Can't Sleep

It's 5:30 am and that means it's time to be awake for a while. Our sleeping pattern is getting progressively better. Once we really started trying to sleep solidly, we still woke up, 2 am one night, 3am the next, last night 4am, and so tonight it follows that 5 am finds me thrashing about and trying to stay asleep. Seems to work out best if we just get up, do something productive for a half our or so, and try to sleep again. It's nice that we don't have to get up early and catch the shuttle for the train for the bus today. The housing people aren't picking us up at the hotel until 9:30 this morning. So here are some oddities and funny bits:

McDonald's serves a chicken satay sandwich: The McKip Sate

We were talking about the ancient spice trade (Dutch East India Company stuff) and learned that if you want to say something is exorbitantly expensive in Dutch, you say it's "Pepper Expensive".

We eat like barbarians. Everyone here eats everything with knife and fork, from home fries and hamburgers to individual sushi rolls that I would pop into my mouth whole.

From meeting on Wednesday: A 9 or 10 year old boy used 2 Timothy 4:12, about not letting anyone look down on your youth, as justification to not let anyone "disrespect" him.

Later, the brother conducting the last KM part was taking his time to call on someone because there were a lot of hands up, and he was trying to be fair and call on people in even distribution. The brother running the mic (which is on a huge long pole with massive head knocking potential) stood where he only saw one sister raising her hand. So, he gave her the mic to help the brother along. The brother called on her, saying, "well I guess my decision has been made for me, Sis oawheeiofnweo" (that's nothing like the actual name, but it was something African I can't begin to spell yet; so hopefully, no offense).

Accents are a funny thing... We have to listen a lot harder. Especially true at the Kingdom Hall, where you want to understand what the last person said, in part so that if you comment, you don't say the same thing. I told the people taking me out in service yesterday that I had no problem understanding their English, but I'm still having to listen extra hard to attune my ear to so many different accents here. For instance on brother from Nigeria speaks so rapidly that it's all I can do to process what he said before he says the next thing. They told me not to worry about that, no one can understand him. I wonder if they can understand me....or if they are just polite and good at guessing :)

Can someone tell me what this add is trying to say? The motto "Trust the Suit" is plain enough, but what is he about to do to that puppy?? We see this add a few times a day. In revolving doorways, which makes it hard to photograph.

Matt got a belly laugh from Rico (the guy helping us with immigration) by saying "if it ain't Dutch, it ain't much". He'd never heard that one before.

Okay, it's after 6am now, that means I can try to go back to sleep again.

Proost (cheers in Dutch)