Rain... and Going Dutch!

Well - it rained pretty good a couple of nights ago!  The whole place was soaking wet.  Immediately, when the rain started to fall, you got that smell of dirt rising from the ground, but getting pummelled by the raindrops.  I didn't get caught in the rain, however.  I was walking outside when the rain began to fall.  As soon as I got inside and the door shut behind me, you could hear the rain crashing down!   Last night I hung out with a group of Filipinos as they sung Karaoke... a very Pinoy thing to do!  ;)  I didn't sing, but it was neat to see.    Yesterday was the Feast of St. Nicholas of Bari.  If we were in class, we would have gone over the whole story of Santa Claus, etc..  Anyhow - The Dutch 'celebrate' his feast on the 5th of December.  I say 'celebrate' since the feast has been turned into a Christmas marketing scheme just like in North America.  Anyhow - they call Santa Claus 'Sinterklaus' (or 'Sinterklaas'... can't rmember the spelling).  Since the Dutch are the guys with the most influence where I am right now, they decided to bring this tradition to us.  They had 'Sinterklaas' come out (who was dressed like a Cardinal - dressed in red complete with Mitre and Crozier) who had 'intimate knowledge' of some Dutch people (obviously, people were asked to send in tidbits of their mates so that it would be funny).  They threw 'Paper Noten'... tiny gingerbread cookies... like confetti.  Sinterklaas was accompanied by Sveir Pete - supposedly a 'helper'... a touch that I'm sure not too many Canadians would appreciate.  (I think the Dutch are trying to come to terms with that issue of sensitivity... or lack thereof - in their own land).  Anyhow - it looked like the Dutch were having a good time.  They were talking in Dutch, so not many could understand.  It was weird though, as the Dutch blared Dutch children's music on these loudspeakers.  It was strange to hear children's voices singing while we were trying to get things done.  I must admit - it was kind of humourous to be where we are and have that going on at the same time.  One guy even shouted out in joking (but real) frustration: 'Geez - don't these Dutch know there's a war going on?!!!'.  Haha!  I guess you gotta keep your sense of humour no matter where you are.   We were going to go and get some food and the idea was that one guy would pay for the whole thing... just that the turn to buy would get around to all of us.  A Dutch Buddy jokingly protested the practice to me (preferring to buy only for himself) as he said: "Hey!  You know - there IS a reason why we call it: 'Going Dutch on buying dinner!'".  Haha!  (I'll make him buy for everyone next.)  Haha!  Just kidding.  ;)   Well - the next time you sit down to eat with a guy from the Netherlands - tell him: 'Eet Smakelijk!'.  That's the only Dutch I've learned.  It means something like: 'Enjoy your meal'.  I guess everyone remembers it because it is pronounced like you would be saying really fast: 'Eat, Smack, & Lick!'... something you could imagine Jughead from the cartoon 'Archie' doing when he intakes a stack of apple slice hamburgers at Pop's.   The Dutch are a good bunch of people to work with.  You most times always see the young Dutch troops with a smile - and they are always very willing to help out.  They run a very different army than what I'm used to, but this is the beauty of working with other nations.   It's almost time to get some scoff (or scran... other Brit-isms).  But since this has blog has a Dutch theme to it: Eet Smakelijk!  ;)