Assimilation

 Evidence That I Am Assimilating

I bought a 15 kilo bag of scoopable cat litter (that's over 30 lbs, my friends - 33 lbs to be pretty much exact), put it on the right side of my bike in the bike saddle bag, and stayed balanced riding said bike (I am using the word "balanced" strictly in the physics/gravity sense here) all the way home. The only counterweight was the bag I carry around with me daily, which I put in the left saddle bag, and which did not weigh anywhere near 33 lbs (although it gets close sometimes). Now if that feat doesn't make me worthy of permanent residency status, damned if I know what does!

I have mastered the fine art of not quite stopping all the way when I approach a red light on my bicycle. I can balance, virtually motionless, for several seconds while desperately hoping the light will change soon enough that I don't have to get off the bike and then start up again.

Sometimes people actually understand me the first time I say something in Dutch. Also, I am starting to think in Dutch sentence structure, even in English. Pretty soon, I'll be incomprehensible in both languages.

I have finally figured out how to type the € in Microsoft Word.



Evidence That I Still Have a Way to Go

I can't tell the difference between a wedding and a funeral. I've seen the participants in one of each, in passing, and both times just about everyone was dressed in black. But now I know that knee-length formal black jackets are worn by coffin-bearers, not by members of a wedding party, so I am making progress.

I still think Dutch people dress funny.

I do not understand why, on washers and dryers specifically designed for energy efficiency, approximately 16 little orange lights go on, and stay on, after a cycle is complete.

I have not figured out how to type the euro sign directly in this blog. Or anywhere other than in Word, for that matter. Do not be fooled by the cut-and-paste euro sign above.