Owner: Worldly Chatter URL:http://www.worldlychatter.com Join Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2007 08:56:41 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: These are the thoughts and expressions in everyday life and travel of an American after trading in her homeland for a new and exciting place in Europe. The differences in culture, politics and global events as construed by the author; bringing the wonder Site statistics:Click here
Wedding bells are getting louder! 2007-08-21 12:27:00 I invited two friends from work to our wedding and they are both coming! A happy camper I am! Dutchie finally met one of them today as we shopped around Hilversum for the afternoon and grabbed lunch together. It was actually a really nice afternoon until the wind picked up. Anyway, our rings are here and we are both looking at them constantly. My dress is officially out for its two-week breathing period before the big day! I haven’t tried it on yet but I have to. When I bought it, I was nearly 65 kilos, now I am 63 kilos so I need to know how that is going to affect how it looks on me. Of course, now that it is out of its bag, I have been staring at it constantly! I will be a married woman in TWO WEEKS! My mind is going all over the place here! Two weeks is closing in fast! So fast!
We have friends and family coming, a small lunch/reception in the afternoon and I simply cannot wait! I just can’t think about anything else, does this happen with all brides as the day gets clo Read more:bells
, louder
How does Wilders do it? 2007-08-20 13:41:57 Wilders makes a lot of noise in the Netherlands and this is of no surprise to me or anyone else for that matter. His talk against the Koran and Islam are well known and he seems to make a point of running his mouth around to stir trouble, especially the latest with his proposal to ban the Koran in Holland. (article) What is surprising is that his party Dutch Freedom Party or Partij voor de Vrijheid, is gaining popularity in the population. At the same time, some of his own party members are trying to distant themselves from their party leader. Liberal VVD MP Halbe Zijlstra thinks that “Wilders has lost his way.” “He claims to stand up for Dutch standards and values, but at the same time he puts one of these values out with the rubbish: the freedom of religion.” Christian democrat CDA MP Madeleine van Toorenburg also said Wilders’ disregard for this freedom was remarkable. At the same time the Foreign Minister is also making it known she isn’t with Wi
A new notebook! 2007-08-23 16:20:03 Dutchie is so good to me! I have wanted a new laptop for some time now but had not the means to get one. Now I am working happily I thought I could finally afford it. There was just one catch; I needed Dutchie for the financing! When living abroad, one must remember there are laws to abide by when purchasing and financing. Because I am not a Dutch National or even a permanent resident yet I was unable to secure a financial plan for the cost. I am too much of a risk and they will not take the chance of me taking off without paying. Understandably so but a hassle. Dutchie went to wehkamp.nl and found the very notebook I wanted! With her good name and credit we were able to get the notebook of my choice and pay for it with my pay. This why I have been so silent the past few days. Setting up a new computer can be time consuming and I appologize for the lack of writing to my readers. I promise I will get back on track!
Nuptuals 2007-08-28 14:22:12 We heard from our Justice Lady and she sent over the speech that she will saying on Monday! It’s the part that must be done in Dutch and I just had to share them! You know when they ask you if you take this person for better or worse, richer or poorer and promise to take care and all that. Well this is the Dutch equivalent to that.
Dutchie, verklaar jij Samantha aan te nemen als je wettige echtgenote en getrouw alle plichten te zullen vervullen die de wet aan de huwelijkse staat verbindt? Wat is daarop jouw antwoord?
Samantha, verklaar jij Dutchie aan te nemen als wettige echtgenote en getrouw alle plichten te zullen vervullen die de wet aan de huwelijkse staat verbindt? Wat is daarop jouw antwoord?
Dan verklaar ik, als buitengewoon ambtenaar van de burgerlijke stand, dat jullie vanaf nu door het huwelijk aan elkaar bent verbonden!
I am aware that many cannot actually read this it is similar to that of which you hear in an American ceremony. It’s lovely! Dutchie read them t
Justice of the Peace 2007-08-27 14:47:53 I apologize greatly for being a slacking writer! In my defense there are valid reasons here. A wedding and family coming over from America kind of preoccupy the mind and day. Nevertheless, I should be more diligent in my work.
Now for the good stuff.
This evening the Justice
of the Peace
who will be marrying us came over to our home. We went over every detail of what we wanted and she got to know a little about who she is marrying. She was a very nice woman who had coffee with us as we told her about us and she asked question after question. Our wedding will be bi-lingual but part of it has o be done in Dutch. According to Dutch law the part where she says ‘do you take… ‘ and we say ‘ja’ must be in Dutch. That’s fine with me of course; our vows will be in English though. We discussed when we would say our vows, having my father and her son walking us down the aisle and which music would be playing, all that sort of thing. I was a little nervous actu
Announcement! Attention, Announcement! 2007-08-30 13:52:40 Dear readers, as you know, I am getting married on Monday! Tomorrow morning my brother is landing in Europe for the first time! Saturday my father lands! Duthie, I and the family will be traveling all over the Netherlands this week and from the 9th to the 11th we will be in Limburg for our Honeymoon! So I announce that it is vacation time for this traveling lady! I promise to update as soon as I get back! I may bring my notebook with me but I don’t know yet. Please be patient and I will be back in a week!
Have a happy!
Read more:Announcement
Tourists and their reactions to Holland 2007-09-26 15:53:35 When I go out into the world I live in, I often ponder, do I stand out still or do I blend? Have I gotten down the Dutch ways enough? Well, while my family was here, I actually got to watch them and see how they mingle or struggle within this overwhelmingly different society and I actually saw how much I have adapted, accepted and blended within Holland
. I actually sat back a time or two and watched how the four of them got on here and the variations were astonishing to me even though they are all New Yorkers and family. I had assumed that the reactions and handling of their new surroundings would be at least a tad similar. I was so wrong, at least with one New Yorker. I imagine I will ruffle a few feathers but what can I do about it, I write it as I see it right? Anyway, it is rather important to me to write about some observations on my step mother; not to have her stand out and point fingers at her, rather it is to make a point that I will get to.
Now, I have no problems doing touri
IKEA shopping and a two hour journey home! 2007-09-24 13:48:56 Shopping at IKEA can be a lot of fun! I have always enjoyed walking the store and imagining my perfect living room or bedroom set while picking up all sorts of accessories for my current furniture setting. This time it was different! For a wedding gift my father gave us some money to do with as we saw fit. To Ikea we went to finally do something about our living room! No more dreaming honey, this was t he real deal! After two trips we had accessories and two pieces of furniture; a stand with five drawers for our microwave and a laptop desk for my notebook. The third and final trip was by far the most expensive and fun! We picked out a TV stand, two bookcases and you guessed it, more accessories! You cannot have five new pieces of furniture without the proper homey touches!
So there we were, we picked it all out, paid for it and were loading it into the car when it occurred to Dutchie that her gut feeling was right in the store, this wasn’t going to fit in our little Mazda! It was
Heineken Experience! 2007-09-23 10:48:04
Want to do something fun and a little off beat in Amsterdam, maybe even get a little tipsy with some beer in the middle of the afternoon? Try going to the Heineken
Experience! Dutchie and I went with my brother and his girl to the Heineken Museum at around one in the afternoon. My brother, being a fan of beer, tried some of our beer here in Holland and enjoyed them thoroughly and finally understood what I was telling him about Heineken tasting different in the Netherlands verses America. So, with this new found passion for Heineken on his taste buds we set out to find out all about Heineken on one of his days in Amsterdam.
For €11 you get admittance into the museum with four tokens; one token for a gift when you leave and the other three are for beers at their bars along the way! When you get in, you start off with a history of Heineken with interviews from Mr. Heineken himself as well as a picture tour, first billboards and commercials.
Let me take you back to 1863, Amsterdam, with
World War 2 all over Holland 2007-09-19 16:07:55
I think my father had a field day while he was here in Holland
. My father, being a World
War II buff, HAD to see Arnhem while he was here. A bridge too far, I hope it rings a bell to people here. Operation Market Garden wasn’t a bright spot during the war and people have been studying the operation, writing about it and of course, making movies on it. Now I have been getting into the war, history wise, but it is slow and I am by no means an expert on it. My appreciation for history in the past hasn’t involved the war; rather it was more ancient histories and religious history. So this is new and fascinating territory for me and when my dad came we went traveling and I got to learn a great deal about the war from him and the scenes right in front of our faces!
We traveled to Arnhem on a Sunday by train and got there just as the town was waking up around noon. After a little confusion, I purchased some maps and we were off to find the John Frost Bridge! If ever you are in t Read more:World War
All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth! 2007-09-18 15:32:57 All these things just keep happening that deter me from my intentions of writing! My latest battle to conquer was my teeth
. I wish I was kidding you when I say this but I had to spend over an hour yesterday in the dentist’s chair! Here is the story. Just under three years ago I had a bit of an accident with a ring and my teeth. I had a thumb ring, one of those bug bulky ones and tripped over a cat and my two front teeth hit the ring. Both of them cracked and chipped. Since that moment more of my two teeth have chipped off and parts of it blacked and all that nastiness. I was living in NY at the time of this little trip up and I was not insured in any way shape or form so I didn’t get it fixed. When I did this I called a dentist and I was informed I would be paying, roughly, $800 with half up front and the other half when the work was complete. Seriously here, am I the kind of girl who has nearly a grand lying around for such an occasion? No, so what happened? Nothing, zip, Read more:Christmas
The Amsterdam Dungeon! 2007-09-16 09:21:54 If you ever get the chance to go to Holland, there are hundreds of things to do here! This past week, I have learned there is so much I haven’t seen until this past week and there are tons of activities and sites I still need to see here! I have so much to share about this vacation but I am going to stick to one right now. It was actually the AmsterdamDungeon
and it was an amazing place! It is a tourist attraction on Rokin, between the Dam Square and Rembrandtplein for those who understand the Amsterdam layout. It looked rather creepy when Dutchie, I, my brother and his girl decided to go. Of course if you are in Amsterdam, go to the exchange offices and tourist booths, my brother and sis-in-law found a great deal where we would go to the Amsterdam Dungeon and Madam Tussauds for €25 instead of €36, so definitely keep an eye out, tourist places usually have stuff and if they don’t have anything appealing go to the exchange places. Aside from exchanging dollars into Euro
The Wedding! 2007-09-13 15:26:50
I finally received some pictures of the wedding while we wait for the photographer to finish with the professional pictures. So since I have something to show you, I want to write about our big day and finally becoming a Mrs.!
It started a little after ten in the morning, a little late because we were waiting for some guests and taking pictures outside the town hall. It was a beautiful blue sky and everything finally fell into place except for me. I was a mess! I wanted to cry all morning, ok, actually I cried between 9 and 9:30 and tried to compose myself when my family, Duchies’ sister, the photographer and car showed up at 9:15-9:30. We drive to town hall in a blue Volkswagen Beetle, top down and the ride I am still trying to remember, I was so emotional! I was about to be married, I was beside myself with joy and excitement!
Our registrar, ambtenaar in Dutch, was wonderful from the beginning. She spoke to everyone in the room about how we met, she mentioned Duchies’
View of the Mountain in Limburg 2007-09-11 14:12:52 Dutchie went through www.weekendcompany.nl to find something for us after our family left for NY. Weekend Company is a Dutch vacation site that gives you fabulous deals on weekend get-a-ways in Holland and the surrounding countries. We have used them before and have enjoyed the service and the place we stayed at immensely! This time we both have been completely blown away! Hotel Restaurant Vue Des Montagnes is located in Limburg, in a town called Berg en Terblijt, it is right in the middle of Valkenburg and Maastricht. We booked ‘Love is in the air’ accommodations for our weekend honeymoon which is as follows; two nights with the first night a four course, buffet, candle light dinner, breakfast in bed the following morning and the last morning has a breakfast buffet. With all this it was less than two hundred euro.
However calling it a hotel seems to cheapen the experience you have here. The staff here has been a pleasure from the moment we checked into our room. The room w Read more:Mountain
My wedding, my vacation and a plan to get it all out there! 2007-09-08 11:16:28 There is so much to write about on my wonderful week with my family here in the Netherlands! Naturally there is our wonderful wedding
that took place on Monday but there is also the two days prior and the week that followed and all the sites we saw in Holland. There are experiences and observations that must be mentioned and finally the feeling of it all. I will be in Limburg from Sunday to Tuesday and finally life will go back to some form of normalcy on Wednesday. My family flew home this morning and I await knowledge that they have landed safely back in America and I while I wait I wanted to write of my plan for this page for the next week or so. Something to look forward to you could say.
I want to tell you of my family and how the four of them saw this open and somewhat laid back nation. Their stories they take back to New York will all be different as well as what they wanted here. It was an interesting experience for me to see how they interacted with this place, its people and
New Residence permit is in! 2007-10-02 08:49:21 Well, a few months back we filled out all the proper paper work for yet another permit
for me to say in the Netherlands. We waited and waited but heard nothing about it. A little nerve racking I assure you! All we had to do was show the IND that nothing had changed; Dutchie still had her job and was making the proper about of money. We also had to show that I was in fact insured as well as all the housing and other paper work we needed the first time around. A bit had changed since last we sent stuff over to the IND but pleasantly in our favor. Not only did Dutchie have the same job but now she made more than was required. I had more insurance than I knew what to do with as well as being employed. The government loves seeing immigrants working once they arrive so my contract with the agency was sent over too.
All was in order so we sent it over via the town hall here in Hilversum and waited until the IND received it and billed us for it. We paid them gleefully and waited for my one pie Read more:Residence
The differences between 2007-09-30 05:36:28 I am sure you know dear readers that I am gay and there are people all around who aren’t happy with this. It really doesn’t matter where you are either; it can be in America or in Europe. Living in the Netherlands, where it is legal to marry and we are treated equally, it can be a true heartache to be gay with some people. I have had conversations where I was told I was blessed to living where I am and living under the laws I do. I know that full well; I am so fortunate to be where I am and who I am with. I have opportunities that many don’t have and I wish I could give it to everyone. Just to give them some of what I have would be a joy unto itself but I cannot as much as I would like. There are some who say I do not struggle any longer with some of the things I struggled with back home, discrimination and hatred for who I am. I wish that were so, boy do I!
I have felt the sting of rejection because of something I cannot change, I have been bashed and spat upon and h Read more:differences
Cultural identity under attack 2007-10-13 12:32:46
What is a cultural identity
and do we all have one? Well, there are many Dutchie’s who believe they do and are furious with their Argentinean Princess for making the statement that the Dutch don’t have an identity. It has been news around here, so much so that our prime minister Balkenende tried to smooth things over with the public saying that things didn’t go down well with some people, especially those who are opposed to multiculturalism. I found a blogger who tacked this on www.expatica.com and I found what she said very interesting. Blog writer Michaela is the nomadic type who has an interesting perspective on cultures. When you aren’t partial or attached to any one place you can see outside the box better than those inside. After I read it I shared it with Dutchie and we chatted about what Princess Maxima had to say and why Dutchie’s all over are furious. To say the least, Dutchie had a thing or two to say on the matter and got a tad defensive over Read more:Cultural
, attack
This wanna be Dutchie is disappointed 2007-10-09 14:27:11
Well there will be no battle of the teams in this Dutch household. The Yankees lost in their fourth game, 6-4. The Indians take on the Red Sox on Friday in Boston. I am happy for Dutchie, her team makes the next step to the World Series but my goodness was I disappointed
! I mean, you have to know they tried when it came to the bat but pitching left much to be desired! Wang started the game and let four runs in after only an inning and a half. What a way to start the game! I really don’t know what Torre was thinking when he put him in as starter when he did crap the first game against the Indians.
And as if the ball club didn’t have enough to deal with as far as the sharp sting of losing, George Steinbrenner isn’t sure he is keeping Torre! He gave him a message, win this or else. The Boss has spoken. On top of that A-Rod might not wear the stripes after this! A handful of ball clubs are willing to pay him up to thirty million a season to have him. His record is amazin Read more:wanna
President Bush and the Children of America 2007-10-07 09:44:54 ”In a new term, we will lead an aggressive effort to enroll millions of children who are eligible but not signed up for government health insurance programs. We will not allow, he said, a lack of attention, or information, to stand between these children and the health care they need.” Fox News
How quickly we forget our promises Mr. President
!
I doubt I am not the only one infuriated with President Bush
and his veto on the State Children
’s Health Insurance Program’s expansion of funds the other day. Outraged and boiling mad when I think about that man and his inability to take care of the nation’s people and their problems. I simply cannot believe he can be so heartless! I could go on about the man and what I think of his policies in Iraq but for right now this veto has given me plenty of fuel to go on a rant ten pages long but I promise it won’t be that long.
SCHIP, as it is known, provides health coverage for roughly 6 million of America
’
Baseball fans in Holland 2007-10-06 13:43:07
Oh, to be in Holland
during the playoffs is madness! We are six hours ahead of the US so if there is a 8pm game in Boston, we aren’t watching it live! 2am for a game is too much; reality does kick in bright an early the next day so there is a disadvantage here. I am a Yankee fan and sadly, Dutchie is a Boston Red Sox fan, especially a Coco Crisp fan, so we both find this frustrating but Dutchie did something wonderful this season! On www.mlb.com for a reasonable price, $14.95, we were able to listen to regular season games, live and archived. Now granted you can’t see the action but at least you weren’t behind or depending solely on news. It worked especially well for Dutchie, who could listen to it first thing in the morning while working. We faithfully paid attention to the battle for first, which Yankees lost, and as the season came to a close we pondered what to do for the post season. We could purchase the radio broadcasts again, purchase the television broadcas
I hate being sick 2007-10-04 12:41:25
Ik ben ziek en ik ben moe! Echt ziek! I have the flu! All the achiness and tiredness, plus I go from hot to cold and things taste weird! I stayed home from work on Tuesday and tried to go back yesterday but I only lasted three hours. Now I sort mail into its post codes and after I sort it further into street and house number for delivery. It isn’t hard to do brain power wise but it does take a bit of body work because we all know paper, when in bulk, can be really heavy. After the original sorting into post code, we take the boxes to our little desk and sort it all. Can I tell you how heavy it all felt! Normally I don’t have any trouble but yesterday it hurt so bad to do it. I started to do it and got four or five streets in when I just couldn’t take it any longer and told work I was going home, I shouldn’t have come in after all.
I ride my bike to work every day and it takes ten minutes, twelve tops, but yesterday I actually had to stop to catch my breath and
Lets talk food! 2007-10-03 15:01:24 Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or IBS, is a nasty thing where certain things you eat affect how your large intestines function and how you ultimately go or do not go to the bathroom. There are a few or many things that trigger it depending on the person and further still, there are several symptoms, also depending on the person. It sounds like a more generalized disease where they slap all these symptoms and conditions into one category because it simply doesn’t fit anywhere else but that’s just my opinion but anyway. After months of Dutchie being sick, in and out of the doctor’s office and more tests than one should have to go through there was an intern who thinks she nailed it with IBS. Now, I am not a big fan of the Dutch medical system and this didn’t help causes any so I suppose I shouldn’t have been shocked when the intern was the one who finally came up with something constructive and useful to aiding Dutchie when two doctors danced around with test aft
Did she get it? Did she! 2007-10-16 15:08:42 Well, I bet you’re curious, did she get the job; does she have a place with Subway? Well after much stressing and waiting for the phone to ring for my second interview and even having lunch there, I got the call at two and was asked to come in! Instantly I had butterflies in my stomach! Was I going to get it after all? Despite the lack of Dutch and my damning age of 27, did I sell myself enough? I did, I did! I landed the job!
I went in there to have my second interview with someone else, the owner of the franchise! Nothing like having sweaty palms; I was as nervous as a person could be! He gave me a brief recap of what he had learned about me through Sander, manager and first interviewer, and asked me to tell him about Samantha, who was she? I did the best I could. I poured it on the table as smoothly as I could, gave him the best impression of myself and my abilities despite my chronic shyness trying to clam me up. He liked my answers and honesty. He appreciated my knowledge of
Age matters in this country 2007-10-15 15:23:15
I went on an interview today for a position at Subway here in Hilversum. It has only been open three days but it’s the latest buzz amongst us expats! A little piece of home and they were looking for help so why not apply! I sent them my CV via email, which was in Dutch, and the email was in English. Apparently this was good enough to score an interview today after work. I know, I have a job but it is with a uitzendbureau (temp agency) and my work at Selekt mail is by no means permanent. At any time you can get the call that says you aren’t needed tomorrow or ever. I got that call today; I wasn’t needed tomorrow but will probably be needed on Wednesday. I was on my way home when I got the call, I haven’t gotten the call before and I hate it hence the interview today. I need something a bit more stable here.
The interview was going good. My Dutch is a little lacking but he liked my experience and enthusiasm. We discussed particulars and it seemed I answered it Read more:matters
Cultural Identity, who can judge? 2007-10-14 13:52:37 Part one of this found here.
I wrote about Princess Maxima and her comment about the Dutch people not having an identity the other day. I wrote about how the Dutch people feel she isn’t Dutch enough to understand the populous, either individually or as a whole. Because she is from Argentina and only a Dutch national for 6 years they feel she doesn’t get them. They have an identity, individualistic and collectively.
So I tossed Dutchie a thought. When I was still living in America, Dutchie and I got into some heated debates about America and the American population. She gave me her opinion on the government and the people as she saw them there in the US and abroad. I saw the country and its people one way ad she saw some completely different things. How can this be? She saw American news as bias and misguided. I knew that the news on particular channels was favored one way or the other but what do you mean misguided? According to her, we didn’t everything she did. Pre Read more:Cultural
Finding the balance 2007-10-22 05:27:25
Can I tell you how crazy my life has felt this past week! I feel as though I barely have time to get my head on straight! In three days I have worked 32 hours, practicing my Dutch with the books and CD programs we purchased and doing the everyday stuff. I have barely had time to write and I feel bad about that but I have to get used to the new schedule I am on now. It was simple before, I worked 8-4:30 so I had my nights. Now I don’t from week to week whether I will have my nights or mornings! Though this isn’t complaining, just an explanation. I am by no means unhappy by changing jobs! I love the busy feeling, the feeling that I am finally working and earning my keep! Working with mail can be very repetitive; you sit all day and only make a little for it. I am so glad I had it and that I was able to finally work but I am also glad I found something better for me!
I am just desperate to find that balance. There has to be a balance somewhere when it comes to work, writing,
First contract in Holland 2007-10-19 10:59:08
Oh the stresses of contract
s to work! I had questions about it and I didn’t want to sound pushy, demanding and overall greedy but I didn’t understand where my vacation days went and I couldn’t understand this on call stuff when I was a full time worker. So in I went and got it straightened out then signed my life into Subway’s hands for at least six months. I have so far worked 23.45 hours in two days. Can you believe that! I was lucky to get the thirty I had last week from Selekt Mail! I work again tomorrow from 11-close. We close at 7 but need to have it all cleaned and prepped for the next day so it might be 8 or 9 until I get out. It’s called money honey! And at €10.45 an hour it is definitely called money honey! You try doing that in America with a fast food chain! I am beaming and I don’t care that they are running me into the ground in my first week, I am busy and getting paid so who am I to complain.
Besides, this is actually helping me wi Read more:First
, Holland
Ik wil mijn fiets terug! 2007-10-26 05:43:38
Oh bloody hell! What a way to start your day! All was well, had a good morning with Dutchie, we were in pleasant moods. We had some errands to do so we got ready and walked out the front door. First thing you see is out small purple car and then you see the bike rack with the bikes. I stopped dead in my tracks and asked the question I never wanted to ask! WHERE IS MY BIKE!? It was sitting on the bike rack with the other two last night when I came home from work! It is where I left it, where I always leave it! No, no bright yellow bike with the neat little saddle bags I got for my birthday. The whole thing is gone! My bike was stolen!
When we got the bike Dutchie insisted I have two locks; one that locks the wheel in place so you can’t ride off with it and another so you can lock the bike around a poll, tree or bike rack. Well, the one I had to wrap around stuff wasn’t working right. The key whole would either not give me my key back or not let me put the key in at all so I
Les 1 2007-10-29 14:28:15
I am sending in my first homework assignment tomorrow morning and I am so excited! I had to do Les 1, lesson 1, and record the answers on a cassette tape then mail it to my teacher. This studying from home is going to work out so well with my hours! I have to tell you though, it was hard! There was this one part where I had to listen to the words and distinguish between the /a/ sound and the /aa/ sound. Dag, naam, that sort of thing and it can be so hard! When I saw it, I did fine but I got a lot wrong when it came to listening. It’s a difference between a short a and a long a. I really thought I had some right when clearly I had no idea what I was hearing! I really need to practice that over again tomorrow!
I really like this! God I hope this helps me! So long as I do it every day and do my homework I should be alright. Right? Must think positive! It is what I tell Dutchie all the time. So I shall practice with you, my readers!
Ik heet Samantha
Ik ben Samantha
Mijn naam is Sama
Recommend Site To A Friend
