Week 2

Hellooo thereee! One week is gone again. This was actually last week of the PrijzenCircus so I have no idea how it’s going to be now on. Like, the beginning of the week is pretty quiet but then it starts to get crowded and such, but after these super sales I really hope it won’t get boring. I’ve been doing same stuff like tidying up the store, Putting. So. Many. Clothes. On. Hangers, alarming and customers have been asking questions. I think grannies are really funny because they speak Dutch to me even I would tell that I can only speak English and they won’t stop until I manage to find another person to help them out. And sort of annoying to me is when someone asks question and I know exactly what they mean (about sale percents, toilets, fitting rooms etc. simple stuff) and I have to say “Sorry I don’t speak Dutch, but fitting rooms are right next to the kassa (cashier, it’s funny that it’s same in Finnish and Dutchu) which you can see over there” But well, it’s something I can’t help right now! On Friday we signed papers to get personal cards for using the back door (without ringing bell) and they are also for discounts. (With card you get 65% off from your lunch price in V&D!) It’s more easier to have your own card rather than asking someone to borrow it for yourself for a while.

Anyways, I wish I could be at cashier already and chat more with the customers! I hope that later it will possible?

Not so work related, but on Monday I went to see Fast and Furious 7 with Lotta and Aleksi. It was worth seeing I think!

And I got first ice cream of the summer! (Mango sorbet) I also had Kinder Bueno ice cream on last Friday but have no photo of it. I’m more of the person who just enjoys situations without taking photos and you might notice that in this blog haha.

 

  Got this from Aleksi!

Today with Paul I went to Tuinland which is huuuge flower shop and after that we went to see some animals. I also broke some traffic rules, sob... For the sake of this blog we took some photos because I felt I really need more material!

Poor fish in so small container :( I wanted to save them

Cuteness overload with baby goats

Our favourite piggie :3

Honestly I don’t usually eat unhealthy stuff but since it’s Sunday evening…

Domino’s pizza and some wine

Yes my blog is such a high quality with all this stuff, I should think up more in advance what to write about. Either way I’m pretty excited about tomorrow’s free day because I go to Almere with Lotta! We can’t hold ourselves anymore of going to Primark and this one is the closest one hahah. It’s so sad that they’re opening Primark to Zwolle next year. Boo. But it’s nice to see some new places and get some money burn... Also the 5th season of Game of Thrones starts today (tho I can’t see it until tomorrow) so things couldn’t get any better.

Have a nice week! Doei ;)

Week 1

Hello there! So one week is behind and so far everything is alright. Last time I was worried how things would work out, but oh well, on Tuesday I got my bikey (makes going to grocery store much more faster) and working at V&D started on Wednesday.

Pigeons hiding from superduper annoying wind. I had to stop and snap a pic!

I thought I would be working in those few specific sections but I’m actually doing things on a whole floor which also includes “younger” ladies clothing brands such as Vila, Only, Jane Norman, Desigual, Soho.. plus Mango and New Look, but they have their own workers so I don’t have to keep their section tidy nor bring their clothes from warehouse to the store. My floor also includes swimsuits and accessories like wallets, scarves, sunglasses etc. and beauty products like The Body Shop stuff. So yeah, this actually gives me a lot more experience than I thought and I’ve actually wanted to work at clothing store. Employees are really nice, I’ve felt I’ve had warm welcome to the department and I’ve talked with everyone just so they know who I am, why I’m there and the fact that I can only speak English hahah. Most of the workers have good English skills, and even some don’t, we will find a way to communicate. But yeah, looking forward for the next week!

These look so much more bigger in the pic than they actually are haha

I work 8 hours per day, but Mondays and weekends are off. My feet are not used to it yet but I know they will.. eventually. Clothing rules are pretty simple tho it was a big fat lie about getting uniforms!? Black pants, simple shoes (I have black flats) and probably black/white/red shirt. I’ve been going with black or black and white chiffon blouses which I think fit for the image of the store. I also got this red big flower to put on my chest, it’s so cute and changes look completely! And of course, a name tag.

Tulips are the must-have in your kitchen! I looove the color combination of yellow and pink.

Anyways, I don’t know what to else say, I’m off to bed now and hope you’re all having nice Easter holidays! Doei

At the destination!

Hello my readers! So I’ve finally made my way to Zwolle and been here already couple of days to get used to things and living. My flight went pretty good (if we don’t count some strange and impatient dude next to me who couldn’t stop himself of moving around, touching magazines, closing and opening window cover or table etc.) and Paul (he lives in Zwolle haha) came to pick me up from the airport so I had nothing to worry about. Everything is soooo much more easier when you know local person! ;) Plus it’s been some time when we saw last time so it’s fun to spend time together again!

So yeah, I live in city centre and close to everything, including V&D. I’ve been there already couple of times and it seems really nice store, not too big but not too small either! They are having sale event called PrijzenCircus now so everything is really cheap and you could make your wallet cry very easily.

Warm blanket (because couple of windows won’t get closed entirely…) and recycled coin purse I got from V&D today!

Yesterday I met up with teachers plus my student fellows Lotta and Aleksi! They came to Zwolle a bit later than I because they have different accommodation. We supposed to have new meeting on Monday at Deltion college but guess what.. it got cancelled! We supposed to start working on Tuesday but I’m not sure if it’s still the plan. One of the teachers promised to get me a bike on Monday, but now it seems like I’ll get it later… It would be so much more convenient to have it now already!

Weather is cold and rainy, but there’s nothing you can do about it. I snapped couple of photos already and if weather get better there will be more. Phone quality, I was too lazy to take DSLR camera with me.

:DDDD

 

Ah the bell tower… It plays bells every one hour and sometimes every 15 minutes (depends of the time but it won’t play in the middle of the night, thank goodness) so basically on morning you won’t need alarm’s snooze function because this thing does the same work. I’m actually used to it already, at first I thought is this for real….. Aaand then there is cool door knocker I saw! I really love architecture and these small details in here! ♥

So I decided that I will write this bloggie at least each Sunday, just that you know when to expect new stuff to come around! Doei

Only few days left

Hello there! Time has really flied since it’s only THREE days until my flight! Luckily it leaves 16:40 so I don’t have to rush my way to the Helsinki-Vantaa airport. Plane will arrive to Amsterdam 18:15 and to Zwolle it takes about one hour by train.

When I’m having a trip, even just a small one, I’m always packing a way too much stuff with me, but now I’m wondering can I really pack too much for two months? I think not. On the other hand I thought I would only take necessary stuff with me and shop til I drop over there. I’ve already made small list what to pack, but clothes.. so hard to decide what to take (or more like what not to take). I heard that at work I will wear uniform, so luckily I don’t have to sacrifice too much of thoughts on working clothes. Oh and btw, I will work at V&D which is huge Dutch department store. I will be working as a shop assistant in jewellery (♥) and leather section. Still have to brush up some vocabulary and basic information about them!

I’ve been in the Netherlands few times before, so country itself is not strange for me. I’ve visited quite a few cities but I’m far from being familiar with them! For example to Rotterdam I went only because of Primark… haha. Either way now I’ve decided to do much much much more exploring and get more deep into Dutch culture. (Tho it doesn’t mean I would be ready to even touch Dutch herring..) I’m actually studying Dutch in Babbel.com and I’ve noticed huge improvement in my language skills. The language haven’t been much of my interest to learn because of all that “throat-weirdness”. BUT! The more you hear it and use it, the more natural it start to sound and feel like. I’m still quite shy with certain words, but maybe one day it’s not awkward for me to say a word with a proper “g” or “gr”! Unfortunately Babbel isn’t free, but getting 3 months usage for 20€ isn’t that much in my opinion. If you have motivation I highly recommend the site since it really makes you remember stuff!

Everything has gone surprisingly well so far *knock on wood*, aaand I hope it will continue like that. Doei!

First post!

I can't believe that in 1,5 months I'm going to find myself in the middle of tulips, or if not literally in the middle of them, at least in a town called Zwolle. This blog is part of my education and I will report weekly about my internship and time in the Netherlands. So stay tuned for that!

Can you find it?

Love the shape of city center!

I'm going to write this blog in English because it feels natural for me and I've already managed to recruit some non-Finnish readers haha. I have no clue when I'm going to do my next post but probably close to the time when I'm going to leave! I have already booked my flights for 26th March and found good accommodation, so I'm pretty much ready to start this challenge. More details will come later!