Happy moment

Friday evening we said goodbye to Ernest, Floris and Annemarie in Utrecht. I then travelled with Mariette to De Meern, where her parents live. We were reaching home, I was really welcomed by her parents. I was really very glad seeing them and also I was giving a very nice room. It was nice to be with the family.
Saturday morning (04/03) we had breakfast and we talked at the table, the Dutch way. Then Mariette and me went to the market in Utrecht, where her parents had a shop for fabrics. It was nice to be at the market. That was my first time seeing a market with only fabrics. There I got two pieces of Real Holland Wax (African fabrics) for Felicia. And also interesting interacting with the traders there. For the first time I saw how the stroopwafel was made. It was really very tasty, I tried it hot. After that we also interacted with the traders in the shops too. We had coffee at the cafe Marktzicht. We discussed a lot of issues. We later had some lunch there. At one o'clock we had to help mum and dad to pack the goods into the truck. This was really nice to do. Then after we went to a shop to shop for an African dish. This was red red. Fortunately we had all we needed. Then after we got caught up in the rain while waiting for the bus. On reaching home mum and dad were already waiting for us. This parents of Mariette were really really caring. I was also happy with Mariettes mother, though she spoke small small English. She tried to speak more and more and I understood well most of the time. It's a very hard working mum, who really cared for me as a mother. I'm really proud being in this happy family.
Sunday (04/04) we had easter breakfast, there were a lot of different types of bread and also eggs for easter. It was a rainy day and we watched a movie about the storm in Zeeland in 1953. This was quite a very terrifying and historic moment. When stopped raining for some time we had a walk around the neighbourhood and also some parks and grasslands. This was nice to do. Then after we got back home again. It was nice stretching our legs. Then Mariettes brother Niels came by. He was a very strong and energetic young man, who liked his parents so much. I was really happy for him that he is doing the same job as his parents do. It was nice talking to him, we had dinner together. Then we had to say goodbye.
Monday (04/05) is a sports day. We watched a bit of the marathon on television. Later we went out by the roadside to see them run. The weather was good for the sports and also the road was quite with a lot of people with music. It was fun to be outside with quite a lot of people watching these atletes. It was quite interesting to find quite a number of Kenians and Tanzanians also participating and running up front. You should have a strong heart to do this. They did 42 kilometres and it was nice to see the organisor of this event participating too. There was also a collegue of Mariette running, it was nice to see him doing it. He was quite happy to see us cheering. Then after we went to Niels, but he wasn't home. We also danced on the brass band music. We walked back through some parks back home again. We had some soup and played some boards games. Mariette made me count in Dutch, so now I can count till ten. Later we had dinner and we had the usual talks in the evening. We later went to bed.
Tuesday (04/06) was very good weather. Mariette had arranged for me to visit two farms. The first one we visited was farmer Ad. His farm was small and really very very neat. This man has time to clean his animals, to clean his stable, that was really very nice to talk to this man. He was really willing to give me all the information that I wanted. Fortunately for us we could help on the farm. There was also another boy named Peter who worked on the farm. We brushed the cows and also a new calve was born. This was the first time for us to see how the farmer needs to help the cow to deliver. It was really nice to do, because I could also help to pull the strings that the farmer tied to the legs of the newborn cow. Then after that we had to visit the neighbour farmer who wanted his cows to be inseminated. This was also something new for me. There was quite a lot of education for me. We had lunch at Ads place, we also discussed religion, because he was a christian. With time we had to visit the next farmer, Paul. He had quite a big farm with 110 cows. He had robots to milk the cows and also a robot to clean the barn. It was really something difficult and different for me to understand this mechanism. Africa, we have a long way to go... Then after we talked a lot more about the food for the cows. How to preserve them, the mixture and then the ingredients with the minerals. We talked about stacking the grass and the hay. And they also had quite a number of medication on the farm. He also explained how the milk was stored and the quantity of milk. He milks 11.000 litres every three days. After we had coffee in the sun with Pauls parents. Mariette had a long talk explaining her work at TNT. In the afternoon we went home, again we biked 40 minutes. It was good exercise. At home mum and dad were already in the garden enjoying the sun. They were happy to see us back home again. It was nice to tell them all what we did in the day. Then mum surprised me by driving me and Mariette to a tool shop, where she bought me a working suit 'overall' and wooden shoes for me to wear at my farm in Ghana. This time I was really very happy and also surprised. "Hey, the Dutch, you're good at surprises!" Again in this shop there was a variety of tools. In Holland in every shop you visit there is too much choice. We drove back home again. We took soup and then Mariette and me made red red. Her parents liked it very much. Then after her dad had to go to play cards with his friends, so I had to say goodbye to him. And also mum. It was difficult to say goodbye to this dear mother. So we said 'see you in August', when they will be visiting Ghana.
Next destination is Vlissingen, we're driving there now.