Jaarwisseling; Greece for Christmas; brain gender

Well,

Here, below sea-level, this evening (New Year's) is called two things: old year (oude jaar) and jaarwisseling (year-change). The few colleagues also stuck working today (we had a half-day off) wished each other a fine "jaarwisseling". The Dutch call tonight "old year" and tomorrow "new year" or "old" and "new".

A few things occur:

1. ALL public transportation stops at 8pm, supposedly in order to give everyone the chance to celebrate. When I arrived last year in Schiphol/national airport at 8:30 from Barcelona, to find NO trains, buses or anything other than taxis, I complained bitterly to the airport police who heartily agreed with me, that it was really stupid (having the airport open but no trains or buses available.) I got stuck with a EUR70 taxi, for a ride that on the train normally would cost no more than EUR5. I was so furious that I think the driver wouldn't have dared charge me more than what we agreed on, much less a tip. He drove at an incredible speed the whole distance. This year, I noticed that they announced regularly on the railroad loud speakers that all transport would cease at 8pm, but for tourists entering Schiphol, or expats who had no idea, it's nuts.

2. There apparently is no thought given to people who will be driving under the influence. I asked around about this, and most people said that the Dutch celebrate New Year's/Old Year either at home with friends or at a neighborhood bar/restaurant, so don't drive when drunk. This is a stretch for me to believe, but I have no data.

3. In Leiden, it's permitted to shoot off fireworks from 10:00 (that's morning). The huge display (the professionals) is from 11pm to midnight. Leiden is woven through and encircled by canals. Given that any sound echoes off the water and stone, and one has no idea where the noise is (unless it's *very* close by), the noise is intense. From 11 to midnight, one would swear that it was a war zone. I'll have an early dinner with a friend and then bike home, dodging the bombs in bitterly cold weather (our high today was 25/-1).

I flew to Athens on the 20th to spend Christmas with Dr. Betts, the friend who retired from living in Lebanon this year. We had a very lazy and soothing week, with lots of sleep, great food, another intense exposure to Greek and meeting his friends. On my last day, I decided to revisit the Acropolis (Acro-high + poli-city). Municipal signage is not Athens's strong suit, suffice it to say. For it being the country's most famous site, there are precious few signs and those seem to be for drivers, not walkers. I missed the key street and ended up walking probably 3 miles, around an enormous park to the south of the entrance. By the time I found the entrance, I was knackered, but also determined to see it, so trudged, high stone step by step, all the way up to the top. It was drizzling and chill and the 27th of December, so it wasn't crowded. Since I first saw it (about 1996), they've decided that a pile of rubble with a few pillars is not really what tourists want to see, so have embarked on an enormous renovation of the entire site, with lots of photo documentation. It's still largely a mess, but there's a lot more to see and imagine than on my first visit. The Dionysian theatre, an enormous, very steep amphitheatre, is very beautiful and very impressive.

What I hadn't known, until reading a "Wikipedia" article on both the history of Greece and also about Greek, is that Athens was bashed to bits constantly throughout history (not to mention the earthquakes) and taken over by all the various forces doing this. Given its history, it's remarkable that there's anything at ALL to see in Athens, and there isn't much! I saw Hadrian's arch, one of the Roman contributions. But given its age, it is terribly disappointing how little from antiquity remains. There surely is a lot underground, but the city's apparently not willing to dig up constantly, which is a shame. It's a big, sprawling, mostly (to my eyes) ugly city. Dr. Betts has an apartment in a nice area, and only two Metro stops from the Parliament area, the now-infamous "Syntagma" Square of the recent student riots. The Metro is new from the 2004 Olympics and one rides anywhere for EUR.60 or only EUR 6 all the way to the airport. One notices immediately that the air is clean, which it definitely was NOT on my first visit. The Metro, trams and less traffic have made a big difference.

And everyone smokes! Not just a cigarette here and there, but chain smoking. This is the one thing that would give me real pause about living there (and the summer heat, and the corrupt government). I'd enjoy the challenge of learning Greek, but couldn't face a whole country of chain smokers. Oh, well.

Last but not least, maybe the process of working in a huge HR group (probably 60 people) is illustrating to me why women so predominate in HR. In my humble opinion it's because women are so involved in process, rather than results. HR at ING Bank is about many things ("succession" planning, "talent" management, promoting a culture of mental fitness and other things). It's the first time in my life that I've been surrounded by female colleagues, and I'm still not adjusted to it. I'm very results-oriented and this regularly causes me grief. I 'cut to the chase' and this is usually not appreciated. I take initiatives, and my immediate manager doesn't approve of this. My British colleague also does this, and the two of us grit our teeth. The Dutch are brought up and educated to work in teams and committees (they have a coalition government, of 20 political parties). I certainly wasn't shaped to this sort of work and just don't like it. It takes SO much time. When I understand my task, I just DO it. Oh, well. Cultural differences.

This post is in a green font due to thinking about money, but I realise that my Euros are not green. Nevertheless, I wish us all more (or at least, not less) of whatever currency we have, the health to enjoy it and peace of mind.

Happy New Year,
Pamela