the shopping arcade because it will block the company’s retail storefront.
Boo! No more Christmas tree in De Passage?!
So I have finally advanced into the world of the technologically able by getting an iPhone 5 for Christmas (Marco’s present to me!).
Note the “Vodafone NL” at the top (Vodafone being the provider). Woot.
To be clear, I have never had a smartphone (or had a true need for one, honestly). In December 2007 mom and I went to a Verizon store and I purchased a prepaid Samsung phone. It came complete with keys that only had abc, def, etc – which made texting fun (read: slowwww).
But it only cost $15 a month – and technically it only cost $15 a month because that was the minimum amount you needed to add to the account to prevent your surplus from being wiped out and being set back to $0 (which happened to me twice – didn’t trust auto-pay). Otherwise I could have gotten by with less. It was more of an emergency type phone until the last half of 2012 when I began to use it more.
At the moment I am not even sure where I left that old phone in this place. It doesn’t work anymore anyway – there’s no service out here because I didn’t schedule anything with Verizon. But I knew in advance that this would be the case, from my first trip visiting the Netherlands. I can still get access to texts and phone numbers, though.
The main reason I wanted to make a jump to the smartphone is a need for independence – mainly Google Maps. I already have an iTouch which has served me well over the years, but it only has wifi and I need to be able to wander the Hague at will as it’s obviously much larger than Pearl River, New York ever was. Using Marco’s map app on his phone is what proved to me that I could survive in the Hague, as I did when left to my own devices for a week last summer (he had to work that week).
