Dutch way?

It all started in regular Dutch autumn morning (ie a dull cloudy day) in the studio at school. As usually the temperature in there is not far from 0. I had to work together with my group on our Nijmegen presentation. Only that this time I started feeling like the cold is really taking me. I left home, but it was already too late!
I all realized in the windy day while waiting for the delayed train to Den Haag central. People were crowding on the platform, hoping for the train to appear while facing the wind – I started to feel dizzy and unsure if I still want to go to my crap job. What shall it be getting a cold or getting some pocket money?

In the end the economic reasons won. I waited for around 1 hour for the intercity to Den Haag central. Luckily I also asked where what… because the train left from the opposite line which usually goes to Rotterdam so I wouldn’t even have guessed what where.

The waiting in the train was also long. After waiting around 15 minutes in Delft we finally set off to Den Haag. I arrived at work half a hour later, and of course I was asked why. I thought it will get even worse in fact, that he will not hire me anymore. In that case I was seriously considering of writing to the HS to claim damages. But this was in the train while waiting to set off from Delft. But in the end he received the news pretty ok “next time you should call”. The truth is that I would have called if I would have had credit on my phone.. but for the last month I decided that I can live without that as well.

So what is work for me? Well during these days, it represents piles of dishes waiting to be washed, and dried. Funny isn’t it? I wonder how much longer I can still do it. Just recently I took the decision not to do it anymore because of the crap salary (4Euro/h). However I find myself – like in many other occasions – that I am quite resilient – and literally I have no other choice.…. Meanwhile I start with the plastic boxes where they keep the food over night, they all need to be rewashed every morning. After finalizing them I need to pass t to the pizza plates, forks and knives, glasses (I hate those especially when I have to dry them), cups and other smaller plates.

Le Creusets are also hard to wash. They usually have a dry crust from the melted cheese or similar, formed while baking in the ovens. These ones should be left in water for some time in order for the crust to be easier to take out with a short sharp knife.
Other jobs means scrubbing the floors, the toilets and clean up some un-used rooms – when they see me staying for nothing. Hahaha…
For 20 Euros a day for max 3 times a week.

But that day I was tired and I was getting sick. I felt like the room was spinning slowly around me. I start dropping thing from my hands and I feel so tired that I can lay on the stainless steel table next to the cooker and sleep. Usually I am quite high spirited and I like the fact that I can’t talk the language of my working mates who are from middle east. We understand each other through an English, German or Dutch and Italian mix. Funny the pizzeria Pinocchio is in fact an Arab place to eat and drink. In addition to this state, given the fact that there are not too many clients today and so I don’t have much to do, the boss tells me to clean one of the side rooms, filled with construction debris and other sort of crap.

While collecting some bigger chunks of insulating foam and wood pieces and old postcard appears on the floor. Is been stepped over and is all wrinkled. It is from Italy and it is written in Italian - a simple "hello" type of text and regard tot he restaurant. The photo shows a boring city landscape – most likely the center of that respective city from where it was sent from. It was addressed to the Pinocchio restaurant and was send in ’87 from as far I can understand. So Pinocchio in fact has some history in here, it’s not only kitsch wall decorations and cheap paper table mats with Bruegel’s “The Peasants’ wedding”.

After I cleaned the room I go downstairs to tell him that I want to go home. I am tired and sick. I am sick of the job as well. He wants to discuss and re-promise me to make me a contract, He increases my salary to 4.5 Euros/h – g r e a t !

I am heading to the Railway station with a pizza in my bag. My train leaves in 30 minutes, I can still take a quick look at the “Médecins Sans Frontières” exhibition which is in the railway station. Photos taken from around the world illustrating the horrors of humanity, among them also a picture of a man in a beds’ room which was taken in Ukraine but the text was saying something about the communist regime in Romania and the Ceusescu politics – I didn’t got the right point in there because I can’t do Dutch. The exhibition is similar to the exhibition I had seen in Paris years ago. Only that then the image from Romania was far worse: dirty foster kids on some hospital floors (quite a well known image of Romania in Western Europe).
I wonder how much right these pictures give to the image of Romania. Judging after them it seems Romania is trapped in a self-repeating destiny: a bad political regime which affects the citizens. None speaks however of the horrors happening in US or France or Ireland. It makes you wonder where is the line between a country’s image marketing and media ethics.

A woman is watching a picture of a large group of black skinny kids all squatting in front of a men with a stick which is sticking a kid which slightly went off the rows. She looks slightly tired but interested while reading the text following the picture. She is leaning on her left foot while taking hir right foot out of her shoe to relax it a bit. Isn’t this funny: this is how the image of a country is made!

I return to Delft and as soon as I get home I eat and I go to bed. I have fever and sweat a lot. The second day (yesterday) I can’t go to school and I stayed in bed all day. I talked with my family over messanger. They sent me a 10kg package to pick up from Rotterdam tomorrow morning. I bet is food – which is good but not exactly what I was planning to get.

No more existential questions.

Days in Delft

luni 2 noiembrie - trebuiesc facute 2 lucruri:
1. trebuie sa imi incarc portofoliul be blackboard inainte de ora 12
si
2. trebuie sa paltesc chiria.

Sa le luam pe rand. Portofoliul - am lucrat la el de joi saptmana trecuta, iar in noapte de duminca spre luni chiar nu am dormit de loc ca sa il pot termina si sa fiu multumit de el. L-am terminat pe la 10 dimineata si l-am incarcat pe blackboard.
Dupa ce l-am incarcat am descarcat si m-am uitat si la restul de portofolii de la ceilalti membrii ai grupului. Al meu este diferit - nu neaprat pentru ca asha am vrut sa iasa dar pentru ca asha mi l-am imaginat de la bun inceput. Nu stiu exact daca o sa trec cu el sau nu studioul asta, dar consider ca am dat totusi tot ce am putut ca sa imi iasa acest lucru. Nu m-ar surprinde ca maine sa mi se spuna ca nu am indeplinit criterile cerute pentru absolvirea studioului si ca prin urmare nu am luat cel putin 6!

lucrul 2 de pe lista de luni este sa platesc chiria. Mi-e foarte tarsa sa fac treaba asta pentru ca nu am bani. Nu mai am bani de fapt de cam vreo luna si chiria asta ma cocoseaza la propriu. Incerc sa ma gandesc la diverse scenarii ca sa o evit - ce s-ar intampla daca nu as plati-o? in fine, iau decizia sa imi folosesc din nou cardul de credit si sa platesc iarasi 205 euro... este a 3-a oara cand imi folosesc cardul de credit, si a doua oara ca sa imi acopar chiria... de fiecare data cand o fac simt cum intru in pamant.....

dupa ce trimit portofoliul, mananc niste cereale (mancarea mea de baza pe ultima luna - cereale si lapte) ma spal si purced la oficiul DUWO. Ma simt in transa - nu am dormit toata noaptea si simt cum totul se invarte ushor in jurul meu. Ma urc pe bicicleta si deodata totul pare mult mai ushor.

Sediul Duwo este de partea celalta a canalului principal care intra in Delft. Ma decid sa o iau prin orasul vechi, trecand pe la gara. Imi place orasul, cu stradutzele sale mici si canalul cu apa... este minunat. Uite aici un pod, aici un colt de strada, o vitrina de magazin, niste oameni pe biciclete...Singurele inaltimi in delft sunt podurile - sunt asha ca niste cocoase aruncate peste apa...

Ies din centrul vechi pe poarta veche. Aceasta este strajuita de doua turnuri si un pod batant care se coboara peste canal ca sa treci. Trecand pe aici te face sa te gandesti cum era in Evul mediu... Totul este ingust, stramt..

Dupa poarta veche trec bodul nou peste canal ca sa ajung in partea celalta. DUWO este in vechea cladire de geodezie a TU delft - cladire care are un turn cu un observator astronomic. Este o cladire foarte misto - foarte olandeza - caramida rosie, cu un model complicat de imbinare.... ma rog.. .

Nah.. am facut-o din nou am platit iar 205 de euro. de pe card. si nici macar nu a fost chiria de pe noiembrie..

ma intorc inapoi spre casa... pe canal un vas mare trece... genul de vas care transporta nisip si alte materiale de constructii... mi se pare genial! Olandezii locuiesc pe aceste vapoare. Poti sa vezi ca pe punte au masina personala, si in cabina au organizata casa lor, mereu cu perdele si flori la ferestre (very romantic- ain't?)

pedalez in pas cu vaporul, il insotesc. uite primul pod se deschide si il lasa sa treaca.... si nu ma graesc sa trec al doilea pod ininte sa se deschida, ci as vrea - take my time - si sa-l las sa treaca vaporul primul... este un vapor foarte lung - presupun ca aceste canale sunt faorte adanci... viatza pare asha de ne-complicata de fapt... asha cum trece vaporul asta prin dreptul podului...

so totusi cum arata viatza mea in urmatoarea perioada de timp?