Can I get you a beer?

Last night I did my first shift as a guest bartender in our Selwerd 1 Flatbar. I had applied to be on the bar committee a few months ago but they decided not to hire me since I'm only here for the summer. Too bad for them because, in my opinion, they really need a girl around, besides the fact that they are short-staffed this summer. In any case, by pulling a few strings, I managed to get the position of honorary bartender and got to shadow Yme Jan for the night. I didn't get paid (the regular committee doesn't get paid either) but in exchange, I got a true Dutch experience and free drinks the whole night.

I invited my friends to come fill the bar and they were true to their word. Thank you guys! Of course, the dozens of free beers that I provided them may have been what hooked them. They actually weren't free, as I had to personally foot the bill at the end of the night, but my tips paid for more than half of the tab. Tipping bartenders is not customary in Holland so I am quite proud of my earnings.

Bartending is deceivingly hard work. Dutch beer is very foamy and getting two fingers of foam and not more is a challenge. By the later evening, my success rate was 1 in 3 beers were a good pour. No loss, though, since my practice beers went to the staff. I also had to show up before opening to set up the bar and after everyone left, we cleaned every single glass and tallied up the money. This is not easy to do after a long shift at 4am in the morning. And six short hours later, at 10am this morning, I had to go back and mop the floors. Yme Jan is a slavedriver!

A quick shower after cleaning and I had to rush to go to work at the hospital for the afternoon. As you can probably guess, I'm very sleepy right now and the weekend is very welcoming.

Exhausting but a heck of a lot of fun! In fact, I may be bartending again this Thursday under Sjoerd's supervision. So, to all of you in Groningen, be there or be square!