Netherlands

Monday I was brought to the train station in Frankfurt by everyone and when I arrived in Utrecht Roberto picked me up. It was so good to see you again, carino! We went to his place and I made myself comfortable there and unpacked a bit. Since it was dinnertime we went out. In the restaurant we talked more than we were eating and the waitress was hovering close by since we took forever to finish our appetizer o,))) It was a good start of my stay. The next day I had at night my check-up at Visionclinics and it was also the yearly control and everything is fine. Both eyes aren’t 100% yet but I didn’t want to have both done at once since I didn’t know how much that would impact me since I also had so much to do still. The left eye op was scheduled for Thursday afternoon. In the mean time I went to see my notary and find out what had been happening with the house sale, saw the dentist and took care of everything else that I had to. The op went smoothly and after resting at home I texted Roberto to find out where he was and he told me that he was still in the “Guardian” so I decided to come out for a bit since just being at home was depressing. I got to see some of my ex-colleagues and Wensley was one of them. However walking around with the protective sunglasses, which are very dark tinted, made it an interesting walk. I was glad that we left together and I could hold someone’s hand and not fall on my face since I was happily misjudging heights. Roberto was a sweetheart who took great care of me during the whole time. The doctor told me that I might not sleep well and that Saturday would be an awful day for me and that I shouldn’t be afraid to take painkillers. Instead when we went to bed I slept through and overslept my appointment. The lady who did the check-up just laughed and looked at me and went like oh guess since you are so small and not much weight the Valium must have knocked you out. The eye was healing nicely and no problems. Afterwards I had arranged a lunch date with Herman outside of the bank to catch up on things. After lunch we went back to the bank and I made my round and said hello to everyone. It was nice to see everyone back and set up some dates for the next week. The weekend was spend resting, shopping, Roberto and I spending time together and getting to know each other even better. It was nice to have such an easy rapport and it felt in a way like we had always lived together except that of course we didn’t know each other food preferences for example. Monday I was supposed to meet Claire but she cancelled. I had my second check-up and it went well. In the morning I also had to see the notary and got an explanation to why things had taken forever and why more money was involved than originally thought. One of the days I went to Den Hague to see the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The good thing was since I was so early they could do it in 15 minutes than I called the Guatemalan embassy and I could also come by and wait until the paper was signed off. The German side of the paperwork was going along nicely as well. I had lunch dates with Robil and Harald and it was some catching up although just not enough time for more talking. I was supposed to meet Menno a week before but the train he was on as “usually” only went to Breukelen instead of Utrecht and than headed back to Amsterdam. Pim, his brother, and I meet up for coffee but it turned into having drinks afterwards and than even dinner. So by the time I showed up at home Roberto had already texted me and asked if I was coming home anytime soon. Carino, that is the part that I love about you are so easy going and I am sure that you give your girl-friend a lot of breathing space as well. Perfect I must say! I was in a great mood since we had dinner at the tapas place and I must have been reeking of garlic … hey not my fault if he didn’t have any and I warned you o,))) One of the days I stopped at Broodje Mario to get a calzone and Mario asked me what nationality I am and I chatted with him in Spanish a bit and as a gift I got a bottle of wine. Roberto and I finished that one of after my date. Thursday night being “Old Dutch” night I went to the bank to meet up with my old team. I was happily surprised to see even Ming there for a coke. I must say that I was disappointed to find out that Herman got nothing as in a round of drinks in the bar after 5 years of working for the company. As well as not even the whole team turning out for the last drink night. I can’t really say that speaks for a good team, makes me wonder what has happened in the six months when I was gone and in a way glad that I don’t have to return to it. I would probably be frustrated and unhappy in no time. I made it an early night. Friday night and the end of my stay drawing close I still had to meet Menno. I didn’t want to but he wanted to see me in person. In the end it was an okay meeting but added no real value except that that chapter is closed now. At night I went with Roberto to see the boys play indoor soccer. It was entertaining to say the least o,)) Afterwards once we got changed – whoever said boys are quicker than girls is lying – we went out for drinks and than dancing. I got a bit depressed about the fact that it was my last night in the Netherlands for a while and also when I return than it will be as a tourist and it won’t be the same anymore. Carino, thanks and I will take you up on your offer and your promise! The next day was there and I had to pack my stuff and in the end I had to almost sit again on my bag to shut it. We went to the train station and I hate saying good-bye and so of course at one stage or other I was crying. The train, which I expected to be delayed 15 minutes due to construction work on the rails, was delayed about an hour … so we got a bite and than waited for the train to show up. I was crying by the time I had to board. Carino, I can’t thank you enough not only for having let me stay with you and your hospitality but also I want to thank you for being my friend!
Mum and Dad were coming to pick me up and of course my phone had run out of credit. I used Roberto’s to tell them that the train was already an hour late and that they should call me so that I could give a better estimate of when I would be arriving in Frankfurt. In the train we got a time stamp of the delay on our tickets. I got started to chat with a girl from Mongolia and she told me if I could get the ticket refunded I would be more than welcomed to hers since she would be flying back home the next day with her friends. At the train station they gave away free drinks, which I really needed since it was so dry in the train and than got my refund sorted out … called Mum and Dad since I hadn’t seen them and suddenly they were there right in front of me. We went home and had dinner and afterwards we want to see Dominic play in Oberursel im “Brauhaus”. It was jazz but it was lacking the spirit and was rather boring. He was happy to see me and I got introduced to his friends. The smoke though was hard on my eyes and I got tired really quickly.
I had managed to deal with almost everything except my insurance so I called a guy up from Victoria and managed to take care of my insurance on Sunday. Monday was passed with seeing and talking with some more friends and Tuesday was there very soon … the only difference was that this time I got to see bye twice since I was still hunting for my adapter o,))) and had no luck! It was good to be home and it will always be home just like the place where I am is home. In Madrid I bought some Turron and some food since on the short flight you could BUY your food since it wasn’t for free (thanks Mum the banana and grapes came in handy) - only on the long haul to Guate. I was sitting next to a doctor and it was pleasant enough and the food was okay and the air as well as a matter of fact it was better than the flight with Air France in business. I arrived safe and sound after a long flight.

This is my first try in getting online on the web. So far I never made use of the web in this way so it should prove interesting if I find my way around here and how to keep everyone in the picture and updated.