January 18, Beurs Shopping Area, Rotterdam, 6:30PM Local Time
From this point forward, for the purposes of this post, my lost suitcase will be referred to as "lemons", and the money my travel insurance has given me in compensation shall be known as "lemonade".
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
Today is shopping day.
I finally walked further into the heart of the city, shopping in the Beurs area. There were a variety of shops in this area: a bi-weekly market, small stalls, and large commercial stores.
Four things I learned while shopping today (because obviously shopping has educational value!):
1. Business school was right
2. Sizes are smaller (I learned this the hard way)
3. Bring an outlet converter from home
4. Most shops close at 6PM, save for Fridays, when they shut their doors at 9.
Allow me to elaborate further:
1. Most of my purchases were from a store called We, and Zara. At home, I consider Zara to be on the pricier end of the shopping spectrum. However, one of the Strategy cases I did in school last year mentioned that it was actually much more reasonably priced outside of North America. I can now say, that after miticulate research, I can confirm this fact to be true.
2. You know how sometimes you find a gorgeous article of clothing that is sadly either too big or too small for it fit... And yet you bring it into the dressing room with you anyways hoping that the magic of The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants is real and you'll miraculously fit into any article of clothing through the power of positivity and friendship? (Whew run on sentence! Try saying that one ten times fast!) I found this awesome black dress that I shall not try to explain else my words fail to illustrate its beauty. Though it was a size XS, I reasoned that I am sometimes able to squeeze into XS sizing at home, so I might be able to pull it off. Unfortunately, I was not able to pull it off. Literally. It was so tight that it would not pull off me and go over my head. After a solid 15 minutes of trying to shimmy out of it, I confided with a very confused change room clerk who helped to pry the thing off of me. I'm very fortunate that she was able to help me, as I've not yet mastered the art of shoulder dislocation. After this experience, I've come to realize how important it really is.
3. I am missing one VERY important piece of technology. So important, in fact, that it renders all other technological devices at my disposal useless. No, it is not an illegal signal jammer. It's a plug converter. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find one... Must keep searching... My sanity depends on it.
4. Not much to elaborate on here. Shops close early, and once they do, the streets suddenly become very empty.
So, as you can see, today, not only did I make some super tasty lemonade, but actually learned something while doing it!
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