Tidbits

I found out some interesting things about other cultures today during my Dutch class. We were learning how to tell someone happy birthday and all the other celebratory words that go with it and we began talking about what birthdays are "big" birthdays.

In the Netherlands, 16 is a big age.  Not because you can drive (they can't until 18 and even then it's very expensive and very difficult to get your license) but because you can buy alcohol.  People started chiming in the legal age in their country (most were 18) and someone looked at me and said "Is it 21 in America still?". Everyone was pretty shocked about that.  I made a joke that maybe that's why they don't get their license until they're 18 here...give them a few years to get their partying out of their system before they get behind a wheel.:)

Also, we should be thankful for our current point system for driving. Most countries seem to have an ongoing point system that never starts over. And some countries you only have a system until you're 21 or something and then there's nothing.

Another embarrassing moment happened during class when we were discussing how to end a postcard or letter. My Australian friend said "We usually end our letter with 'cheese'!" I yelled out, "Cheese?! why do you say that? like when you're taking a picture?" No one else seemed bewildered by it. She said," No, no, no, cheese!" Only then did I realize that she was trying to say "cheers" but I wasn't getting that because of her accent. Everyone got a good laugh out of that one.

And I almost got attacked by a goose on my bike today. I was stopped for traffic and literally had to ride into traffic because this crazy goose was waddling down the road, hissing and quacking at me.

It's been an interesting day so far and it's only 2:00.