Traveling to Amsterdam!

(

I updated my photos at http://community.webshots.com/user/chadgriggs

So I have finished up my first week at the office and I have got to say it was pretty interesting. I mean I had all of these perceptions of how the office would be, and what the people would look like etc after talking to the office several times a week over the past five months or so. Anyways it is great being in the office and at the house with all of the different people both those who always work in the office and are from Belgium to the different sales consultants like me who are from around the world. It didn’t take me as long as I thought that it would to wrap up the other project and by Tuesday I was told that I would be headed to the Kingdom of Bahrain. Go to the following link to see where it is on a map (or copy and paste http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/middle_east_pol_2003.jpg into a your web browser )

I will be working for my same boss and she has asked me to go to Bahrain to wrap a project that was put on hold before Ramadan. Interestingly enough though that this project will be for print instead of television. It will be pretty cool though because it is for a new publication that my company is starting up called British Airport Magazine which will be distributed throughout the Business and VIP lounges in Heathrow Airport. A little interesting known fact is that Heathrow is the busiest airport in the world with around 1/3 all travelers going for business and one in ten of all travelers are headed to the Middle East. I will also have a new partner named Vivian who is from Spain who is brand new to the company. I am really excited to be heading up the first publication of this new title and hope to have the project wrapped up by Christmas time if all goes as hoped.

I spent the rest of the week getting things in order to leave for the new project and finding out what the last team got done and who they were able to meet with. On Friday several of the new friends that I had made left for Brussels to go to their new projects. And the other four friends left to go explore Germany for the weekend. Amanda and I made our way into the small town of Overpelt and had a nice dinner with the locals. It was fun ordering as the waitress didn’t speak any English; afterwards we ended up in one of the local pubs. This one was different as it was a not profit one, rather a gathering place for the cities youth. What was interesting on this night though was the fact some of the kids had organized an event to bring attention to the problems the South African farmers are having with globalization and their produce getting a fair wage. I particularly found it interesting considering the fact of my history in the region not to long ago.

The next morning we got up early to catch the first train that would take us to Amsterdam. There was typical Belgium weather this time of year cold, rainy and windy which made our long walk to the train station interesting although we were hoping that as we made our way into Holland the weather would change. The first stop was in Antwerp where we had spent the last weekend exploring which is known for the diamonds. We decided to go into the city for breakfast as our next train didn’t leave for about an hour. It was an interesting experience and reminder of the expense that is Europe. After ordering and getting my food at McDonalds (I know I know your saying why are you eating at McDonalds with all of the great food of the region. But I needed something quick and really wanted some gold ol American food) anyways after I got my food I asked for so Ketchup just as I would in the states. Then to my surprise they said that it cost money and would be a half Euro. I can’t say I was shocked rather disappointed. When you think of McDonalds after kiddy meals, hamburgers and fries I personally think a given that goes right with these things is Ketchup. Something that shouldn’t be charged for anyways I guess I am going to have to write the HQ in the US to tell them to get their acts together in Europe.

Once we entered into Holland you start noticing the endless canals, the green grass and the mix of old buildings with modern architecture that is used throughout. The central train station drops you off in the middle of the city. The main street has numerous shops and restaurants as well as the government offices. We walked down to the Ann Frank house and their was a line a mile long to go inside and see the room in which she hid for all of those years. After having lunch I decided that I wanted to take one of the river boat cruises around the city to get a better understanding of the layout and what it has to offer. On the tour which last about an hour and takes you through all most all of the city the tour guide explained everything. Some facts such as there are over a thousand canals throughout the city, and over a hundred bridges, in about 1980 they put a gard rail along all of the canals to try and stop all of the cars that were accidentally driving in but even after that they still average about one car a week driving into the canal which has a pretty steep fall. It was a perfect time of year to visit the city as all of the trees were changing colors that lined the canals. They pointed out that all of the very unique river house boats are licensed to park along the canals and have running water, gas and electricity. The city has a rich history with tons of architecture to go with. We saw numerous huge mansions lining the canals that were originally built in the 1700’s for rich merchants that lived there to take advantage of the sea trade.

Amsterdam is a wonderful place to explore which should be given at least a couple of days to see everything. A city that can offer almost anything that a tourist or local could want including some things that are not legal in the states. Although I am sure you have heard the stories which leaves no need for me to explain.

I will be flying out on Thursday after I get a few things wrapped up at the office with stops in Paris and Egypt planned along the way. Since I am going in to finish up the project they already have a 3 bedroom hotel apartment arranged for us. As well as one of the nicest perks, my company car will be a 2006 seven series BMW. Which will be a bitter sweet change from the dirty taxis of Jordan. All for now.

Ciao Ciao

Brussels and the Netherlands!!!!

So it is kind of surreal leaving Jordan after four months, countless meetings, and staying at six different hotels total. We went out with friends last night to a wonderful true Lebanesse restaurant which was fantastic. As usual there were heaps of food that we couldn’t think about eating, but then again that’s what its all about when dinning in the Middle East. I think it is especially funny thinking about the fast that I really didn’t care for the Taboli, Hummus, and Kobe when arriving in Jordan. But now realize that in the future while outside of the Middle East I know that I will pay a premium at restaurants for the chance to bring back the fond memories that I have created here over the last four months. At dinner we were looking back that all that we had experienced and done, the friends that we had made, and the opportunities that had been seized not to mention that through it all we accomplished to complete the most successful project in Jordan in company history!

This morning flight came way too early as you can imagine, that was scheduled to leave at 10am. Of course our luggage was extremely overweight with all of the work stuff and sovereigns that we have collected. After throwing around business cards from the Governor of the Central Bank who will be in our program and also happens to be Chairman of the Board, as well as the CEO’s name of the airlines the attendant decided not to charge us the extra $300 it was to cost because of the overweight. Needless to say we were very happy with the outcome, and proved once again the power of what the company calls “the name drop”! Since the flight was 25 minutes late departing Brussels, we were extremely scared that we would not make out next connecting flight in Vienna Austria which was only to have a layover of 55 minutes. As we began our decent to land we were amazed to see snow, something that I hadn’t really thought about in the past 5 months in the Middle East. Besides the ever surprising snow slopes in the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai. But then again look at the word that was in that sentence Dubai, as place that I can say really there shouldn’t be anything that should surprise you that they can’t accomplish.

The first thing after be struck by the snow and the charming architecture of the buildings along the countryside was the beautiful people that filled the airport. I know I know, I have been in the Middle East for a while but wow they really are beautiful here. I was able to catch my original flight to Brussels, although I have little faith that my luggage will make the connection.

(two or so days later)

So I arrived at the airport in Brussels to obviously find a lack of luggage. But the company driver was there with his son and wife to pick us up and take us to Overpelt where the office and company houses are. It was interesting to hear from all points of view from the very beginning from a typical couple from Belgium and then the son who was is in university in Brussels about typical Belgium life. Driving along the highway to Eastern Belgium I was struck with all of the green grass, trees, and quant houses lining the streets and fields. It is now that I realize that life is different in Belgium in particularly Overpelt area where life is slow, calm and with a sense of peace.

When we arrive at the house in Overpelt it was already dark and we were greeted by several trainees that are about to leave to different parts of the world to start up their first projects in the next week or so. Amanda decided that we needed to hurry and make our way to the grocery store because it closed very early about 7pm and there aren’t many restaurants to chose from. It was about a twenty minute walk and I really got to understand how cold it is here around 9 degrees Celsius so I think its about 30 degrees farienheight for those US readers. The grocery store is actually in the town of Neerpelt which borders overplet where the house is. Neerpelt has one main street with a continuous line of European building interconnected about 4 stories high.

I was rather surprised at the grocery store it had everything one could possible think of from rabbit, boar, venison etc and I began to experience the Euro and the expensive prices. To give you an example I got a 6 pack of cokes that were 5 Euro so about $6.50 US and this is in a grocery store! After making our way through the quaint neighborhoods of Overpelt we cooked dinner and hung out at the house for a couple more hours. Vivian who’s from Spain made some Sangria with the Irish friends putting their own little touch in by adding a potato apparently its an Irish tradition but I don’t know. It was fun getting to know everyone and finding out where everyone was headed and learn a little more about the area where I will be leaving for the next week or two. Later that night we decided to go experience one of the Belgian pubs which quit honestly I didn’t have much expectations for considering how much of a sleepy town it seemed to be on our walk home. But it turned out to be packed with tons of young locals playing pool and foosball. Admittedly though we didn’t fair so well in the couple of games of pool we played against some Russians.

The next morning when we woke up most everyone decided that they wanted to just hang out around the house besides Amanda and I wanted to go explore but different areas. I thought that I was going to rent a car, because it takes forever to go to Germany by train because you have to go back into Brussels. But after exploring the town for about an hour I didn’t find any rental car agencies rather the train station. It ended up that Amanda and I were on the same train headed to Antwerpen (which is the city known around the world for all of the diamonds)!! The hour train ride was nice going through all of the little towns and seeing all of the greenery and farm life such as all of the miniature horses that are there. Once we arrived in the train station that reminded me of grand central in DC we made our way out into the heart of the city. There were people everywhere and dressed a lot warmer then I. There is a main street that runs straight out from the train station first lined with restaurants, then with tons of Jewelry and clothing stores. It was a lot of fun exploring the street seeing every designer in the world having a store there, seeing the huge diamonds and experiencing all of the chocolate shops. Which lead me to realize that art that is Belgium chocolates. I mean you hear all your life about how great it is, but it truly is amazing seeing how many different flavors, shapes and designs that they have made. In need of some Mexican food I broke down again to try some international Mexican food which was as usual not up to the standards that you will find in Texas by far. The chicken enchiladas were very interesting – more like burritos with guacamole, hot sauce and cheese. Although I think that my first sign that I was eating international Mexican food was when I asked the waitress for some chips and hot sauce and she replied with, “Whats hot sauce”?

After making our way back to the house we decided to make our way to the Netherlands a city called Eindhoven. Eindhoven was amazing, again there was a central streets with numerous pubs and clubs lining the streets with millions of people everywhere. The clubs were packed, with an extremely international crowd and some of the most fun I have ever been too. We ended up staying out till really late before we decided to make our way back home. It is interesting thinking about the small town and slow life that is here in Belgium particularly in the area where I am now living. The houses are beautiful, extremely small by US standards but very ornate in design with no two houses being anything alike. Each houses gardens and yards are as distinct as the overall design of the houses. They love to use shrubs no only in the place of fences but also for interesting designs throughout the middle of the yards which are all immaculately maintained. It has just recently turned cold here so the trees are all beginning to change colors in the backdrop with the homes winter wheat grass in full bloom of the distinct florescent green color. Taxis don’t exist in this town, everyone rides bikes to get around they even have bike lanes on all of the roads.

I will head to the corporate office tomorrow morning for the first time after being with the company for five months so it should be interesting, although the CEO and director are in Singapore for the week so I am not sure if I will even get to meet them. I guess that’s all for now, notice that I have updated the photos from the past couple of days. All my best!!!

Chad

http://community.webshots.com/user/chadgriggs

for new photos online