let's get political

It's been a busy two days. Yesterday was my every-other-Friday-off and I used it to go on a work visit to a rehab center for troubled teenagers. The visit was organized by the youth division of Holland's biggest political party the CDA (of which I'm a member). That rehab center was gorgeous. I might commit a crime just to get to live there (but since I'm over 18 I'm not eligible). It's in the middle of miles of lush green farmland. The kids live in converted old Dutch farmhouses. They each get their own room. There's 10 kids per farmhouse and one social worker per 5 kids.

I got the impression our visit was actually a pretty big deal for the rehab center. The director came and gave a presentation. Then we walked around and visited a couple different farm houses and heard from some of the employees about what they do. It was very interesting. We were there from about noon to 4pm. Then we were driven back to the train station. Upon returning to Utrecht, I actually went to my office.

The reason? My Macedonian colleague Gorjan had invited me and our other colleagues Bruce and Birgitta to his house for dinner. Birgitta and I got lifts on the backs of Bruce and Gorjan's bikes. That's so Dutch. Gorjan cooked salmon for Bruce and Birgitta. This is very appropriate since he analyzes the seafood industry for our department. He made me a veggy burger. He also made a wonderful salad. We had creme brulee for dessert.

We sat around the table talking and laughing for hours as Gorjan lit candles and poured Macedonian almond liqueur. At one point, we put on some reggae music and Bruce demonstrated his amazing dance moves.

At around midnight, the others decided to go out bar hopping. I went home. I am not really the bar hopping type, but also: I had another CDA youth event the next day!

I went to the Hague for a seminar on the economic crisis. I've gotten so used to hearing about it from the business side of the picture, it was odd to hear about it from the political side. Odd and sort of annoying. Those politicians believe they have the answers and they will be able to fix it all. I think they should stay away and let us sort it out for ourselves. One speaker gave a surprisingly nuanced talk on the issue of corporate bonuses, an issue that is - naturally - very close to my heart.

The seminar was still going to go on for another 3 hours, but I'd had all I could take. I snuck off. (I did make a point of introducing myself to the organizer first, so she'd know I had actually shown up).

I took advantage of the sunny weather for a lovely stroll around the old parliament building and the royal palace in the Hague. Gorgeous! Seeing Dutch political buildings caused me to reflect: Holland is a pretty small country and the youth division of the CDA is quite small too. Also, it's a fact that people who achieve high political office usually already start their careers in their teens or twenties.

In other words, the people I'd just ditched at that seminar are this country's future elected leaders. In 2030 my longstanding friendship with a CDA minister of finance might well help me land a seat on my bank's board of directors. So I've resolved to make more of an effort to network in the CDA (note to self: don't sit in back row scowling). I'll keep you posted on how that goes.