Having Fun

I've been gradually succumbing to a cold, and today two fun appointments got cancelled because of it. I was going to hang around, possibly do some grocery shopping, chat and share a prayer with a friend during the day, and then in the evening I was planning to go out clubbing - for the first time since I moved to Holland two years ago - with another friend. Sigh.

But just having these fun appointments has helped me remember how much fun I like to have. I don't miss clubbing, but I did enjoy getting dressed up and dancing the night away to great (or even mediocre) music. And I love letting my hair down with my friends! And there is nothing better than sharing day-to-day tasks with a friend!! A cup of tea, talking about recent developments, plans, and going off to the supermarket together.

I've decided I want to find a place to go ice-skating in Holland. They have tons of hockey arenas set aside, and speed-skating rings. But I want to figure skate!! So that might be a challenge, as figure skating isn't popular here. But I will find something and go at least once before March 2011!!

I also have booked myself in for a French language assessment. I knew no Dutch when I first moved here, but now I am considered fluent - I don't feel fluent, but according to how these things are measured I am. I was fluent in French as a teenager. I had participated in the Extended French program which is approximately half-way between the French Immersion and Core French programs in Ontario, where I'm from. So even though I haven't spoken or read much French in almost 2 decades, I suspect it won't take long before I'm fluent, or close to it, in French as well.

Why, you may ask, would I want to be fluent in random languages?? Well, I find languages interesting. When you speak in another language, you have to organize your thoughts within the limits of the grammar of the language. That requires your thoughts to become more flexible. And I have really enjoyed the challenge of learning Dutch, and now enjoy a social and cultural life in Dutch that was shut-out to me before.

I'm not sure what other fun things I want to do yet, but I plan on a lot! If I spend my whole life doing nothing but enjoy myself, I won't be disappointed!