Go-karts and laser tag, according to the Dutch, go together like cookies and cream, or eggs and bacon. I'm not sure why, but where ever there's a go-kart track in Holland, there's a laser tag game to go with it.
Actually, I do think I know why. Since here almost all go-karting is done indoors, these two space-intensive indoor activities compliment each other nicely.
Last night a group of about 8 of us from the office went go-karting and laser-tagging. The event was to celebrate the freedom of a cow-orker who's just quit to persue something (anything) else. Smart guy. And the best karter and laser shooter out of the whole group also.
I found the events fun, but tiring. As the only english speaker, non-dutch, in the group I was tasked with trying to follow a 7-way conversation between excited people. It was impossible. So thank goodness that the activities were fun.
Tonight I'm looking forward to hanging out with my expat friends and only enjoying english. Sad, but communicating in Dutch is still so much work that it takes the fun and joy out of simple social situations. Thankfully, with the karting lasering obsession here, when you get tired of speaking Dutch, you can take your frustrations out in physical ways.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Straight from my desk
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2 comments:
The only social setting in which shooting your companions is not only socially acceptable, but mandatory.
Update: Last night sitting with two other Dutch speakers, one native, I tried multiple times to instigate conversation in Dutch. After much teasing directed at me (for trying?) the conversation repeatedly switched back to English.
Quilly: Shooting your cow-orkers is fun. The only trouble is I was near last per the computer printout at the end of the game. My excuse was my shots were too perfectly centred on the torso and didn't activate the sensors spread elsewhere. (yeah, that's it.)
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