Me Talk “Dutch” One Day
It’s no secret that I am not particularly fond of the sound of “Dutch”. I am not comfortable with the guttural sounding diphthongs, or the dramatically different sentence structures. Perhaps part of my road-block in learning Dutch also resides in my inherent fear of being trapped here forever and my persistent experiences with culture shock.
Learning a language doesn’t only require the memorization of different vocabulary, sentence structures and caveats, but also about being open to a different way of thinking, of being. I’m afraid that for the longest time, I didn’t want to think in Dutch. I didn’t want to try to become Dutch.
After all, no matter how much I culturally integrate, I will always be an “allochtoon”. For the language enthusiasts, its a combination of two Greek words that literally means “from another world”.
However, the longer I find myself staying (and settling) in the Netherlands, the more I find it embarrassing that I cannot have a proper conversation in Dutch. Plus, I’m also loosing my patience living life basically as a functioning illiterate. While I can read, write and converse in English, Tagalog, and Spanish (though a little rusty), I can’t seem to properly navigate as an independent adult in the Dutch world.
I’ve once calculated that all my years of private school (preschool, elementary, high school), college, a post-baccalaureate program, and continuing graduate school amounted to over $200,000. With so much money invested into my “education”, my parents had hoped for so much more for me than struggling to be a functioning illiterate.
To be fair, I have decided to stay in this country for at least the next 5 years. Let’s just say the financial instability in my home country (land of the free, home of the brave) is experiencing some economic turmoil right now.
Furthermore, I am marrying a Dutch guy. My attempts in learning Dutch thus far has all been but futile. Learning a new language while trying to successfully balance integrating into a new, drastically different culture, completing a master’s degree, and maintaining a loving relationship while also being on the road to self-discovery and self-preservation is not exactly easy.At the end of the day, my independent Dutch lessons get pushed aside.
If time was on my side, I would enroll in a Dutch language program taught at the university. I am afraid, however, that I just don’t have the energy to dedicate some serious studying to the language.
The solution? The Regina Coeli Institute in Vught, the Netherlands, otherwise referred to as “being sent to the nuns to be straightened out”. It’s actually a private language institution dedicated to teaching different languages to corporate types who lack the luxury of time. Supposedly, one intensive week of 12 daily hours of private, custom tailored language lessons.
I’ll let you know about the whole process. If everything goes according to plans, I’ll be away for a week in November with my heart set on learning Dutch, crash-course style.
October 15th, 2008 at 10:54 am
As a fellow allochtoon, I can assure you that delving into this different way of thinking won’t alter your own cultural character. After ten years here, and being more than fluent in the language, I still bring to the table my own different way of thinking. While I frequently have to use examples to get my point across (it takes a deeper understanding to make a point that’s foreign to them) they’re at first understood, then scoffed at, then attempted.
I still refuse to tell someone to “doe normaal” or stand in front of opened doors to impede the passage of those exiting, I don’t lie to get things accomplished and I refuse to become a meddling, gossiping housewife. I don’t take large quantities of potatoes on vacation with me, expect that people have other means to remember birthdays than to view the calendar while performing their daily constitution, and wash my windows at will.