Guus Bosman

Yesterday evening I went out for dinner with my colleagues. We went to downtown Raleigh and there was a really interesting parking meter. It was a pay box with where you have to place money into slots. It was just a box, so it didn't print a ticket or anything like that. The picture below will explain better how this low-tech solution works.

We had dinner in The Flying Saucer, a nice bar with a large beer selection. I had a Kwak beer with the bradwurst dinner. Unfortunately the Kwak didn't come in its traditional wooden glass. Still, a good beer.

The bar organized a Trivia game and we participated. We didn't win but it was interesting to learn the wide variety of knowledge we had as a team -- from European geography to gravity meters to Ninja Turtles: we knew it all.

A week is such a short time to meet so many people, so I decided to throw a party. I organized it in a cafe in Haarlem that I knew well, In Den Uiver. We have had some good times before there, and, importantly, they have a large selection of good beers and nice Dutch snacks.

The party was great. There were so many guests and I regret there wasn't enough time to really speak with each of you -- thank you very much for coming by, it was great to see you all!

Ettie, Gerben, my parents and I spent a few hours in Haarlem during the day. We arrived at In Den Uiver at 7.00 pm, and Ankie, Joost, Tibor and Wim were already there. We stayed at the front of the bar for a while, but then the backroom became available and we relocated to there. Other guests later on the evening were Aida, Arjan, Astrid, Jean-Paul, Jerry, Joris, Kirsten, Len, Liesbeth, Manuel, Marjolein, Max, Nophie, Pascal, Petra, Raoul, Richard, Rob, Rolf and Steven.

Many relatives were there too: Christianne and Peter with their children Arne and Eva, my grandmother Bosman and as a nice surprise Roel and Ria who live all the way south in Limburg. I received presents, including tulip bulbs and Dutch specialties, and a lot of books.

The owner of the bar, Paul, was very helpful in arranging matters and printed nice coupons for the guests to use. With a nice touch he made them of yellow paper.

Ettie and Gerben brought me home after the party, we left the bar around 2 am. Of course I have some pictures online.

After my work I took a train back north, to Utrecht, where I took an intercity to Amsterdam. I am traveling quite a lot this week. Today I saw Rotterdam, Utrecht and Amsterdam in one day.

I met Jelly in Amsterdam! It was so nice to see her. We had a few drinks in a bar at the train station (a nice Dutch brown cafe called "1st class"). Of course we stayed in contact by e-mail etc but meeting in person is always better.

I took the train from 7.00 pm to Hoorn, where I waited a bit and then took the the bus to Middenmeer.

In Amsterdam I bought a few books, of most interest Ayaan Hirshi Ali's autobiography. Even though I do not always agree with her, I find her a very courageous woman and admire her for the way she has dealt with what came her way after the murder of Van Gogh. As I discussed with my father, there is surprisingly little literature on "current affairs" in the Netherlands. After everything that has happened in the last few years (Fortuyn, Van Gogh, Ali's story) you would expect at least a few books on Dutch politics but the bookstore on the station in Amsterdam only had Ali's autobiography. The book was 19,99 euro for a paperback -- very expensive if you ask me.

An early morning again! I woke up, without an alarm, at 5.45 am, ready for a new day in the Netherlands and it's not raining.

My father will bring me to Hoorn at 7.00 am, where I'll take the train to Amsterdam, and from there to Rotterdam.

Today I had a schedule with a lot of miles, and it started early when we were quite on time at the consulate. It took a while (lots of waiting), but around 10.30 am after a short interview I was officially granted my renewal. Not surprising, but I'm still glad this is over. I'll get my passport with the visa stamp by mail.



We had lunch in Heerenveen. It was great to see my grandmother again. On the way back we went over the Afsluitdijk, so on my first day in the Netherlands I made a circle around the IJsselmeer already. The weather was pretty awful all day (rain, rain, rain).

Tomorrow I'll get up early again to go to Rotterdam.

My father and I are leaving for the Dutch consulate in a few minutes. I woke up at 5.30 am.

I went to bed at 8.00 pm Dutch time, and I although I briefly woke up at 11.00 pm and 2.00 am, I had a good night of sleep. Pretty cool, waking up at 5.30 and still having slept 9 full hours.

It was a busy evening. Packing, laundry, shopping, preparing some last paperwork, all in preparation for my trip to the Netherlands tomorrow.

My flight is at 3.15 pm from Raleigh/Durham to Newark, and from there to Amsterdam where I'll arrive on Sunday morning.

Next week I am going to the Netherlands! Alrik and Esther are getting married, so this is a nice opportunity to visit Holland again after nearly two years.

I'm leaving Durham on Saturday and on Sunday I'll arrive in Amsterdam at 8.15 am. I'll stay in the Netherlands for a week and of course it is loaded with activities.

The first thing to do, at Monday morning 8.30 am, is a visit to the U.S. consulate in Amsterdam to renew my visa. After that Jaap and I will go to Heerenveen to visit my grandmother, Oma Groen.

I'm really excited to see all my family and friends again! I'll give a party on Saturday October 7: starting at 7.00 pm in In Den Uiver in Haarlem. All readers are invited to join me for good times, Belgium beer and Dutch cheese.

My cousin Paula is staying in Sweden Norway for six months for her study.

She now has a website where she writes with a lot of humor about her adventures in Oslo with fjords, roommates and Holmenkollen.

It is not snowing in Norway yet, but apparently there are plenty of langpootmuggen (crane flies).

Friday evening I went out with Sasha's colleagues to a great bar in downtown Durham.

We went to Tyler's Taproom in the American Tobacco District. The American Tobacco District is an area near the baseball stadium with a couple of bars, restaurants and shops. The name of course, is referring to the the tobacco industry that has been very important to the region and to the city of Durham.

We went by car (I was driving) and got lost on the way to there. A phone call brought help. Obviously I couldn't drink alcohol, which was unfortunate because the bar has a great beer selection. It was a very nice evening. On the way back we got lost again, and asked for directions at a gas station to get home.

Saturday afternoon I saw a soccer game with Matt (Reading won) and the rest of the day I did some house hold stuff.

Sunday I went to Lowe's to buy some tools and a tool box, and then I drove to The Street at Southpoint. Thats a small shopping area, with some of my favorite shops. In fact, it reminded me a lot of Clarendon, the area near our apartment in Arlington. There was a Starbucks, a Barnes & Nobles, a Jos. A. Banks and a Cheesecake Factory.