Last week, I started my Dutch lessons. I was a little nervous about going back to school since I have not been in class in 16 years!! They are held 3 days a week, from 9 until 12:30 and there are probably about 20 people in my class. I think I am the only person in the class who only speaks one language, so I am glad that I am at least familiar with some vocabulary going in. The entire class is taught in Dutch since not everyone speaks English. The entire class is conversational, so the teacher will ask an individual a question and we are supposed to answer. She also makes us ask questions to the other students. Today I had to tell the class I was married, that I had 2 children and their ages. It seems easy when I think about it in my head, but getting the words out of my mouth is very hard.
There are people from all over and I am the only American. One of the hardest parts of the class has been trying to pronounce the other students names! I have been sitting next to a young girl from Romania who is very friendly. She speaks decent English and today she asked me if I was living the "American Dream". I laughed but I quickly realized that she was serious and she was confused when I told her that I thought Belgium was just as nice, or nicer, than the US (or America as they say here). I think she thinks that everyone has lots of money and is living large. I hope she is not disappointed if she ever makes it there!
My class goes until the end of April and I will be able to continue with the Dutch if I want to. There are 12 classes that are offered through the city.
