Let’s meet!

I’ve been back in the Netherlands for quite some time now, and it’s been nice. Nice to know how things work, nice to know how to get things done, and nice to not to be laughed at for strange habits that don’t fit with how other people do things. But today, today I realized I’m still not back to my full Dutch self. I ran into two friends who said how’s the new house? Welcome to the neighborhood! And we should meet up sometimes!

To which I thought, but luckily didn’t say out loud, yes, some night next week would be good.

Because what they said was we’re having a barbecue on the 19th of May, want to join?

The nineteenth of May. That’s more than a month away. And they already know what time and place. My surprise made me realize I’ll probably never get back to my full Dutch self.