In the beginning of November Robin asked me if I'd somehow be interested in renting a place in Amsterdam. I had been thinking of moving to Amsterdam after Trento, but I considered his question a bit preposterous. Fortunately he rented the place himself and now we're room mates! During my years abroad I sometimes considered Amsterdam the only place left to live in the Netherlands. Going around here on foot and by bike I learn to appreciate my own country again. The bikes are amazing, transport is so efficient (if you don't go by car). There is so much freedom and still, it's not a mess.
Friday I went to a hospitality exchange meeting, which I found kinda weird. People were sitting in their own corner and I hadn't seen anybody hug. So I started moving around, to talk to more people, ask them silly questions ("Do you like monkeys?") and even hug them. It was slightly better that way.
Working for Hyves is exciting. The number of website hits is growing weekly and only Google is rating higher in the Netherlands. The complexity of the material is challenging and I'm part of a small team of very bright people. The office culture is more open, dynamic and agile than at IRST in Trento and my number of friends at hyves.nl doubled in no time.