Hey everyone =) Slowly making my way to the Netherlands. Should arrive in Amsterdam around 02/05 possibly 03/05. Looking to work in exchange for R&B and a small weekly salary. Have had many jobs on the road and am willing to do anything from washing dishes, to manual labor. I'm a 19yr old easy going male from the US, love to write and play my guitar. If anyone knows of any oppurtunities please contact me @ kompletekustom@yahoo.com Thanks =)Wanderlust=)
Hahahaaaaa- the first thing you will discover is that most people on this board are tourists or people that are citizens/residents of the netherlands and would therefore have no perspective whatsoever to assist you in your search. I, on the other hand, have a bit of advice for you, having done exactly what you have described for the last six months (albeit bumpily, and not always successfully!), and this is how i have done it; 1. Be a very hard worker, and friendly as well. 2. Facilitate the use of all free media available to you (public library, local english newspapers, grocery store advertisment boards, etc) 3. Have a decent amount of cash saved to cushion your transition, and possibly fund your return to the states, or continuing on to the next stop ;-) 4. Be wary, and don't tell everyone what you're doing, as dutch people (and foriegn nationals) are extremely curious. And since the tourist visa is three months, if you plan on staying more than that, being aware of what you're saying and who you're talking to is pretty important, and with the terrorism-paranoia, you never know who you may be talking to-i know what a lot of the undercover guys look like walking the Damrak, but many wouldn't recognise them... sounds scary, but it's reality-and the last thing you want is to be deported, trust me!!!! last but not least, have excellent survival skills, and any money spent in the city should be on Ganja alone, or in the open-air (very cheap) markets, or even Dirk Van Den Broek ;-) hahaaa.... good luck! and email me when you get here, maybe i have not moved on by then ;-) :::Blessings::: Sweet Sangria
Ok..... so.. you are saying that there are undercover cops on the Damrak looking for terrorist or what? That's kinda .. well.. paranoid Care to elaborate a little on that?
:::::grins::::: Hello my inquisitive chica... yes there are undercover cops in the streets of A'dam, and occasionally in coffeeshops, bars and some restaurants frequented by 'suspicious' looking groups of people (arabs, mostly... but also runners and junkies... the cameras are fixing that problem though, confined them to the old side, back by the happy-times coffeeshop... I can't say that they are specifically looking for terrorists, or who/what they are looking for, but a fellow runner (when i was one) pointed a couple of them out to me (him having been arrested by one, his buddy by another) and now they're easy to spot. Sometimes i see the same guys he pointed out, but occasionally i spot new ones, with terrible disguises, always with some sort of glasses and baseballcap, and always looking trying to pretend they aren't.... now don't get me wrong, it can be tough to tell the difference between them and your average curious, passer-by, BUT if you pay attention to what they do, you'll see the difference.... he's watching the cluster of young moroccans at the corner of haringpakkersteeg because the camera saw a white baggy change hands-or he's keeping an eye on that runner he knows of, and the girl walking with him thinking, 'Is she a new one?'.... Sounds crazy.... paranoid, etc, but it's certainly out there, and i've been warned once or twice the same thing, when shortly after the family i now work for was questioned by control asking SPECIFICALLY if there were an American female working in the house... I wish i could remember the shadiness of everyone i talk to to figure out who may have been creepy-but then again i can also contribute it to the contractors working on the house... either way, undercover or no, there are still zillions of cameras lining the streets of A'dam, paying attention to who's going where, when, and who they're doin it with.... if they're paying attention to the cameras is a different story, but i can think of a few personal experiences that have been nothing less than uncanny, had i the precious internet time to spare.... i hope i've answered your question, and if not maybe i will be able to articulate better when i don't feel quite so fuzzy ;-) :::Blessings::: Sweet Sangre
