Vla

As I was pouring myself a cup of pudding tonight, I pondered all the things I've grown accustomed to since moving here, like pourable pudding (called vla!).

-New treats like vla and stroopwaffels.
-Life without credit cards. Our airmiles are suffering!
-Finding out about things as they happen...nearly all means of communication is in Dutch. "Oh, there's a marathon today. That's what those street closure signs were about."
-Dutch-speaking Chinese, Arabs, Africans, etc. This seems weird, I know, but think about our language in America: "Chinese-Americans", "African-Americans". Not the case here. And in Chinese restaurants, we sometimes have to order in Chinese since the workers often don't know English!
-Hearing Dutch and knowing the sounds are familiar, but not having a clue what is being discussed.
-Life on limited fossil fuels...bikes, trams, and trains, carrying our own bags to the grocery store, rampant recycling. This is something I'm increasingly glad about. The madness must end.
-Hearing our neighbors below us, on either side of us, and behind us. The baby to our north cries every night around 7 p.m. and the baby to our south cries around 3 p.m. The neighbor behind us (across the garden) needs to either close the blinds or wear clothing.
-Senior citizens wheeling down bike paths in their wheelchairs. There was an elderly couple with matching walkers in the store yesterday. So cute! And so refreshing how mobile they are here.
-Seinfeld with Dutch subtitles. I don't think Kramer is translate-able, however.
-Euros.
-Birds, birds everywhere. The cats love bird-watching as much as I do.
-Dog poop, dog poop everywhere. Beware where you step.

P.S. Vla is great...it comes in cardboard cartons (think quart of milk) and is meant to be poured. It tastes like the pudding served in the school lunches at Norrie Elementary (which I always liked).