Jaap Willem’s Blog
Addicted to photography, Beauty and Social MediaArchive for travel
Travelling: The beauty of Honduras
Travelling: Beauty of Honduras
Travelling in Honduras: Tegucigalpa
Travelling in Honduras: Caribbean coast.
Travelling in Honduras: Slideshow
Amsterdam Street Images
Amsterdam Street Images.
The following images are a few images I took during the car-free Sunday in September in Amsterdam.
It’s really nice to see that the people took their living room to the street to make a statement about the use of the streets.
True, normally the weather ain’t that good that it’s possible but still, it’s great. I think it’s as well about the spirit in Amsterdam that when there’s something going on, the whole city center is enjoying the party. Anyone who have been at a Queensday knows how the party can be.
So I would like to invite you guys to this small selection of edited images from Amsterdam and the living room on the streets. At the end we always have the blue cushion to sit on, isn’t?? To enjoy the beautiful sight over the Canals.
If you are in Amsterdam, just try to stroll around and enjoy the spirit of the city, you’ll be positively surprised.
Jaap Willem
Tizapan, Jalisco – Mexico
Boat in the chapala Lake
Trip to Tizapan, Jalisco
This is on my ongoing blogs about my trips here in Jalisco and Mexico.
Last weekend for Easter we went to Tizapan, in the south of Jalisco.
It is very well located on the south side of the Chapala lake and surrounded by fields very usable for
Agriculture.
The city is a fairly large village with more then 60.000 inhabitants and all ages well represented.
This is normally a problem in the smaller villages here in Mexico, where the young men in general go up
north to find a job. Up north means to the United States.
The village is living from agriculture and fishing. There is a little bit of development of tourism and so
the people are looking at you if you are a western, like: what are you doing here???
So when we arrived in Tizapan with the Bus service Jalisco del sur, we went in the evening to the small
square, what makes up the heart of the village.
There was a buzzing crowd present where they where enjoying their social talks, eating and watching
people scroll by.
Furthermore all types of people from the city where present and strolling around..
Then when the night got later, we went back home, because the next we would go to a Swimming pool.
A Swimming pool over here is more that the kids can play in the swimming pool while the parents are preparing
their food, what they’ve taken with them. Often as well there a place where you can put the meat on the
barbecue or fish and have some nice grilled meat and or fish.
As well along there where 3 pools, just to chill and do nothing. Furthermore we where very lucky that
there where just a few people in the pool, because normally during Easter there are many people
everywhere.
Of course I took the opportunity to actually get some tan, but not getting burned during our siesta,
what is always necessary.
In the evening we went back to the small square, as well to try the local ice cream, which is delicious
and take some more pictures.
The next day we went to Chapala.
I unfortunately think that the city is overrated for it’s popularity. It is a nice city with a nice lake front
and boulevard, but nothing to spectacular. Maybe it was that they are still busy constructing all kind of
things, but it didn’t impress.
Furthermore it’s almost impossible to get a breakfast and if you get into a restaurant, the service is very
lame. Hint, it’s next to the main church.
As well, the smaller island in the lake, where you can get a boat, is nothing to special. The
problem is that it have been touched by men, and that results in a very dirty, destroyed island. The
nature once was beautiful probably, but at the moment you can find more coke bottles and cans then
stones. And this is a shame, because they could make it a really nice island.
On the way back we passed a few very nice little villages where the people are really open and nice.
This was the final trip for our holiday and we took the bus back into Guadalajara. We were very lucky
with the traffic, because the Easter holiday traffic was getting on its way but it was still manageable.
In the end, it was a really nice holiday trip, short but interesting. As well interesting to see another part
of the Jalisco and moreover spent some time at the lake with the water.
For the pic’s, I would like to refer to my web site www.jaapwillem.com where you can find the media
and so on from this trip.
Colotlan, jalisco (mexico)
So at the end I’ll not be staying for much longer here in Guadalajara.
I like the city but on the other hand I’m quite happy as well to return to Europe.
But before I’m heading back I’ll write down a few things in several blog posts about my experiences here in Mexico and guadalajara in special.
The first blog post will be about my experience outside guadalajara, actually during my trip to colotlan, in north Jalisco.
It is a relative large city what does serve as well as the center of the region.
It is best known for their leather horse riding products. Furthermore there is a large campus of the guadalajara university. As well the reason why I’m here.
So while my fiancée is teaching I came along to discover a bit of the city.
One of my first impresions was that’s it have a small city center with roughly 2 main squares. Of course on one main square there is the principle cathedral located. On the main square you can find the city councel and the police etc.
It have a well a cute little open air theatre dome with small benches around it.
Around here you have small shops where you can find almost everything what is necesary for the region.
Clothing shops, butchers, bakeries, shoe shops, restaurants, banks and even small Internet shops.
On Saturdays you can find as well a small market on the streets while there is as well a larger indoor market just a few squares to the north side.
In this open air market the most important products are clothing and food products.
In the indoor market you can find some good food shops, although you might have some issues with your stomach later on.
As well throughout the city you can find leather shops the city is renowned for. The quality from the leather saddles and other horse riding products are high, with many of them hand made. The prices varies by products but expect to pay a good price for the high quality products.
Back into the Blogging mood
Guadalajara Minerva Statue
Hello there,
Finally I’m back on my blog, i do apologize that it took such a long time.
Since the last blog post about my stay in goes, the Netherlands many things have changed.
At the moment I’m living in guadalajara mexico together with my girlfriend and we are enjoying it very much.
We have been travelling already to various places here in Mexico, to the north of Jalisco (the region we are living ) and Zacatecas, a wonderful little city a bit more up north. This city is a sure colonial city with many beautiful houses and landscape views.
For working im at the moment working on some projects to introduce online marketing and social web marketing into the marketing plans here, from companies to politicians.
I’ll be blogging more about this work and as well some travels if we decide to make some.
Furthermore i would like to invite you to visit www.jaapwillem.es to keep updated with the latest points on twitter and pics.
Have a great day.
Return to holland.
Hello there, how are you all doing?
That have been a bit more time since last time I was in contact and writing a small post on my blog.
I do apologize for that, but since I got really busy last weeks with socializing and seeing everyone in Madrid efore I leave.
Now I’m on my to holland and in the night train Madrid – Paris.
So I do have some more time to write and think about the things what have happened last year in Madrid
It have been slightly more then a year, I arrived in Madrid on sept. 28 2007 and starting working on the first of oct.
I started working at 24/7 RealMedia with only a bit of knowledge about the company and the work they where doing. The first 3 months where a crash course into everything what had to do with search engine marketing and their bid management system called DecideDNA.
Furthermore it was back to the basics to my native language and had to write again in dutch. Even more I had to select use the most catchy phrases and keywords for the clients.
After 6 months I started to explore other ways to expand myself and received the first answer from a large company in terms of initiatives : interesting concept but not for at this moment.
I had proposed to incorporate and investigate the possibilities of mobile advertising, something they didn’t see the point of that.
The months passed by while I was more and more analyzing the work situation and discovered more and more that I had very limited chance to grow soon and in good ways within the company.
That was at the moment that I received a job offer at Netbooster Spain as search engine marketing consultant. After some talks and negotiations we came to an agreement and started to work with them the next month.
I started with them in June and accomplished many of my expectations on the points of self Independence and initiative with the client.
I started almost directly with one of the major clients, starwood hotels Iberia and Italy. I’ve had a very healthy relation with them over the time that I’ve done business with them.
In the meantime there was as well a project starting for starwood Europe what had to be set up bit this turned into a nightmare due to the following things
I was not aware in the beginnig of the size of this project and had little support from my managers.
The communication with Paris, the European account manager was from the beginning on a very difficult level. There was no connection what so ever between us, what has definitely restrained the project.
The fact that the client was not totally aware of the size of the project and the limits of the tools, what have been solved in a later stage.
As well my limited experience with projects this size have definitely helped to slow the whole progress.
But finally after some months we did arrange everything and it is all setup to go for my colleagues whom took over my work.
So on dec. 4 I left Madrid with the train to Paris with final destination holland for the moment.
I’ll be staying there until the end of Decembe
r before going to my new country, Mexico
I decided to move to Mexico in the beginning of November when I got back from Mexico visiting my girlfriend.
We both decided that living apart for more than 3 months is enough and I’ll moving there and look for some work.
I do hope that I’ll find the same type of work in Mexico , although it will be hard because the search engine marketing area is not yet developed that much. But this might indicate a very nice opportunity for me over there to be part off it when it starts.
This I’ll explain more in future blog posts, which will be much more professional oriented.
Retiro in Autumn Colours
Retiro in Autumn Colours, originally uploaded by Jaap Willem.
For my last weeks I’ll be here in Madrid enjoying the beautiful Autumn and winter colours which are showing at the moment.
This picture is made last Sunday while strolling in the Retiro, what made quite a nice image, I thought at least. 
As well this will be last week at work and already planning my whole week at the moment.. I’m really looking forward to it actually, as well to stop working and going back to Holland and than to Mexico.. Let’s see how that will develop. But expect at least many travel updates the upcoming months, as I’ll be trying to capture the best way the different landscapes and seasons in the different regions.
Have a great day,
Jaap Willem
Trip to and from work
What are people thinking while on the road to work?
That is one of the major points where I’m always thinking about. Maybe because I don’t have anything else to think about. Hahaha.
But if you really start wondering, where are the people thinking about while going to work.
Most of them are about 30 to 45 minutes commuting to work, no?
Many are reading books, writing on their papers, speaking in the phone or listening to music. I’m one of the persons who does all things, listening, reading, watching, writing and staring.
In general I try to do it all at the same time, but since that’s quiet hard to do, I just leave it 
How do you get to work normally? By train, bus, metro, car or walking? Drop me a line in the comments.
Cheers
