Raiffeisenstratter

Raiffeisenstraat 7, 5611CH, Eindhoven, the Netherlands. An apartment in the central of Eindhoven located directly behind Pathe cinema and just a step away from the main station. The address of several non-Dutch speaker homeless employed by the biggest and the most lucrative firm in the Netherland, who by luck (or bad luck) have landed in Eindoven, where the majority of population is horse-rimmed computer IT gigs. So let me introduce you to the Raiffeisenstratter, the people whom I spent a marvellous time with.

here you go: raiffeisenstraat inhabitants 2008

Room 1: Hungarian girl
She was said to live in the room no 1 but nobody has ever seen her properly except for the brief "good morning" exchange. Such a mysterious character, noted by me and Amalia for her sharp facial features and similarly sharp boyfriend.

Room 2: Marc (the Spanish)
A Spanish who studied in France, excelled in French and Spanish. Likes to sleep alot, normally go out around 10 o'clock. Friendly, and like every Spanish, enjoy drinking and parties.

Room 3: Ben
Originally from Germany, he is the oldest in the house (literally in age and in the time he's been living in the house). He is the only person in the house who is not a student, own a fancy car, had been in Vietnam, had had a maid and a cook, and plays football. Recently he could only be seen one or two days during the week and spent the rest flying all around west Europe for work. His magic line for hitting on a girl was "spreek jij Nederland?", even when the girl was clearly a Dutch. It is advised not to sit beside him during poker plays unless you want to end up bruised by his punches when he lost. And he lost quite a lot :)

Room 4: Jordi
The first impression of him was that of a good dancer and a flamboyant gentleman. It was not so far from what he is, despite his strong denial that he is a good salsa dancer. His motto is "drink as much as you can". Could always be seen in all weekend student parties. An excellent robot programmer, and as predicted, always celebrate his achievement by another party :). Our nickname for him is Panda, caused by the black shadows that permanently accesorize his eyes.

Room 5: Shiva
Her curry is the spiciest dish during dinner in the house. Admit of being a sleep-addict, she put on an Indian music every 9 o'clock in the morning as an alarm. Unfortunately, her alarm normally works for all inhabitants except herself :). One with the best analytical chemistry skills that attract even unrelated companies such as retirement planning firm to offer her a job. A beautiful girl with long and shiny black hair and sweet smile.

Room 6: me
No comment. Obviously the most sane and sensible person in the house. Otherwise why would I be writing this blog trying to warn people about the danger lurk in Raiffeisenstraat 7?

Room 7: Marc (the Dutch)
The only Ducth-speaker person in the house (the native speaker, unlike Ben :) People would mistakenly thought he was seventeen-ish while infact he was much older than that. Curly blond hair and bright blue eyes remind you of the cherubs in Rafael's paint. However, never let him drink more than his share because he will start raising hell (or so he claimed). A creator of something resemble a molotov when he was just 14. Matthieu's best buddy for sitting in the window rim and mimicking a working mechanism of train: smoke

Room 8: Amalia
Has her birthday celebrated in the house recently. T-shirt with "sweet Lia, Raiffeisenstraat" is a prove of our affection to her. Inhabits the smallest but the tidiest room in the house. Has a (public) secret crush to her adorable French supervisor, whom I admit is indeed crushable and adorable :) A regular in Pathe, armed with the unlimited card that allows her to watch the movies with only 60cents a day.

Room 9: Bruce
His room should have "be careful, bite!" sign since he has tried every martial art courses in sport centre. From taekwondo to judo, and swimming to sauna. A good swimmer indeed. Never feel complete without having a super hot chilli paste in every dishes. His friendliness is as wide and big as his appetite :) but you must be wondering where all the food goes. Claimed to have a massive affection towards his only girlfriend: an electric guitar. An academic pursuer who wish to study until he couldn't think anymore.

Room 10: Matthieu
No one can stand his chocolate cakes, brownies, apple pie, or slagroom crackers. An amazing desert maker and thought to deserve the crown for the best cooker in the house. The best person to look for if you're short of ciggaretes :) Interested in hip-hop American style with all baggy pants and skateboard sneakers. Always look like he needs more sleep even though he's slept as long as a baby. Adapting quickly the student happy hours habit in Holland and could be found every Thursday in Tu/E bar.

Room 11: Yan Zhang
The fact that she was destined to live with half-barbarian people who consider the house as a pub down gradually to her. Gradually it is, she shows us her smiling face now and then. We still try to figure out the way to drag her out of her room and join us in this house of craze.

Room 12: Francesco
Our godfather in the house. The most social person, proven by the lunch invitation emails jumbled in our mailbox. Said to have a Russian complexion, a Greek accent, while infact he was a truly Italian. The best pasta and pizza maker in the house. Shares the love for an accoustic guitar with inhabitant room 6 (me) and 9 (Bruce). Never drink more than 3 glasses of liquor out of fear that his lever will fail him.

Room 13: Volker
Our photographer. Always create a cheery atmosphere with his arguments with Francesco. Never make appointment during the weekend because he will fly to Aachen to meet his lovely spouse. Noticeable with his "ja ja ja" phrase that could be heard anywhere and anytime. A true enterpreneur.

Room 14: Ping
A man of honour. His poker face is amazing it is hard to distinguish when he is serious and when he is joking. A big tall guy who makes all other Asians look like dwarf. Never fail to cook something amazing that requires more than 3 hours to cook. Not the youngest in the house, but looks like one.

The last but not least: basement guy
Nobody knows his name and just few inhabitants know his looks. Most will realize he lives in the basement after several months. Noticeable to have put all groceries outside his room and not inside like the other do. The only sign of his presence is the smell of Bob Marley's favourite side-dish that could be smelled from several meters radius.