Moving to Amsterdam

Last days were crazy. I was working every day and I did not even have time to say goodbye to my grandparents and my father. I had last shift on Saturday and then I had one day and half for packing before I go to Amsterdam. I just had some time to meet my friends. On Friday, I saw my best friend from dancing class after 4 years! It felt so great to talk about everything we had been through. Even though we did not see each other for such a long time we had a lot of things to talk about. She spoke about dancing, her boyfriends, plans for future and she might come to Amsterdam to visit me. During our conversation, I realized how much I miss dancing.

Another day, we went for the breakfast with Serjio and Miguel. I always say that everything is about people who are with me and this morning was a perfect example. I would say that it was not the best breakfast in my life but I had an amazing time with guys at the same time. It was my second time in that restaurant but I don’t remember the exact name of the café. Firstly, I ordered three orange juice, three eggs and one pancakes with Nutella to share. The waitress was staring at me and she asked at least three time what exactly we wanted to have even though I showed her the name in their menu. With no joke, it took her almost one hour to bring the food. She offered us two options of eggs – with bacon and ham. We were also worried that she made a mistake because she did not write down anything I told her. She brought juice also after long time.

We were talking about everything and I have always great time with these guys so I did not mind waiting for the food. We were making fun of the fact how slow she was because we could not imagine her working in our restaurant. When she came with the food, Miguel just looked at his food with disappointed. He was having eggs with ham instead of bacon. She just looked at me and she said they did not have bacon. It was okay.

We were eating and we were again making fun of the pancake because in that restaurant they serve three types of pancakes. The first one with cottage cheese, then Nutella and lastly with marmalade. Last time when we ordered Nutella one we got the cottage one. This time it could be the right one but it was not. The waitress gave us a plate with pancake and we were just finished the first food. It was suspicious that the pancake was served with marmalade a little bit but I was sure Nutella was just inside. When we tasted it, we realized that it was filled with marmalade! Only marmalade. It was a bad joke. How come? For the second time…

Since we all are working in the restaurant we did not want to make any problems and we just ate it. When the girl came to our table I just mentioned: “So thanks for the pancake, it was nice but we ordered the Nutella one. ” She just looked at the place that was still dirty because of the marmalade and she answered with no interest: “How did kitchen do it? It was not with Nutella? “ At that moment I was not sure if she meant it serious. Did not she see the plate with marmalade? There was no point to talk about it more. Later, the girl said sorry but I would expect something else. Since I started to work as a waitress I always notice everything, even details how waiter and waitress behave. Maybe next time when we go there we will have the right pancake.

They day after was my last day in Adelitas. I already felt weird whole week working there because I felt there as at home. I don’t know if you read my article about La Casa Blu but when I wrote it I was totally convinced that there was no way that I could find some similar job. The truth is, that I found it! Las Adelitas. I guess that my happiness about that job is related mostly to the people I met there but seriously I was working there and I was glad. They made a lot of amazing things on my last day – I had my favourite cocktails, I got one dessert for free and I had the best food in that restaurant – Parillada– thanks to Serjio. When I left the place I felt so sad. It has been two months that I started to work there and it was a dream job. I hope for the best and I hope that I could find something similar in Amsterdam. At least I will try! Probably it will be restaurant – I would like to find some Latin one.

After my last shift, I went home to change and I went back to spend last night with people from there. The evening did not finish as I was picturing it at all. In fact, it ended up with a big argument but I still had a great time that evening. In the beginning, we went to Popocafepetl and then to Lucerna. It was my first time in Lucerna and I was surprised. The place was amazing. It was a party with 90´s music and I really liked that they were playing the video clips on a big screen and we could watch it while dancing. I don’t know why I never went there before. I slept only one hour and then I had the worst morning ever.

I was so exhausted and I had to pack all of my things into one small luggage which was not possible at all. Therefore, I had a suitcase, backpack and plastic bag full of everything. Moreover, I bought flan (dessert) for my mum and when I was done with packing, there was no place for the dessert. Nevertheless, I had to take it anyway. I already let my towel and shampoo and another stuff in the apartment because of the lack of space. When I left my place, the weather was crazy. It was 30 degrees and I had to wear a jacket because I could not put in anywhere else. On my way to metro, I dropped flan and my hands were full of caramel. There was no water so I could not wash my hands. Normally, it takes me 4 minutes to get from my place to the metro. This time, it was 12 minutes. I almost missed the train. When I got to Hradec and when I put everything into the car I felt more than relaxed –but still tired as hell.

I had only one day and half for packing. My mum wanted to take me for a dinner or lunch but unfortunately, we did not have time for it. This time, I used three suitcases for my stuff. I tried not to think about my departure and I was just packing. I felt so exhausted that I needed to lie in the bed for a while and I finished only the first suitcase. I always appreciate being at home, in my room. I printed last documents and I took some pictures with me to put them on the wall in Amsterdam. We also went to the swimming pool with an ice coffee.

I did not really realize my feeling about my departure until now, when I am sitting in the bus. I perceive it totally differently than last time when I went to France. Before Erasmus, I wanted to experience exchange so bad. I did not talk about anything else for last half year. Except for my mum and sister, my closest friends were not in the Czech Republic. Moreover, I knew it was only 5 months and if I did not like it I could probably go home sooner. I was worried only because I went there totally alone but for sure I was more excited. I was waiting for the moment when I could go long time. I also knew it was a semester of not studying much, travelling, not working and enjoying myself. In the beginning, it was not easy but I got easily used to being in a new country and I enjoyed every moment there. Now I can say that it was the time of my life and I would not trade it for anything.

I don’t know why I feel so different now. It is a whole year of living abroad in the first place. I have so many worries in my mind – sharing a room, long period, hard university, new environment and so on. I guess that this university will be really hard and I don’t feel prepared studying every day at all. Another thing is that I hate winter and Amsterdam is known for its cold and rainy weather. Lastly, I made a lot of new friendships in Prague and it has been only two months when I came back from France. It seems to me quite fast to move to another place. Despite all these feeling I never thought about cancelling my trip. The first reason was that we already paid for accommodation in July and tuition fees. Second reason was that I already made my choice. After feeling more than happy in France I was sure I wanted to experience something similar. Amsterdam is an amazing opportunity to do it. So I will just try not to feel anxious and believe in the magic of a new beginning. I am prepared to get to know new people and experience new unforgettable times. In addition, having an international degree is always an advantage. When I went back to Prague I was convinced that it would be a terrible summer and it was opposite – I had a great time. Hopefully, it will be same in Amsterdam. I also wish I found a similar job there!

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