Cheers to 1 Year in the Best ‘Dam City!

I am sitting here completely perplexed. I am not quite sure how 365 days have zipped by so fast. 365 days of pure excitement and joy. 365 days of waiting to see if I’d question my decision, if I’d want to pack up and go back to New York. Nope. I’m good. And after 365 days of adventure and exploration, I cannot wait for more.

So much has changed, and yet so much has stayed the same.

Six months ago I posted 6 reasons why I HATE living in the Netherlands. I think that was my favorite post yet. And while I don’t think I can replicate that first stroke of genius…I am sure as hell going to try.

Here are 6 more reasons, except we all know by now I clearly don’t hate anything about living here:

1.       My Taste Buds Have Grown Up…Kind Of

I would never say I have traditionally been an adventurous eater. I used to stick to the basics. Something about living and traveling around Europe changes that. I’ve noticed just how picky Americans are. “I’ll have the salad…except hold this and that…and dressing on the side” or “I’ll have the steak, but can you cook it really, really well done. No pink inside. So, yeah, basically take out all the flavour.” That just doesn’t fly here. So I’ve rolled with it…and guess what?! I’m enjoying and appreciating food so much more!

Now, there are, of course, always exceptions to the rules. And while I’ll happily pat myself on the back for becoming a bit more adventurous with cheese - I will now tolerate parmigiana, unmelted mozzarella (sometimes), and white cheddar (but only because orange is hard to find outside of the US) – there are still limits.

I found myself in an unusually compromising spot a few weeks ago. As part of a work trip where we were hosting media, I found myself dining in a greenhouse owned by Francis Mallmann’s brother in Bariloche, Patagonia in Argentina. And our dinner was cooked by none other than Francis Mallmann himself. That is a story for another day.

Anyway, while feasting on slabs of meat and earth-cooked veggies (literally. cooked in the earth), a salad was placed on the table. Salad! I loveeee salad! So I helped myself to some. It was quite dark as we were dining at night, so I couldn’t see what was in it. I took a big bite. A HUGE bite. To my disgust, I chomped down on multiple chunks of goat cheese. I knew right away what it was. And I had to get rid of it. But…how? I am at a table. With lots of media. And Francis Mallmann is 5 feet away from me. Eeek! So, I swallowed it and washed it down with a big gulp of H41 (**new Heineken beer as part of the Wild Lager series – try it!!**). I’d like to say all was good in the world. But all was not good. I’m scarred for life from that moment.
So you see, some things change, some things remain the same.

2.       I’m Still Waiting for Summer…

I have now made it through every season. And once again, I find myself sitting here perplexed. I refuse to believe summer doesn’t exist in certain places in the world. Sure, if you’re at the North or South Pole that’s a given. But somewhere on continental Europe? That is just wrong.

I think in my 365 days the temperature went above 25°C (~77°F) 5 times. So, I guess I’ll stop waiting, and just get smarter. Already on the horizon for this spring/summer: trips to Spain, France, and Portugal. Summer, I will find you this year.

On the bright side, we just changed our clocks for daylight savings this weekend. Bring on the endless daylight! Nothing to complain about there.

3.       My Dutch Vocabulary has Expanded from 2 Words to 10… 30 if numbers count.

Me: “Hallo.”
Customs Officer: “Hei.” [Examines residency card] “Spreek u nederlands?”
Me: “Ja! Ik spreek nederlands een beetje.”
Customs Officer: [Says something I don’t understand]
Me: “Sorry. That’s all I’ve got”
Customs Officer: [Smiles…usually] “And how long have you been here?”

Can’t tell you how many times I’ve had that conversation.

Here’s the thing. No matter how many people tell me it’s useless to learn, I still really want to. But to learn you need to put in the effort. To put in effort means you need to have the time. I just don’t have the time. So, I sit there every week (or every few weeks…first thing to fall off the schedule when travel/other things come up. Wonder why I’m not learning?) and watch the teacher look at me like I’m an idiot. That’s fine. What he still doesn’t understand is that I’m enjoying building some kind of base. Even if we’re still on chapter 3. Since November.

Slow and steady wins the race, right?

4.       I’m still wondering why pretzels don’t exist here…

There are many beautiful things in this life. One of them is the pretzel. I’ve found pretzels in bodegas in Thailand. WHY ARE THERE NO PRETZELS IN THE NETHERLANDS?

Resigned to the fact they just don’t exist here (unless you want to pay €7 per bag of the not-even-so-good kinds at the American/British import store), I’ve built in frequent trips to the USA just to stock up on pretzels. Seeing friends, family, attending weddings are just an added bonus for these pretzel runs.

Thanks G-d for Delta priority status that comes w/ two free checked bags because you better believe one of those bags is always filled with pretzels.

Here’s what gets me…when I enter the Netherlands no one is searching my bag, but without fail each time I get home, I open my bag to find out TSA in the U.S. has searched the pretzel bag. I’m starting to think they’re on to me. They scan the bag, see my name come up and go “here’s that random girl again shadily importing pretzels into the Netherlands.” I’m waiting for the police to knock on my door one day and question me.

In the meantime, I’m going to continue happily enjoying the world’s greatest snack in the comfort of my Dutch home. The best of both worlds really does exist.

5.       Waning confidence in the doctor

By now I have learned if something is wrong that would typically require a doctor, just figure it out on your own. Doesn’t matter how scary looking things up on WedMD might be. It’s likely more accurate than your friendly neighbourhood GP. And if there’s anything seriously wrong, good thing I’m making those pretzel runs to the US!

I’ll just leave this one at that.

6.       De Fiet

And last, but not least, de fiet, or “the bike.” It’s doing really well parked alongside the Prinsengracht. When I pass it each day it just looks so perfect and happy there. Why move it?  

Since I purchased it in July, I’ve been on it 3 times. So, I guess you’d be surprised to hear that a few weeks ago, on a beautifully sunny and mild February day, I had this weird urge to ride it. I think seeing everyone zip past me gave me the motivation, and I did say this spring I would start riding it more. I am finally ready.

Actually, the real motivator is to ride it outside of the city through the tulip fields, and seeing how this week will be April, I have no choice but to be ready.

Anyway, back to that mild February day. I’m ready to get on de fiet. So, I go to grab the keys and take it for a spin. Except I can’t find the keys. Anywhere. A slight feeling of disappointment came over me. And then I got over it on. Oh well. I tried, right?

Update: I found my keys about a week ago. They somehow found their way to the bottom of my recycling bin. I don’t know why, or how. I also have no idea how long they have been there. I have mixed feelings about their recovery…

So, there you go! Six more reasons why I hate stories about my life here in the Netherlands. Can’t wait to see what the next 365 days have in store!

Advocating Girl Power Since '88

I am lucky. I grew up in the age of Girl Power. One summer my friends and I dressed up as the Spice Girls and danced around to Wannabe in a camp talent show. I think there were more arguments around who got to be Sporty Spice than Baby. I, thankfully, avoided that fight as I had no competition for Ginger Spice. Perks of being a redhead.

I think back often about this group of strong-willed ladies who cared just as much about fashion and Jonathan Taylor Thomas as we did about scoring a goal on the soccer pitch or hitting a homerun. We sported the tomboy look one day and begged our parents for designer jeans the next. We truly had the best of both worlds. We were lucky.

Before I started working for HEINEKEN, I worked in mostly female-dominated environments. Maybe it was because of this, but I was somewhat blind to the gender injustices of the working world. Or maybe I was just young and naïve.

When I made the move to HEINEKEN, I was faced with a crazy assortment of mixed reactions from guys AND girls – ranging from “Wow, that’s so cool. Too bad it’s probably wasted on you” to “Do you even like beer? Girls don’t like beer” and my all-time personal favorite “Why would you do that? You’re going to get a beer belly.”

Well, four years later, I can assure you, nothing is wasted on me. I like beer. And I most certainly do not have a beer belly. Perhaps a pizza and chocolate belly, but that’s another story.

I think it is fantastic being a woman in beer. In fact, there’s no other industry I would want to work in right now. Working within a mostly male-dominated industry has lit a fire within me. I’m on a mission to help shape what it means to be a women in beer.

Last Thursday, the world celebrated International Women’s Day for the 103^rd time. I have mixed feelings about this day. Wouldn’t it be nice to live in a world where we didn’t need IWD? A world where pay was equal. Harassment didn’t exist. The ratio of male:female CEOs at Fortune 500 companies was 50:50. In this respect, I am not lucky, because this is not the world we live in.

So, until that luck changes, we celebrate International Women’s Day.

My friend Anouk invited me to moderate a panel as part of her company’s International Women’s Day program. Anouk works for The Student Hotel, a really cool company that’s dedicated to providing state-of-the-art accommodations for students (and non-students) in cities that is affordable and sustainable, while fostering connectivity and creativity. Check them out! https://www.thestudenthotel.com/about/

The panel was part of their Think Talks series, and was aptly named “Stories of Ladies Who Disrupt in 2018.” Each of the kickass panellists told their personal stories, and then I got to host a conversation with them. Wow. Were they inspiring.

We talked about how they disrupt. I asked them what feminism means to them. And then we got to dig deeper on the work that each of them does: a strategist who helps guide clients to execute purposeful campaigns, an international lawyer who founded a company to help refugee women in the Netherlands build their social and economic capital, and a soccer player who started Favela Street, a program for girls from low-income neighborhoods in Brazil that get them involved in soccer and off the streets. Check them out!

1. Christina Moreno | CEO She Matters - She Matters empowers refugee and migrant women to build their social and economic capital, boost their self-confidence as well as become leaders in their homes, businesses and communities. www.shematters.nl

2. Rocky Hehakaija | Only female member of world's best street football team Street Legends & Director of Favela Street Girls – Creating a new generation of strong (female) role models through street football.
https://www.favela-street.com/

3. Jessica Perri | Founder of INCITE – Jessica creates pro-social strategies for Fortune 500 companies. She speaks at events like SXSW, Advertising Week and Slush about how purpose can be used to strengthen brand relevancy. In her spare time, Jessica is a writer and activist. http://inciteideas.nl

I am grateful to Anouk for giving me this opportunity, and thankful I got to meet three amazing ladies!

In the age of #MeToo and #TimeIsUp, being a women in business comes with a powerful responsibility: to pave the way for future generations. It’s a daunting, yet exhilarating task. I hope one day we do not have to celebrate International Women’s Day, but until that day comes, I am proud to be one of many who continue to press for progress.