When I was coming to live in the Netherlands I was determined to learn the language as soon as possible. On my very first trip to the market it became even more evident that there is a pressing need to learn the language in order to perform even the simplest of tasks like buying grocery. In Amsterdam almost everyone speaks a little or lot English, but they don't like writing English. So anything you want to buy, or any official letter you recieve will be in Dutch.
Hence, I contacted the local gementee, (council) which was kind enough to put me in a free one-year course to learn dutch. Four months ago the course kindly gave me a leave to perform my motherhood duties, and now I have been recalled to finish my unfinished business - the course.
I like learning, and this was my first experience of learning a new language, which was really fun. After my first few lessons I was able to make small sentences to introduce myself - something a five-year-old can do fluently, but I was proud of my accomplishment. Now, I can make people understand what I want to say in small words and broken grammar, but the harder part is understanding what they are saying. Even if I make them repeat themselves twice, the Dutch accent is just too confused for me to understand. Hopefully, by the time my course finishes, my one-way communication will reach atleast the level of a ten-year-old.
Sucess (good luck) to me!
No comments:
Post a Comment