So much to tell... so little time

I wish I had the time to write all of the funny moments we have here... as a cast, and as a host family.
Mayke made hutspot for us the other night.. its a Dutch dish of mashed potatoes and carrots. It is delicious, and I will be making it when I get home... Anyways, as we tried to understand the name of the dish, Neele asked exasperated "How do you say it in Hollandish?" We all laughed for what seemed like hours. Now it is a running joke. I don't blame her, I often call Mayke my Hollish friend... it sounds so much more natural than Dutch. Its hard enough for me to keep the two country names straight (The Netherlands, and Holland)... why they had to confuse me by adding a totally different name to identify their people is beyond me.
Anyways, that is that. Many such stories occur. We have been teaching Barbara to be sassy. She's even got the snapping thing down. I teach the girls funny American rhymes and sayings... they make me giggle by repeating ridiculously fast tounge twisters in their native languages. Its crazy. Both Neele and Mayke speak 4 languages - at least to the extent that they can get by conversationally. When either Neele or Mayke don't understand an English term (and I can't translate in a way that makes more sense to them)... they translate for eachother since their languages are so similar. They can speak and understand one another's languages. They also both speak French. *sigh* Some day I will be good at multiple languages. For now, I rely on Paulina to translate the Spanish songs... and she and the rest of my Spanish speaking class, will occasionally laugh at my sad attempt to converse with them ;-) I'll get it. Eventually.
Tonight we went to the cutest of restaurants. It was a Japanese cuisine place... with very yummy food. I had coconut fried rice with vegetables and tofu. The couple who own it are sooo very sweet. We made their night when we asked to take a picture with them... for a memory.
Today during rehearsals, we had guest speakers come in from a variety of local non profits. It is such a great networking experience to interact with such an array of successful people... to see how they operate, and to learn from their mistakes and experiences. I am trying to be dilligent about keeping their contact information handy... just in case I ever need to call in a favor, or be connected.
I got mom's package... and was super excited. I shouldn't have been... I knew it was coming today.. but still the feeling of getting something from home was special! And the best part.. my clothes that she sent smell like home. It almost makes me not want to wear them (so I don't have to wash them). But... as I look at the high temperatures we are supposed to experience this week, I realize just how silly that little idea is.
Well, I shall go now. I am making a separate post tonight of pictures. And then... I am heading to bed. We have rehearsal tomorrow until 7:30 at night. An 11 hour day is not so appealing as I reflect on how tired I am just sitting here. Luckily, once I get my butt out of bed, I remember how awesome it is to be a part of Cast B... and I trot myself downtown- and meet my awesome castmates for another day of craziness!