| Traveling to Holland (3) |
Eventually I gave up and sat back down. Poor Marco, all he wanted to do was sit quietly and read his paper. Now he was being
forced to listen to me babble .... "What if this isn't the theater at all?" "What if this is some kind of conference room that isn't gonna
be used this trip, and so nobody will ever open the door and we will be stuck in here with no food and no drink and no bathroom?"
"Great, now I have to pee." "What if the ship crashes and we can't get to the lifeboats because we can't get the damn door open?"
"How are we gonna get out of here?" "What if we run out of air?" I have to admit, Marco was doing a pretty good job of staying
calm (or ignoring me, whichever you prefer to call it). I just kept thinking, "Wasn't he worried about any of these things? How the
hell can he sit there so calm and read that damn newspaper?" Geesh!
Just about that time I looked back over to where the door was, saw it open, and watched other people walk in. Now, you would
think that I would be super happy and excited that we were now saved right? Hmmm well I would have been, except for the fact that
Marco's laughter was drowning out any thoughts that I could have possibly had. Apparently, in order to open the door, all I had to
do was PUSH, not pull. Twenty minutes of standing in front of that damn door and I couldn't figure that out? OhMyGawd, I needed
a drink and I needed it NOW! hahaha
When the movie ended, we spent the remainder of the time walking around, watching people, talking, and standing out on the
deck. As we got closer to Holland, and started being able to see the actual coastline, Marco started telling me all about it. He told
me all about the history of the ships, the trade, the dikes that kept the ocean from flooding it again, just everything. I love listening
to him talk about Holland. He says things with such pride, and knows so much about the history of his country. Hell, I don't even
think I could list the 50 states if you paid me. (there are 50 states right? hahaha) Seriously though, I could sit and listen to him tell
me about it for hours, and never get bored.
The closer we got, the more excitement I felt. I was gonna get to see his home - where he lived, where he slept, where he sat when
we talked on the computer. Everything I had pictured in my mind, was now going to become a reality. The only thing I was truly
nervous about, was meeting his sister. He had told me a lot about her, and loved her very much. From everything he told me, I
gathered that she was very protective over him. She was the oldest, and he was the baby. (Marcotje = little Marco) From my own
experience as the oldest sister, I know that no matter how old my youngest sister is, she will always be 'the baby' and I will always
look out for her.
Let me backtrack here a little bit. About the 2nd week after Marco had left on his holiday, I asked him on the phone what his
family thought about him meeting me. I was curious what they thought about him meeting someone from the Internet. Shock is not
the word to describe what I felt when he said that he hadn't told them! OhMyGawd, he was just gonna show up with me? Never give
them any warning? Was he trying to kill me or what? Needless to say, I told him that he WAS gonna tell them about me BEFORE I
got there. He just laughed. Every time we spoke, I asked him if he told his sister about me yet. Every time he said, "No, not yet."
Once I was actually in Ireland I asked him if he told her yet, and he said yes. I of course wanted to know what she thought of it. He
said she just laughed and asked what I was like. But that she thought it was great. I really hadn't thought of it again until now. Until
I knew within the next few hours we would be sitting in his home directly across the street from her. What the hell, I hadn't invented
something to worry about since the door incident, and that was a whole 2 hours ago, so I obviously needed something new!
The ship finally docked and we were on our way. I got the same feelings I had when I was in Ireland. I couldn't believe I was
actually here. The drive to Marco's home from the dock was about 20-30 minutes. He told me about every section of the city as we
drove through it. I was listening to what he said, but I was more interested in just taking everything in at once. I looked at
everything, in every direction as we drove. I wanted to remember it all. It actually was not all that different from St. Louis. The
buildings were a lot older, more historic looking, but the landscape was pretty much the same. So were the roads. The only big
difference that I could see were the 'squares' that they have in some intersections. Most had traffic lights, but some had a different
sort of system for getting from one side to the other. Don't ask me to explain it, because I still don't understand it.
Once we got off the main roads and onto the smaller side streets I knew we had to almost be there. Gawd my heart was pounding
I was so excited. Finally Marco said, "This is it, this is my street". Yay! We pulled up in front of his house and got out of the car. I
was just standing there looking all around with a smile on my face. Well, the smile disappeared as soon as he said, "Ok Dawn, leave
your stuff in the car, we have to go to my sister's house to get my key." Holy shit! I had to meet her NOW? After traveling for over
30 hours without a shower? Looking like this? Are you KIDDING ME?! I told him "No Way! I don't want to go! I'll wait in the car
for you to come back." He just said, "You're fine Dawn, c'mon let's go." Didn't he realize how nervous I was about meeting his
sister? Much less doing it when I looked like Hell-warmed-over? Not to mention, that I'm sure I smelled a little ripe by this time.
The only thoughts I had as I walked across the street with him were that obviously Gawd had spared me from a quick and
painless death on the plane, just to keep me alive long enough for him to sit up there and laugh at me suffering a slow, torturous
death, as he threw these little mini-dramas into my life! I swear, I truly believed that any and everyone that I've ever pissed off, had
friends up there sitting next to him, getting to choose my next form of torture. Continue
forced to listen to me babble .... "What if this isn't the theater at all?" "What if this is some kind of conference room that isn't gonna
be used this trip, and so nobody will ever open the door and we will be stuck in here with no food and no drink and no bathroom?"
"Great, now I have to pee." "What if the ship crashes and we can't get to the lifeboats because we can't get the damn door open?"
"How are we gonna get out of here?" "What if we run out of air?" I have to admit, Marco was doing a pretty good job of staying
calm (or ignoring me, whichever you prefer to call it). I just kept thinking, "Wasn't he worried about any of these things? How the
hell can he sit there so calm and read that damn newspaper?" Geesh!
Just about that time I looked back over to where the door was, saw it open, and watched other people walk in. Now, you would
think that I would be super happy and excited that we were now saved right? Hmmm well I would have been, except for the fact that
Marco's laughter was drowning out any thoughts that I could have possibly had. Apparently, in order to open the door, all I had to
do was PUSH, not pull. Twenty minutes of standing in front of that damn door and I couldn't figure that out? OhMyGawd, I needed
a drink and I needed it NOW! hahaha
When the movie ended, we spent the remainder of the time walking around, watching people, talking, and standing out on the
deck. As we got closer to Holland, and started being able to see the actual coastline, Marco started telling me all about it. He told
me all about the history of the ships, the trade, the dikes that kept the ocean from flooding it again, just everything. I love listening
to him talk about Holland. He says things with such pride, and knows so much about the history of his country. Hell, I don't even
think I could list the 50 states if you paid me. (there are 50 states right? hahaha) Seriously though, I could sit and listen to him tell
me about it for hours, and never get bored.
The closer we got, the more excitement I felt. I was gonna get to see his home - where he lived, where he slept, where he sat when
we talked on the computer. Everything I had pictured in my mind, was now going to become a reality. The only thing I was truly
nervous about, was meeting his sister. He had told me a lot about her, and loved her very much. From everything he told me, I
gathered that she was very protective over him. She was the oldest, and he was the baby. (Marcotje = little Marco) From my own
experience as the oldest sister, I know that no matter how old my youngest sister is, she will always be 'the baby' and I will always
look out for her.
Let me backtrack here a little bit. About the 2nd week after Marco had left on his holiday, I asked him on the phone what his
family thought about him meeting me. I was curious what they thought about him meeting someone from the Internet. Shock is not
the word to describe what I felt when he said that he hadn't told them! OhMyGawd, he was just gonna show up with me? Never give
them any warning? Was he trying to kill me or what? Needless to say, I told him that he WAS gonna tell them about me BEFORE I
got there. He just laughed. Every time we spoke, I asked him if he told his sister about me yet. Every time he said, "No, not yet."
Once I was actually in Ireland I asked him if he told her yet, and he said yes. I of course wanted to know what she thought of it. He
said she just laughed and asked what I was like. But that she thought it was great. I really hadn't thought of it again until now. Until
I knew within the next few hours we would be sitting in his home directly across the street from her. What the hell, I hadn't invented
something to worry about since the door incident, and that was a whole 2 hours ago, so I obviously needed something new!
The ship finally docked and we were on our way. I got the same feelings I had when I was in Ireland. I couldn't believe I was
actually here. The drive to Marco's home from the dock was about 20-30 minutes. He told me about every section of the city as we
drove through it. I was listening to what he said, but I was more interested in just taking everything in at once. I looked at
everything, in every direction as we drove. I wanted to remember it all. It actually was not all that different from St. Louis. The
buildings were a lot older, more historic looking, but the landscape was pretty much the same. So were the roads. The only big
difference that I could see were the 'squares' that they have in some intersections. Most had traffic lights, but some had a different
sort of system for getting from one side to the other. Don't ask me to explain it, because I still don't understand it.
Once we got off the main roads and onto the smaller side streets I knew we had to almost be there. Gawd my heart was pounding
I was so excited. Finally Marco said, "This is it, this is my street". Yay! We pulled up in front of his house and got out of the car. I
was just standing there looking all around with a smile on my face. Well, the smile disappeared as soon as he said, "Ok Dawn, leave
your stuff in the car, we have to go to my sister's house to get my key." Holy shit! I had to meet her NOW? After traveling for over
30 hours without a shower? Looking like this? Are you KIDDING ME?! I told him "No Way! I don't want to go! I'll wait in the car
for you to come back." He just said, "You're fine Dawn, c'mon let's go." Didn't he realize how nervous I was about meeting his
sister? Much less doing it when I looked like Hell-warmed-over? Not to mention, that I'm sure I smelled a little ripe by this time.
The only thoughts I had as I walked across the street with him were that obviously Gawd had spared me from a quick and
painless death on the plane, just to keep me alive long enough for him to sit up there and laugh at me suffering a slow, torturous
death, as he threw these little mini-dramas into my life! I swear, I truly believed that any and everyone that I've ever pissed off, had
friends up there sitting next to him, getting to choose my next form of torture. Continue
