life in orange...

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.