First Day of School

Today I went to work for the first time in what seems like a week, but was actually only two days.  As a child who experienced going to a new school 6 times before the age of 16, I know a thing or two about the feeling of going to a new place for the first time.  Not a fan.  Today was just like that.

I was picked up by a taxi (school bus for adults) at 8am.  I arrived at the office and was promptly given an ID card (school ID).  I met with my new contact (teacher) and went and sat at my new desk (also new desk).  I was introduced to my new coworkers (school children) and had super awkward conversations.  Then lunch came.

The Dutch office is, in every way, a high school cafeteria. The campus is made up of 13 different buildings.  Each building has a set 45 minute time that they are allowed to eat so they don't jam up the cafeteria.  Our building ate at 12:15pm.  In the cafeteria, you grab a tray, put assortments of pudding, sandwiches, salads, soups, and fruit on your plate.  You stand in line and then swipe your ID card with a cashier to deduct money from your account.  The cashier then says some Dutch gibberish followed by "ice cream".  I'm no dummy, I know what ice cream is.  Before I can answer, there is a Popsicle on my plate.  I consider arguing with the lady about what ice cream is but give up.  The cafeteria is broken out into cliques and I'm forced to sit with my new "boss" in the Netherlands.  The cool kids are obviously sitting in the corner because they are making the most noise.  I'm at the dork table and find myself having a conversation about how the imperial system is inferior to the metric system.

The rest of the day is reading through specifications and thumbing through drawings of airports in places I never have been, and will likely not go ever.  I'm exhausted at the end of the day.  The feeling is the same as grade school.  It wasn't great.  It wasn't bad. If mom asked me how my day went, I'd say "good" and leave it at that.