I hate to admit this fact, but it's true. We got a BRAND NEW car in Holland, and have been here for 6 months, and it's never been washed or
vacuumed out. (If you thought my car at home was messy, you ain't seen NOTHING...add about 5lbs of sand to the mix!)
So, I decided to bite the bullet and try to figure out how the Dutch wash their cars. I went to the gas station, and the lady behind the counter was very helpful. She asked me what number wash I wanted. Then she gave me my
receipt, with the code to enter into the wash. Simple enough, it's just like back home. I thought I would enjoy sitting in the car with a cup of
cappo, and some music. So, I went up to the
cappuccino machine and it was one where you had to insert a coin for a whooping 6 oz. cup of
cappo. I couldn't read the sign to see how much it cost, so I had to go ask the lady. I inserted my money, and I'm not sure what I was thinking, but I pushed the button and let go and the
cappuccino started flowing. Only problem was that I never grabbed a cup to place below the machine...so now
cappo is splattering all over the counter and hitting my coat. I start swearing (by accident) and am panicking. 6oz. sure doesn't seem like much when you are drinking it, but when it's flowing all over the place, it seemed to last forever.
So, Now that I have this whole thing licked and everyone in line is staring at the crazy American, I put more money in and get my nice small glass of
cappo. Now, it's just me, the car, and a little Carrie Underwood!
I drive the car around to the wash, I get out and try to enter the code and it won't work. I keep trying over and over again, and it still won't work. I see a little button that looks like a microphone and buzz it and ask for help. The lady can't understand my
English through the system. So, I sit and wait, and I get nothing. I tried pushing the button two more times, yelling as loudly and as slowly as I could, "The car wash won't work." Finally, the lady comes out, and tells me, in a not so nice voice, that I need to pull my car in the wash until it says stop, and then get out of my car and enter the code. She told me that she was very busy and had a long line of people waiting for her. (Wonder what I sounded like over the intercom in the store?)
I drove my car into the car wash and a big stop sign starts flashing. I get out of the car and am trying to figure out how the heck I'm going to "High-Tail" it back to my car before the water starts spraying. I'm getting a bit nervous and I'm now thinking that maybe I should just do this another day, when the lady isn't so busy. But, I figured, I came this far, I guess I'll try it. (I had a babysitter, and didn't have the kids with me.)
Now a car pulled up behind me, and was waiting. It had an older couple inside of it. I went up to the machine, and started to enter my numbers. When I was finished, I started sprinting back to my car...trying to beat the wash from starting. As I'm running, the machine clicks on, and I hear people behind me YELLING at me in Dutch. I'm looking at them, and they are waving. Now, I"m getting wet and the machine is starting to move. I have NO choice, but to run out of the garage towards the street. The little old man is trying as hard as he can, to get out of his car. I get out to the street, and he is speaking in Dutch frantically. I told him I speak English. He asked me what I was doing? I told him I was just trying to go sit in my car, and he laughed. In Holland you NEVER sit in your car when it is getting washed. You always pull the car up, get out, enter the code, and stand outside the garage and wait till it is finished. We all had a GOOD laugh about it, as I sat there with spotty wet hair. So much for my
cappo and Carrie Underwood! Guess I'll have to save that for the States!
On another note: This morning, I got up and Erik got up and was in a GREAT mood. He asked me excitedly if I heard about the Packer Game last night. (As if I see any news or newspaper in English first thing in the morning.) Then he proceeds to tell me ALL about it, and how it went into over-time. Finally, it came out that he went to bed last night, and slept for four hours. He set his alarm to wake up at 2am for the second half of the game and over-time. He went back to bed around 3:30am. You can tell that someone doesn't have to get up with the kids in the middle of the night!
Other than that, my cousin Bailey is coming to visit tomorrow from Spain! She's here for the weekend and I can't wait! We plan to do Delft, Den
Haag, and Amsterdam. The American School in the Hague is hosting a trick-or-treating event on Saturday night. I'm sure I'll have lots of stories, since we get a map and have to drive around to the houses that are participating! The Dutch don't celebrate Halloween.
The boys, before we left to go to the park for a small Halloween party we hosted with friends!
The Dutch don't celebrate Halloween. In fact, the city is all lit up for "Cinder-Clause". They celebrate our "Christmas" on Dec. 5th. They call him "Cinder-Clause" and he came on a boat with a helper- "Swarte Pete" from Spain.
So, the Dutch are in X-Mas mode already and have been toy shopping and hanging lights the past week or so.
