I Just Think They're Neat

I have a slightly different focus for this week's post, and that is some minor but welcome conveniences I've experienced in the city here. For my personal update, my final midterm takes place tomorrow morning, and I'm looking forward to being free! Of course, given the pace at which our uni blocks progress, I'll have finals again in just a few weeks. I've been bolstering some of my studies with additional material, such as YouTube and other external articles for subjects I struggled with on the midterm(s).

As of today, I finally have a bike that fits me and is ready to go - the delivery service or distributor made a major snafu with my first bike, and the one they delivered was entirely wrong. Very similar to the one I did purchase, though, and so I was convinced I was just inept when it came to adjusting the thing to my size. But...Nope: it was literally eight centimeters longer than the one I ordered, and a wheel-size up as well. Once the exchange actually happened (after an annoying amount of difficulty, i might add), I found the new bike fit me well, and I was immediately successful in adjusting it to my preferences. All of its screws are greased, one bent bolt has been replaced, a new basket secured, and I'm finally mobile on two wheels. Phew!

Aside from that brief update, I do hope you enjoy this silly little list of things I've quite enjoyed since moving here. For any Dutch folks reading along, I hope you find some amusement from this list. A friend and classmate has been quizzing me on "American things," lately, so consider this a list inspired by them.

1. The thing that made me start jotting this stuff down in the first place: these little caps that are connected to the spout of a drink container so they don't screw all the way off and roll off into the nether realm, never to be seen again.

   
   

   

   A mil container with its lid unscrewed and hanging off to one side, still connected to the spout by a small piece of plastic.

   
   

2. The bring-your-own-cup coffee machines scattered across the university grounds. I appreciate how much waste is cut by not providing disposable cups, and it means I actually have the opportunity to use the mug I own and like every day - even the baristas at the uni cafe ask for your cup when you order a coffee there. If you don't have one, you need to buy one.

   
   

   

   A photo of a touch screen coffee machine. Coffee pours from its spout into a travel mug, and above, on the screen, it reads, "your cappuccino is being prepared,"

3. This one is common and obvious, but having VAT included in sales makes budgeting so much easier. I don't plan on returning long-term to the US, but if I were to, I don't know how I'd ever get used to guessing what things cost again.

   
   

   

   A small receipt, showing the total cost of items - 20,65 - and the total paid - also 20,65.

   
   

4. Another common one, but the lack of tipping culture. It makes so much more sense for servers' wages not to be reliant on their customers' goodwill and dubious math skills. When I leave a tip in Amsterdam, it feels like an actual thank-you for good service, rather than insurance the server will have food on their table after work.

5. Next is iDeal as a payment option. I was skeptical at first because of how much was gatekept by having a Dutch bank account, which is a prerequisite to using iDeal. It is incredibly annoying to go through a painstaking task of reading through a site in a foreign language to ensure you've found whatever it is you need (in my case, at the time, books, a travel pass, and a SIM card), only to realize when you go to check out the only option is to pay with iDeal, an impossible task without a bank account. But, now that I am among the Dutch bank-account-holder class, iDeal is so very convenient. It's a third party payment processor that allows payments to be made securely and immediately from your bank account: a bit like PayPal or Venmo except that it comes directly from the bank and to the seller, and doesn't sit in a third party account anywhere. There isn't a separate account or app for iDeal, either: just a direct link to your bank account prompted by their service when you choose to pay by iDeal. I pay my rent with iDeal. I pay my insurance with iDeal. I pay my phone bill with iDeal. And I pay my friends for coffee with iDeal. It is incredibly convenient.

   
   

6. The ease of tap-to-ride transit. Some US major cities are catching up with making transit a breeze, but Amsterdam has it down pat. Checking in and out of the trains, trams, and busses all with the same card; having multiple places on the vehicles to do so, and having an information desk on the trams itself for confused travelers all push this city way beyond anything I've experienced in major US cities. I'm lacking a photo here partially due to forgetfulness and partly due to the fact when I did finally did remember to get a photo, I was positioned so close to the terminal that my digital credit card kept getting activated by it, and checking me in and then out and then in again to the bus I was on. If I remember to snap a photo when it's less crowded and I can be farther away, I will.

   
   

7. Public urinals. Look, I don't use them, but the fact they exist is rad. Very few times have I wandered by a building corner that smells of piss here, and I'm assuming that's largely thanks to urinals being readily available. I did take a photo of these - you may understand why - but they're neat. Smelly, yes, but I'll take that over smelly building corners every day.

   
   

8. Water stations in the city. I have done a ton of walking here - it was my main way of travelling my first several weeks, before I figured out my travel card and without a way to look up transit lines when I wasn't connected to WiFi. I walked an average of 7 miles every day that first week, often with no destination, or with one all the way across the city. That Amsterdam has public drinking water stations, and that those stations can readily be found with Open Street Map meant that I was never thirsty. I really appreciate that both for myself and travelers like me and for the un-housed population. Everyone deserves access to fresh water.

An outdoor, self-standing water dispenser with a spout to place a bottle under. The side reads "Drinkwater"

A screenshot of a map app showing Amsterdam and the surrounding areas. It has been sorted by "drinking water," and there are dozens of water locations across the map.

9. These things. Grocery baskets on wheels. I don't know how to describe these to my American friends, but in between the size of your standard grocery arm basket and a grocery cart, we have mid-sized baskets that can be carried on the arm or by pushing or pulling them along by a long handle. They're so convenient. Why does the US not have these? I've been missing out my entire life.

   
   

   

   As described, a grey shopping basket slightly taller than average American ones, with a long black handle sticking out from the back so that the thing can be wheeled around. It also has regular basket handles.

10. And, last but not least, the superiority of not only bike transit but indeed every kind of transit that isn't cars. The US is fucked when it comes to accessible travel. Cars and car infrastructure is a bane on society and a hindrance to most people. The ease of traversing long distances on foot, by bike, or by sophisticated public transit is unmatched here. I will never be able to return to a culture that requires cars. Having seen and lived the converse, I am spoiled forever.

My precious dear perfect tiny new used bicycle, an omafiets with a basket attached to the front.

And with that, I leave you for this week! Thank you all for reading, and I do hope you find this list a fun break away from my usual journaling. I'm experimenting to see whether I like doing this kind of content, and considering interspersing my usual updates with posts like this one. I initially intended this post to publish between Wednesday updates, but it turns out that during midterms, I should probably limit myself to one blog post at a time. The whole...studying thing is important, after all.

Happy October to everyone out there, and whether you are ushering in autumn or spring, I wish you the best of seasons! I'll see you in the next one!

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