Dutch

The other night, Annelies asked me if I'd like to learn Dutch. She had assumed I'd say no, so when I answered with a yes she was thrilled. She asked me very enthusiastically what I'd like to learn first. There are so many important basic words and phrases to learn in every language I didn't know how to respond. Annelies quickly decided that the first word I should know in Dutch was the word for "whore house," as I was headed to Amsterdam the next day. I'm not sure how she decided upon this word, as it's really not very practical, and I can't even use it in a sentence. I don't even know how to say, "Where is the..."

Since then I've had many occasions where it would have been really nice to know a few simple Dutch phrases that come up in everyday life. For example, this morning an elderly woman sat beside me on the bus and scolded me (in Dutch) for not wearing a coat. I got the message, as she pointed to her very large coat while saying it. I smiled politely, getting the message and thinking she'd stop talking after that short and one-sided exchange. The woman did not stop talking, and barely paused during the ten minutes she was on the bus. After the initial interaction I was too embarrassed to stop her and let her know that I really didn't understand anything she was saying.

Perhaps I'll try to learn a few useful phrases this week...