So I have been here 11 days and still I am getting to know my way around.
After checking out every means of transport, the cheapest was by Ferry, as it meant, Dad and I could both go together, I could take all my stuff in one go and we'd get there in one piece. Not to mention I am a fashion design student, and by stuff, this includes things like, mannequin, sewing machine, A3 sketchbooks, folders of pattern cutting, so as you can imagine, quite a lot!
We arrived on the 19th of August to pick up my keys from an arranged event organised by the university, as well as setting up a bank account with and registering at the municipality.
As the even was arranged I thought everything would be laid out for us to complete in a simple one visit. How very wrong one could be. I arrive, they scan my passport, I get given a colour. 10 or so minutes later I was called to sign my housing contract and to confirm my payment of my first months rent along with the deposit. Okay.. that bit was simple. I then re-entered the room to set up a bank account and register my housing. ABN-Amro (the bank I wanted to join) was not there. Why? Because you need a BSN number to join this bank. Only ING was there, this made things a little more complicated because they do not provide an english site, and being a non dutch speaker this was pretty much essential fgor me to manage my bank account.
Where do you get the BSN number? I hear you ask..
Well, you will get the BSN number after you have registered for your housing, so I went to register for my housing. Where do you live? They asked me. Diemen. I said. As they house a lot of AMFI students here I thought for my first year I'd live in student accommodation to take the stress out of finding a house to live in in the city centre, where the prices are much higher, and you wouldn't meet so many people.
For those of you that don't know, if you live in Diemen, you have to register at the local Municipality, so I couldnt register at the organised event. Which meant I couldnt get a BSN number, which meant I couldn't create a bank account, and especially not with ING.
So off we go to drop my bags and 'stuff' and my new flat, which I was delightfully surprised at the size of the room and the private bathroom. Shared was not such an issue for me as I'd lived in Nottingham for a year previously and had shared bathroom and kitchen and it wasn't a problem at all.
After dropping off my bags we headed to Diemen to register at the Local Municipality, where we were abruptly stopped in our tracks as because I am an AMFI student. this is not possible, and AMFI had 3 days where I could sign up to register, the 9th, 10th and 12th of September, SEPTEMBER.. I thought that's so far away. So that was that, no registration of housing, no BSN number, no bank account- which also meant, no phone contract. As you can imagine, I was pretty annoyed because my Dad and I had arranged to sort everything in the 3 days he was staying to make it easier for me to settle in.
Anyway, we thought if we went back to where we picked up the keys and set up the bank account at the arranged event, at least that would be one thing sorted! So off we went.. narrowly missing several cyclists on the way, which we found hilarious..by the way. Okay, so we arrived at the event. I signed up for a bank account, ING, despite them not providing any English on the website, they handed my passport back, I signed a few papers and they said "Okay so you'll receive a letter in 2 weeks time with the bank account card, then you can receive your pin at your local branch". Jesus, I thought, the dutch have no sense urgency until it comes to cycling around the city!
Anyway, my account was set up and all I had to do was to wait for this bank card.
Mean while, dad and I took a trip to Ikea to grab some essentials such as, cutlery, pots and pans, toaster, kettle, a plant!- to keep me company (Fernando the fern) and a pillow and duvet. Although the university provided these, they would definitely not see me through the winter. Within the 3 days Dad was with me we had to do a food shop, the closest super market is Albert Heijn, and you will see it is on pretty much every street corner, so I wouldn't worry with finding food. However since living here, I am told it is not very cheap, so for my next food shop I shall have a little look around.
Another essential for Amsterdam was of course to purchase a bike. As we didn't know much about the bikes that are sold here, we checked out several bike shops, and found THE bike, despite the fact, it was back pedal brakes (which I have never used before let alone heard of before!?) and my feet didn't actually touch the ground, of course my Father being the comedian that he is thought it was the perfect bike as so purchased it (with a lock thrown in) before I could even say 'Amsterdam'! Nevertheless, me and my bike are actually getting on just fine, have only had 1 crash and thankfully it was nothing major.
-Tip for newcomers! I am told a good price for a bike with a lock is around 70-80 euros. And if its too cheap to be true, it is most definitely stolen!
Well that was arriving in Amsterdam and I shall soon post another to catch up between then and now!
photo's to follow!
