Dutch Sunday

My Sunday always starts at 10am, the latest. It’s automatic. Like a zombie, I go to the living room (roughly 10 steps from my bed) and turn on the TV. It’s “Eigen Huis En Tuin” day! It’s a Dutch-produced (and Dutch-spoken) show about home make-over. The three hosts (two guys and a pregnant yuppy) are assigned with their own cup of tea: one guy is assigned to gardening, the other guy is all interior and the girl, anything in between plus shop owner interviews. It’s fun.

After the show, it’s time to head out to the shower room. I have one hour and a half to pamper my self (shaving, nailcutting, etc.) before going to mass. The English mass here in Utrecht is held only once every Sunday. But that’s not the only reason not to catch the mass. The choir boasts of a pretty Latina choirmaster. A petite lady who’s a delight to sing along with when she gracefully conducts us (yes, she’s not all the time facing the choir, she sometimes confronts the audience and, with a smile, encourages everybody to sing). The only thing I observe in a mass here is that it’s very democratic. Meaning, you’re free when to rise, to sit or to kneel. It’s free-flowing, depending on your agility. I just follow what Leah is doing.

There are two itinerary options after mass: 1. get the bike and go home or 2. get the bike and look for a nice restaurant. Based on stats, it’s more Option Number 1. Last time we did Option Number 2 was when Leah had stories to share from their Cyprus outing. My favorite Option Number 2 was with Leah and Faye where we ended up eating some poppertjes at Viktor. It’s a plate of small pancakes cooked as the way you cook pancakes but in a cuter and smaller molds. It’s heavenly. If I have to enumerate some Dutch food, it must be poppertjes and Heineken.

At home, normally 2pm-ish, I just transform into my favorite me: a couch potato. Either with some American show reruns or with CNN (yeah, I am starting to like news!). The rest of the day is spent with another attempt at adobo and later, pressing a week-load of office garbs.

Boring enough? Not really especially during World Cup season where everybody is in orange (I even tried singing Coldplay’s “Yellow”, replacing all the key words with “orange”). Boring is, hmm, when you think of Mondays.