Party Time!

I survived my first Dutch party! Around midnight Erik and I head out to this party at another fraternity house. Rumor had it that it was “sold out” but someone also said this is usually the rumor with their parties, but it is not normally the case. We jump on the subway and then Erik’s friend gets on at the next stop. I feel like I can survive the night hanging out with 2 local guys. I don’t think they’ll let me get lost and die. We ride to our final destination then enjoy a short walk in the cold, fresh air to the house. There is a line outside with everyone standing around in their t-shirts. Apparently, there isn’t room for the coat check inside the house, so they have a container sitting on the road where you drop your coat off then have to wait in the line freezing while they check our IDs. We do as we are told and I give Erik my coat and find us a place in line while he checks our jackets. On the walk to the party Erik’s friend (we are going to call him Niels. That isn’t his real name, but that is what I heard the first time Erik introduced him to me, so that is what stuck in my mind) was telling me how he lost/someone stole his jacket at the bar a few nights ago. It is one thing to lose your jacket, but quite another to have to walk home in winter in the dark with no jacket. We were discussing how horrible of a situation it was and how I never want to experience it.

Well, we check our coats and I have this disappearing coat story in the back of my mind. So we give the bouncer guys our IDs and he lets Erik and "Niels" in and stops me. I try to plead with him to let me in because I’m 1) cold 2) will be left 3) will get lost 4) might cry but none of the reasons are good enough for him. So I stand in the cold, alone. He reassured me they would wait for me, but boys will be boys and I have been left before. Sure enough though, they waited for me like nice gentlemen. Thankfully! The Dutch fraternity bouncer guys are not as easily persuaded as an American boy. At this party, you give your money to a desk in the front and then they give you little green chips. Each chip is worth 1 Euro. Makes it easier, that way the bar tenders don’t have to deal with change and things go faster (in theory). We make our way into the first room and upon opening the doors I am met with loud remixed music. Now, it was quite as techno bad as I was expecting, but it wasn’t like an American party. It was definitely the dance mix version, being mixed by the DJ. What are the odds? I know, it’s amazing. We find the bar and get our first drink. They are serving none other than….Heineken. Smiling “e” cups and all! I do believe the beer tasted better when it was free though. I guess that’s how it always is though, right?

Well I decided I need to take some pictures with the boys to commemorate the evening, especially at the beginning. It is always safer that way. However, Erik wasn’t very corporative. He didn’t want the picture on the blog, but since I don’t have any others of him, I’m left with this.

This is "Niels." He was a bit more corporative but I won't say either picture would fall into "Best Picture Ever" category. But they are both tall and that makes me happy!

After a few hours, the party starts to clear out. It is now around 3am which, in my mind was still early because I was preparing myself for a 6am “bed time.” We have to wait for “Niels” to finish his cigarette then we were going to head out. The Netherlands instituted a rule that you can’t smoke just anywhere. There has to be a separate smoking area/section which makes it so nice because you can go out and don’t come home smelling like an ash tray! Now, you still stink but it is not as bad. Pick your battles!

So we head out into the coldness and Erik gives the coat check people our jacket numbers and we wait for our jackets. They bring his. They can’t find mine. I have the story of poor “Niels” losing his jacket running through my mind. I don’t know about other people, but I like my jackets. All of them. I don’t wear things I don’t like and being a jacket, they are generally not always the cheapest item of clothing I buy. They keep looking and ask me to describe it. Well, it’s a black pea coat just like the other 75% of jackets in there. Not so helpful. They ask me the brand. Still can’t find it. So then they invite me back there to look. I start rummaging through all of the jackets, freezing. I wanted to find MY jacket. They assured me that if we can’t find it, they would give me money for it. I appreciated the offer, but I wanted MY jacket. It also had my pink scarf tucked into the sleeve. They are just material things, but I have grown fond of them! I start to panic. Then finally…..I find it! I was so relieved!!!!!! I couldn’t wait to get it on, I was so cold!

After I get the jacket incident handled, the three of us jump in a cab and head back to Erik’s apartment. We grab a doner for our “midnight” snack and start eating. It was soooo tasty!!! I love those things, but after Kelly’s food poisoning incident she hasn’t exactly jumped on the band wagon to eat them again. I don’t blame her one bit, but I still miss them. This one was good too. It was nice and spicy! We make our way upstairs and all find our designated crash spots and pass out. Poor “Niels” got stuck on the tiny loveseat couch using Erik’s robe as a blanket. I had the futon and Erik got his bed. At one point I had to use the restroom in the middle of the night and I couldn’t get out of the door. I was locked in!!!!! After a slight freak out moment I woke poor Erik up and had him open the door for me. Apparently, the door knob had moved to the other side of the door. Who does that? I’m sure the alcohol consumption didn’t help either, but still! The door knob was on the wrong side!

Now, no fraternity house I have ever been to has been clean, and this one was no exception. The only difference was that there were girls who lived there. I would have thought they would regulate on the dirty stair ways and trash in common areas. They apparently don’t. And I also now know why there are mice. Good thing I visited “out” of mouse season.

I told Erik he had to give me a tour of Rotterdam on Saturday so we all had to rest up to prepare for our walking journey around the city.

KELLY'S ENGAGED!!!!

I now have permission to finish my blog. You will soon read what happened, but the involved parties wanted to blog about it first, together, so I had to wait till today before I could spill the beans.

Thinking nothing of the random event Kelly wanted me to meet her at the bar and celebrate; I kept on reading, watching the clock, thinking how I needed to get ready for dinner. I hear the keys in the door and Kelly and Stu ended up coming home. Kelly comes down our little hallway and asks if she can come in…she hands me a Stroopwaffle McFlurry (My new favorite) and I thought that was so sweet! I have been trying to get one for a few days now and McDonald’s Holland has been against me because every time we go look for one, their ice cream machine is broken. I thought that was so nice of Kelly and then I catch a glimpse of her left hand…I proceed to squeal! I can’t believe it!! I let her out of my sight for one afternoon and she gets engaged!!!! I also got to sneak in an “I told you so!” because Kelly and I had a few debates if he was going to bring the ring or not. She said “No” since he kept giving her excuses of how he didn’t want to travel with it and things like that. I went with “Yes” because he was actively ring shopping with his female family members and any man that I’ve ever known doesn’t ring shop….and if he does, he is not going to hang on to it for a few months until the timing is just perfect. I was right. He brought it and I’m so happy he did!!! I get to be the only member on the sidelines for their perfect Dutch fairytale!

After they tell me the story of how Stu romantically proposed under our windmill and I squeal some more I figured I better hurry up and get ready. They had to call all of the family members so I let them be as I worked on my beautification process. I figured since Kelly got engaged, I better look cute; maybe I can hook myself a cute Dutch boy. I hear Kelly and Stu talking to their family. It was super cute though because most of the Houston family knew what he was coming over to do so they were just waiting for the call. I loved being able to over hear their conversations because everyone was so supportive of the event. The little nieces have been practicing how to say “Aunt Kelly” and all of the brothers and sisters were so welcoming to the both of them. I don’t know how many times I heard “Welcome to the family! We’re so happy for you two! Congratulations!” It was just the way everything should be. I think this is my first experience with an engagement that has gone by the fairytale books. I also informed Stu he owes my man (whenever I find him) an apology because he is now going to be held to very high standards. I know this stuff happens in real life, not just in the movies. I am so happy for them and so happy I get to be a default part of this. I like living my “relationship life” through Kelly, it’s a good one!!!

***This story can be read from firsthand experience at Kelly’s blog site HERE***

So as you can see this was a major event that filled up most of our weekend. Our dinner at Wilma & Albert’s was fantastic, as expected. We each got something different and we shared so we could get a taste of everything. I got the spicy ribs again, Kelly got salmon, and Stu got a great steak with garlic butter. The steak and ribs are now my 2 favorite things there.

One of our co-workers is in a band. The guys always give him a hard time and call him the “Rock Star.” We decided we had to go find out for ourselves how “rock star” he really is. His band was playing in Beverwijk Saturday evening so we decided to drag Stu along (and have him be our man protection, if needed) and head out to the bar. We got a bit lost, but we ended up finding alright and we were about 20 minutes late. Well, sticking true to “Rock Star” standards they didn’t start till an hour late so we didn’t miss anything. Their first song is an original and called “Love Me (a.k.a. The Stalker).” Now, we couldn’t hear the words (it sounded if their acoustics were off) but I really liked the title. It still makes me laugh….I wonder if I could get the lyrics from him? Anyways! We stayed for about an hour and a half, which covered the first and part of the 2nd set. Kelly and I were asking him what type of songs they play so he printed us off the set list and I told him I was going to bring it with me and make sure they didn’t mess up. I did bring it, but we really used it more for reference. The most important fact though, was that there was a “costume change” between the two sets. Now, this was not included in the set list, we were taken by surprise!

They have a cute little drummer, and by cute I mean short, kind of mean looking, a picturesque beer belly, and a blue tooth in his ear. Well this stud changed from a black shirt to white. I know crazy rock stars. Well the lead singer (our co-worker) changed from jeans and a dark t-shirt to SHINEY BLACK LEATHER PANTS and a T-shirt that has scrolling letters that said “Welcome to Q.E.D. Have fun” I couldn’t help but to laugh my head off. Really? Black leather shiny pants! When we first saw them I thought they were covered in sequins. I had to get some pictures!

These pictures don't do the pants justice, but you can see the shine! This is "Sally" (we can never remember his real, full name)

I had to take a picture with him and his scrolly shirt. They were taking a short pause and I grabbed him on my way out. Oh, the clothes!!!

At one point they were singing the old American classic “Sing-a-long” “Brown Eyed Girl” and when he was doing the “Sha la la la la la la la la la la te da” part he came over and let me and Kelly sing. Yup, we have now sang with/in a Dutch band. Cross that off my life’s list of things to do! It was a lot of fun but we had a busy day in Amsterdam planned so we had to get home. After a short drive home we were all in bed, ready for our exciting day touring the Anne Frank house and the Heineken Experience. Be ready for that recount. It was a fun time!