Blue Monday

Windows error, originally uploaded by gniezen.

I left Rotterdam at 07h00 this morning to be in time for a meeting at 09h30 in Eindhoven. When I arrived in Utrecht to get on another train, I suddenly realised that there are no trains running from Utrecht to Eindhoven today (apparently due to maintenance/construction work). I had to travel all the way back to Rotterdam to catch a train via Tilburg to Eindhoven, so I only arrived there at 10h30. Lucky for me the presenter for the 09h30 meeting also had to travel through Utrecht and experienced the same problem, so the meeting was cancelled.

To add to my blue Monday, the lady that organises housing matters at the university wasn't in today, so I will only be able to finalise my housing matters on Wednesday.

Before lunch I had a look at a flat similar to the one I'll be staying in from Wednesday - there is a nice big bathroom with a shower (I'm happy, I don't like bathing :), a tiny room for cleaning equipment with a fridge (so that you don't have to share a fridge in the communal kitchen, yay :) and a rather spacious bedroom that includes two chairs, a bed, two tables and a bookcase. The communal kitchen was quite clean, with a dining table, couch and a TV.

This afternoon I walked down to Stratumseind, the street with the most bars and pubs in the whole of Netherlands (more than 40). On a Monday afternoon in Stratumseind the smell of fermented beer is worse than Hatfield Square on a Saturday morning, so I'll have to come back one evening to see how it compares.. :)

What is behind door number one?

What is behind door number one?, originally uploaded by gniezen.

This morning I met my new supervisor, Dr Hu, and promoter, Dr Feijs, for the first time. Dr Hu is Chinese with a background in computational mathematics, while Dr Feijs's background is in electrical engineering and computer science. I attended my first colloquium at the Industrial Design department this afternoon, and I must say, after the three presentations (and the morning's discussions) I am pretty excited about my PhD!

I have decided to move into the apartment that was arranged by the university, even if I have to share the kitchen with 4 other people. I managed to slip into the building today (as they were busy repairing one of the security doors) and realised that the kitchen is a totally separate room down the hall, with the 4 rooms all next to each other in the hall. So at least the set up isn't the same as in a commune, and I'll still have my own privacy.

I'm still looking at other possibilities with a real estate agent. The one place we viewed today had a big lounge area, a nice bedroom (with double bed) and a kitchen. But the three areas are all in different rooms that need to be locked, as the hall that connects them is shared with the neighbour living upstairs?! And the shower is in the kitchen, how weird.. it may help with multi-tasking though - I would be able to make toast and scrambled eggs while still in the shower. :P

Rotterdam City Centre

Het Potlood, originally uploaded by gniezen.

This afternoon I had some time to visit Rotterdam's city centre, where you can find the famous Het Potlood, or Pencil House, and the Kubuswonings, or Cube Houses.

Now, usually I don't find shopping very relaxing or exciting, unless I'm in a book store or in an electronics store. :P My mission for the afternoon was to find an Afrikaans-Nederlands dictionary, and the best place to try would be Selexys Donner. Yes, I know, as an Afrikaans-speaking person I also twitched when I first read it, but Selexys Donner is an innocent little bookstore... OK, not really little - this place is HUGE!! Imagine a bookstore with 9 (yes, 9!) floors with books covering almost every topic under the sun. There's a floor dedicated to classical music and a floor for all other types of music (including CDs, DVDs and sheet music). I even found sheet music books for Green Day and 30 Seconds to Mars :) There's a floor with a coffee shop and books on sale, and walls and walls covered with all my favourite computer books :P Needless to say, I spent more than an hour in there before walking over to the electronics store next door.

Mediamarkt is an electronics store that has one floor for TV/DVD/stereo systems and other electronics, one floor for household electronics and home wares, and one floor dedicated to games/music/consoles. Imagine walking through a store where there are so many LCD TVs that they take up half of the one floor and literally hurt your eyes when you look at them :)

TU Eindhoven has been able to organise housing for me, very close to the university and at a reasonable price. Unfortunately I will have to share a kitchen with 4 other people. Tomorrow I'm off to see the HR people again and sort out some admin stuff, and I will also meet with some housing agents to see if I will be able to organise housing on my own.

My first visit to TU Eindhoven

TU/e Main Building, originally uploaded by gniezen.

I had to get up at 05h00 this morning to make the early morning commute to Eindhoven in order to be there at 08h30 for Central Introduction Day, which gave me the opportunity to meet some fellow PhD students and learn more about Eindhoven and the university. In our goodie bags they handed out for free was a copy of the "Holland Handbook" (a very interesting book on living in the Netherlands - how to arrange housing, pay taxes, health care etc.) and a book called "The Thinking Pill" written by TU/e professors on how they think technology will change our lives.

The other students in the group are really from all over the world, including Italy, Venezuela, Poland, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, Spain, China and Taiwan. I met two people (one from Turkey and one from the Ukraine) who was familiar with and have actually tasted South African wine. Oh, and of course everybody knows about the 2010 World Cup! :P

The building in the picture above is the TU/e main building, which houses the Industrial Design department, as well as a few other departments and administration. There's even a hairdresser and the "Beeldbank" inside. The Beeldbank is a gallery where you may (as a member of TU/e staff) select a graphic/painting and borrow it for a year, after which you must return it and get another one.

At the sports centre you pay about 70 euros per year for a sports card, which you can then use for access to all the sports/activities they offer (with the exception of the sauna and sunbeds). So I'll be able to play squash, gym and swim (in the only indoor university swimming pool in the Netherlands) all for a one-time fee. Yay! :) Funnily enough, you'll have to prove to them that you know how to use gym equipment (after which you are certified with a sticker on your sport card), or you will have to attend an introductory course in fitness before using the gym.

De Zevenhuizerplas

Euro Fun Centre, originally uploaded by gniezen.

This afternoon I took a walk to the "plas" (dam) close to my grandparents' home where I'm staying for the next few days. I realised that I've been to the plas quite a few times during the past few years - the first time was in 2003 while on holiday with my parents, then in 2006 before going to Switzerland for a conference, and then again in 2008 before going to England for another conference.

The Zevenhuizerplas is located on the river Rotte (where Rotterdam gets her name from) and is only about 1.5km wide. There was quite a lot to see: People walking their dogs (this afternoon I saw a lady with at least 10 dogs!), people on horses, people jogging, lots of swans and ducks, and one guy was even flying a kite.

Tomorrow I'm going to TU Eindhoven for an introduction programme that starts at 08h00, so I'll have to get on the metro at 06h00 here in Rotterdam as the total trip takes about 2 hours (and a return train ticket is about 30 euros).

Saying goodbye and my first few hours in the Netherlands

At Jo'burg airport checking in, originally uploaded by gniezen.

So I said goodbye to family and friends, breezed through security and customs, and started my adventure to the Netherlands. After an uneventful flight to Zurich (during which I fell asleep halfway during my first in-flight movie), I had another short flight to Amsterdam.

After collecting my baggage I realised that they must have opened my suitcase (both locks were gone) - luckily I don't think anything was removed, and I they probably opened the suitcase due to the portable hard drive (and Arduino :P ) inside possibly looking quite peculiar on an x-ray machine.

I met with my aunt and grandma and we had a short drive to Rotterdam, after stopping to buy mocha "vlaai" (a super-delicious mocha cake thingy) at one of the Schiphol airport shops.

This afternoon I managed to get Internet on my cell phone (10 euros buys you a prepaid SIM card and a month's Internet) and a metro card (7.50 euros for the card and another 10 euros credit, of which 1.15 euros got deducted after I travelled through about 4 stations).

Check out the Flickr set for more photos!