another week in sf

Dear sisters,

A and I went dressed up as Scott and Charlene from Neighbors to a 40th birthday party with an Australian theme. Besides the host, we were the only ones that actually dressed up, because as you know we take our themes seriously. The Americans at the party had no clue who Charlene and Scott were, they did not even know who Kylie Minogue was, let alone Jason Donovan. It is scary to now be aware of the void of understanding between us. They thought Allard had come dressed as a German talk show host and that I usually wore shoulder pads extending up and out.

The now seven year olds birthday came and went with lots of lego, a treasure hunt, and the annual sleepover. The sound of four boys screaming at the top of their lungs, just for the fun of it, is a unique natural phenenoman to be missed at all costs. I spent the next two evenings building Lego sets and got quite into it.

I spent a full Saturday at the ER with a swollen knee I had been unable to bend. All the interns got to feel my knee and practise their patient interviewing techniques; "so your knee is troubling you, could you tell me if are you are sexually active?" Who do you prefer, men or woman?

Are there sexually transmitted knee swellings?

I was on the verge of saying something laid back like that, but suddenly I turned red and mumbled" uh, ..I am married". As if that answers the questions. The guess was that there was fluid in my knee as a result of my blood thinners, the rat poison working too hard, but the knee is much better now, thank you. Back to yoga.

Speaking of which. In California, it is just a matter of time before one goes from practicing yoga to participating in yoga protests. I spent a few hours being an extra for the filming of a yoga class, to raise awareness for the capture of the two American journalists in North Korea. We had to look uplifting and chant mainly. I did not know the words but they sounded like "Touch my tree, goody, hey, mani mani. Over and over again: touch my tree. I think that's what it was.



Queensday was celebrated in SF too, with the Dutch and friends of the Dutch in the Supperclub. This year we decided to wear orange. There was a blue bunny walking around that got a lot of attention. We like to think he has a really boring day job, for which he has to wear a grey suit all day. The party went ahead despite the attempt to assault the Queen earlier that day, back in the low country.







Love, S1