Saturday I went to the Keukenhof, the biggest flower garden in the world. I'm usually not a big flower person, but I was floored. Not only were there a lot of flowers—over 7 million, but they were all gorgeous. Every color you can imagine was represented, and almost every combination of colors. I think I enjoyed the smell most, though. Every once in a while, the wind would be just right, and you'd get this wonderful smell, especially when daffodils were nearby. . Ah. The biggest downside was the crowd. When we first got there around 9:30, things weren't too busy, and you could pretty much do as you please. As the day wore on, though, more and more people came, and it started to feel a little like an amusement park. Wherever you were, you were either in somebody's way or in their picture. Another highlight was playing surrogate father to two little boys. I met their mom while I was signing up for the trip, and we walked around together for several hours. It was a lot of fun. The youngest, Eva, was wearing Winnie the Pooh pants, and asked me “Waar is de...” (Where is the) pig, tiger, etc, and I actually learned more Dutch than I do in my Dutch class. He really liked getting behind me and making farting noises. That's one thing that doesn't change no matter where you go: the sound of laughter and five year olds' sense of humor. Anyway, it was a great trip. I posted some pictures, but they don't really do it justice. If you're ever in the Netherlands, go there.
I'm also enjoying the Dutch class I'm taking. I haven't made much progress in actually learning Dutch (It's not really necessary to know Dutch, but it comes in handy sometimes, especially when you're shopping. A couple days ago I wanted to make curried lentils and rice, and I decided to get the green lentils—which were right next to the red lentils I usually get. When I tried it, it tasted terrible, and I discovered that I had gotten split peas instead of lentils.), but the two ladies who lead it are great. They're in their mid-50s and are little firecrackers. They usually don't go more than 5 or so minutes without laughing, so it's a lot of fun. Last week, we were learning the word for pencil (potlood), and they asked me what I called my mechanical pencil in English. I told them, and they burst out laughing. They think it's funny that we use such a long adjective. I had never thought of it before, but it is kind of a long word. Not so long that I would burst out laughing, but I'm glad they did.
There's a club that's designing and building their own airplane, and I've been helping with the production side of things a couple times a week. It's fun, not only because I get to use power tools, but it's also good getting to know the guys. They're all either Dutch or Dutch-speaking Belgians. Every once in a while we go to a pub and have a beer when we're done working. A month or so ago we got into a conversation about politics, which was very interesting. For instance, if a police officer uses any kind of force against a criminal, he's suspended for a year while they review the incident, except in the most extreme cases. We also talked about different electoral systems, specifically our two-party system vs. their multi-party system, and I have to admit, I think theirs makes more sense. Overall, Dutch politics is a little liberal for my taste (the guy I was talking to said Democrats would be right-wing here), but I'm impressed nevertheless. It certainly works well enough for them. Anyway, back to this plane we're building. It's made out of composites, with the exception of a steel frame and a few other parts. For the first couple months, I helped make the wing; now I'm involved with cutting parts for the frame.
A couple weeks ago, all the museums in Holland were free, so I went to the Prinsenhof and the Leger (Army) Museum, both in Delft. William of Orange, the father of the Netherlands, spent a lot of time in the Prinshenhof—in fact, he was assassinated there (see the picture with the bullet holes in the wall). Today, it's a historical museum. It was interesting to see the Netherlands develop from a bunch of nobles fighting for independence from the Hapsbugs an independent state to one of the great European powers. The Leger Museum was very cool, as I got to see guns and tanks and all that. A lot of the information was in Dutch, but it was still pretty interesting. I learned that the Dutch were the premier firearm manufacturers in the 17th and 18th centuries, which I wouldn't have guessed.
I really like the church I've been going to. It's an ecumenical church run by the International Student Chaplaincy at the university. It really is an international church—whites are a distinct minority. Most of the congregation is either African or Asian. The music is also international—last week we sang songs from Spain, France, Indonesia, Kenya, Italy, and America. So that's fun. I also liked the way they did Holy Week. For Maundy Thursday, we had a meal together, and then washed each other's feet and meditated on the passion. For Easter, we had a breakfast and shared how we celebrate Holy Week in our respective countries. In the Phillipines, about 45 people volunteer to play the part of Jesus in a passion play, and are even nailed to a cross for a few minutes. Pretty intense. Then the service, and then a potluck afterwards. Between that and the snow we got, I felt right at home. And any church that feeds you twice in one day has to be alright. I've also met some great people there, including an ex-aerospace engineer from Michigan who is now writing novels.
The weather has been really nice the last few weeks. It hasn't rained, which is notable because it hadn't been dry more than one day in a row during the previous too months. Holland is a much better country when it's not raining.
Well, class is about to start, and I'm tired of writing, so that's all for now.
Oh, one more thing. I got around to posting some pictures, which you can see here: http://picasaweb.google.com/ppaschka
