Warm-er weather

As the title says, the weather is a bit warmer.
The past week the snow has been slowly melting and the ice on the canals has been slowly returning to its liquid state. It is kind of weird to realize that the ground temperature is warmer than the water temperature. The snow was melting very fast, but there are probably canals that still have ice on them now, after 7 days of no cold temperatures. Well, it's still chilly.
The highest temperature was 6 degrees probably once or twice this week. Today it's been 3 degrees all day and at night seems to be going to 1 or maybe a bit lower too. We'll see how it goes over the next couple of days.
If you haven't already, you should go look at my pictures on Facebook. Sorry for the weird order, if you want to know the order I won't explain it again, but you can see it on the post just before this one.
Wanna know something interesting? I almost got in trouble at a supermarket for taking pictures :-P It's all because they have this very interesting and efficient system... You pay like 50 euro cents for this wireless scanner and you take it along with you in the supermarket. Every item you pick up you scan and so it tells you how much money and what items you're spending on. No longer want an item? Press delete and it's out of your list. When you're done, you go to a separate area next to the registers. There all you do is you hang the scanner, the machine detects how much it has to charge, you pass your credit/debit/pinpass/whatever card, you print the receipt. You walk up to the doors, scan your receipt, and the door opens to let you through.
Well, I took a picture of the little scan and where you pay and all. And the manager of Albert Heijn came to tell me you can't take pictures without permission. But I answered in Dutch so he just spoke very fast in Dutch too. Then Esmee said I was a tourist from Amerika and he said how he didn't think the system would be in Amerika for another like 20 years or so with how slow it is in a lot of things, so I showed him the pictures and he said it was fine.
Funny anecdote I guess, haha.
This last week we didn't have to babysit again. I don't know how, but the computer is repaired. Apparently after McAfee was gone the 2nd time, those viruses were erased too. Trend Micro hasn't found any again either. We'll see how it keeps going.
Friday we ate fries from the snack bar. I also ate a kaas suffle, really good cheese thing. Tomorrow I'm going to make empanadas, so we'll see how that goes!
In other news, I have been applying for some temporary jobs, all Christmas season and stuff. Hopefully I can work soon.....
And I want to go to the Escher museum in The Hague. Maybe this or next week I'll go, hopefully with Esmee.
Also I think this week we're going to go to Ikea. I always love going to Ikea, loads of fun and get to eat some swedish meatballs, hehehe.
For Christmas there are some different plans, seems like we had invited Oma and Opa for dinner and all, but they might go to Appeldoorn to Gerard's house to celebrate it. So we'll see what happens in the end.
For New Years, called OudeNieuwe in Dutch (Old New... weird name), Imke and Marc have invited us to their New Years Party, so I will be buying some fireworks this week, either at the Driesprong or back at the Intratuin.
Intratuin by the way is such an awesome shop! Imagine a Lowes where a lot of the products change seasonally and they have like Christmas decorations. But not just Christmas decorations. The whole place felt like I was entering a theme park or something. It was so cool! So many Christmas things all over the place. Trees, Santa Clauses. They even had a manger and some goats. Oh, and this VW Minivan with a train track running through it and with more Christmas decorations! Oh, and since there is a gigantic pet section, people go shopping with their pets. Yes. People had their dogs with them. I guess it makes sense to be able to try a jacket on your dog before you buy it. But probably the best thing of Intratuin was that I FINALLY SAW CLOGS! Like real clogs! Wooden clogs! It was awesome!!! I almost bought some but I didn't really have the money for them at the moment. Maybe later. Would be a great thing to have as a decoration. Maybe for my parents house :-P
Also, let me tell you about the Internet/Cable/Phone here. They pay like 58 per month. The Internet every like 3 days stops working. UPC really sucks apparently. And its supposed to be fiber with 25mbps or so but running speedtests I only get like 2.75 mbps... So yeah, Esmee says they get screwed by UPC. I wonder why they don't switch ISP's. I guess the rest of the things work pretty well. Except the phone seems to lose calls very often. I don't know, just kind of odd to me I guess.
Oh, also, there is no 24 hour support line. Dutch people should really request that. It's good and can be very important. What if your phone stops working and you have no cell phone? I do wonder if other companies have that here.
Anyways. For this week I guess I'll see about some temporary work and will look forwards to going to Ikea and the Escher Museum.
Oh, want to know the stupidest thing of going to Den Haag to get my sofi to work here? My camera died before even leaving. Yeah. Sucked. I finally go to Den Haag and the battery dies. But I promise photos when I go to the Escher museum!
Anyway. I hope you all had a better and warmer week than I did. I'll update sometime mid week I think.
Doei!

Sinterklaas weekend!!!!!

Oh how much fun that was!!!!! What a great weekend!
More snow all day Friday and Saturday.
A great day of Sinterklaas celebrations on Saturday.
Went to see Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1 on Sunday.
Too bad most of the snow seems to have melted.
But a great weekend regardless.
By now I have uploaded all the pictures I've taken so far. Though for some reason Shotwell didn't upload them in the correct order... So you should look at the first 69 photos starting from number 69 going up to number 1 and then the second half of the photos starting from the last one up to number 70, I think that's the way they are uploaded. I did upload them in two groups and I guess that messed it up more.
But from the beginning.
Friday night it snowed more. And the temperature stayed at -10 on Saturday too.
Saturday we went to Zoetermeer to do some Sinterklaas shopping, since Ramón had not bought his Sinterklaas present yet and I had to buy chocolate for Romeo. Esmee also needed a winter jacket. Pretty much it was the 4 kids crammed into the back of the small Citroen C3 again. It was pretty scary with all the snow on the roads and with more snow falling, there really was a strong blizzard outside. Really sad for all the South Holland Sheep you could see, they were all standing outside and looking for grass to eat.
We got to Zoetermeer after seeing a lot of frozen canals and ponds, and the first thing we did was bought tickets for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 on Sunday. After that we walked on the snow through part of the dorp and then entered the inside shopping center/area. Romeo bought some boots, we looked into some other stores, and then Ingrid and Esmee went to look at women stuff, so the rest of us, all kept walking through the dorp. Ramón bought a set to make tapas, we kept walking and went to the Free Record Shop where Rico bought 2 Jeff Dunham DVD's, then we walked back to the shopping center and met up with Ingrid and Esmee, who had bought herself a new jacket. Then we all had lunch, ate some sandwiches, and kept walking around. After some more walking we went back to the garage and drove through the storm back to Berkel en Rodenrijs.
Saturday night we all went to Oma and Opa's to celebrate Sinterklaas. Arie and Ilona, with Bjorn and Kristen of course, went to Oma and Opa's too, and we all had dinner, then Oma brought the bag of Zwarte Piet (Black Pete), the helpers of Sinterklaas, and we all started taking presents from it. I got 8 computer games which I had gone with Opa to buy at the Intertoys. Later we all brought our gifts that we bought for the game, sat around the coffee table, and started playing.
It was a very interesting and fun game. Ingrid set a timer to one hour, and then there was one die to roll. The die was passed clockwise around the table and everybody would roll it. If you got a 1, 3, or a 5, nothing happened. If you rolled a 2, all the gifts were moved to the right. If you rolled a 4, all the gifts moved to the left. If you rolled a 6, you could trade gifts with somebody else and open the gift, if it wasn't open already. The gifts, in no specific order, were a birdhouse, a table ornament to put cookies and things on, 2 Jeff Dunham DVD's, a set of Tapas, a set of chocolate fondue and other chocolate things, a National Movie Theater Gift Card, a Hedwig/White Owl puppet/ornament thing, a set with soap and bubbles and cream for a bath for women, and a Portable Speaker. After some time of playing the game started getting pretty tense, Rico wanted his Jeff Dunham DVD's, Opa wanted the Portable Speaker, Ilona wanted the birdhouse, no man wanted the bath set, and nobody could look at the timer to see how much time was left. Suddenly, in the last move, I passed the bath set to Esmee, I got the Speaker, Rico passed the Jeff Dunham DVD's to Arie, Ingrid received the chocolate fondue thing, Ramón the tapas, and Rico the table ornament thing. You can guess Rico was very sad he didn't get his Jeff Dunham DVD's, haha.
After the game we drank some tea and coffee (well, Esmee and I just drank tea) and then we walked home in the snow. As we were walking home Ramón and Esmee started throwing some snowballs, then Esmee slipped, then we arrived home and Esmee declared a Snowball fight outside on the back street. So Romeo, Esmee, Ramón and I went to the back and started throwing snowballs. A great way to end that great Saturday.
On Sunday we all were very lazy in the morning, then had lunch together and then we all went to watch Harry Potter. By then the temperature had risen to 4 degrees, it was the highest of the week, and a lot of snow was melting already.
EDIT: While waiting for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 at the movie theater, we were listening to Sinterklaas music that was playing on the speaker system of the building. Apparently, all Argentinean kids songs are based on Sinterklaas songs. Or at least they all have the same melody. It was a very weird thing for me to find out on Sunday.
The movie was really good, but the ending kind of sucked. I guess for a book that you have to split into two it is hard to decide where to best split it and how to make it an ending point.
After the movie we went back home and then Esmee started doing her homework. Suddenly all these windows started popping up on the computer with some program trying to write on the hard disk. I realized they had a virus. I tried to get McAfee to scan the folder that the virus was coming from, but McAfee wasn't doing anything. So I uninstalled it and then I installed Trend Micro. I ran it through the night but somehow the scan was stopped in the middle of the night. So today I've been running it again.
On Wednesday I'm getting my Sofi number and then hopefully I'll be able to start working asap and make some money again.
Anyways, I hope all of you had a great Sinterklaas and are having a good December so far. Mine is going pretty well I think. I'll post an update later this week I guess.
If you haven't already, go look at my pictures on Facebook!
Dag!

El Tano.

Snow and freezing temperatures

Yes.
The Netherlands during winter is VERY cold.
And it has been flurrying for a couple of days now.
But today I saw some really amazing things.
Like the biggest snow flakes I've seen in my entire life.
I'm not kidding, those things were like an inch wide...
It was truly amazing.
At first, I was working helping Rico with some of the mail he has to deliver.
And it was just cold.
Then it started snowing a little, and they were tiny, like 2 mm wide snow flakes.
But they were PERFECT snow flakes! Had a perfect shape, something I had never seen.
And then suddenly the blizzard came.
And the kinda-sunny weather of the morning was gone, and there was wind and colder temperatures.
You know what feels absolutely weird? To go home, notice its -2 outside, and feel that its not that cold.
Yes. It didn't feel that cold. Why? Because during the blizzard it was down to -8 and felt like -16, again.
Pretty much the entire week has been cold.
I've done things I never thought I would do.
I rode a bike to the market in the snow. And more than once too. Even rode a bike to deliver mail, with two boxes full of mail on the bike bags. Worst thing is that I left my snow goggles inside, so all the snow was hitting my face. Oh, and the Dutch wind is still here, and it doesn't help at all, as you would imagine.
The days so far have been pretty good. I called the tax service office and next week I'm getting a number thing like the Social Security Number so that I can work, since the TNT Mail needs a lot of people for the holiday season. Then I'll be making some Euris! Hahaha, at least I'll have something else to do.
I went to babysit with Esmee some more, Nina is now smiling more to me than before, pretty cool! And at the house where we used to babysit on Thursdays now the little boy, whose name I forget but is like Thimad or something like that, was talking with me in Dutch and showing both of us his new firetruck. Also his sister, Feline, was talking with me using all her English she had learnt in school so far and we played Qwartet, a card game where you have to complete sets of 4 cards. I don't think I even have to say that it was loads of fun.
Anyways, on to more personal things, I've really come to the conclusion that I want to keep studying Industrial Engineering. I have been reading more and more of it. I find myself reading previews on Google Books, its actually a whole new thing for me. Really interesting all the things I read about it. Mostly what I like is Logistics, Supply Chain Management, and Ergonomics. A lot of it is because of my work as an interpreter. And for those who don't understand, its all because I see all the patients seem to get hurt because of a lack of importance in the workplace to safety. Sure, big corporations have lots of board for safety and all that. But I believe a lot more places should have safety regulations. And hospitals, don't even get me started. Not just hospitals, but any kind of clinic. The use of resources is SOOO inefficient. Can I just say that if Duke or WakeMed or Rex hired an Industrial Engineer then a lot of their nurses wouldn't get hurt and their doctors would have things to do and the patients would be taken care of much quicker? It would be cheaper and better for EVERYBODY.
I don't know how to explain it more. It's just such a lack of organization. And that motivates me to go and improve it. Yes, sure, it works. But does it really work? Is it effective and efficient? Could it be improved? Definitely. Everything can and should be improved.
I have some pictures to upload, but I'm not exactly sure how to put them on the blogpost. So I'll put them on Facebook, and if you're my friend you'll be able to see them, hehe.
Tomorrow is SinterKlass and we're going to buy some gifts and on Sunday I think we are going to have a game of trading gifts and stuff, sounds like it will be fun. I've already bought all the gifts I need to buy, pretty sure, well, except for Romeo, who wants chocolate so I'll get it tomorrow. Sunday we are also going to go watch Harry Potter! Finally, haha.
Anyways, I think this is the end of a good week overall. Found out about the number to work, had good dinners with Esmee's family and grandparents, even tutored them in English! Also called my grandmother to say hi, its always nice to talk with her.
Hopefully next week things will keep getting better.
I guess I'll write something on Sunday or Monday morning.

A new trip or just a continuation of the old one

Okay, sorry for no posts in like 4 months or something. I did go to Baltimore and stuff, got some local Baltimore Crystal Palace fans mad at me for having a super gigantic Railhawks flag, have been working a lot more than usual... So yeah, it's been pretty eventful, but I guess its time for the next chapter... Right? Lets hope so. So this is what I wrote the other day on the train from Brussels to Rotterdam. Hope you enjoy it!

WHAT A TRIP SO FAR!

Okay, first things first.

I finished moving/packing/cleaning up my room and everything like one hour before my bus to NY left from Cary’s Chinese Market (NAME). Pretty freaking crazy.

After finishing up with that I went to my parents and there said goodbye to my sister and then went to the Chinese Market with my dad.

We waited and waited and waited. The bus not only wasn’t early like it should have been, it was like half an hour late... So we were there waiting in the cool Cary weather for the chinese bus. When it finally came, I said bye to my dad, got on it, and then waited for a longer time again. Turns out they had over-booked! So they called the chinese bus that left from Durham. Luckily they still had space. So like 10 people who were outside just came in the bus and stayed standing. We drove to Durham and to me it seemed like an eternity. I even had time to fall asleep! When I woke up we were in Durham, the chinese guy next to me was poking me to make me wake up to give my ticket stub thingy to some other Chinese guy. So I did that. And then I couldn’t fall asleep again for a long annoying time. The whole ride was a big adventure on its own. Lots of chinese people yelling and screaming and just talking loudly. Until luckily one by one they started falling asleep. And then I got some rest. Probably slept 4 hours then, which felt amazing even if it wasn’t much. I woke up and we weren’t even in DC yet. It was morning, misty, some light rain. We stopped at a rest area and then kept going. Suddenly I got bored and time went by very fast, then BAM! We were right by Jersey City! So I took a picture of the Statue of Liberty, Jersey City, Manhattan, and then we went in the Holland Tunnel! After that the bus looked for a place to park close to Chinatown, but for some reason they couldn’t park on Canal Street like they were supposed to. Everybody got off a little bit pissed that we weren’t at Canal Street, but the bus driver said, in his horrible accent, that we were only one block away. Then came the super epic battle I shall always remember as the Thanksgiving Day Battle for Luggage. People went crazy trying to get their luggage! Climbing over other people, over other luggage, wrestling, pushing... I guess you could say we were all in NYC!

Luckily it all ended well and I got my luggage without getting stepped on. But then came the long boring tiring part.

I had to walk to Canal Street Station to get the J or Z trains to go to JFK Airport.

And I had forgotten which direction I should walk towards.

So I set of in one direction. And that looked NOTHING like what I had seen in Google Maps (One of my bestest friends in the world :-P). But then I set out in the other direction, and I still felt lost. So I called my best friends and texted Esmee. One of my best friends answered and found out for me how much longer it was. Then once all that was good I walked to the subway station, dodging all the chinese vendors on the street and a lot of other people on my way. And then I realized that the elevators in the subway system only go down one level. And where were the J and Z trains??? Down 2 levels and up one. And no, the -1 level you end up with does NOT connect to the main level where the elevator can drop you off. So there I went with my big luggage and my big backpack. Finally I got to the train and I was able to relax for almost an entire hour. Then went to the AirTrain and relaxed for some 30 minutes or so. Well, more like got all excited and became a 5 year old again. That’s what being in airports does to me, seeing all the planes and all... It’s just amazing. Sadly, I have yet to see an A380. I guess both Schiphol last summer and JFK yesterday were a bit disappointing in that. But the airport overall is really nice. Big, spacious, organized. Looks like the Engineers did a good job in this one.

I got off at my terminal (Mostly because I realized it was my terminal once all the other people in the train were done leaving, luckily the doors were still open and I had no trouble getting out) and walked around trying to get to the check-in counters, which let me tell you, are not that close to the terminal. So I got to the counters and I saw a lot of them just were American Airlines. And then finally I saw a tiny sign that said “Jet Airways go to Number 4.” So to number 4 I went. And there I stood, with like 10 other people, for like 2 hours. Why? Because Jet Airways only opens at 2. Pretty stupid if you ask me. Luckily all that was really good in the end. I got to relax more, rest my shoulders, and then weighed my big baggage.... It was only like 21 kilos!!! WOOHOO!!!! Way to be awesome at packing! That’s how awesome it felt at the moment.

And then came the part every person traveling in or through the US these days looks forwards to the most..... Seeing what the TSA will stop you for! With your hosts, the TSA people! And what did the TSA people find that was very dangerous and illegal in my bag? A bookmark and my ski goggles. Definitely up there on the most dangerous items to take on carry-on when flying. My poor pack was all un-packed. And the TSA agent was “Nice” enough to “let me” pack my pack again. Of course, that was after he had taken all the things out. ALL OF THEM. And if there is something I REALLY HATE is having to re-pack a perfectly packed pack. But anyways, after I did that I helped a mexican-american wearing boots to get his passport back because he had forgotten it in the little benches people use to put their shoes back on. Then I went to the Sprint Now Network 4G MiFi Free Internet Hotspot in the terminal. And of course, it connects to the network, but the network has no actual internet! What good use is that??? Not a very good one from my perspective.....

Then at that point I realized my Aviators had broken. I’m still not sure how or when, but part of the ear-thingy just broke off... clean-cut and everything. So I walked to my gate all bored and sad about the aviators, and then I talked with Esmee. After laughing a bit with her I realized my cell phone was dying. So we hung up before my cell phone would kick us off. Then I waited for a lot of people to board because I was in Group 3. And finally I boarded. Of course, the plain was not really all that full, so some people were able to lay down in the middle 4 seats as a bed. Lucky them, since I didn’t get to those in time. But the airplane and the airway...

Let me tell you. That airplane was beautiful. It had everything anybody could ever want. First class had like its own little rooms kind of. Not fully rooms, just more divided than seats on an airplane. And even economy... We had TV, games, language courses, music, sms/e-mail and phone calling all in our seats! AMAZING! I’ve never seen that in an Economy class! So it was definitely a great experience. For dinner they even gave us real glasses and real silverware! I will definitely be traveling Jet Airways again. Only crazy thing though was that when we were somewhere above England, the pilot suddenly said “If there’s any doctor’s aboard, please talk with a crew member, we have a medical emergency.” Not really what you want to hear on a trans-atlantic flight. But it must not have been all that severe since we were able to go all the way to Brussels. In Brussels the plane was experiencing some technical difficulties. First of all, it was all dark and I almost thought the pilot had missed the runway. Second of all, the crew was not ready to receive the emergency personnel from Brussels, and it was a mess of people trying to leave, emergency people trying to get to the end of the plane, and then me sitting there watching it all. Third, the airplane couldn’t open some of its cargo bay doors, so I had to wait an ENTIRE HOUR just for my baggage. It was only like 20 of us waiting too, so it wasn’t that big of a cargo bay I guess. But one thing that definitely annoyed me of today is that the plane pretty much goes over Rotterdam and then to Brussels. And then I had to take a train from Brussels Airport to Brussels Central, going through Brussels North. And then now I’m on the train from Brussels Central, through Brussels North, to Rotterdam Centraal. Why? Cuz the Brussels to Amsterdam train only stops at some stops.

Now I’m just ready to rest, so for now I’ll save this and post it when I get to Esmee’s house I guess. I hope everybody had a good Turkey Day! I certainly had an interesting one...

Doei! Au revoir! Dag! Bye!

And now, since then, seeing as its Saturday night, I'll tell you what happened.

There was lots of train traffic and construction. A lot of trains were late. Mine was almost half an hour late on its way to Rotterdam, hence why I had time for all that long blog post and etc.

But then finally I arrived in Rotterdam Centraal. It was a lot colder than I was expecting it to be, but luckily I had my peacoat and my hoodie, a pair of gloves, a hat, and a thing for my neck. I went to the north side of the station but I didn't see Esmee's parents. I walked around the shops a bit, waited by there some more, and then decided that since I had my OV-Chipkaart, I could take the Randstad Rail to Berkel en Rodenrijs to go to the house, or else to Den Haag Centraal to wait for Esmee who got off from school at 2 or so, since I'd rather be inside a station waiting than outside. So I called Esmee and left her a voicemail, since she didn't answer. I thought she was in class. Then I took the Randstad Rail to Berkel en Rodenrijs. I really like the whole expansion of the Randstad Rail into Rotterdam Centraal. It is a lot nicer than the Hofplein station, that station left you closer to the Hofplein, but it didn't connect with anything. Being at Rotterdam Centraal, the Randstad Rail Metrolijn E now connects to all of Rotterdam's services, including the trains at the station, other metro's, taxis, buses, everything! And it's not all that much farther from the Hofplein, just a little bit.

As I was entering the Randstad Rail, I was starting to think of going to Den Haag instead of Berkel en Rodenrijs. And suddenly when I was going by Berkel Westpolder I saw Ramón right there! So I got off and he said he was there to pick me up. At the time I wondered a bit how he knew or if he had just guessed I would take it, but later I found out that Ingrid saw me on the Randstad Rail as it was going by hers, since she was going to Rotterdam to work at 1. So we go to the car and then suddenly I look back towards the station. I saw Esmee! And Ramon then says "I think Esmee should be here soon," so I point to him that I see her coming out of the station. We said hi and then she rode her bike to the house.

The rest of the afternoon was really chill; watch TV, eat some fries with mayo, relax, then go babysitting at Ramon and Ingrid's friends' house to babysit their 4 or 5 month old daughter. Little baby Nina started crying a bit but then she relaxed and went to bed. Woke up only once and it wasn't a hard thing to do at all. You should see Esmee's magic with children! It's really amazing to see.

We got back home at 12:15 this morning and went to bed after talking for an hour or so. Then I remembered why I didn't like the blinds much... they cover the entire window. We woke up at 11:30 this morning to a cloudy day, but of course we didn't realize it was late until looking at the clock, haha. After that we were very lazy for a while, but then went downstairs to have lunch with everybody and then I got to drive again, going to the Dorp to buy some groceries. After returning we watched a movie and then had dinner. After dinner Ramón left to go to his waterpolo game and Ingrid, Esmee and I sat down on the couch and watched TV and talked. Ingrid tried some air heads, and liked them, and then Esmee had to go to babysit again. So now I have been here editing this post and going to post it. As soon as Esmee arrives home we are going to sleep, and then tomorrow she has to babysit again.

Next weekend will be fun, we're going to do a whole Sinterklass gift-trading game with dice. Last year, Esmee won a chocolate fondue set! Maybe we'll use it for dinner one of these days too, hehe.

We'll also go and watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 next Sunday, will be fun.

Anyways, I hope everybody is doing good wherever you are. Have a good weekend and stay safe!

Here I'll be waiting to hopefully see snow sometime this week!

Doei!

El Tano, in Berkel en Rodenrijs, South Holland, The Netherlands.

Waaaaaaay late.....

Wow.... its been a long while since I last posted.....
What has happened..... Uruguay almost tied it up against The Netherlands.
Spain beat The Netherlands and became World Champions for the first time.
I found more Argentinean wines in C1000 and in Albert Heijn too.
Esmee and I took a midnight bus to Paris.... and there was a family with a young baby and like 4 other children who was playing musical chairs all night long and the baby kept crying, so I got no sleep.
The bus of course was speeding. So when we arrived at Paris Gallieni International Bus Station at 5:20.... the station wasn't even open yet. We waited like 40 minutes and the station opened. Then we took the metro to Chatelet les Halles where we changed to another one to Place d'Italie. There we walked around until we found our hotel. Then they told us it was too early to check in, but we could drop our luggage. We then went to a cafe for a bit, then walked around, and finally decided to go to La Defense, kind of the Manhattan of Paris. I showed Esmee the whole mall there and all, and then we went to the Arc of La Defense. Then I called Dimitri, my dads friend from Paris, and he invited us to his house to rest a bit and to have lunch. So we went to their house on the RER (Regional/metropolitan train, faster than the metro) and then, after Nico (Dimitri's son, my friend) invited me to some mates, we went back to the hotel.
Later that day we took another RER to St. Remy-les-Chevreuses, where we met up with my "grandparents" from Paris, Andre and Michou. We had a great dinner with them, drank some wine, enjoyed some good cheese, drank some cider, ate some chicken, and talked about a lot of diverse things. Even Esmee had a very good time, as Cathrine (Andre and Michou's daughter) was speaking English with her and even Michou remembered some Dutch (She is Belgian and learnt Dutch in school many many years ago) to speak with Esmee. After dinner, we went to a park in St. Remy where there were fireworks in celebration of the 14th of July. Once the fireworks were done we went by my Parisian house and then they took us back to the hotel.
On the 14th, we went to Disneyland Paris. We enjoyed it a lot, only thing was when it started raining heavily after having been there not too long. I think that the park overall is very similar to the park in Orlando, Florida, but the Pirates of the Caribbean ride is way better in Paris. The Rock n' Roller Coaster in Paris was worse though, as they barely put any music on and the "street signs" weren't even on, or non existant maybe. That night we were way too tired to do anything else, so we didn't even see the fireworks in Pairs, just went to the hotel and slept.
Thursday, we went to the Louvre, saw the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, a couple other big and famous art pieces, and then made our way to the Richelieu wing because Esmee wanted to see the Dutch paintings. After visiting the Louvre we walked along an avenue, I ate a Nutella Banana crepe, and then we went through the Tuileries Gardens. We crossed the Seine towards the National Assembly and then walked all the way to Invalides. Let me tell you something. Being a citizen of the EU and under 26 is awesome. Got in for free at both the Louvre and Invalides. We saw Napoleon's tomb, and the Soldiers Chapel where they have lots of old flags of enemies of the French Republic and their old wars. We then walked to Carrefour, bought a liter and a half of water for 19 cents, and went back to the hotel. That afternoon we were invited by Andre and Michou to go to Cafe Montparnasse, but Esmee felt tired, so I went alone.
The dinner was really nice, I had some fish and some pasta, and some creme brulee for dessert. With Andre, Michou, and Catherine, I talked about a lot of things, and I was amazed myself by how much French I remembered. After dinner, on the way back to the hotel, they showed me some famous Cafés where people like Picasso used to hang out.
On Friday we woke up very late, I got some McDonalds to eat, and saw a drunk person fighting a tree. Pretty crazy. We went back to La Defense because Esmee wanted to walk some more around the mall. After that we went to Chatelet les Halles and walked around that shopping area, not many more interesting things to say about Friday. We played Where's Waldo at night, and then went to sleep.
Saturday we took the metro to Gare du Nord, then transfered to another metro, and then went to Montmartre. We walked up the hill on the stairs to the chapel, took a couple pictures, heard a guy on the steps who was surrounded by people and was playing the guitar, then went down the hill, walked around Montmartre a bit more, I ate a kebab sandwich, then we went to Trocadero, walked by the area of the Paris Triathlon, saw the Eiffel Tower, I was thirsty but the liter of water was 4 euros, so no way was I going to buy it there. We walked by the Aquarium, which was too expensive even for students, then walked 6 blocks to the Fashion Museum because Esmee wanted to see it, but it was closed. So we took the metro back to Montmartre and had dinner there. Then back to the hotel and slept.
Sunday we woke up kinda late too, around 11 or so, then took the RER to St. Germain-en-Laye to have lunch with Dimitri and family. Ended up being a Dimitri + family + friends lunch, kinda boring for Esmee I think, but at least some people were trying to speak some English. Then we went to the hotel and started packing.
Monday we finished packing, then checked out of the hotel, donated some cookies, pizza, and yogurt to a homeless guy (since we couldn't take them to Spain) and then went on the metro to take the OrlyBus to the Orly Airport. There we were early, so we checked in and walked around the shops a bit before going to the terminal. After some time of wait, we got in the airplane. The Paris-Madrid flight was kinda boring, and you had to pay for drinks, so we didn't drink anything.
In Madrid there was a big strike of Air Traffic Controllers, which I think is very stupid since they get paid like 500 euros a day, and our flight was delayed 40 minutes, which isn't that much since there were people who had to stay overnight at Barajas. The flight from Madrid to Valencia was okay I guess, kinda funny since it was so short that we were never on a level flight, only either up or down. I was able to drink some Orange Juice because that flight had free drinks, and then we arrived at Valencia.
The Valencia airport is pretty nice. What you first notice is that it has lots of Valencian flags everywhere, and not that many of Spain. I guess the Valencian people consider the Valencia airport their international airport. You also notice that when you go in, and you see all the signs in Valencian, with an English translation under it. Some of the signs didn't even have a Spanish translation.
We got our luggage, and then went outside, where Esmee's uncle, Jose Antonio, was waiting for us. We got to his car, and then drove through Valencia to get to Sagunto and then to Canet d'En Berenguer.
Valencia is a really nice city. With a population of 1 million people, its the biggest city in the Comunitat Valenciana. Most of the buildings have like a red tint to them, something I found very interesting comparing the buildings to the City of Arts and Sciences in the middle of Valencia, which is a gigantic white building with museums and other things to do. The weather is very tropical. The coldest winters only go down to 7 degrees! There are a lot of river beds in Valencia, most of which are dry, because in 1957 there was a big flood and a lot of man made river beds were built to control any future flooding.
Sagunto is a 75,000 people city. It used to be more important than Valencia back when it was the capital of the Roman province, but its importance decreased as Valencia grew. Puerto de Sagunto, with 25000 people, is a small industrial area with metal lamination industries and a pretty important port for the region, since most Valencian Oranges are exported there.
Canet d'En Berenguer, together with Canet and Nova Canet, make up another small urban area with close to 30,000 people. The beaches here are really nice, the water is a light blue, most people here are tourists on the hotels or apartments for rent, and the beaches are populated every day with people who come from Valencia to enjoy a day at the beach.
These past 4 days we've been going to the beach every day, though we also went to Carrefour where I found some Yerba Mate and some Dulce de Leche.
Maybe one of these days we go to Valencia and visit the City of Arts and Sciences. I think that would be really nice.
I'll update sometime in the next couple of days with some more Valencian adventures.
Adéu!
Chau!

ARGENTINA 3 - 1 Mexico!!!!!! VAMOS ARGENTINA TODAVIA!!!!!

YEAH!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!
First of all, Argentina beat Mexico yesterday. Amazing game. Totally destroyed them, like in 2006. Now in a couple days we beat Germany in this big REVENGE for 2006!
Second in order of business, FELIZ CUMPLE AILÉN!!!!! My sister is now 17, I still can't believe it!
I promised her I would write the blog in English AND Spanish again, so I guess it will be another long post.
This past week the temperature here has gone up. A LOT. Today Esmee, Imke, and I went to the mall (The Alexandrium in Rotterdam), a very awesome mall, and walked a lot all around. First we went to Primaark, which is a shop with very cheap clothes. Yeah. Imagine having a JCPenney or something, but a lot cheaper, and twice as big, and with so many people that its hard to walk around. Yeah. That's Primaark. Esmee adn Imke bought a couple of things, but I didn't buy anything. Later we walked around the Alexandrium more and I bought some sandals, cuz I didn't bring any (I never thought I'd need any). After that we ate some Fries, with mayo of course, and I'm starting to forget why people in the US don't eat mayo. It's so good! Then we took the train again to Rotterdam Noord and then waited for the bus. During our wait, for some reason Esmee and Imke started talking about children, saying that Esmee's children will marry Imke's children, it was kinda weird/funny/odd. Oh, and there are times when I don't understand Imke's Dutch at all, she can speak VERY fast. There were also a lot of muslim people all around the mall, mostly at the Primaark though, and most of them were very rude and pushy. Nothing against muslims, but those were very rude.
Talking about muslims, last week one almost crashed into me and Romeo when I was driving him back from dropping off his books at school. The Turks and other foreigners from outside Europe don't seem to pay attention to the laws in the road, and this guy wasn't yielding to my right of way in the round about, since I was already in it. Nope, he just accelerated and barely missed me, thanks to my fast reaction and because I did see him. Very rude. Then, of course, he goes off in the same exit as me, and then in another roundabout where he doesn't yield, he goes very fast, and then suddenly stops like in the middle of the road. VERY WEIRD.
On Sunday afternoon Esmee and I wanted ice cream from Zoetermeer (there is a very good place there), so we drove there, but we also had to drop a couple things off at Imara's house. We got there fine, but then we were running out of time, so we just drove back to Berkel. Well, the GPS's directions get a bit confusing between the not-square blocks and the rotundas. We ended up going on the highway towards Den Haag, haha, it was pretty funny. It was really cool for me though as I got to drive in the highway now! Then we went back home and that night we had pizza, again. I tried the 4 cheese one this time, it was very good, but I think I'm getting bored of pizza every week. Maybe next time I'll cook something of myself if the other choice is pizza, haha.
On Saturday we went to Esmee's great aunt (kinda but not really, since they are not blood or politically related) and sat there with some "family" of Esmee's. I got to see more of the Rotterdam Noord area and the street where Esmee grew up. You know, that area of Rotterdam is really REALLY nice. I love how it has all the bike roads, pedestrian paths, roads, and tramways all mixed in that urban area. The transportation is amazing.
Saturday night we had a barbeque, drank some wine (Chilean, because I couldn't find any Argentinean one), then walked to the Dorp, where the Midnight Shopping thing had drawn lots of people. We ate ice cream (the tiny shop was overwhelmed, we had to wait like 15 minutes to get served!) and listened to some drums as some people went by playing them. Then Esmee saw like all the kids from her work and internship, haha, as there were a lot of families at the Dorp.
The week before was filled with me watching lots of football games, haha. I've also been calling home and friends. It sucks though cuz I still can't get a hold of Juan, something weird about calling Mexico I guess.
Tomorrow we are going to Delft during the day and then at night we are going to eat at McDonalds and then I'm going to the Twilight festival thing with Esmee, Romeo and Julia. Should be fun, I hope.

Argentina plays tomorrow again.... VAMOS ARGENTINA TODAVIA!!!!!

Following my recent trend of Argentina-related titles, haha, I'm excited for tomorrow's game! Argentina can DEFINITELY win.

Anyways, now to tell you guys what I've done the past 4 days.

On Friday Esmee was feeling a bit better by the afternoon, and so we ended the week by going to buy groceries and Esmee getting some fresh air. We went to a supermarket called Lidl, and it looks exactly like Aldi in the US from the inside, I don't know about Aldi here because I have yet to go to one, haha. After that we went through the small city of Rijswijk (I think) and Esmee showed me her high school, the bookstore she used to go to, the church where her graduation was, and the bus stop where she used to wait to get back to Rotterdam. The evening was all very nice and we went back and had dinner and went to bed. Too bad Esmee felt very cold and that night she was cold too.

We have eaten pizza a couple times now, and the last time I got a Mozzarella one, kinda like Margarita pizza, and it was DELICIOUS. But for the most part the Dutch diet includes potatoes, lots of vedgetables, licorice candy, marsjepein (spl?) cookies, and other such things. The candy stores here are amazing, you go in and you can pick all the candy you want and put it in bags and you can mix and match as much as you want. I keep getting the Menthol drops, delicious, haha, while Esmee gets all her bitter licorice, with which she makes "necklaces" at night before eating them :-P

Saturday was truly an AMAZING day. We woke up around 10, well, I did, and I woke Esmee up at 10:30, mostly because I was bored and excited for the Air Force show. Then we went to have lunch downstairs and by 1:30 or so we were leaving to go to the Air Force Open Day. The road was pretty empty, and I asked Ramon how most products were moved through the Netherlands. Apparently they are moved mostly by trucks, like in the US, but most truckers don't work on weekends, which clears the highways up for the weekend traveler. Its truly an awesome thing. Of course the highways were empty for a second reason on Saturday, Holland was playing. We got to the Air Force Show and then realized that there was a TON of people. On Friday, more than 100,000 people had gone. On Saturday, almost 200,000 people went apparently. Yeah. There was A LOT of people. As we were entering the parking lot, we saw some helicopters flying above us, Ingrid called Ilona (Esmee's aunt) and apparently one of the helicopters was being piloted by Arie (Esmee's uncle). We parked and walked to the makeshift Helicopter hangar for the Allouette III's that were flying up above us. Then one landed and out came Arie. Bjorn and Kristen (Arie and Ilona's children) went running to their dad, and then they all came towards us and said hi. Arie was on a break, sort of, and he would show us the things he had been working on lately. Then came a guy with a suit, and Arie presented us to him. He was one of the top people from Eurocopter (the manufacturers of the Allouette) and Arie had to show him some things too. So we all walked by some US, Belgian, German, French, and Turkish helicopters and small planes and then went to a room next to a Jaguar helicopter. There Arie showed us how he had been calculating some different things with the Jaguar to land on a ship at sea, and other things about the different helmets they used, more experimental ways to record data, ways to let the control know what the pilot was doing, it was all really cool. Then we went outside and into the Jaguar helicopter. I sat in the cockpit, it was sooo cool!!!! It was just like the ones in the video games, haha, but I see how much more difficult it must be in combat situations to control it all. Arie explained all the controls, then we went outside, I stood and looked at the Eurofighters and F-16's flying above, and then we went walking back towards Arie's other "office". We walked around to some other helicopters, saw some Black Hawks, some russian helicopters, and then as we were going to the Allouette hangar something incredible happened, haha. Esmee was playing with her cousins and they were drinking some coca cola cans, so they were playing that game of taking the tab thing out of the can and then on the letter that it ends up you have to say a name of the person you will marry. So Bjorn got an E, and Kristen said "You have to marry Esmee!" and poor Bjorn was blushing and then I wrapped my arms around Esmee and looked at Bjorn and with my best Dutch said "Bjorn, zij is mijn!" (Bjorn, she is mine) and then we were all laughing, poor Bjorn a bit embarassed went to his dad and said "I already know she is his, and he can have her" it was so funny! I really like Esmee's cousins, they are all so cute and cool playing around!

After that we arrived at the "hangar" and we were offered some snacks. We sat down but then went outside to wait to see what the flightplan was. Then it started raining so we went back in, and finally it stopped raining and we went outside by the helicopters. After some flight and pilot changes, Arie said he would pilot and that there were 3 more people coming. We were all briefed on the safety and procedures of the Allouette, and then we went in to the helicopter.

Let me tell you. Taking off on a helicopter is a bit rough and feels very weird. The helicopter veers to the left, stabilizes, and then goes up and out. After that, it was all just amazing. We went around the base, were in the air show, and hovered like 400 meters in the air, getting a 360 degree view of the area. On the very far Southeast we saw Eindhoven, but closer to the east we saw Tilburg, and to the west Breda. Its so amazing to fly. It just made me wish that I was a pilot, haha.

After the flight all around the base area, we landed. Esmee then got a couple pictures with Arie's helmet (I'll post them on Facebook, they are very funny) and then we said goodbye and left.

That night we had dinner and then Ingrid and Ramon went to Appeldoorn to get a new table they had found on Marktplaats.

On Sunday we woke up around 12 and then after lunch we walked to Oma and Opa's house. There, Gerard and Karen, plus their children Bregje and Thom, were drinking some coffee with Oma and Opa. We all hung out there for a couple hours, then Arie and Ilona came, and after some minutes we all left to go to Rotterdam. We went through the Blijdorp neighborhood (where the zoo is at) and got to the Euromast. I still find it so weird that you can "rappel" down the Euromast, and slide down a line too. We went up to the very top on the Euroscoop and got the best view of Rotterdam. I saw De Kuip (Feyenoord's stadium) and some really cool buildings, and of course The Swan (Erasmus Bridge). After that we went to a Pancake boat, where we all sat down and ate pancakes while the boat went up and down the Maas river. The pancakes were DELICIOUS. Esmee drank a cocktail, I had some Passoa, and then we went back to Berkel en Rodenrijs. We all got ice cream at the Dorp (which on a Sunday afternoon is COMPLETELY empty) and then went to sleep.

Today Esmee went to the Efteling theme park and I stayed here. I am now finishing this blog post, finally!

Tomorrow I hope we will go to Zoetermeer, maybe I can buy my Messi shirt then, 15 euros I think it was.

Later this week we are going to a Twilight marathon with Julia and Romeo, hopefully it doesn't make me puke :-P just kidding!

I also hope to go to Toy Story 3 maybe this weekend or something, would be awesome.

Anyways.

I'll post back later.

GO ARGENTINA!!!!

Dag!

El Tano.

Argentina 4 - Korea 1!!!!!! VAMOS ARGENTINA LOCO!!!!!

Wow..... So.... where did I leave you guys off at? Saturday, right?
Well.... Saturday I was very happy because of Argentina winning.
Sunday we relaxed at home and then in the afternoon we went to Delft, with the entire family, walked around a shopping area and then went to see some movies. The girls went to see Sex and The City 2 and then me, Ramon, Rico, and Romeo went to watch The Prince Of Persia The Sands of Time. The movie was really good. It was in English, luckily, and subtitled in Dutch. I can actually now read Dutch and know a lot of what it says, kind of weird, but I guess watching TV and with loud people I've been forced to read some Dutch subtitles, and it has helped me learn the language more. On Sunday night Esmee didn't feel so good, and she has gotten only a bit better in 5 days now.
On Monday she went to her school to talk with her teachers about her work at the internship, and the games and other projects she has done for the children. She did very well and got an 8. That day I also watched the Dutch game versus Denmark with Romeo and Rico, it was pretty fun. The family has been watching more football than I expected really. That night we ate pizza and then Esmee felt very bad before going to bed.
On Tuesday we were just at home, Esmee had to cancel her plans as she didn't feel good, I saw how to make a slushpuppy, ate some of my DELICIOUS Dulce de Leche, and relaxed and stayed with Esmee. Arie, Esmee's uncle, also called us telling us that we were invited to a Dutch Armed Forces exhibition on Saturday, which I'm really excited about. Maybe we get to fly on helicopters, who knows? :-D
On Wednesday the day was pretty similar to Tuesday, except that my NUON Shirt which changes color based on body temperature arrived, its soooo coool, check the video on youtube, NUON Oranje Shirt. Esmee bought it for me, a very nice gift, and then I drove to the market with Ingrid, we bought groceries, went back home, had some sandwiches for lunch, and then I made some slushpuppies for Esmee, went to the market to buy some ice cream, bought a book for Esmee (The Vampire Diaries), and then came back home. We had some Mie (pronounced "me") and it was sooo good, but it was like a big mix of vedgetables, pasta, meat, I don't know what else, very good.
Today we saw the Argentina game, what an awesome game!!!!! I made some more slushpuppies and tosties for Esmee and relaxed a lot. My neck has been hurting for some reason that I couldn't even imagine. Oh, also, last night Esmee was sleep talking. A lot. And then she asked me something and I thought she was awake, so I answered. Next thing I know Esmee is awake looking at me and saying "Javier, you were sleep talking" and I had to explain to her that she asked me something first, it was so funny! We'll see if Esmee sleep talks again, I'll have to observe her more at night :-P
Tomorrow looks like another easy day, as Esmee still has some fever sometimes. But Saturday and Sunday look to be exciting. On Saturday we have the Dutch Armed Forces Exhibition, then a party that night, and on Sunday we are going on a Pancake Boat on the Maas River in Rotterdam, seems like theres a pancake buffet while you get a tour of the harbor and everything, and then we are going to the Euromast of the Erasmusburg!!!!!! Can't wait! I'll post again on Sunday. Hope you guys' week is going well, mine sure looks like it'll improve!
Dag!

ARGENTINA WINS 1-0!!!!! VAMOS LOCO!!!!!

What a day!
Today, after an exciting week of going downtown, getting an International cell phone, calling home, calling Argentina, eating ice cream, lots of more rain, watching movies, and a great day in Rotterdam, Argentina won! Now we'll have to see what happens with the US.
Anyways.
This past week it rained. A LOT. We babysat with Esmee again, and let me tell you, that house is so beautiful, its an architectural beauty, with bay windows, bar/peninsula/island breakfast place, I don't know, its just so coool! I guess thats how the rich people live. After babysitting on Thursday we stayed there a bit talking with the kids parents, mostly cuz they were asking me things about Argentina, which I can't seem to stop thinking or talking about since I got to Europe. With Esmee we watched the Goal! movie, or parts of it at least, and then after that we drove to McDonalds for some McFlurrys, and this time we didn't get lost like last time, so much better, haha.
With Esmee we also went to get some ice cream the other day and, since it was raining, we sat at a little restaurant in downtown Berkel to eat something and wait for the rain to pass. It was all pretty exciting actually, I'm sure that as it keeps raining we'll be doing that more, hahaha. I really love Berkel, with its dorp and the shops and all, its a really nice place.
Today we went to Rotterdam, it was soooo coool!!!!!
Finally took the Randstad Rail to Rotterdam instead of The Hague, and finally saw lots of people walking around!
Rotterdam is really amazing. The architecture of every building is so unique, I guess its the only good thing that happened after WWII here, since there's only 2 buildings in Rotterdam that remain since before WWII. Silly Germans with their Blitzkrieg. City Hall and a church in Rotterdam stand out completely, you realize they are not part of the special architecture the city has. I also saw the Rotterdam harbor, beautiful, with tons of boats, and the Erasmus Bridge with the Euromast there, pretty awesome.
We walked along the market, ate more Poffertjes at a special Poffertjes place, saw the Cube houses, well, we saw almost everything Rotterdam has to show in those 5/6 blocks by the harbor, haha, but its amazing. I am still amazed by the different buildings. I'll have to post some pictures of some of them.
Weird fact, in Rotterdam there is an Argentinean restaurant called Los Toros, and the owners are Surinamese/Indian or something like that. Very weird. Nobody in there even speaks Spanish or is Argentinean.
Today we also went to Jumbo Supermarket, and I found Dulce De Leche! And it was cheaper than in the US! hahaha. Too bad they didn't have Yerba Mate. I'm still craving some mate.....
Oh, and after we came back from Rotterdam, we were biking back home (against the Dutch wind, something VERY hard) and when we got in the house, Argentina scores!!!!! So awesome. I was worried about missing the goal, oh well, we made it just in time.
Tonight Esmee is babysitting and I'll watch the US game I guess. Tomorrow night we are going to go to watch The Prince of Persia with Ramon, Rico and Romeo while Ingrid and Esmee go watch Sex and the City 2. I think it'll be pretty fun.
Tuesday Esmee has like a free day, so I think we'll go to a big mall in Rotterdam probably, or else do something in Zoetermeer. So my next couple days are definitely going to be fun.
I'll update again later.
Tot straks!
Doei!
Chau!
VAMOS ARGENTINA!

El Tano.

Dinsdag 8 Juni, Tuesday June 8, Martes 8 de Junio.

So, yesterday was my mom's birthday.
FELIZ CUMPLE MA!!!!!!!!!! GEFELICITEERD MET JE VERJAARDAG!!!!!
I called her at like midnight, I was very tired, but at least I got to wish her a happy birthday.
Now about my last week or so.
The past couple of days have been very Dutch, if that is an adjective.
It is very sunny, 25 C weather, and then, faster than you could say "stroopwaffel", the day becomes dark grey, it starts raining (or hailing) a lot, and you feel like the country is sinking again (I'm joking, since The Netherlands has these GIGANTIC dams at the ocean to keep the water away from the low country, haha). The opposite is also true. It feels like 17 C, it rains a lot, the day looks like it will be disgusting, and suddenly the sun comes out for 15 minutes and the weather goes up a lot. Oh, and by the way, those 2 cycles happen like every 30 minutes. At least you know that the weather has one of 2 choices, sun or rain. Right now, its raining. For now.
Esmee was a bit sick the last weekend and a couple days(not if you ask her, but if you ask me she was), and it was raining a lot more last week and this week. Last saturday was like the first really nice weekend of summer here, so the entire country met out at the Scheveningen beach by The Hague. Esmee and I didn't go because there were too many people, a lot of police because of some incidents from last year, and she was sick. That night there was also a Bon Jovi concert at the beach, tickets at 55 euros and up.
I've been trying to figure out this thing of the work permit lately, so hopefully I can get that set up to start working asap, that would be nice. Esmee and I are also trying to figure out what we're going to do during the month of July, and I know she wants to go to Paris, so at least there we shall go I think.
Today I went grocery shopping with Rico, and we bought some milk, which cost 99 euro cents for 2 liters of milk. I guess its a bit more expensive than home, but it didn't seem like too much.
Something awesome that I've been meaning to say here is that there are tons of people here who have cars running on natural gas (GNC), which is something I hadn't really paid attention too since I was last in Argentina. It's much better to have a gas car, because the benzene (oil, nafta, gas, however you want to call it) is pretty expensive, but you can fill up a tank of gas for a medium sized car like a Citroen Xsara in like 20 euros, much better than filling up liters of benzene at 1.29 euros/liter.
Esmee is working right now, she had a test today which she was studying for a bit yesterday and earlier this morning. I don't really think we have many more plans for this week, I guess I'll see when I can go to The Hague to get my BSN or equivalent. I also want to go to the Plus supermarket. When you buy anything there, they give you a bracelet with the flag of some country for the World Cup. They are randomly picked, so hopefully I won't have to go too many different times before I get an Argentina one and a Italy one, haha. Another supermarket I've been meaning to go to is Jumbo. I've heard from a couple argentinean people online that they have found dulce de leche and yerba mate there, so hopefully they have it! Or else my other options are: finding a lebanese/syrian shop which might sell mate, go to Tango Restaurant in Amsterdam and buy mate there, or maybe order it online (something I don't want to do because there is one vendor online in the Netherlands which sells mate at like 8 euros the kilo). Maybe I get a care package from a friend? (ehem ehem.... Alan.... Carlos.... Chino... whoever else reads this.... I NEED YERBA MATE)
Anyways. I'll update this weekend, hopefully after drinking some mate. I haven't had any in like 4 weeks.... I'm feeling some withdrawal :-P not really, but I'd like to drink some mate.
Tot praten!
Doei!


Primero de todo, ayer fue el cumple de mi mamá. Asique...
FELIZ CUMPLE MÁ!!!!! TE QUIERO MUCHO Y ESPERO QUE HAYAS PASADO UN DÍA EXCELENTE!
Bueno, ya la llamé anoche a las 24 hs, y ahora le deseo de nuevo, jeje.
Ahora les cuento de esta semana pasada.
El clima se ha comportado de una manera muy Holandesa, si lo puedo describir así. De un segundo al otro, puede ser el día más lindo del mundo y pasar a ser un día gris, lluvioso, mojado, y hasta la temperatura baja bastante. Lo peor de eso, es que el ciclo se repite como cada media hora. El clima aca es muy loco, pero al menos uno sabe que una de dos cosas van a pasar, o va a llover, o va a salir el sol.
El fin de semana pasado Esmee estuvo un poco enfermucha (no si le preguntan a ella, pero yo creo que si) y creo que el mal clima de los últimos 6 días no la ayudaron. Por suerte el sábado pasado hubo lindo clima, y fue impresionante, todo el país estaba en la playa de Scheveningen, al lado de La Haya, había un concierto de Bon Jovi, y era un bolonqui de gente. Nosotros no fuimos, pero se veía en la tele que había muchísima seguridad, más que nada porque el año pasado hubo unos disturbios con alguna gente que tomó demasiado.
Estos días tambien estoy viendo de trabajar aca, pero tengo que ir con Ramón a la oficina de Impuestos y Aduana para ver eso del permiso. Con suerte puedo hacerlo lo más pronto posible para poder empezar a trabajar. También con Esmee estamos viendo de arreglar nuestros planes para Julio. Ella quiere ir a Paris, asique se que para allá iremos, pero después más que eso, o las fechas, no sabemos.
Algo que quería comentar aca es que en Holanda tienen autos a gas natural, como en Argentina. Me impresionó un poco, pero creo que era más que nada porque en los EEUU no tienen autos a gas. Es muchísimo mejor, y más barato también. El tanque lleno de un Citroen Xsara costaba como 20 euros.
Ahora mismo Esmee está trabajando, regresa en un poco más de una hora. Hoy tuvo una prueba y dice que le pareció que le fue bien.
Algo que quiero hacer estos días es ir al supermercado Plus, donde después de cada compra le dan a uno una pulserita mas o menos, que tiene los colores de algún país en el Mundial. Espero no tener que ir muchas veces antes de conseguir una de Argentina y una de Italia, jejeje. Otro lugar donde tengo que ir es al supermercado Jumbo, donde parece que a veces tienen Yerba Mate y Dulce De Leche. Si no hay ahí, tengo que buscar un almacén syrio o libanés, o si no iré al Restaurant Tango en Amsterdam, porque la verdad es que no quiero comprar mate en el Internet. Hay un sitio en el que lo venden por 8 euros el kilo, CARÍSIMO.
Lo mejor sería que algún buen amigo mío me mande algo de Mate (*ehem ehem.... Alan.... Chino... Carlos.... si leen esto..... NECESITO YERBA MATE)
Ya hace 4 semanas que no tomo mate. Es demasiado.
Pondré un nuevo post este fin de semana me imagino, con suerte despues de tomar unos mates.
Suerte!
Nos vemos!
Doei Doei!
Chau!

El Tano.

Wow.... so I am late again..... Perdón que hace tiempo no escribo nada.....

So, by now I am an expert in driving in Rotterdam and surrounding suburbs, including Pijnacker, Berkel en Rodenrijs, and who knows, soon enough Zoetermeer :-P
The weekend before my birthday, I met some of Esmee's family at the campsite, like a nice trailer park where Dutch people go for the weekends sometimes. Esmee's grandparents, uncles, and great aunt were there, from her moms side, in Ede, in the other side of the Netherlands, and we all had a very nice time, I even spoke some Dutch! We went to the lake with Esmee's cousins, who are all younger than us, and we caught some tadpoles and toads. On Monday, Esmee, Ramon, Esmee's grandpa, and me all went to a city by Nijmeggen, on the German border by the Rhine. I found it funny that on the day before I was 20 I would go by Nijmeggen, the Dutch city I had been to 19 years ago when I lived in Europe. The area was a different Netherlands than the busy city/suburbs of Zuid Holland. Nijmeggen had a lot of transit, but the areas surrounding it were all covered in pastures, with sheep and cows and different kinds of windmills, all together with the highways, bikeways, and walkways typical of the Netherlands. We got 2 couches from some sort of Dutch Craigslist, and then went back to the campsite.
The best part of the weekend was the journey back home on Monday evening, as I spoke in Dutch with Esmee, her grandparents, and her great aunt. That ride home was full of laughs and me trying to use all the Dutch vocabulary I know. In the end we dropped Esmee's great aunt off at her place in Rotterdam and then came back to Berkel. Then it took us like 30 minutes to disassemble Opa's trailer, now THAT is some space-saving Belgian Engineering! a 2 wheel, 3m x 2m x 1m trailer with a metal frame ended up fitting in a 3m x .5m space! Amazing.
My birthday was fun. I went with Esmee to her internship, where I saw all the little kids with who she works and her co-workers too. All the kids were impressed that I spoke French and Spanish and English and even a bit of Dutch, but they were very nervous. They sang Happy Birthday in Dutch in some different ways, it was pretty coool. Then we took the Randstad Rail (Regional train) to Zoetermeer, where I met Imke and her boyfriend Mark at her apartment, we ate some cake, talked about different things, and then Esmee and I we to the Zoetermeer downtown/mall, a very nice shopping area, where we saw Julia, another one of Esmee's best friends. With Esmee we went to a supermarket where we picked up a cake Esmee had ordered like 3 weeks ago, it had a picture of us from last summer in NY, the cake was for my birthday, a VERY nice gesture of her. Her family also gave me the original, official "Nederland" Oranje national team shirt! That night we had dinner, I wore my shirt and my Oranje hat, and we ate the cake, delicious.
A couple of days later I went to the Spanish store in Rotterdam, it was in the middle of a turkish neighborhood I think, because everybody around spoke Turkish and there were turkish shops, haha, was a bit funny. By the way, Jamón Serrano is VERY expensive. There were some small boxes for like 50 euros..... There, with Ramón we bought some supplies to make Paella on Sunday. I've heard of this paella so long that I couldn't wait to try it! I drove back, another awesome experience filled with bycicles, people walking, and tons of cars, hahaha.
I tried slushpuppies at the shops in Downtown Berkel. Its like a VERY sweet icee kind of thing, but very good. I've also finished reading The Lost Symbol by now, a VERY good book, I highly recommend it.
Last Saturday we went to a city close to the Breda/Tilburg area of Noord Brabant (actually its in the South of the Netherlands) to go to Esmee's uncle's house for his wife's birthday. He also showed us some helicopter videos he made while flying, VERY neat stuff.
On Sunday we celebrated our birthday, and it was raining. Now I FINALLY know what Dutch people mean by how wet their country is. It can be sunny one second and raining intensely the next. Such was the weather when we were putting up the tent with Ramón and Rico. Everybody was inside, Esmee's family, some friends, it was a really nice time. Until the wind and rain started coming down. That second, Ramón, Arie, Ilona, Opa, and me ran outside to bring the tent down before it flew away. Too bad we had to take the cover off first. It started hailing. And it wasn't small pieces. They were 1 cm in diameter, and they hurt like heck. Luckily, soon enough we were back inside.
Monday was pretty uneventful, but Tuesday was pretty fun.
Yesterday Esmee also took me with her to her school, they were doing some grammar exercises in class, and some exercises of "this, that, as, than" but in Dutch. I have to admit, in the beggining Dutch looked hard, but little by little I see that I am learning to speak and the grammar doesn't look hard at all anymore. I guess already knowing 3 languages helps a lot, haha. We also went to the Zoetermeer downtown, I had some churros, and we went by some "Oranje" stores full of things for the Dutch Football Fan to ready himself for the World Cup.
Today I'm trying to get somethings for the BSN (SSN of the Netherlands) to see if I can work, there's a couple opportunities I have found Hopefully something good comes out of this! Wish me luck!
Tonight we're eating Poffertjes, and I can't wait!


Bueno. Ya he manejado en Rotterdam como 2 o 3 veces, en Berkel en Rodenrijs, en Pijnacker, y por ahi que dentro de poco maneje también en Zoetermeer :-P Ya estoy re acostumbrado!
Pero les tengo que contar de como 2 semanas de cosas que pasaron.
El fin de semana pasado fuimos con Esmee a un parque de trailers donde se van los Holandeses a vacacionar para los fines de semana largos. Tomamos el tren en Berkel Westpolder y fuimos hasta La Haya, y de la estación central nos tomamos el trén con rumbo hacia Utrecht. Ahí cambiámos de tren y fuimos hasta Ede, donde nos buscaron sus padres. En el parque de trailers nos estaban esperando los tíos de Esmee, los abuelos, y la tía abuela de Esmee. La pasamos muy bien, hasta hablé Holandés, nos reímos mucho, y después el Lunes con Esmee, su papá y su abuelo, fuimos a buscar unos sillones cerca de Nijmeggen. Esa zona de los Paises Bajos, cerca del río Rhine y de Alemania, era muy distinta a la zona de la costa con los suburbios y las grandes ciudades. Había molinos por todos lados, vacas, obejas, y casas, con autopistas, rutas, bicisendas, y rutas para gente llendo a pie. Lo único malo es que todavía no vi tulipanes.... NO PUEDE SER!!!!!
El lunes a la noche volvimos para Berkel en Rodenrijs, y eramos 5 en el Citroen Xsara de los abuelos. Esmee, sus abuelos, su tía abuela, y yo. Nos divertímos muchísimo, me puse a hablar Holandés y nos reíamos un montón.
El martes, para mi cumple, fui a ver un día en la vida de Esmee, jajaja. Pasamos por el jardín de infantes en donde Esmee tiene su pasantía, y todos los niños de la clase me cantaron el Feliz Cumpleaños en Holandés! Fue re gracioso, ya que estaban todos muy nerviosos.
Después nos tomamos el Randstad Rail, el tren regional de Rotterdam y La Haya, y fuimos para Zoetermeer (Raro nombre para una ciudad, significa como "Más muy dulce"). Ahí fuimos caminando a el depto de una amiga de Esmee, donde la conocí a ella, Imke, y a su novio Mark. Estuvimos con ellos un rato largo, charlando, comiendo torta, y jugando FIFA, jaja. Después con Esmee caminamos al centro de Zoetermeer, donde recojimos una torta que ella había ordenado hace 3 semanas para mi cumple. La torta era hermosa, tenía una foto de los dos el año pasado en Nueva York. Después, volviendo a la estación del Randstad Rail, nos cruzamos con Julia, otra amiga de Esmee. La familia de Esmee me regalo la remera oficial de la selección Holandesa, y esa noche me puse la remera y una corona naranja mientras cenamos y comimos la torta.
Unos días después, Ramón y yo fuimos a un local Español en Rotterdam, que quedaba en el medio de un barrio turco. Ahí me di cuenta que el Jamón Serrano es CARÍSIMO. Una caja bastante chica costaba como 50 euros. Ramón compró sus ingredientes para su famosa Paella, y yo manejé a la vuelta, lo cual fue otra experiencia divertida, ya que las calles estaban llenas de gente caminando, gente en bicicleta, y autos.
El sábado pasado fuimos a una ciudad en el area de Breda/Tilburg. Ahí fuimos a la casa de los tíos de Esmee, Arie e Ilona, porque era el cumple de ella. Estuvimos ahí un rato, y él nos mostró unos videos que el tomo en algunos de sus vuelos en helicóptero.
El domingo toda la familia de Esmee, del lado de su mamá, vino a la casa, y también algunas amigas suyas. Ramón, Rico, y yo armamos una carpa afuera porque se había puesto a llover y Ramón necesitaba cocinar su paella afuera. De repente, cuando estabamos todos adentro, se puso a llover muchísimo y había un viento re fuerte. Ya se lo que dicen los Holandeses de que se aburren de la lluvia. De un segundo para el otro se vino un granizo fuertísimo, y Ramón, Arie, el abuelo de Esmee, Ilona, y yo salimos a desarmar la carpa antes de que se volara. Ahí fue cuando el granizo, de 1 cm de diámetro, nos empezó a pegar, muy fuerte, en los brazos. Por suerte entramos bastante rápido y toda la tarde siguió bien.
El lunes no hice mucho, pero el Martes fue RE divertido.
Ayer fui con Esmee a su escuela, donde estaban haciendo cosas de Holandés. La verdad no era tan dificil, creo que yo lo podría haber hecho también. Tengo que admitir, el Holandés es más facil que parece al principio, y de a poco voy aprendiendo más. Después fuimos al centro de Zoetermeer, donde había un mercado con muchísimos quesos. Comí unos churros y después seguimos viendo el centro de Zoetermeer. La gente se está preparando para el mundial, y había algunas casas decoradas todas de naranja, también muchos locales asi.
Hoy estoy viendo de que tengo que hacer para trabajar aca. Deseenme suerte! Sería buenísimo si puedo trabajar la semana que viene ya.

Tot ziens!
I'll update sometime soon, hopefully.
Bye!
CHAU!
Dag!

I DROVE IN ROTTERDAM!!!!! MANEJÉ EN LA PARTE MÁS TRANSITADA DE ROTTERDAM!!!!!

Vamos loco!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!
I drove in Rotterdam yesterday!!!!! Hahaha, it was in the busiest part of Rotterdam too!!!!!
And I didn't drive into any canals or trees either!
Anyways, guess I'll catch you guys up on everything since the airport.
Schiphol airport in Amsterdam is really nice. Very big, but nice. Walked all around and finally found the immigration thing. Showed my passport, walked through, then grabbed my bag, and walked through to the other side. But.... Esmee was nowhere to be seen. I moved up and to the side and started looking around. I finally saw her and I came up from behind and scared her, it was AWESOME!!!
After that we went to take the train, I drank some yogurt cuz I was very thirsty, and we went to put some money on my OV-Chipkaart. We helped some lady from France who was also Spanish and lived in the US to get a train ticket too. After that we went downstairs and waited for our train. We took the train to Den Haag (The Hague) and it was a really nice ride. I saw like 4 different kinds of windmills! We stopped at Den Haag Centraal, right next to the business district of The Hague, and we took the Randstad Rail then, like the regional train of Rotterdam, Zoetermeer, and Den Haag. We saw lots of sheep and cows and then we got off at Pijnacker Zuid. There, Ramon (Esmee's dad) was waiting for us, we went to the grocery store and then to the house. That night we ate pancakes/crêpes for dinner, and then went to bed.
On Wednesday, I slept until like 12:30, then Esmee came back from her internship, we went to the Dorp (the Market in downtown Berkerl en Rodenrijs), its a really nice place. We went grocery shopping again but with Esmee's mom, Ingrid, and I went with Esmee to rent a couple of books at the library. After that, Esmee went to work at 5, and then at 7 when she came back we had dinner.
On Thursday Esmee went to her internship, then we went to her grandparent's for dinner and her uncle Arie came over too. After that we went to sleep.
Friday was a bit more exciting. Esmee went to her internship, I played Halo and Fable with Esmee's brothers, we watched some TV, then Esmee went to work and then at 7 I met up with her in downtown Berkel en Rodenrijs. We went grocery shopping, we went back to her house, ate some pizza, and then I drove to Rotterdam with Ramon and Esmee to get Esmee's mom! It was an awesome experience!
Today we are going to buy some fish for Esmee, probably, and tomorrow we are going to watch a movie, have dinner, and then going on the train to the campsite with Esmee's family. I'll update again sometime next week!

I'm HERE!!!!! YA LLEGUE!!!!!

I still can't believe it.
Here I was Sunday, getting all my stuff together and ready for my trip, and now I AM HERE!!!!! I guess I should catch you guys up. This last week I had my last exams, I think I did pretty good, even though the Statistics one was very hard. Then I mostly just stayed at the apartment, waiting until Thursday when Josh and Chino had their last exams. Then that night Josh played the guitar and I joined him with the harmonicas! It was very fun, we hadn't played some songs for a while, and it was kind of sad when one of his guitar's strings broke.
The next morning, on Friday, I had to do a couple chores, go to Wal-Mart to buy some things and print some pictures, and then after that I went to the lake with Pichu. Chino and El Pelado (Jeff) joined us a couple hours later. We were there for a while, it was fun, and then Darvir joined us for a bit. After that, we went to my last Railhawks game until August 18th, against Tampa Bay. It was Pichu's, Jeff's, and Josh's first game, and it sucked, we lost. That night we didn't do anything, I went to sleep, woke up the next morning and Josh was gone to DC.
The apartment stank, and as always, the job came down to me to check the fridge to see WHAT was causing that horrible smell. Unluckily, for me at least, my nose lead me to the chicken breasts that Chino had left there.... 3 months ago..... They had started turning green, no wonder the kitchen was stinking so bad! Chino apologized and took them out to the trash. That day we went back out to the lake but with Alan, Pichu, and Chino. We ate some choripanes, and then by the time the lake was closing we picked up Carlos and went to the depto. We watched Sherlock Holmes, a very good movie.
On Sunday I packed up my stuff and hung out with Carlos. At night we met up with Chris at Crossroads and watched Iron Man 2, it was pretty awesome.
I went to sleep like the second I got back home, and then I woke up early to go to the AAA to get my International License!!!!!
After that I met up with Alan at the depto, finished packing up my stuff, and then said bye to him and picked up my dad. We went to my parents house, Darvir came over to say bye, I had some lunch, and then I went to the airport.
Check in and everything went by easily, I said bye to my dad, called my mom to say bye, and then went into the terminal. Then I got a Facebook text saying that Alan had been in a car crash! NO!!! I called him but he was okay. We then got inside the airplane and after moving to the other side of RDU, the pilot notified us there was a 30 minute delay because of traffic up in the DC/NY corner. Finally we took off and then we arrived in Philadelphia like an hour later. I got to my gate and they were about to start boarding! We boarded like 40 minutes early but then we were waiting to take off like almost 2 hours! After being an hour behind we finally got up in the air, and then I was relieved. At least I would land in Europe if the stupid Icelandic Volcano made my flights destination change. Luckily we arrived in Amsterdam, and even 20 minutes early! We did see the ash cloud from the sky, it was VERY big and shapeless.
I'll put my adventures from this past week in another blog post, this one will get too big.
Dag!

Todavía no lo puedo creer!
Aca estaba yo el Domingo preparando mis cosas y ahora YA ESTOY ACA!!!!! VAMO LOCO!!!!!
Bueno, estos últimos días antes de haber llegado estuve muy ocupado.
Pasé por el banco, por Wal-Mart, fui el viernes y el sábado al lago y vi 2 películas con mis amigos. Pero voy a empezar con el principio.
Estuve esperando toda la semana hasta el jueves, que tanto se tardaba en llegar. Tuve mi último exámen el Lunes, pero el Chino y Josh tenían sus últimos exámenes el jueves, y una vez que los tomaron, cuando yo llegué al depto a la noche, por fin volvimos a tocar música con Josh! La pasamos re bien, él tocando la guitarra mientras yo lo acompañaba con la armónica. Después el Viernes fui al lago con el Pichu, y el Chino, Jeff y Darvir vinieron después. A la noche fui a mi último partido de los Railhawks hasta el 18 de Agosto. Me acompañaron el Chino, Pichu, Jeff, y Josh, lo cual fue impresionante dado que era el primer partido de los últimos 3. Lo mejor de todo fue que conseguimos 3 tickets gratis!!! Lo peor de todo fue que perdimos....
El sábado, fuimos al lago de nuevo, Alan, Pichu, y el Chino me acompañaron. La pasamos muy bien, escuchando música del celular :-P y comimos unos choripanes. El lago estaba un poco fresco, pero como decíamos con el Pichu, era refrescante. Esa noche cuando volvíamos lo buscamos a Carlos y después fuimos al depto. Vimos Sherlock Holmes, muy buena la peli la verdad.
El domingo estuve todo el día con Carlos y esa noche fuimos a ver Iron Man 2 con Chris en el cine de Crossroads. El lunes estuve terminando de empacar, saqué mi registro Internacional, me despedí de Alan, y después fui con papi a casa. Ahí almorcé, vino Darvir y me despedí de él, y después fui al aeropuerto. Ahi me despedí de papi, llamé a mami, y después me fui a la terminal. Fue entonces que me enteré que Alan había estado en un accidente automovilistico! NO!!! Lo llamé pero estaba bien por suerte. Después me fui al avión, y el piloto nos dijo que ivamos a estar atrasados como 30 minutos porque había mucho tránsito en el area de DC y NY. Por suerte llegamos bien a Filadelfia y como 15 minutos después ya estaba entrando al otro avión. Después el piloto nos dijo que ivamos a estar como una hora y media o 2 horas en la pista antes de despegar, porque había mucho tránsito aéreo. Por fin despegamos con una hora de atraso y ahí me pude relajar, al menos a Europa iva a llegar. Desde el cielo se veía toda la nube de cenizas del volcán Islándico. Por suerte el avión aterrizó en Amsterdam, y hasta 20 minutos antes de la hora planeada originalmente!
Bueno, les contaré mis aventuras aca en Holanda empezando en otro artículo, porque este ya se está quedando muy grande.
Saludos para todos!
Dag!

Javier

10 days left 'til EUROPE!!!!! 10 días y estoy en Europa!!!!!

Okay. So I have to start somewhere.

So I guess, the truth is that everyday is part of a long trip, right?

For example, today was my last day at work before going to Europe next Monday.

Of course, the car worked fine in the morning.

But in the afternoon I had to go take my Industrial Engineering 110 final at 14:00. Of course, the car wouldn't start then. Luckily my roommate Josh took me to take my final.

I guess there is always people around when we travel, you know? Some are just like the people sitting on the bus or on the airplane, but others are more involved in helping you get through with your trips. Luckily I have friends for that, and my girlfriend of course ;-)

Now its up to seeing whats wrong with the car, ONCE again. Hopefully nothing major, and hopefully my mechanic will be a good passenger in this trip :-P

BLAH, WHO CARES! I'm leaving in just over a week!!!!!

I'm starting to get all my pre-trip anxiety. Though it still feels like its SOOO FAR AWAY....

But I have to realize that its not!

Anyways, for the weekend I guess I'll just study more and then on Monday I'll take my last 2 exams. Then its off to Myrtle Beach to get Esmee some Taffy (She really REALLY loved it :-P) and then just hang out with "Los Vagos" before going to Europe.

Guess I'll update sometime next week or else when I'm in the Netherlands! WOOHOO!!!!!

Bueno. Creo que en algún momento debo empezar este Blog de mis viajes.

Y bueno..... parece que todos los días son como una parte de un viaje muy largo, no?

Resulta que hoy fue mi último día de trabajo antes de irme a Europa la próxima semana.

Obviamente, mi auto anduvo bien durante la mañana. Pero cuando lo necesitaba para ir a tomar mi examen final de Ingenieria Industrial 110, ya no quería arrancar. Por suerte tengo un buen compañero aca en el depto, Josh, quien me llevo a tomar la prueba.

Asi me di cuenta de esto. Todos los días son como viajes. Siempre hay otros pasajeros. Pero algúnos son como los de un bondi, otros como los de un avion, y bueno, hay algúnos que son buena companía y otros que no. Por suerte tenemos amigos, y bueno, yo también tengo a mi novia ;-)

Ahora parece que es cuestión de ver que carax tiene la macchina de nuevo. Con suerte mi mecánico se hace un "buen pasajero" en este viaje y me lo repara todo bien. Ya estoy harto de que se rompa el Civic!

Bue, ni que me importara demasiado ya. Me voy a Europa en un poquitititito mas de una semana!!!!! VAMO LOCO!!!!!

Pero todo es muy raro ahora, porque me siento un poco nervioso, pero a la vez se siente como que me quedan meses hasta que me vaya, vieron? Entonces, es como una realidad alterna, jejeje.

Y bue, ya el finde estaré estudiando y después el lunes tomo mis últimos finales, voy a Myrtle Beach con quien quiera venir, le compro Taffy a Esmee (le re encantó :-P) y después me juntaré un cacho con Los Vagos y ya el Lunes me voy para Europa a estar con Esmee!!!!!

Asique si no pongo algo la próxima semana, ya escribiré algo la otra.

Suerte!

Groetjes!

Saludos!

CHAU!!!!!

El Tano, Javi