Americans in Amsterdam

Welcome to Brent & Ruth's overseas blog! The last 8 weeks have been quite a whirlwind, so to make sure everyone is up-to-date here's what we've been up to...and why we're writing from Amsterdam.

It has always been a shared dream of ours to live in another country. This Spring, a position with Starbucks opened in their Amsterdam office that fit well with Brent's career goals. Brent would be managing Accounting for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region. We thought about it for about 3 nano-seconds before immediately jumping on this incredible opportunity. The duration of the contract is indefinite, so we're here for as long as we enjoy it. And what's not to enjoy you may ask? Well, we'll get to that.

For the last couple of months our motto has been "If you feel like things are in control, then you're just not going fast enough." (Mario Andretti) While Brent started his new role the first week of June, Ruth stayed in Seattle to finish up her job with the MS Society and get us moved out. Needless to say that Ruth was in desperate need of a sleeping pill, a pedicure, and a long vacation by the time our house was finally packed up. She arrived at the end of June, along with our cat, Ella.

We found a beautiful apartment along a canal in the center of the city, the quintessential Amsterdam experience. It's a lovely neighborhood, and you can see pictures in the link along the right hand of the blog page. Our building dates from the early 1700's and it is incredible to be surrounded by such rich history. Brent had to pick out a place on his own before Ruth arrived, and thank goodness he got it right! The only downside is that we currently are living with very basic rental furniture as all our household goods and furniture is being sent by sea freight. It's not scheduled to arrive until late August, so we feel a bit like we're camping for several months. Our bed is basically a futon mattress, but we are trying not to count down the day until our things arrive. We are also waiting for our internet to get connected and so Ruth spends a good portion of her day at a nearby cafe with wifi. We don't expect to feel fully settled until our things arrive, but we are determined to explore our new city and do all the tourist things this Summer.


Here are some of our recent activities and highlights:

• Visiting the Rijks museum to see paintings by Vermeer, Rembrandt and others from the Netherland's golden age in the 1600s.


• Meeting Brent's Starbucks colleagues- For the 4th of July went went to a BBQ hosted by a Canadian who also works at Starbucks. In honor of our Seattle roots, it was raining- of course the day before had been beautiful! We had small charcoal grills set up across the street from her apartment under one of the huge Dutch elms that line the canals. It was a loud and rowdy group. Because of the rain people either congregated under the trees across the street or stood lurking in the open doorway of our friend's apartment. Several times people off the street thought we were having a gallery party- one guy stood outside the door thinking that he was queuing up to get into a pub! :)


• Exploring which Albert Hijn (the main grocery store) is closest, and whether they have a decent ice cream selection (results: 3 in walking distance, 0 with adequate flavor selection). The one we use most is about a 6 min. walk.


• We got our bikes this weekend, old rickety things that make us blend in with the locals. Amsterdam does not have a crime problem, but bike thefts are notorious. You can't leave your bike out with any thing less than two locks.


• Our first bike ride was to Museumplein, a large park and plaza that is surrounded by several museums. We hazard cars, scooters, other cyclists and tourists for a test ride across the city. The ride was thankfully uneventful, though it is going to take some getting use to the crazy bike and foot traffic as there is no right of way. P.S. They don't use helmets. In fact, its a sure sign that you're a tourist if you wear one.


• Listening to a concert in a church that dates from the 16th century.


• Toured the Anne Frank house, where we were very moved to see firsthand what her life in hiding was like. We are amazed that such a insightful and eloquent diary was written by a 14 year old girl.

First Embarrassing Moment: Ruth was at the Albert Hijn doing her daily shopping during the dinner rush. Her new PIN card wouldn't work and she didn't have enough cash for the purchases. The clerk's command of English was minimal and Ruth's command of Dutch is almost non-existent, so there was definitely some confusion as to Of course, there was a long line behind her. Amazingly enough our neighbors, whom we had just met the day before, were in that long line behind Ruth and came to see if she needed help. They paid for our food and Ruth made a quick exit. So at least we didn't starve that night!

We hope to keep this updated every week so you can share in our adventures. We miss our family and friend terribly, so drop us a line of how you are doing. We'd love to hear from you! Here are some contact methods for us (we'll be able to use the Skype more when our internet gets set up in ~3 weeks).

USA Number (via Skype): +1.206.734.4653
SKYPE Username: bandrcashell
Brent Work Direct: +31.20.407.6533
Brent Mobile: +31.62.151.7189
Ruth email: ruthcashell@yahoo.com
Brent email: cashman_112@yahoo.com