Half of Holland

Well, not much has been happening in the Netherlands since I last posted... After being here for two full weeks now classes have still not begun, so there has been plenty of sitting around watching tv on my computer. I'll spare you the details of those fascinating adventures, and just put up some of my most recent pictures.

This past week I went on a day trip with Annelies to the north of Holland (the one hour journey allowed me to drive though half of the country), during which I saw the Sas campus of the Netherlands. I was truly shocked by how nice the office was, in a totally different way than the Cary campus. To reach the office, you drive down a long straight street bordered by trees, with the big white former farmhouse in the distance.

Sas Nederland

Lawn in front of the Sas office

While I was thoroughly impressed by the facade of the office, the interior was the most amazing part of the tour. The old farmhouse had been filled with modern furniture and was all very well done. Annelies' office was my favorite, in the very top of the building. Because she was technically in the attic, there were small winding staircases leading up, and inside there were large wooden beams running across the room. It was a unique but effective way to house the small Netherlands branch of Sas. They are currently building a "greenhouse" type structure for technical equipment, which will be behind the main building. It was really very impressive, and I now understand why Annelies is willing to drive two hours to work every morning through Amsterdam traffic.

The other big trip this week was a day trip with some other students to Amsterdam. It was my first time actually visiting the city, so it was good to go with a group of students including some Dutch people who could lead me around without me having to try to grasp the complicated layout of winding roads and canals. Below are some of the pictures I took on the trip. I tried to sneak some of the prostitutes, but I didn't want them to steal my camera. I didn't realize they would be so close and right at eye level, so I felt a little too awkward to pull out my camera.. maybe next time.