What have I been doing?

Well, I guess I’ve neglected this thing for long enough. Ever since I’ve been back home for Christmas I’ve seem to lost my desire to keep up with my blog. Perhaps it’s because I’m tired of broadcasting things over the internet. Perhaps it’s because I suddenly became aware that people were reading, which means that they were able to see a bit into how I was feeling or doing. Maybe it’s because I know if I write all that I do, see, and experience that perhaps I’ll be bombarded by opinions about whether it was fun, stupid, right, or wrong. I’m not precisely sure why. But, I’ve definitely lost an inspiration. Sitting behind my computer and spending time with it is less and less desirable as the days go by. The only time I find pleasure in it is when I’m chatting/talking to a family member or a friend.

What have I been doing? The usual. I’ve watched four little kids, almost way too much. I’ve taken care of them, fed them, scolded them, and joked with them. We talk a lot. On weekends I try to keep busy with friends. That may become more difficult now because one just moved further away from me, and she was the one that I spent the most time with. However, I’ve also been able to hang out with others. Perhaps that will give a small remedy for the loss I feel, though it won’t give a whole. I’ve been trying to learn more. I’ve been learning more words in Dutch. I’ve come to know more people and to be able to converse with them freely. In fact, the last two weeks have been rather amazing for me because I’ve spent so very much time talking to people in Dutch. I liked that. I liked it very much.

Two weekends ago I hung out with friends. We went bowling. I’ll tell about this night because it was very fun. I enjoyed myself immensely. I, my friend Dorien, her boyfriend (Eric), his friend (Maartin) and friend’s girlfriend (Marlou), and another girl (Ingrid) went bowling. We were six, obviously. We bowled from 8:15 until 9:00, at which time we were required to stop. The night was young when we had to stop, and none of us really felt like heading home. So, I was told I needed to decide what we were to do. The options weren’t very good, at all, which made the choice rather easy. I chose that we would go to a place called “Big Daddy’s”. That place is a kind of bar/place to dance/place to get drinks and snacks/and a place to play pool. Basically, you pay to hang out, and it’s full of music and smoke. (Anybody freaking out yet? Shaking their heads?) The last thing that I mentioned to do, playing pool, is the one that took up all of my attention.

My first three shots were try-out shots at the game. They all went perfectly into the pockets of the table. After my friends saw this they formed the opinion that I was good at the game. We began a game, and I managed to not get one ball in for the whole game. Pretty terrible. After a few terrible games like this I started to watch Eric, Maartin, and Marlou because they all seemed to know what they were doing. I noticed one difference between me and them, but only one. Finally, Maartin decided to teach me how to play pool. He told me all the hints that he could. He showed me how to aim, how to shoot, how to hold the stick best, where to hit the target ball…everything he could. I must’ve been a good pupil because he’s bragged about me the only other time I’ve seen him, which was this weekend. I thought it quite funny.

How did I like pool? I like it very much and wish that I had the facilities to practice more often. I thought my mother might be upset when I told her I played pool in a bar, but she got all excited and said she’d been wanting to buy a pool table for a long time. Of course, that will never happen. But, yes, I enjoy it very much indeed. It’s a thinking game, a strategy game. But it’s a strategy game where you also get to physically move. I like that. I like it so much that Maartin and I have an agreement to play one more time before I leave. I don’t know when that will be, and I don’t know who will join us, but I’m looking forward to it greatly.