Tag Archives: Holland

Resident of Love

Posted on May 16, 2013 | 24 Comments

This week does not really have that up-lifting vibes at all. The weather is really crappy the whole week, raining, cold and grey. And my work seems so dull because I have to deal with administrative tasks a lot these days. Oh well..what am I complaining for? I am healthy, I have a job and go to work every day..so it has been a normal week for me. I even have the time to go to the gym !

Only one thing which is not a part of my routine. This week I will start completing paper works for my indefinite residence permit application! I never wrote this, but it would be nice to write about my story of how I end up in this country in a nutshell.

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I came to the Netherlands for the first time in 2006, for vacation. I was still living in Germany that time. I was looking for a homestay and instead I got a family where I could babysit their daughter and lived in as Au Pair. Then I went back to Germany to sort out the paper works and was really sad because my initial plan did not go well. My initial plan was I wanted to go to Uni in Dortmund but they were not so helpful and I was running out of time and money due to my visa. Thus, I decided if the family in the Netherlands was nice I could stay there for a couple of months or maybe a year to seek any opportunities, before heading back to Indonesia to continue with further study. Well, the family in NL was really great and warm when I came there and they were really serious in having me in their house. So, a couple of months later I moved in to this young and loving family’s abode in the suburb of Amsterdam.

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Chilling in Loosdrecht

Posted on May 10, 2013 | 4 Comments

It has been quite warm for the last past week, though the wind seems aggressive occasionally, we really cannot complain. We decided to get out of the city last week, and drove to the neighboring villages and found this little castle in Loosdrecht.

The trees started having green leaves and the flowers started blossoming too.

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The castle was built around 1500. The castle has a lovely garden and a small canal or maybe more like a ditch, it is pretty! It will be much prettier in the summer with all the greenery and the sound of birds chirping . It also has a museum and a small cafe with a cute terrace facing the garden. We sat at the terrace and enjoyed the sun..with bubbles and beers :)

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I think this is one of many things I love living here. Finding little castles in villages or little towns I visit. Every castle has an interesting history of ownerships.

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Have a nice weekend y’all :)

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Finally Done

Posted on April 1, 2013 | 12 Comments

Have been meaning to post these pictures since 2 months ago, but always forgot it somehow.

When I moved into this apartment building 1.5 years ago the lower part of this building was under construction. They were building a new lobby and a new shopping center. I did not know what kind of “shopping center” they were making, I thought it would be some tiny stores like a supermarket, a bakery and maybe some clothing stores. Just so you know, a shopping center in Holland is usually just a small area contains some stores selling veggies, fish, and a medium supermarket chain and maybe some shoe reparation store and if you are lucky, maybe a pet store.

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Before

However, the last 1.5 years was hell for us! When my parents came here in August they were at their busiest! They started working at 7 with their hard tools and finished at 4 in the afternoon. I never really could use some sleep when I got my day off on Fridays. I was really fed up with all the noise and dust!and could not wait until it was done. I almost lost my patient I even tweeted the municipality house about the noise we all had to suffer from the construction. We then got some chocolates from the municipality as their sorry.

And as of February 2013 they were finally finished with building the lobby and major part of the shopping center. What a relief!! We now can sleep in and no more dust nor construction workers walking around in the building anymore. Finally, some peace :)

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After. The pic was taken in the afternoon with my mobile phone so sorry for the quality ! That high building is our apartment building!

This is how the entrance looks like now. Those big automatic doors with lights are the entrance for the shopping center and the doors next to it are the stores and an entrance to our apartment. The shopping center itself is brilliant. It has many small stores, all what you need is available in that mini mall, for example; a pet store (really important because I have 2 cats), a huge supermarket (Albert Heijn XL), a couple of drugstores, a vegetable store, fish store, Douglas, clothing stores, hardware stores, banks, jewelry stores, and maanyy more. And we also have a food court! :)

Below is the before picture of our lobby

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After

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Our new lobby got a makeover :) So happy with the result. Now we got an intercom system instead of just a door bell and new mail boxes. Besides that, we got also a new and modern elevator which operates faster and of course better.

J and I are super happy with the changes, and what makes it more convenient is that the supermarket opens daily from 8 AM to 9 PM. That is cool! Because many of the supermarkets close at 6 PM. It makes our life so much easier :D :D I am loving it! And every Wednesdays we have an open market downstairs on the square, vegetables and organic cheese are sold with cheap prices. And also fresh flowers and clothes.

With all of these perks, we will be definitely living in this town for a longer period :)

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Penggalan Cerita Roti

Posted on March 17, 2013 | 26 Comments

“Kerja di restoran mana mbak?” Pertanyaan ini sudah beberapa kali aku alami selama tinggal di Belanda. Emmmh, ditanya pertama kali sama mas mas di tram dan jawaban aku pertama waktu itu adalah, “Ga di restoran mana mana mas” hehehe. Namanya orang rantau di luar negeri pas ngeliat perempuan yang duduk di sebelah berparas Jawa manis nan ayu Indonesia begini langsung pede bae ya nanya. Sebenernya ga salah sih wong mas mas nya ga kenal gitu loh sama aku, dan memang muka ikke waktu itu mungkin kusut banget abis lembur ya! Jadi nyangkanya pasti si mbak abis selese masak deh :D Dia sok kenal sok dekat, generalisir pekerjaan rata rata orang Indo yang merantau kesini memang banyak yang kerja di restoran entah jadi koki atau jadi waitress di restoran indonesia. Tapi ga semua orang Indo di Belanda tuh cuma kerja di horeca kok. Banyak banget student Indo di sini dan kerja di berbagai macam bidang. Contohnya selama kerja di Belanda aku kenal beberapa orang seumuran aku yang kerja di satu perusahaan tempat aku kerja. Lagian gak ada yang aneh dengan pekerjaan koki atau pun waitress, sama sama menghasilkan uang halal gitu loh.. Aku sebenarnya gak mempermasalahkan pertanyaan basa basi mas di tram itu cuma yang membekas di hati adalah kenapa juga orang Indonesia dikenalnya tukang jago masak ya? Ga jauh jauh dari dapur. Kenapa juga ga di identikkan dengan ilmuwan gitu huahahaha! <–mulai ngayal. Tapi aku beneran deh gak underestimate in orang berdasarkan pekerjaan mereka.

Boleh bangga juga sih ya sebagai orang Indonesia yang bermukim di Belanda, orang sini pasti nganggep nya semua orang Indo tuh jago masak semua. Aduh, pertama kali datang ke sini aku boro boro bisa masak waktu itu masih cemen banget deh keahlian memasak nya..cuma bisa masak nasi goreng sama tumis kangkung! Parah. J malah lebih jago masak, waktu baru baru pacaran doi bikinin dinner dengan menu masakan hindi-Suriname (Roti) yang rasanya alamaakkk endang s taurina banget. Lengkap dengan pancake dan ayam curry nya…Malu ati deh.

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{ Roti, hidangan dari suriname yang asalnya dari India }

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Beneath Your Beautiful

Posted on March 15, 2013 | 9 Comments

Today we went to a wedding party of our cousin (from my husband’s family side of course). So far this is my 3rd wedding parties since I live in the Netherlands. So much different from what I am used to in Indonesia, where you can go to weddings (without exaggerating) at least one wedding every weekend during period where people usually held their weddings. Good months for moslems are usually after Eid al-Fitr ( please correct me if I am wrong people :D ) The ceremony was beautiful, very intimate and it was held at the city hall of Amsterdam.

Why there are not so many weddings after years living here? Well because unmarried cohabitation is way more common here. Thus, I was kinda excited to attend weddings in the Netherlands because once there is a wedding we do not know what to expect. Will it be a traditional one? Like a matrimony at the church and then follows by a party somewhere? Or will it be a garden party only and sing along karaoke? The way they celebrate it is varied, the more personal the event the more unique the experience is for the guests. The party today was really nice and really personal, which reflected the personality of the couple and it was quite unique. We stuffed ourselves with delicious macarons and then ate as much as we wanted from the buffet..hehehe…

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The Stopera is a building complex in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, housing both the city hall of Amsterdam and the Muziektheater, picture is taken from here

 

From all 3 weddings I have gone to, I noticed that it is not very common to bring gifts, they usually prefer a fund (salam tempel) for their wedding gifts. It is very practical, just like Dutchies themselves, practical and pragmatic people :D

There was something funny happened, J and I we both noticed it after we came back from the wedding. We thought about our own small wedding which was held 6 months ago. We think, we did pretty well for our wedding..not too bad actually. See, this is the thing with going to other wedding after you had your own. You compare it with others but not in the bad way you know. We now can see that our was pretty much what we wanted and we could see how beautiful it was because we just experienced it as guests at other people’s wedding. Truthfully, we never thought about it until today! I think we should give ourselves some credits lol.

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{ the happy couple }

And, TGIF! I have been listening to this song so often for the past days. And I hope you like this Friday tune from Labrinth feat. Emelie Sandé :)

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Say It With Flowers

Posted on January 27, 2013 | 3 Comments
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Flowers for me is a quick cure for almost everything. When I am feeling down, J will always buy me a bouquet of flowers and it will soothe my mood. Roses are perfect (middle picture). But any colorful flowers will do just as great. Gerbera and magnolias are also awesome. Flowers is also a way to congratulate friends and families for any occasion.

I love almost all kinds of flowers, except those that are smelly. And also, I do not fancy sunflowers in a group, it is kinda scary. Flowers are quite affordable in Holland, so I usually buy fresh flowers for the home once in a while to spice up the rooms a little bit.. but it never last long since my cats apparently love to eat it for their side dish!

I like to collect some used food jars and wash them thoroughly after, and then use them as vases. Buy a handful of different fresh flowers (see left pic), put them in those jars and voila…nice and simple vase (see right pic above). If you want, you can add some laces and ribbons too! :) Have a lovely Sunday !

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A Tale of A Precious Card :p

Posted on January 4, 2013 | 4 Comments

I was tremendously bummed 2 days ago. I couldn’t believe it happened to me. OK, cut the crap and the dramatic entry, Novi. I lost my transportation card! Ho ho wait a minute, don’t be such a drama queen. It is only a card…Nope, girlfriend *snaps snaps. Let me tell you the full story.

Thus, in the Netherlands we are using uniform transportation cards, called OV Chipkaart. With that card in your possession you will be able to travel by all kinds of public transportation (metros, trams, busses and trains) . But, it also depends on the subscription you have set it in that card. For example, I have a personalized OV chipkaart from work which I use for commuting. And my subscription is a yearly one with that it allows me to travel within two Amsterdam regions whenever I want (I live in East and my work is in the Centrum). I got this card for free from my employer. They paid a fix tariff for a yearly subscription. If one wants to have a similar subscription like mine, I am telling you it costs you an arm and a leg. No joke.

Public transport in the Netherlands is REALLY expensive. If I don’t have an OV chipkaart (I will just call it OV) from work I cannot imagine how I can commute everyday. Well I can always bike, but I hate biking in the winter and I am not that sporty as well. I mean, I bike but if I have to do it every day in moody weather, I think I can’t <–see, that is the Indonesian in me speaking!

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Special Edition: Vijf Jaar in Nederland!

Posted on July 21, 2012 | 6 Comments

Tsjonge jonge jonge… It has been 5 years ago since I came living in the Netherlands! Het is precies 5 jaar geleden dat ik in Nederland kwam wonen. Time flies. But not that fast though. I still remembered how hard it was when I looked for a job when I just arrived. I am neither native in English or Dutch, or any European languages (except my intermediate level of German, still not a native German). So darn hard to even get a poor-paid jobs because I ‘didn’t speak Dutch at all and Bahasa Indonesia hadn’t and still hasn’t got its own prestigious business market up here! So, it was not an advantage for me being an Indonesian and to show off my nationality in my resume. Boooh. The only good thing for being an Indonesian, every time I came for an interview they would ask how good my cooking skill is! SERIOUSLY?!Nevertheless, I still considered it as a good thing.

I still remember how tormented I was when I learned Dutch at the Uni 40 hours a week and had piles of home works. How annoyed my boyfriend was because I was such a pain in the ass, because I wanted to master the language in a blink of an eye (yeah right, I was delusional) and tortured him with grammar questions. Oh, such a perfectionist I was! :) Exams by exams I went through, and luckily I managed to pass them in less than one year time. All incredible feelings squeezed into one word, INTEGRATION. It was crazy. But still, I am still living in this “kikkerland” up till now. Sometimes, when I bike through the canal or boerderij I need to pinch myself to realize that I am living in this beautiful country!

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Two Worlds (Indonesian)

Posted on May 19, 2012 | 5 Comments

Kangen banget dengan kampung halaman…Tapi, sebenarnya apa sih yang dikangenin? Sumpeknya Jakarta? Macetnya yang bikin rambut jabrik dan bikin ambeien? Polusi udaranya yang mengerikan dan gak memungkinkan kita untuk bersepeda tanpa masker?… Setelah dua kali mudik terakhir ini,  pasti ada aja kejadian apes. Mudik pertama, malah kena demam berdarah (dengue fever) dan dirawat dua minggu di RS. Mudik kedua malah kena sejenis typus dan disentri. Gila. Jasmani udah bener bener terkena ke-strerilan Eropah. Ga bisa makan jorok dikit di tepi jalan, di samping comberan yang banyak laler nya dikit aja eh langsung deh kena typus! Duluuu aja, selama berpuluh-puluh taun (halah hyper, dua puluh taun aja) makan di samping kiri comberan, samping kanan WC umum, belakang nya kali Ciliwung tetep aja segar bugar. Malah super langsing dibandingkan dengan saya yang sekarang ini (huaaa!!) Ga pernah seumur umur kena demam berdarah. Suer!

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Days at Work

Posted on February 4, 2012 | Leave a comment

Beberapa kali baca blog temen-temen aku dan selebihnya just blogwalking.. Tentang agenda kerja mereka. Hal pertama yang aku pikir adalah, wuih canggih juga ya bisa ada ritual nya gitu ! Ngiri. Aku sudah bekerja di perusahaan di bid. fashion/apparel/retail ini sekitar 10 bulan lamanya dan rasanya semakin lama semakin meluas aspek kerja nya.. Jadi, setelah baca blog-blog itu mengenai kegiatan mereka per hari nya aku lalu ngeliat diri sendiri..duh, kok gak teratur gini ya? Jd mikir, gimana ya ngakalin supaya sedikit teratur jadwal kerjanya. Atau mungkin karena masih tergolong baru, jadi masih butuh waktu untuk nyortir semuanya?

Jam kerja setiap hari adalah 9 to 6. Dan jam kerja aku per minggu adalah 36 jam (sebulan 2x kerja 4 hari dan 2x kerja 5 hari). Cabut dari rumah jam 8.15 atau jam 8.20. Naik tram ganti dua kali, jaraknya nya sih gak jauh jauh amat dari rumah ke kantor (7.5 kiloan lah), biasanya kalau tram nya on-time paling cuma 30-35 menit aja door to door. Biasanya sih aku sampe kantor telat, 5-10 menit :P but, it’s okay pak boss (direktur) gampang banget kalau soal beginian. Karena aku selalu kompensasi waktu so pulang kerja pasti jam 6.15 atau 6.30.

Hal pertama yang aku lakukan setiap pagi adalah, ngecek kalender; hal apa aja yang musti diselesein dan berapa banyak meeting untuk hari itu (dan harus nyiapin apa aja buat meeting tsb). Tips dari J, si pakar time management, jangan langsung cek inbox ketika kamu tiba di kantor. Karena kamu akan dwell dengan emails, dan bukannya merencanakan tugas kamu untuk hari itu secara efektif dan efisien.

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