Finally, after sitting for endless hours at the Schiphol airport on my way to Africa and Asia and not being able to wander out, I got off the plane, passed through immigration, and walked out of the airport onto the Dutch soil! Even though I was somewhat out of it due to the overnight flight, I could barely contain my excitement since I had been dreaming of visiting this country for a long time. I made it to the Amsterdam Centraal (Amsterdam Central Station), a beautiful old building, and took a bus to a nearby fishing village, Volendam, the site of the conference which I was there to attend. After checking into my hotel, I ended up sleeping most of the day and worked on my presentation. A few things that I have noticed right away about the country and its people:
1)Everyone speaks English, and well: the bus drivers, any passer-by in the train, etc. As I learned later, most of the Dutch, including the kids, speak English because a lot of their TV programs are in English, unlike the Germans, Astrians, and French where the TV programs are dubbed into their respective languages.
2)The public transportation system is great and quite easy to use and figure out.
3)The country is clean, safe, and well-organized with friendly and polite citizens (ahh, a country after my own heart)
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