[krizzanne]

Hello, sprecht u het Engels? That has become my new most used phrase! and I am working on: Ik spreek het geen Nederlands.

My family and I just moved here from the UK, although we are origionally from the USA. We live in Voorburg, a 'suburb' of Den Haag.

We have only been here a week and I really like it. I am extremely impressed with how modern and organized everything is, and how friendly the people are! (I think that may be magnified by the fact I just left Southern England, where people generally are not outright friendly - kind of like the NY/DC area in the US).

Anyway, I am afraid I may start to babel because I have had no phone, tv, radio, internet, friends, nor husband for more than a week; so I will end now!

tot ziens!

 

[sarahmck]

Welcome!

I hope you like it here. We moved here from California one year ago today and we really like it, but it can be hard to be somewhere where you don't have friends. I recommend trying to join an LLL meeting or try the American Women's Club, which I think has a branch in the Hague. I myself haven't gotten around to attending their events, but I intend to do that when they reopen from their summer hiatus. I originally didn't join because I didn't want to fall into the trap of just meeting English-speakers, but I've decided that that's a silly concern and it's most important to just have friends and a full social life.

Keep reading this forum. I think we should all try to meet up in person more frequently.

Oh, by the way, it's "Ik spreek geen Nederlands," not "Ik spreek het geen Nederlands."

 

[~Coyotebones~]

Not to nitpik, but you should leave out the 'het' in your first sentence too. There is a dutch/english Yahoo group if you are interested. So, how are you so lucky to live in the Netherlands as an American. My husband and I have been trying to do this for a long time, but have had a number of problems, as he is american and I don't have the job skills that could support a family.

 

[krizzanne]

Thank you for the corrections! I desperately need to take a class to get some basics of the language sorted out.

Sarahmck, I like that you origionally didn't want to meet English speakers...I feel similarly, I want to learn about the culture and the language...and I understand what you are saying about importance of having friends regardless of who they are, so thank you!

Coyotebones, what a cool name. To answer your question: My husband worked for a Dutch company in the US that was bought out by a US company and the Dutch company offered him a position in England which he took and we lived in England for 2 years until the Dutch company was bought out by an English company, so now he took a position in Holland, and here we are!
Our neighbors here each work 4 days a week and swap child care, maybe you and your husband could do something like that ( I thought that was cool and a better quality of life then how my dh is never home because he is working). I saw some jobs for English speakers on the Expatica.com site. Anyway, I hope you can live where you want to.

We are going on holiday to India for 3 weeks, so I may not check back in until mid-Sept. (I will also check out the Yahoo group then). Tot ziens!

 

[~Coyotebones~]

Hallo, Krizzanne, dat hope ik ook. Wij moeten Nederlands met elkar schreiven. Ik kann Nederlands goed verstaan en een beetje minder goed spreken, maar ik moet mijn schreiven oefenen.

Anyway, I said we should practice writing dutch to each other. My understanding is very good, and my speeking a little less good, but I need to practice my writing.

My family is Friesian, so I speak that like an almost native. I picked up dutch by eavesdropping on my mom when she was on the phone and also when we went to the netherlands on vacation. I learned to read it by reading stripboeken. My favorite is 'Jan, Jans, en de kinderen'. It is so easy to understand when there are pictures with the text! And unlike american comics they are actually written for adults, so it will probably hold your attention. An added benifit is that you can pick up some cultural attitudes that might be diffucult to get a grasp of otherwise, especially if you don't have close contact (I mean like relatives) with dutch people.

 

[krizzanne]

Well, it took me an extra month, but I am back and feeling at home here now.
The thing I love most is riding around on my bike with the 2 kids. I kept feeling like everyone was looking at me...like they knew I was a foreigner or something, then I realized it's because I was riding around with a big, stupid grin on my face all the time

--really, though, the weather has been fabulous, and exploring on bike covers so much more ground than on foot (like I did in England).

Cyotebones, I am interested in writing Dutch, but I won't even start language class until January...so it will have to be very basic.

 

[Irma Lisette]

Hi, I'm Dutch - but I live in Texas! I married a Texan, so I moved here in March 2005

I used to live in Voorburg/Rijswijk/Den Haag, so I know the area!
I miss riding my bike everywhere - right now I'm trying to learn to drive but I suck!

 

[krizzanne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Irma Lisette Hi, I'm Dutch - but I live in Texas! I married a Texan, so I moved here in March 2005 I used to live in Voorburg/Rijswijk/Den Haag, so I know the area! I miss riding my bike everywhere - right now I'm trying to learn to drive but I suck!

Wow, how are you adjusting to life in Texas? Which things do you miss most? Which things do you like most? Do you have a lot of wide-open spaces to practice driving? I have never been to Texas, I have only seen it in the movies, (did you see Cast Away)
Congrats on your pregnancy! Are you going to speak Dutch to your baby?

 

[Irma Lisette]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krizzanne Wow, how are you adjusting to life in Texas? Which things do you miss most? Which things do you like most? Do you have a lot of wide-open spaces to practice driving? I have never been to Texas, I have only seen it in the movies, (did you see Cast Away) Congrats on your pregnancy! Are you going to speak Dutch to your baby?

I've adjusted pretty well to my new life in Texas, I love it here! I just miss being able to get around by myself! But I love living out in the country, who would have ever thought I'd have chickens and horses? And the people are so friendly here, I like that very much as well.
The thing I miss the most about Holland (besides my family) is the dairy products (cheese, 'zuiveldranken' etc.), and the cookies (especially 'gevulde speculaas')!!! But at least there's a lot of other great food here in Texas to make up for that

I practice my driving on the small country roads...but I'm about to start trying out some bigger roads! Pretty scary...but I have to learn eventually, I don't want to be stuck at the house forever!
And yes, I am going to teach my son Dutch as well as English, so he'll grow up bilingual

 

[simonee]

Hoi Irma, veel succes met de tweetalige opvoeding. Ik ben Nederlands, ben 3 jaar geleden weer naar NL verhuisd vanuit San Diego. Mijn dochter was toen bijna 4, en kon alleen Engels. Er waren geen andere Nederlanders in SD, dus mijn hele leven speelde zich in het Engels af. Ik dacht, leefde, droomde Engels, en sprak daarom geen NL met mijn dochter. Jammer, want toen moest ze het later leren.

Hey everybody, read our perfect Dutch! My DH is American and after 3 years here he got his "NT2" diploma and he just finished his first book in Dutch (the fattest Harry Potter) so you can do it, too!

Would you like it if some people post in Dutch here, so you can learn?