Dutch Fundraisers

I met a brave little girl today. Well, she was either brave or she REALLY wanted her fundraising prize.

Yes, the Dutch schoolchildren have fundraisers. So far I've managed to avoid this Dutch experience by saying "Ik spreek Engels" (so why aren't I saying "I speak English" in English, then?) to the children who ring the doorbell. They look flustered, and then say "Thank you" and go away. Well, the girls offering a car wash didn't go away quite so easily, but they weren't too interested in washing my bicycle.

But today I met my match in a little girl, cute as a button, wearing knee-high orange and brown lace up boots, rainbow tights, a skirt and red jacket. Her blonde hair was in braids. (By the way, all little Dutch girls, according to Dan, must wear rainbow tights. It's fashion law or something.) My standard reply of "Ik spreek Engels" to her opening line was merely a fun challenge for her. I saw her swallow, take a deep breath, and then she said, "Kopen?" Smart girl..."kopen" means "shop" or "buy" or something of the nature. I understood right away what she wanted.

So I "kopened" with rainbow tights girl, pointing and smiling to show her what I wanted. And she somehow managed to get all the information she needed from me, despite me spelling out the information in a combination of French, Finnish, and Dutch letters. For future reference, "H" is not pronounced "osh" or "ho" - it's "ha" in Dutch. With my first attempt, she wrote an "X". Uh-oh. I need to re-learn my Dutch alphabet!

Nevertheless, another first is checked off my list!!