Hi, it makes me very happy that you’re here! This week my holiday has officially started and it feels good. I contributed to crowdfunding for the first time, bought something secondhand on Marktplaats (an online platform to sell and buy secondhand stuff) and I am on my way to Paris! Want to read along?
Thursday
Today I worked from 10 AM till 5 PM. Amazing working hours. Sleeping enough and being home by dinnertime. During my break I ate some carrots, these were locally produced. I am really struggling with eating local but I still try. Once home I put on lip balm since my lips were very dry. I have a few plastic lip balm sticks left and two tins of Vaseline. Vaseline is a byproduct of the gas industry and so I don’t really consider it sustainable. When I finish all products I have I will make some myself. But when I tried to use the one I had today my skin really started to burn. It makes me wonder what’s in. It didn’t have that effect on mom and so now it’s hers. I also found out something cool today. I was looking for vegan mayonnaise and thought the brand I found so far was quite expensive. But I found out that Remia has a product, Mayolijn, which is vegan and only costs 1,19 euros. Vegan alternatives don’t have to be expensive.
Friday
Today I could sleep long again, hmmm. I worked from 4PM till 8PM. I was a bit bummed, because at 5 PM a project from ZonnepanelenDelen came online. It’s a crowdfunding initiative for solar panels. I wanted to invest because I want to contribute to the energy transition. You can start investing at 25 euros! Today I also decided to start investing into the stock-market, in ETF’s. I have to do some more research but I am excited! Time to let my money work for me instead of me working for it.
Saturday
Sorry, the Saturdays are always the same. I worked from 7AM till 5PM, surprise! But afterwards I had a dinner with my family at Sensazia in Enschede. It was quite good, they even had vegan sushi! But I wouldn’t recommend the restaurant for vegans since the vegan options are limited. I am not even sure if my dishes were baked in oil or in butter, I had no insight in it. I’ll ask them if I visit again.
Sunday
It feels like I woke up a million times the past night to pee. A while ago I read the book Hoe wordt je 100? and there it says that if this happens this means that the restaurant you visited uses a lot of salt and it’s not a good restaurant to visit. Good to know. Today I was referee for a handball game and then I played a game myself. We made some team-photos today. Below you can see the result (number 11 is me)! After that I studied some more for school at home, tomorrow is my first and last exam.
Monday
I don’t know if this is a good or a bad sign, but the exam was not that hard. But maybe I shouldn’t say it yet since I have to wait for the grade still. The rest of the day I worked on two reports for which the deadline is Wednesday. I finished them today and so I am FREE! Two weeks of holidays! I also discovered a Dutch sanctuary for cows today, Koeienrusthuis de Leemweg. An amazing initiative and a great alternative for zoos.
Tuesday
The first day of the holiday! And since I’m sort of still in school-mode I woke up at 9AM and tried to make it a productive day. I did some chores and then packed my bags. I am going to Paris tomorrow, aaaah! I have never been there and I’m so excited. I also received a package today. I had ordered a secondhand laptop sleeve on Marktplaats. I have a new laptop and so I needed one. It cost me only 10 euros and I am very happy with it! I am reusing the package it was sent in.
Wednesday
As I told you, I am going to Paris today! I’m writing this on Tuesday already since I will be in the train today (yes, of course I am going by train, I wouldn’t fly such a small distance). We will we in Paris from today till Saturday with a visit to Disneyland on Thursday. I gifted a trip to Disneyland to my boyfriend for his birthday this year. Remember, experiences over stuff? We hadn’t found the time yet, but since it’s holiday season we could finally go. We’re staying in an AirBnB. I think it is a great organization since you share living spaces (update: in 2020 I’ve changed my mind). If everybody did this while they are on holiday tourism can be a lot more sustainable, we’d need less hotels. Last year on a holiday to Budapest my friends and I really liked AirBnB too. It is less luxurious than an all-inclusive hotel I’m used to (yes, I’m very spoiled). But AirBnB is more sustainable and so it’s better!
Yours sincerely,
Romee