Sometimes I get the sense that I may actually be working in Eppcott Center. It’s nearly four o’clock and I just walked through the thick haze of smoke and laughing French accountants lounging by the coffee machine in sophisticated casual wear and designer shoes smoking unfiltered cigarettes. Walking back I hold my breath through the six strides it takes to get across the “coffee” corner and I find myself again surrounded by the harsh calculated movements of Germans in their three piece suits barking orders to underlings back in Bonn. Perhaps of course this is a bit unfair given my lack of understanding of the German language, since to my untrained ear all the conversations seem unpleasant in nature, while in fact they may be speaking only of the weather in Munich. As I sit back down at my desk I overhear two Englishman proselytizing on the many deficiencies of “the continent” including pushy customs officials and a lazy workforce. Only to myself do I comment that to Americans they are all Europeans. At this point in the day a allow the undercurrent of softly spoken Dutch to wash over me lost to understand more than a few of the anglicized words like “workflow” and “implementation.”
Lunch was a different story however, as I sat at a table in sea of accented English. Seven non-native speakers searched for commonalities and conversation in the only language they hold in common, English. With eight nationalities represented it was as diverse as the UN: Italian, Turkish, Singaporean, Finnish, Belgian, Dutch, Brazilian, and of course, myself your friendly local American. On the downside, while working at Eppcott would mean getting to enjoy Memorial Day and the 4th of July I’m left with the stingiest of holiday allocation combined with a timing of this internship leaving no remaining European bank holidays to enjoy during my three months here. It seems for the Dutch everything historically exciting took place in late April and early May just before I began.
European Sophistication?
I love the bicycles of Holland, unlike the desperation and poverty of the third world, the Dutch and their bicycles seem classic and joyful. In places like India or Africa , bikes are ridden by people in ragged clothes with a day's supply of wares strapped to their backs while here bikes are ridden by ladies in skirts , sitting up properly-their shoulders back , dressed in fashionable clothes alongside men in suits and leather shoes. Women with a baby strapped on the front and a toddler behind. In the developing world bikes seem to illustrate the determination and desperation of humanity to scratch their way out of poverty , here it is a sophisticated choice, an opportunity to bask in the sun and enjoy a beautiful day .
And yet this seeming sophistication lies in stark contrast to a local grocer's endless promotion of Hamstre Wekend ... who in the marketing department elected a rodent to represent their store? And as if just the name and the endless commericials featuring your favorite rodents weren't enough. They greet you at the door of everystore? Waving happily and pointing you inside. I may just be taking the imagery too far but I couldn't help trying to visualize a NYC grocer nomintating a Rat as the store mascot and forcing some unsuspecting 16 year-old summer temp to wear the suit, wave, and hand out coupons for cheese outside your average Manhatten Fresh Grocer.
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