> On the other hand having an English version too is also very nice
> as the few other people who don’t yet know Dutch will be able to
> understand what’s going on. That can bring them many international
> guests.

I can only confirm your thoughts; I’m one of their international guests and I must say I felt at home from the very first moment.

It may have helped that I had met the Amsterdam Perl Mongers before, at a German Perl Workshop (before I moved to the Netherlands in 2004, for professional reasons), but I’m convinced it’s because they really are welcoming foreigners and make them feel at home immediately.

In today’s meeting, or better, tonight’s meeting, I have met another German and it is my impression that he felt the same way, because it was obviously not his first visit.

Their meetings also made for a very surprising encounter: I met there a well-known Perl programmer from the south of Brazil (Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, to be precise – not exactly around the corner!) with whom I had had contact by email over one of my modules, and of whom I hadn’t known he had moved to the Netherlands in the meantime.

That was a truly amazing coincidence!

So I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Amsterdam Perl Mongers wholeheartedly for their warm welcome, not once but always, on this prominent place, because they deserve it!

Thank you!

Best regards,
Steffen Beyer
(Date::Calc, Bit::Vector, … )