The Dutch are a nation  that can enjoy. And cheer on the whole,  especially the football players. For several weeks the  color orange reigns in the streets, the windows of apartments and cars,  in shops, on bikes... and when exactly the Netherlands play a match - the  people are wearing orange, and/or paint a flag on their faces. Regardless of their age and sex. Orange flags in the streets are now the usuall sight, but creativity of Dutch people never stops to  surprise me. Lanterns and crowns, the  orange balls or clogs on car aerials and those that pretend that it broke the  glass, plush mascots of various shapes and characters, balloons,  trumpets, banners, with various shouts ... In the downtowns, in the  cities and the villages - everywhere. When on Monday was a  match with Denmark, in Noeme's day-care was ordered that all children and staff  came dressed in orange. It's totally crazy! Our flags in the  windows at Euro 2008 seem to be very poor, when we'll compare it to everything, what's happening here - even before the beginning of the championship. I admit that I'm also wishing well to Dutch team - mainly out of curiosity, what's gonna happen if they will play in  the final. And that the Dutch can enjoy  is simply a fact. Indeed - if a child is  born, it is a happy home in the windows are adorned with decorations in  the appropriate color (pink or blue), once I saw in the garden of such  house a big balloon - almost as tall as the house itself - in the shape of  little baby, and once Annique brought from school blue candies, because a brother of her  colleague from the class was born. Well, I'd never had an  idea. And they did - cheerful nation. Such different from us -  eternal malcontents. Sure, I'm  generalizing and  exaggerating - as a Pole I'd never call myself a malcontent. And somehow I don't envy  them - I feel good in their company, but I do not envy. And I'd never switch my nationality with anyone, even if I could. Did I liked the problems?  But of course - life  without them would be terribly boring. Only recently I learned  to treat them as a diversion, not an insurmountable obstacle, and I  quite like this new system of thinking.
