What to do while waiting for a beach wedding in Isabela, Puerto Rico?

Sit and admire the view from our room. I can think of worse ways to spend a few days :-)

Grocery Thief at the Safeway

Brett and I went to Safeway today to stock up on some American food. We were checking out and I noticed an elderly man at the end of the register putting a few of our groceries in a bag. I thought he was the customer in front of Brett, so walked over and said politely "I think those are ours." The man said "I know." Brett jumped in and said "Lori - they bag groceries for you here. Remember?" Oops. I felt like such an idiot and apologized profusely to the poor bag packer who continued to look at me like I was crazy.

In Amsterdam grocery shopping is a little more self serve. You unpack your basket and then have to furiously start packing everything up before the next person's stuff comes streaming down the belt - stopping to quickly pay somewhere in the process. They have a little dividing bar to make sure customer groceries don't mix - but we've still been caught "holding up the line" with bigger grocery purchases when the 3rd person in line is trying to get their groceries packed up, the 2nd person is still packing, and we haven't finished. Then you see the looks of disapproval from the customers behind you and the occasional annoyed look on the cashier's face.

That poor bag packer at Safeway. He probably thought the crazy lady was being mean to him - accusing him of stealing her groceries when he was just doing his job. Have I really been gone that long that I've forgotten standard grocery store protocol? Geesh. I'm an idiot (or jet lagged, or both :-)

Here we come!

Brett and I are flying back to the US today for a 2 week tour of Washington, DC, Isabela Puerto Rico and Orlando, Florida. Much eating, drinking and shopping is sure to be done. And talking. With me, there's always talking. Can't wait to see family and friends.

Zwarte Piet - A tough Dutch tradition for Americans

Here in Amsterdam, there are two big days for Christmas. The first is December 5th when St. Nicholas (Sinterklaas) comes to Amsterdam by Steamboat from Spain with his helper, Zwarte Piet (Black Pete)to give good children presents. The 2nd is December 24th where families gather for a holiday dinner and open presents.

A skinny Santa from Spain in early December is kind of fun, but the concept of "Black Pete" as Santa's helper makes me uncomfortable. I'm sure my emotions are shaped by our US history with slavery, and I know I'm not in the US right now - but I still can't quite get over my discomfort with this tradition. There's a funny David Sedaris story on the topic called 6-8 Black Men It's worth the read if you've got a few minutes, and summarizes the tradition from an American point of view.

Shoe Lacing - Amsterdam style

Did you know that the way you lace your Nikes tells people where you're from? I didn't - but a friend of mine told me this is how people know he's from Amsterdam. Who knew?

Vomit Inducing Dutch Carnival Rides

I saw this street fair the other weekend. Maybe it's just me, but these rides look WAAAAAY more stomach churning than the ones I saw at carnivals growing up. Look at the people upside down on the ride on the right. Yikes! I did find the "wheel of meat"above the grill at the refreshment stand amusing though :-)

We can stay!

Brett and I got our residency decisions from the Dutch government and it looks like they're going to let both of us stay in Amsterdam for our 1 year contracts. That's nice to hear - especially since on our visit to Ireland, my passport was stamped with a mark that said I had to leave the country after 7 days! Brett didn't have that restriction. I'm hoping it was random otherwise I'm going to develop an inferiority complex :-)