Netherhang

I had a really busy day today. :( And I'm sick again. I think my body knows when I'm about to do some major traveling. Ugh. Two more days until Poland then Romania. 

I arrived to school early to finish more of my paperwork. My day started out really slow since the time is winding down, and there's not much for me to do anymore.

While I was sitting in the teacher's workroom, a Math teacher talked to me about a former American teacher in Calvijn coming to visit him. Apparently this American professor taught in Calvijn for six months, and he taught himself Dutch. Anyways, the entire time the teacher was talking to me about Bill, I couldn't help but notice how beautiful this teacher is. He's not fully Dutch, but his facial features is just astonishing. I couldn't help but stare. He has been teaching in Calvijn for over 10 years, and he is a foster parent of 5 kids. How amazing, right?

Anyways, I met a student to practice his verbal skills. He told me 10:30 but he showed up 10:45, It's ok, at least he showed up. We went into a classroom and got to talking about a WASP Reporter article that he read for me. :) He made mistakes like "much people" and a couple of subject-verb agreement. We did talk alot about himself, his experiences, etc. It was a nice chat.

After the meeting, I left right away because I was invited to my first Dutch birthday party by my mentor teacher, Magdalena. Joshua, her son, turned 7 and was having a birthday party at 14:00. I went home at around 11:15 and heated up spaghetti sauce and boiled some noodles. Yum. I felt really crappy afterwards, though. I talked to Ashton (yay!) and the cleaning people came in. This time there was a guy with them. I caught him staring at me - awkward.

I tried to take a nap before the bday party, but that didn't happen. So I caught the metro to zuidplein and the bus to Oud-Beijerland. I didn't know what to expect of the party, so I made sure to get there on time. I was the first one there - people didn't start coming until around 3. I didn't know what to give Joshua for his bday so I made him a bday card and gave him an American dollar - figured that would be cool to a 7 year old. When the first guest showed up with her two kids, Hanah, Joshua and I were blowing bubbles. When one of the kids went outside, I accidentally smacked him in the face while making bubbles. Oops.

During the birthday party, only a couple of people came which was stressful enough for Magdalena. She had two friends come over with two kids each, her sister-in-law with three kids, and her neighbor with one kid. Her parents-in-law were there also. Her father-in-law really made the effort to talk to me about everything. He did comment about how Dutch people in Rotterdam don't really like all the immigrants coming in. Interesting because I have met Dutch people who feel this way. The guests really did try to include me in the conversation. I met Magdalena's Romanian friend also.

The party wasn't as different than US bday parties. I think the only difference is that hot tea was still served even though we were outside in the warm weather. Magdalena bought an apple pie, a chocolate pie, and a cake for Joshua. (She gave me a doggy bag full of treats when I left.) She also had snacks like chips, tomatoes, olives, candy, fruits, etc. It was a mixture of healthy and junk food. :) When the cake was out for Joshua, the guests sang a birthday song in Dutch, English, and Romanian. It was awesome.

On my ride back to Rotterdam, the bus scanners weren't working and I got home for free. :)

As soon as I got back to Rotterdam, I got my bike and rode over to my other mentor teacher's house, Annemarie. We had planned to have dinner at her place. Since her husband wasn't home, she decided to cook sauerkraut because her husband didn't like that. She cooked a traditional meal - mashed potatoes, pineapple, sauerkraut, bacon bits all mixed together with sausage. It was an interesting taste. I didn't dislike it, but it wasn't one of my favorites either. Easy to cook, though. :)

After dinner, Borris (her son) and I went to Albert Heijn and picked up some ice cream. It was a very short walk, and I was a little nervous being with Borris alone because we didn't understand each other. However, we recited the alphabet in both English and Dutch and we taught each other different words. It was precious. 

When the kids finally went to bed, Annemarie and I had tea and graded the 4th year students' letters. I love grading. We also worked on the re-sit literature test for the 5th year. I ended up staying until 10. It was a nice evening. 

I came home exhausted, however. I called my mom and dad just to check in. John, my little brother injured his thumb. Goodnes..