Knippen

My hair is my blessing and my curse.

It’s black, it’s thick, it’s wavy, it’s beautiful and I love it. But it’s also grows very fast. Usually it starts looking messy three weeks after my last haircut and in Netherlands, it can be a problem. Why? Because haircut in Netherlands is a little steep (at least for me). Your option would be between street corner barber, which cost about €10 up until Toni&Guy salon, that will cost you €58, for the standard stylist and not including extra services, tax, etc.

Thankfully near my campus there’s ROC Mondriaan school. It’s a vocational school that will teach you real life skill such as how to be a receptionist, barber, barista, hotelier, etc. They have businesses that doubles as some sort of classroom. They have fitness center, café, hair salon and others (You know where this is going right ?)

I checked their website and look at their price list on their hair salon and haircut is only going to cost you  €8.5. The cheapest I can find in The Hague. Without further ado, I go there.

 Their place looks expensive, with better equipment than your usual franchise hair salon in Jakarta.

I went to the receptionist (whom I didn’t realize were also a student) and asked to get a haircut but she looks confused. She went to call her friend and then I realize she doesn’t speak English. Then I talked to this new girl about my intention and the she told me to wait on a nice comfy chair and asked me if I want some coffee or tea (wow!)

Haircut time..

My hairstylist is a first year student, who doesn’t speak english and this was her first time cutting someone’s hair. Lucky me.

She was accompanied by a male teacher, and thankfully, he did most of the work. When she was cutting, it was awful. She wasn’t even sure how to position her finger and her scissor correctly. She cut awkwardly. To tell her not to cut my hair too short, I need a translator. Such an  experience. But I’m happy with the end results. It’s not a radical or experimental haircut, just some trimming on the side and the back.

I got a nice little surprise when I’m about to pay. Turns out there’s a 50% discount for the month of September, so I only paid €4.25 (When I went to class that day, a friend from Korea also cut his hair and he paid €20. When I tell him how much I paid, he said “Whaaa.. ??”)

Anyway, this is the result.

A picture taken in 2013 must have frames and instagram-effect. Sorry not sorry.

Kaart

There are several important cards (or as the Dutch call it, “kaart”) you need to survive in Netherlands (especially in Big Cities).

1. OV-chipkaart

Openbaar Vervoer chipkaart (Public Transportation chip card) is the ultimate card to travel in Netherlands. You use this card to pay for buses, trams, metros and trains (basically every public transportation available here). You can also pay with cash, but it’s a lot more expensive. For example, going to city center with OV-chipkaart cost like €1.4, with cash it’s €3. So you better get one of this if you plan to travel a lot inside NL. The card itself cost €7.5 (with €0 balance).

2. Betaalpas

A Debit card. This one is from ING Bank, one of three biggest bank in NL, others being ABN Amro and Rabobank. The difference with Indonesia is, even though cash is still widely used here, the most common use of payment is with this card. In Supermarket, shop, etc, when you are about to pay for things, the cashier will tell you the amount you need to pay and then you put your card in the machine (you do it yourself) and press your PIN number. This is why it’s also called PINcard.

Talking about bank, you are free to draw money from other banks ATM, with a restriction only once a day and maximum amount of €250.

3. Insurance Card

You HAVE to have an insurance if you plan to live in NL (for traveling it’s not necessary). This one is from IPS. In NL you don’t go to hospital every time you got sick (unless for emergency), you have to go to one of doctor clinic first and then they will decide whether just to give you medicine or refer you to a hospital.

4. Student Card

Or as I’d like to call it, a Discount Card. With this card you can get discounts in many places. Gym membership cost around €50/month, with this card you can get it for €35. Movies cost about €10, with this card it’s only €8. And so on..

Btw, bringing your ID is mandatory is NL. You need to bring this and your passport with you all the times. It’s very rare that an officer checking your ID but you’ll never know. You can get fined. In fact, Dutch police fine you for every little thing. Didn’t bring an ID, PAY. Crossing the street when the light is still red, PAY. Taking out your trash in the wrong day, PAY (They have calendars for when you can throw out your big trash like electronic or furniture)

5. Laundry Card

I’m so excited about this cos I’ve only seen it the movie, LOL. Apartment building usually have laundry machine that you pay with this card. You can top up the amount with Paypal or Credit Card. The cost is €2.5 for washing machine and €2 for dryer machine for one time use. You have to provide your own detergent and softener. You can check the status of the machine online and you can even reserve a spot there.

Other cards you might get interested in :

6. Museumkaart

Dutch people love museums! There are more than 400 museums in this country (or so I’ve been told) and you can get free entry to almost all of them with this card. The card cost €50 which sounds expensive but the entry fee to Dutch museum is quite hefty (usually €10 or more) so if you love arts this is totally worth it.

7. Pathé Unlimited Card

Pathé is the name of biggest movie theater chain in NL. It’s a French company. A movie ticket cost €10 per person and €8 for student. With this card, cost €19/month, you can watch as many movies as you want between 10:00-18:00 everyday. They also have Pathé Unlimited Gold, €26/month that will also give you access to unlimited 3D and IMAX movies.

But I don’t know, there’s a lot of more interesting to do here in NL other than movies so I haven’t been inclined to buy the cards.

Trivia van Nederland

Today I arrived in Amsterdam Schipol Airport, to begin my one-year journey for master program in The Hague University of Applied Sciences (De Haagse Hogeschool). 🙂

Interesting thing I observe today :

1. Contrary to my presumption about caucasian, Dutch people are very nice, especially the older generation.

2. Food is so expensive. Burger King’s Whopper with fries and soft drink is Eur 7.50/kg, rice is Eur 1.75 /kg, a canned Sprite is also Eur 1.75/can.

3. The city’s so quiet. I live in Den Haag, the third biggest city in Netherlands yet everything looks super empty. Granted, I’m in suburbs and it’s not really rush hour, but I don’t know, the whole city really could pass as some Zombie town.

4. The cars and motorcycles always let pedestrians crosses the street first, you don’t even have to try to stop them. They’ll stop whenever they see you on a zebra-cross.

5. Almost every shop is closed on 6.00 PM. Including fast food chain restaurant like McDonald’s ( I don’t know about if the same applies in Amsterdam tho..). Restaurant, Bars, etc still open till around 22.00 or midnight.

6. You have to bring your own bag for shopping at supermarket AND you have to make a deposit just to get a trolley (probably to make sure it’s safely returned)

7. Indonesia and Netherlands have the exact same electrical outlet. So your gadget will work right away when you’re traveling here.

8. You can drink the water straight from the tap.

9. Usually room for bathroom and WC are separated.

10. At this time of the year (August 30th), the sun sets at around 21.00.. The temperature is around 19 degrees (Probably like Puncak)

(My apartment building, Waldorpstraat 47)

 All in all, it’s been a fun first day. 🙂