Insights into a Bimbo's Mind

NL Diaries: Sack of potatoes

Sunday, June 26, 2005

Sunday morning, my 3rd day in a foreign land. The quiet and peaceful neighbourhood of Maasluiss, a small town in the southwest of the Netherlands and north of Belgium, woke up to the maximum decibel screams of an Asian girl in their backyard. “Waaaaaahhhhh!”….

Then a soothing (close to pleading) voice of a fellow dutchie saying, “You have to take some risks, darling… You can do it.. Come on.. be brave, girl.. TRY again!”…

Then the Asian girl goes again… “aaa.. aaa… aaarggh… Waaaarggghhhh…!! I can’t! I GIVE UP!!!”
I mean, you can’t blame me for waking up the whole neighbourhood. The last time I ever rode a bicycle was when I was 10 and I was riding around town trying to intimidate everyone on my fashionable BMX, the thunderbolt edition. And as the dutchies are famous for riding the bicycles everywhere they go, I thought my relationship with bicycles could be re-lived. Well, unfortunately not. After seeing that the furthest I went without hitting a wall or toppling sideways was about 3 metres, Narrrling finally let out a loud sigh and offered to let me sit at the back of his bicycle before I drove myself into a canal.”Asian girl drowns in canal while learning how to ride a bicycle”. Not exactly glamorous neither.

So there I was, riding among flowers and trees, canals and bridges, looking like a princess behind this dutch man who’s trying his best not to pant out loud and yet somehow find the breath to tell stories and history of the buildings we pass. Sometimes we passed some windows and looking at my own reflection, I sort of felt a bit guilty. I mean, even if Narrrling was working as a delivery boy, there won’t be a sack of potatoes that heavy to carry around.

Narrrling drove me about for 45 minutes or so, showing me his beloved home town. I must agree it is a truly beautiful town with people always ready to smile to an Asian girl sitting clumsily behind a bicycle and birds always ready to chirp a song or two when we drove by. Flowers were blooming in all the colours of heaven and the weather was cool and breezy. Simply perfect.

At the end of the trip, Narrrling had small circular creases all around his originally nicely ironed shirt as I was using his shirt as a balance gripper whenever we made dangerous swerves and turns. I also had squarish patterned imprints on my big butt from sitting on the hard metal piece behind the bicycle. But I must say it was a wonderful Sunday morning spent cruising around town.

posted by Miki-C @ 1:28 PM