First post from the Netherlands

 
Susan and I have actually been here three days already, but this is my first access to an Internet connection that didn’t cost more than I was willing to pay.

We arrived Saturday morning, after staying the night in New Jersey and then taking the shuttle to JFK. Our six-hour flight was on British Airways’ new Open Skies line, and it was the most luxury — in the air — that either of us had ever experienced. Caught the hotel shuttle to one of the Ibis hotels, on the outskirts of Amsterdam, and stayed there two days, during most of which we simply slept. This morning we checked out of the Ibis, shuttled back to the airport, and picked up a taxi shuttle there (€27) that brought us to the Tulip Inn, where Susan already had reservations for the week of the conference.

I thought I was probably being a bit paranoid when I parceled out almost a full case of MREs between Susan’s main suitcase and mine. Not so, apparently. The automatic deposit she received the day of our departure wound up being some $600 less than she had expected, and the exchange rate when we traded currencies was about €67 for every $100. The hotel rates for the first week used up over half the cash we had brought; once we get out of Amsterdam, after the nursing conference which was our principal reason for this trip, we should be able to find better rates, but that still won’t leave much extra. As a result, Susan is eating very lightly, and I’m eating nothing but MREs, and in fact stretched two of them out over the first three days. (Breakfast wasn’t included at our first hotel, but will be here at the Tulip. That will help, as will any refreshments provided by the conference. Let me tell you, it is uncomfortable to be in a foreign country, even a friendly one, with money resources that may or may not quite stretch all the way.)

Some exploring in the city tomorrow. The conference itself starts the day after. If I can locate an ATM — surely they’re here, just a matter of finding one — I can pull maybe another $400 that I had left in our checking accounts as a cushion.

For me, being here is an adventure all by itself. Susan tends to expect too much of herself, however, and I worry that she’ll feel like a failure if we aren’t able to do all the things she had planned.