A Day in Amsterdam All on My Lonesome

Aweh, guys!

So, I have been in the process of job hunting since I’ve arrived in the Netherlands. I am still awaiting my certificate from UNISA for my PGCE in foundation phase, but I have been an English teacher for foreign language adults for about five years now. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem like a very sought after skill here as children have English classes in school. But I persisted and got an interview for 14:00.

Hubby wanted to make sure I got there in one piece and since he drives past Amsterdam on his way to work, he decided to save some money on the train and drop me off instead at around 8:30. My interview was near Sarphatipark and since it was busy, we located the place my interview was supposed to take place and I basically flung myself out of the moving car as to not hold up traffic. Now what?

To be honest, I didn’t really have a plan in place (when do I ever), and I had very little money as we are still a few days away from payday, so no fun activities for me. It was freezing so I decided to find a Starbucks with the closest one being 2 kilometres away. But sightseeing is its own activity!

There is honestly so much to see. Countless canals, monuments to the second world war, museums, old buildings and yes, innumerable “coffee” shops. They aren’t even trying to hide the fact they are selling marijuana and you can definitely smell it… Not wanting to get in trouble, I didn’t take any pictures of the display windows, but they are extremely colourful and worth a visit even if you are just sightseeing. They even have the Cannabis Museum if that’s something that strikes your fancy.

I eventually made it to Starbucks, and I ordered a tall hot chocolate, logged into the wifi and killed some time until my interview. It’s amazing how many people, including myself, use Starbucks as a sanctuary. I totally get it; free wifi, warmth, stay as long as you like, no questions. There were a lot of weary travellers taking naps and it’s safe enough to do at your own discretion. I have a lot of anxiety about being safe while out by myself and I can honestly say, I had no fear in Amsterdam.

Eventually time for my interview came around and it seems that a freelance teaching career is not something I am interested in. I would need to register with the chamber of (secrets) commerce as my own business and pay 21% BTW (value added tax) on top of my services while a full time employee does not so a student would be more inclined to work with them as it would be cheaper. Ah well, you can’t complain about winning the lottery if you don’t buy a ticket.

Eventually it was time for Hubby to pick me up and while I don’t think I’ll be taking this job, I am glad to have had a wonderful day in Amsterdam on a budget.