Dining Room Manager Steven Casteels
Steven was born and raised in Belgium in the beautiful city of Ghent, located in between Bruges and Brussels. He followed a hotel education and as he says watched too much love boat on Television. After working in several renowned restaurants and hotels he boarded the Royal Viking Sun as a waiter in 1993. Later on the ship was named the Seabourn Sun and when it became the Prinsendam in 2002, he moved to Holland America Line and has been working on several of his ships. He was the first Pinnacle manager of the fleet on the ms Ryndam, he worked as a Maitre D’ on all Vista Class ships, the ms Rotterdam and on January 4, 2006 he came back to his first love, the ms Prinsendam, to start his 9th World Cruise. He just loves traveling the world, getting a glance of all the different cultures and places. While at home he lives like a true Belgian: He likes to take out his adorable girlfriend for dinner to the many fantastic restaurants Belgium possesses, or he prepares a home cooked meal while using fresh ingredients all the time. On cold winter nights (and others) he relaxes by the fireplace with an exquisite glass of wine. A nice cheese selection or some mouthwatering Belgian Chocolates are never far away... His motto is: you only live once, it's more fun and easier to enjoy it with a smile!
Madagascar’s Economy
The economy of Madagascar is overwhelmingly agricultural, largely of a subsistence type; the best farmland is in the east and northwest. The principal cash crops are coffee, vanilla, sugarcane, cloves, and cocoa. The main food crops are rice, cassava, bananas, beans, and peanuts. In addition, large numbers of poultry, cattle, goats, sheep, and hogs are raised. Fishing and forestry are also important. Manufactures are mostly confined to agricultural products, beverages, and textiles. There is also some oil refining and automobile assembly. The chief minerals extracted are chromite, graphite, coal, bauxite, salt, zircon, industrial beryl and garnets, and offshore oil. There is an extensive but degraded road system (now being repaired) and only a limited rail network. Toamasina and Mahajanga are the chief ports. Madagascar carries on a relatively small foreign trade, and the annual value of imports is usually higher than the value of exports. The main imports are metals, machinery, petroleum, transport equipment, consumer goods, and food products. The leading exports are coffee, vanilla, shellfish, sugar, textiles, chromite, and petroleum products. The principal trade partners are France, Japan, Italy, and the United States. Madagascar relies heavily upon assistance from members of the European Union and international agencies.
posted by Hills @ 9:39 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home