Here's the scoop. Ralph and I rode our bikes to Bos en Lommerplein, a shopping center with a huge open courtyard in the middle, to get me a Dutch bank account. After the meeting at the bank, we walked back to our bikes (chained together, each with 3 locks : ). As I was bent over unlocking my bike, a voice behind me told me in Dutch that he was pulling his bike out from behind me (so not to back up into him). Of course, I don't speak Dutch well yet, so I stood up to look at the 6'4'' guy in my confusion. He smiled at me and Ralph explained that I don't speak Dutch. The guy told me to go ahead and move my bike and he would wait, but by that time I was flustered and realized as I tried to wheel my bike away that one wheel was still locked. Increasingly flustered (see pictures below), I just told the guy to go ahead and take his bike. He said goodbye to us in English and biked away, which is when Ralph informed me I had just had my first "Dutch Hollywood" (copyright Calla Payne) experience.
His name is Arie Boomsma:
Today we went to the IND (Immigration) in Rijswijk to submit my paperwork for my residence permit. It went really well but they told us it could take up to six months to hear back from them, and that I cannot work in the meantime. So hopefully it only takes the 3 months like I was told initially. On the way back, Ralph had his bike parked at the train station, and I didn't. It was too far a ride home to ride double, so I rode the tram home by myself! Thank goodness there are 3 stops that I could get off at in our neighborhood, because when I tried to get off at the first stop, I stood in front of the door in the back of the tram and it didn't open!!! The tram kept going to the next stop and I ran to the "in" door and got off that way. Ralph told me when I arrived home that there is a green button next to the door that you have to push to open it. ;o) Whoops! Next time I'll use that...
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