It's been a busy few days. Last time I wrote, it was the first day in Eindhoven, I was jetlagged and exhausted, and the house was an empty shell with cement floors and a REALLY loud echo.
Bjorn had to work on Monday and Tuesday, so I was here at his friends' apartment in Eindhoven alone. I wasn't too bothered though - it was nice to relax and watch movies, chat with people on Facebook, and reply to emails.
Ester kept me entertained too - on Monday, she got off work early (as per arrangement since she broke her wrist) and on her way home invited me over via Twitter. (I love 21st century technology.) She said she'd be on the bus 402 at my nearest stop (Kastanjelaan - try saying that three times fast) at 2:35pm.
Well, I was nervous. It was just a stinkin bus, but it was my first venture out on my own in this city (Bjorn's always with me!) and just having to wave down the bus, step on board, and struggle to say where I wanted to go in Dutch was enough to fray my nerves. Luckily, Ester met me at the front of the bus and helped me pay, but I swear to you, everyone stared at me as I told the driver I wanted to go to Polders and he asked "Engels?" ("English?") It was like I was an alien.
But, I survived. Ester and I had a great afternoon at her place, chatting and drinking coffee like proper Europeans. LOL!
Tuesday started out the same way at the apartment, but by 11:30am there was a HUGE thunderstorm under way. If you're on Facebook, you already know this epicness. If you're not, let me elaborate:
The sky literally went black as night in about 2 minutes. I was sitting in their usually bright, open living room on my laptop, and within seconds noticed I needed extra light because I couldn't see my lap! Then I realized how weird that was...and I looked outside and my jaw literally dropped.
The sky was dark, dark grey - lightning was cutting across the horizon silently...and the STREET LIGHTS were on. Apparently, this is normal. But being a southern California girl, I was petrified.
I barely got the windows closed before the rain started, and the thunder and lightning (which I have always naively thought were cool), were wild. I think I prefer Camp Wolahi summer thunderstorms, thankyouverymuch!
The whole thing ended in 20 minutes, but I sat and watched it from my 4th floor window. And the humidity the rest of the day was absolutely, completely miserable.
Ester took me out that afternoon (when the sun was shining all innocently) to the grocery store, Albert Heijn (always makes me think of Albertson's.) She helped me do my shopping so we finally had proper food in the apartment, and I have to say, I made a freaking AWESOME salad for Bjorn and me that night. (The mashed potatoes the next day...not so much.)
On Wednesday, Bjorn had the day off work because the carpet installers were coming to our house! We were there at 9am, sleepy and cold in the empty house, and the guys arrived around 9:30. It took them until 3pm to finish the carpet and loaner curtains (I still don't get why our real curtains aren't ready yet...), and we were bored stiff while they did so. Afterward, we spent a good hour or so vacuuming up the fuzzies and cleaning up their mess of scrap carpet and giant trash bags. (I thought they were a bit unprofessional.)
The carpet is beautiful. Bjorn did a good job! The house finally looks livable, and doesn't echo as much...and I am SO excited to furnish it now.
So yesterday, we spent the afternoon at a furniture store called Echo - where we planned to put in our orders for the big stuff. (Remember I said it could take 3 months to be delivered?) Ester, Bjorn, and I went first, before lunch. The carpet color is kind of a marble mixture of light and darker browns/tans/beiges, so I thought light furniture would really bring out the light specks. We sat on a million couches, gulped at even more price tags, and finally left to get some lunch at their parents' place.
Elly got off work early and met us at home, then we set back off with "the expert" in tow to return to Echo. LOL. Turns out she thought dark furniture would be better, and as much as I was disappointed at first (I really thought dark furniture would make the house look dark), she turned out to be right. I should have known better than to question her, after all, she's done this several times before!
The sofas we ordered are GORGEOUS. Dark, rich chocolate brown ("donkerbruin") with a light oak coffee table for accent...and then a light oak dining table complemented by donkerbruin chair seats. Turns out the dining chair seats are the EXACT color of the sofas...we didn't even plan it that way; they were in entirely separate rooms!
The saleswoman who helped us was very friendly and honest - she spoke slowly and calmly, so I could actually understand a LOT of what she said. She spoke very little English but always tried to include me in the conversation and the selections, and always asked what I thought. I learned the phrase "heel mooi" ("very beautiful") and used it quite often. LOL.
Another thing I really liked about Echo: they had a little cafe on the top floor (right in the middle of all the furniture for sale) with "appeltaart" (apple tart) and coffee and tea for the customers. That's common here, for those who aren't familiar with Europe - businesses as commonplace as a furniture shop ("winkel") have coffee and snacks available for free ("gratis"). I just love that concept - it says a lot about a culture, to me.
When we finally were ready to put in our orders (5pm!), the saleswoman said "So...koffie met appeltaart?" to me. "Oh, ja!" I said automatically, and everyone laughed. We filled our order (all of us, the saleswoman included) around a cafe table with coffee and apple tarts. Nice, right?
And we had just enough time to drive over to the Echo warehouse to pick out a loaner couch, which we'll get for free until our real ones are delivered (in, yes, 3 months.) We were lucky to find a nice leather couch with coloring that at least won't scream against our carpet, lol.
Bjorn and I were exhausted last night (expectedly), so we spent the evening watching Dante's Peak at the apartment. Have any of you ever seen it (with my boyfriend, Pierce Brosnan?) It's about a perfect little town in Washington settled at the base of a dormant volcano. Pierce Brosnan plays a volcanist (nothing to do with Spock) who is concerned about the mountain's seismic activity, and tries to put the town on alert to evacuate them...but the officials all ignore him. And of course, he turns out to be right.
It was a fantastic movie, but I was still disturbed. My dreams last night were riddled with fire (and Uncle Pete, you were there!), acid lakes, and hot springs that boil people alive. If you like excitement, adventure, and a bit of disturbing fear, I recommend it. It's just something I'd have to watch during the day, lol.
So now I'm sitting alone again, as Bjorn has a three-day pass to Spa Francorchamps in Belgium and is off watching Formula One cars squeal down a race track (surprised?) I'm catching up on emails, FB messages, and the dishes.
I hope you all are doing well - keep me updated! And for my east coast friends - you're all in my prayers and thoughts. Stay safe this weekend!
xx
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