And where have I been??

There were times recently that this would have been the best thing to do.


For those who are wondering why I haven't posted anything lately let's just say there have been a few 'unfortunate' events with me and my computer but all is much better now.

One item that may become a recurring theme in my blog is the lack of Customer service in the Netherlands.  This not to say that the Dutch are rude but they think Americans express fake and insincere friendliness. Well not just the Americans but the British as well. Here is an excerpt from another expat's blog regarding customer service: "Dutch customer service at best, lacking in many establishments and it is certainly one of the gripes that expatriates have about living in the Netherlands. Many are shocked at how "staff" talk to people and there seems to be little interest in keeping customers an avoiding any damage to a company reputation."

This attitude is found not just in restaurants but in just about every aspect of daily life to include dealing with utility services and banks. When I had to send my computer out for repairs recently it took 2 of my friends (one Dutch and one German) and myself to get it in for repairs and delivered back to me. When you are given an expected time for service here you need to understand that the clock doesn't start until the item arrives at the designated location but you will never know when that happened. So what should have been a two week event turned into a month. My German friend said that I needed to understand that the repair company was in Germany but had to go through a local Dutch office before being repaired. It was the Dutch office that was absolutely no help.

Next on my list of places not to return to are hospitals, not just here but any where. The Dutch medical care is about the same as the US and tends to be non-interventionist in nature but the health care system is very different. And now I have first hand experience. May was to be the month I was to finish some small tasks like registering with the local city council, get a new phone, and get my Dutch health insurance taken care of.  Nope none of that happened and I got to experience what it is like to get emergency treatment. I am not certain if I now have a "huisarts" now or not. A husiarts is a family doctor you register with and is the person you receive your non-urgent or specialist referral from. So when I got sick recently I had to find an after hours huisarts so I could be referred to a hospital. Luckily I had a friend with a car to take me around A'dam. Of course I got sick on the night of a big soccer (football here and they don't understand American football) tournament celebration which added to the driving excitement and one interesting observation. While my friends and I were waiting for me to been seen there was a young man with an ankle injury rolling a spliff in the waiting room. He did need to hobble outside to smoke it. Don't know what happened to him as I was finally admitted into the hospital. Don't expect the same level of care in the Netherlands as delivered (if you can afford it) in the US. There is a certain expectation that you will have family around to help you while you are in the hospital. And don't expect to be given anything much stronger than Tylenol for pain.

Okay enough about me and now let's talk about what the natives are excited about - ORANGE FEVER! Yep it is football mania here. Here is a link to another expat blogger : http://janeduttonutrecht.wordpress.com/2012/06/03/fever-pitch/
Jane's description of it building slowly is correct. It really started around April 30th which is known here as Koninginnedag or Queen's Day.  I wish I had photos of how orange decorated every thing was then but I was not up or about. The country goes wild one this one day a year that is not the real birthday of the current Queen. In my neighborhood there was free music playing from 11 am until 8 pm. So the orange decorations have been increasing every where since then. One hotel has a giant inflated orange soccer ball on its roof. There is an office pool that was announced on comapny email which is a striking contrast to the wink-wink we don't have an office football pool farce in the US. But many things are different here like being able to drink beer while watching a movie in the theater and how freakishly tall most Dutch are, men and women.


I have been reading several other Expat blogs and I have found that we all pretty much post the same "interesting" facts abut the Dutch. So here are a few should you want to check out my "fascinating facts"


Invading holland


stuff dutch people like

I will post some pictures shortly now that I have my computer back and able to get around.

Nesting Great Blue Herons at Oosterpark