Second Holland Holiday (4)
I don't think that anyone, unless they have been put into the same exact situation, can comprehend how painful it was to sit there
for almost 4 hours. And believe me, time has never moved so slowly. The severe amount of mental anguish was causing me very real
physical pain as well. I was getting some serious stomach cramps and heartburn like I've never had before. I couldn't even swallow
without having to really try. And what could I do? NOTHING! I couldn't get up and leave, I couldn't go into the other room, I
couldn't talk, all I could do was sit there like some foreign intruder on this family's Christmas. And with Marco not helping me,
that's all I was.
Many thoughts went through my head as I sat there. First and foremost, how the hell am I going to explain to Marco, in a way
that won't hurt his feelings, but at the same time make my point very clearly, that what happened today, was not going to EVER
happen again. I knew I shouldn't be mad at him, this was all new to him as well. And he really is shy, even around his family. But
still, some things should just be known, and this was one of them. I also sat there thinking, "What if this were at my Grandma's
house? What if one of my cousins brought some non-English speaking person to our family Christmas and never once helped them
join in any of our conversations? I would be pissed as hell. I'd be pissed because obviously they aren't close to this person, or they
would be talking with them and involving them in everything. And if that's the case, why the fukk did they bring them? This is for
family, not some strangers off the street!" And who knows, his relatives may have been thinking the same way.
The only thing that kept me from saying fukkit and getting up and walking out the door was seeing Marco's Grandma. Every time
I looked at her I would think of my own. So with the sounds of everyone else laughing and talking, I would drift off into my own little
world and think of past Christmas's with my Grandparents. I was hoping that they were up there trying their hardest to make the
clock move a little faster for me right now. Ok, I'll admit, I even silently begged my Grandfather to please somehow kick Marco in
his ass to let him know how uncomfortable he was making his Dawndoll. (That's what my Pop always called me) I'm sure it was just
coincidence, but, within about five minutes of me doing that, Marco said we were leaving.
We said our good-byes and headed out to the car. Well now I could finally talk and I didn't know what to say. I was seriously so
upset by what I had just gone through, but I knew I had to choose my words carefully or it would turn into pure anger. So all I said
was that I liked his Grandma, and told him how she reminded me of my own. The rest of the time I stayed silent. When we got back
to Marco's house I told him how I felt about what happened. At first he didn't see it as any big deal, but, by the time we were done
talking, he understood. I still hated what had happened, but I was confident that it would never happen again.
The next day we went for a long drive so that Marco could show me parts of Holland that I hadn't seen yet. Dang, I thought the
weather in St. Louis was unpredictable. But while we were out, we would drive for 10-15 minutes in total sunshine, then it would
change to rain for a while, then back to sunshine, then to snow, then to rain, etc. I never thought it was possible for the weather to
change so drastically in such a short period of time. The drive was great though; I got to see so much of the landscape, from farms
to the ocean. Marco was telling me about each area as we drove through it, and how it has changed over the years. He and my
UncleDad definitely have 'tour guide blood' in them! hahaha We drove in total for about 3 hours by the time we got back to his
house. It only takes 2 hours to drive from one side of Holland to the other, but we instead just made a big circle.
We went to a place called Madurodam the next day. This place was SO cool! It was an entire replica of all of Holland in a 1:25
miniaturized scale. I had never seen anything like this in my life. The detail was amazing! (If you want to see it, just go to
http://www.madurodam.nl ) I had a blast walking through this. And Marco of course was better than any tour guide they could have
paid to tell me about everything. It took a couple of hours to get through everything. They even have a section with a little candy
factory, that if you put a coin into the slot, a truck will pick up a piece of candy, load it, and drive to deliver it to you. I don't know
anyone that would not thoroughly enjoy this. And why the hell haven't US cities done something like this? With the incredible
amount of money they could make, not to mention the historical and teaching value of having something like this, dang there need
to be more of these all over the world! This was surely the most impressive thing I had seen from anyplace I had ever been. We
stopped in the gift shop and then had some lunch when we were done, then headed for home.
The following afternoon we went into the city so that Marco could buy his tickets to come visit me in May. Yay! I was so excited
that he was gonna finally get to come to America and that I would be able to return the hospitality that he had shown me. After that
we walked around did some shopping and then went home. For the rest of that day and the next few days we mostly stayed around
the house. One of the days I was in a cleaning mood. Don't ask me why, because it very rarely ever happens. So while he was
playing online, I cleaned everything. Ok, so I rearranged everything too! Poor Marco, by the time I was done, he was asking me,
"where is this? where is that?" hahaha But I had fun and it kept me occupied. Besides, before it looked like a man-house and now it
just looked like a house.
New Years Eve is celebrated in his town pretty much like ours is here. With only a few minor differences. Like riot police,
fireworks being shot from windows, huge bonfires, that sort of thing. Conny, Jan, Marco and I had gone to the 'gypsies' the night
before so they could stock up on their fireworks. And tonight we were going to their house to celebrate along with the neighbors
(Arnie and his wife) that we had visited my first night there. Marco had told me about the fires and riots from years past.
Apparently each town used to have an unspoken contest to see who could make the largest fire out of the old Christmas trees. Well,
being the competitive people that they are, it was taken too far every year. People from each town would literally sneak into other
towns and steal trees, boxes, wood, anything they could use to burn. This of course would cause fights, which would turn into
full-fledged riots. After many years of chaos on New Years Eve, there was a law banning the bonfires in all towns except for Den
Haag. Well, this is the town that Marco lives in, and the bonfire was held in a field at the end of his street. Lucky me. We had
walked down earlier to see them preparing the pile to be burned. It was across the street from a 2-story building, and the top of the
pile was just about even with the top of the building. This was gonna be one hell of a fire!
We went over to Conny and Jan's house that evening. Conny has got to be the ultimate of all hostesses. She had everything set up
beautifully. Tons of food, drink, decorations, it looked great. And she would barely ever sit down. She was constantly bringing out
more food and appetizers and passing them around. I'm hiring her for my next party! hahaha As soon as nighttime hit, the fireworks
started being shot off all over the place. Now, for the 4th Of July here, people shoot off fireworks as well. Bottle rockets,
firecrackers, and small 'pretty ones'. So I have to explain, that when I say the fireworks were being shot off, I mean the fireworks
like you would see in a City Fireworks Display. These people had the HUGE fireworks and were shooting them off from their
windows and in the streets! Continue
for almost 4 hours. And believe me, time has never moved so slowly. The severe amount of mental anguish was causing me very real
physical pain as well. I was getting some serious stomach cramps and heartburn like I've never had before. I couldn't even swallow
without having to really try. And what could I do? NOTHING! I couldn't get up and leave, I couldn't go into the other room, I
couldn't talk, all I could do was sit there like some foreign intruder on this family's Christmas. And with Marco not helping me,
that's all I was.
Many thoughts went through my head as I sat there. First and foremost, how the hell am I going to explain to Marco, in a way
that won't hurt his feelings, but at the same time make my point very clearly, that what happened today, was not going to EVER
happen again. I knew I shouldn't be mad at him, this was all new to him as well. And he really is shy, even around his family. But
still, some things should just be known, and this was one of them. I also sat there thinking, "What if this were at my Grandma's
house? What if one of my cousins brought some non-English speaking person to our family Christmas and never once helped them
join in any of our conversations? I would be pissed as hell. I'd be pissed because obviously they aren't close to this person, or they
would be talking with them and involving them in everything. And if that's the case, why the fukk did they bring them? This is for
family, not some strangers off the street!" And who knows, his relatives may have been thinking the same way.
The only thing that kept me from saying fukkit and getting up and walking out the door was seeing Marco's Grandma. Every time
I looked at her I would think of my own. So with the sounds of everyone else laughing and talking, I would drift off into my own little
world and think of past Christmas's with my Grandparents. I was hoping that they were up there trying their hardest to make the
clock move a little faster for me right now. Ok, I'll admit, I even silently begged my Grandfather to please somehow kick Marco in
his ass to let him know how uncomfortable he was making his Dawndoll. (That's what my Pop always called me) I'm sure it was just
coincidence, but, within about five minutes of me doing that, Marco said we were leaving.
We said our good-byes and headed out to the car. Well now I could finally talk and I didn't know what to say. I was seriously so
upset by what I had just gone through, but I knew I had to choose my words carefully or it would turn into pure anger. So all I said
was that I liked his Grandma, and told him how she reminded me of my own. The rest of the time I stayed silent. When we got back
to Marco's house I told him how I felt about what happened. At first he didn't see it as any big deal, but, by the time we were done
talking, he understood. I still hated what had happened, but I was confident that it would never happen again.
The next day we went for a long drive so that Marco could show me parts of Holland that I hadn't seen yet. Dang, I thought the
weather in St. Louis was unpredictable. But while we were out, we would drive for 10-15 minutes in total sunshine, then it would
change to rain for a while, then back to sunshine, then to snow, then to rain, etc. I never thought it was possible for the weather to
change so drastically in such a short period of time. The drive was great though; I got to see so much of the landscape, from farms
to the ocean. Marco was telling me about each area as we drove through it, and how it has changed over the years. He and my
UncleDad definitely have 'tour guide blood' in them! hahaha We drove in total for about 3 hours by the time we got back to his
house. It only takes 2 hours to drive from one side of Holland to the other, but we instead just made a big circle.
We went to a place called Madurodam the next day. This place was SO cool! It was an entire replica of all of Holland in a 1:25
miniaturized scale. I had never seen anything like this in my life. The detail was amazing! (If you want to see it, just go to
http://www.madurodam.nl ) I had a blast walking through this. And Marco of course was better than any tour guide they could have
paid to tell me about everything. It took a couple of hours to get through everything. They even have a section with a little candy
factory, that if you put a coin into the slot, a truck will pick up a piece of candy, load it, and drive to deliver it to you. I don't know
anyone that would not thoroughly enjoy this. And why the hell haven't US cities done something like this? With the incredible
amount of money they could make, not to mention the historical and teaching value of having something like this, dang there need
to be more of these all over the world! This was surely the most impressive thing I had seen from anyplace I had ever been. We
stopped in the gift shop and then had some lunch when we were done, then headed for home.
The following afternoon we went into the city so that Marco could buy his tickets to come visit me in May. Yay! I was so excited
that he was gonna finally get to come to America and that I would be able to return the hospitality that he had shown me. After that
we walked around did some shopping and then went home. For the rest of that day and the next few days we mostly stayed around
the house. One of the days I was in a cleaning mood. Don't ask me why, because it very rarely ever happens. So while he was
playing online, I cleaned everything. Ok, so I rearranged everything too! Poor Marco, by the time I was done, he was asking me,
"where is this? where is that?" hahaha But I had fun and it kept me occupied. Besides, before it looked like a man-house and now it
just looked like a house.
New Years Eve is celebrated in his town pretty much like ours is here. With only a few minor differences. Like riot police,
fireworks being shot from windows, huge bonfires, that sort of thing. Conny, Jan, Marco and I had gone to the 'gypsies' the night
before so they could stock up on their fireworks. And tonight we were going to their house to celebrate along with the neighbors
(Arnie and his wife) that we had visited my first night there. Marco had told me about the fires and riots from years past.
Apparently each town used to have an unspoken contest to see who could make the largest fire out of the old Christmas trees. Well,
being the competitive people that they are, it was taken too far every year. People from each town would literally sneak into other
towns and steal trees, boxes, wood, anything they could use to burn. This of course would cause fights, which would turn into
full-fledged riots. After many years of chaos on New Years Eve, there was a law banning the bonfires in all towns except for Den
Haag. Well, this is the town that Marco lives in, and the bonfire was held in a field at the end of his street. Lucky me. We had
walked down earlier to see them preparing the pile to be burned. It was across the street from a 2-story building, and the top of the
pile was just about even with the top of the building. This was gonna be one hell of a fire!
We went over to Conny and Jan's house that evening. Conny has got to be the ultimate of all hostesses. She had everything set up
beautifully. Tons of food, drink, decorations, it looked great. And she would barely ever sit down. She was constantly bringing out
more food and appetizers and passing them around. I'm hiring her for my next party! hahaha As soon as nighttime hit, the fireworks
started being shot off all over the place. Now, for the 4th Of July here, people shoot off fireworks as well. Bottle rockets,
firecrackers, and small 'pretty ones'. So I have to explain, that when I say the fireworks were being shot off, I mean the fireworks
like you would see in a City Fireworks Display. These people had the HUGE fireworks and were shooting them off from their
windows and in the streets! Continue
