my odd life

i'm realizing more and more i have an odd life. it's not that i have a lot of particularly exciting or abnormal things in my life, the problem is that i often do normal things in abnormal ways. i realized this already back in Grand Rapids but it's become more obvious as i return to life in Amsterdam.

almost everybody bikes in Amsterdam. and you bike in whatever clothes you happen to be wearing for the day, so seeing a woman biking in a skirt is pretty normal. biking to school in Grand Rapids (especially since everything is so far away) is fairly unusual. the fact that i think i should be able to do it in a skirt definitely raised a few eyebrows.

most people work. i taught for awhile (and study lots and do other random things). my father drives truck. back home, sometimes i catch a ride with him to visit people (it's cheaper and i have wonderful chats with my father). since i still had to hand in grades last time i went with him, i took my exams with me in the truck. i assume most graduate level work doesn't get graded in the front seat of a transport truck :)

it's perfectly normal to eat breakfast. it's not so normal to eat breakfast with 15 other people. a typical number here in Amsterdam. we won't even get into the silence we have during evening meals during lent.

most people eat bread - and get it from the store on a regular basis. my bread, however, comes from a large garbage bag in a bin downstairs - where it's picked up from a bakery (day-old bread) by somebody on a bike (i'll take my turn again this summer).

watching football with 25 people of (at least) half a dozen different nationalities is relatively normal. that i could do it in my kitchen area with a whole range of ages while crazy people (most likely british tourists) jumped into the canal outside of the window is relatively unusual.

and spending the evening playing games is fairly normal family activity, although certainly not everybody plays sjoelbak (although i did grow up playing it like a good dutch kid). and few people do so, with people staring at them through the windows and yelling, "sjoelbak!". and i figure it's fairly unusual to get to play sjoelbak with an 80-something year-old nun.

i think the following line of the prayer i heard today in church captures my feelings well:
"en wij bidden voor Amsterdam, deze prachtige stad met alle de rare mensen..." (and we pray for Amsterdam, this beautiful city with all these weird people...."

i can't imagine anywhere else i'd rather live and pray for.