July 2009 was a great time for many reasons. Marco had a trip scheduled to come see me, planned at least 3-4 months in advance. It was a bit of an odd trip to plan, since by July I had graduated from my Masters program and was trying to find work. The cutoff for going back home would have been the end of August – I was very close to running out of money. So he had to make sure that he came before that point.

Just before he arrived, I was granted a job interview with the current library that I work at. He arrived a few days ahead of this interview (scheduled for Thursday, July 2). Of course I couldn’t really relax until the interview was to take place, so the first few days were a bit tense. I knew I just had to get past it, since we were planning on going into New York City for the July 4 fireworks – that was a blast, by the way!

There was a lot of little obstacles to overcome the day of the interview. First off, I should have brought my tennis shoes, since the dress shoes painfully dug into my skin. I of course realized this halfway to the train station, so Marco raced back to get my tennis shoes… we missed that train, though we deliberately chose an early train anyway. For his troubles he got my admiration and a huge blister on his foot.

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Marco and I had our first video chat tonight since he returned to the Netherlands on Sunday. It was pretty nice to see him again, although my latest haircut looked rather wild and untamed on further inspection! A short summer cut.

We talked about some fun things like planning for his probable trip back here in late September. Heck, we’re a bit behind, since we usually have the next trip all planned out before he even arrives for the current trip . . . But this one will just be a quick week, to prepare for the move. I’ll be taking over some of his luggage space too so he can start carting some of my stuff with him. And just hanging out, of course.

And then somehow the conversation switched to the first day back in the Netherlands. How some family and friends who greet us at the airport will probably come back to his — our! — apartment with us, so perhaps we can go to to the Brazilian restaurant together as a group and celebrate. Yes, celebrate. My first non-touristy day in the Netherlands!

The Brazilian restaurant is on the beach of Scheveningen and is called Rodizio (warning, sound, but great photos). They go around offering you various types of meat. If you accept, they shave it off the bone right there for you. It’s one of those places where you don’t want to eat breakfast or lunch that day – otherwise you definitely won’t have enough room.

And once you finally give up and can’t eat anymore, you can flip your coaster over so that it says ‘nee’ (no) instead of ‘ja’ (yes) so they know to stop offering you more meat. And don’t get me started on the grilled pineapple dessert (also shaved on the spot)… yum!

And you can also order a caiprinha, a Brazilian cocktail made with cachaca (similar to sugarcane rum), limes, lime juice, sugar and crushed ice cubes. It’s a great summer drink!

Who knows if we will actually go there. Doesn’t matter. Because I’ll be with my favorite Dutchies.