Wednesdays [OFF]

Wednesdays I do not work. Errr, I should say: I am not paid for working on Wednesdays. My office job is of 32 hours. Like most mothers in the Netherlands I have Wednesdays off. That is the most exhaustive day of the week. Children are at school only until noon an then they go home for lunch. On wed. afternoon Dutch children follow gym lessons, or swimming or football or ballet.

Occasionally my son invites another child to play with him at home. The respective mothers discuss about it, make agreements, change addresses and phone numbers.

Yesterday I had two little friends to have lunch and take to the playground. I had told to one of the mothers: "I live at street xxxxx near shop xxxxxx, on number xxxxx" . She agreed to pick up her child at 3 o'clock, cause he had to go to gym lessons. 3 o'clock sharp she arrived riding her bike. I was amazed by her punctuality and sense of direction.

I have to open a parentheses here. Many new built areas in Holland have all the streets with the same name. It works like that: the land where a shut down factory or old building used to be gives place to lots of blocks of houses. All the streets receive the same name. The numbers go from  to 20 to 100, when you turn left the name of the street is the same but the numbers go from 220 to 300 and you turn right the numbers are... weel, there is just no logic.

When I have friends coming for the first time to my place they use to call from their mobile to say they were disturbed by the absence of logic with the numbers. I then go outside to meet them about 200 m from where they should be (my address).

But the Dutch always find their way. They probably smell the address or it is something genetic. It is like latinos who are "always" happy, the cloggies have another logic. It is called clogic.