Monday, May 23, 2005

Forgetting Dutch

Once every couple of weeks I have an online webcam meeting with my parents.
It's easier and cheaper than calling on the phone, and we can at least see each other again. And since the speed of my internet connection got quadrupled two weeks ago, the quality of the sound and the image are perfect.
Last night we had another meeting. But for the first time, I was actually having problems speaking in Dutch, the language that I have been speaking for 30 years before moving to Spain.
I guess it must have been the sudden switch of having to talk in another language, since I am used to speaking Spanish all the time now. But it felt very strange, having to think for seconds and not finding the words I was looking for, knowing how to say what I meant in Spanish, but not in Dutch.
I never thought this was going to happen.


Amie passed me this baton or meme or whatever they are called: If I could be.

If I could be a poet, I could finally express all those feelings that I can't find the right words for now.
If I could be a chef, I would make the most delicious low-calory chocolate desserts for my girl.
If I could be a psychologist, I would finally know all the right words to say whenever someone needs my support again.
If I could be an explorer, I would be able to visit all those beautiful places in the world that I would still love to see.
But I'm just an average programmer, living from day to day, trying to make the best of it all.

6 comments:

Dainty Fairy said...

That's quite scary. How come you write in English and not Spanish or Dutch? You write so well too! The only other language I know is German and boy am I poor at it! I only know very basic words and can't form sentences too well. When I went to Germany the Germans couldn't understand me because I had an accent to them and probably couldn't pronounce words properly and just mumbled along.

That last paragraph was quite sad. Do what you dream

amiethinggoes said...

well i envy you...you know 3 languages at least! that is so cool! and hey thanks for doing the if i could be thing. :)

Dioniso said...

Dainty,
I had another blog in Dutch before this one. I created it for my family and friends to read. But I didn't want to get too personal on that one. So I created this one, where I can talk about whatever I want. And since English is THE language of the internet, I decided to write in English. This way I could get to know many more people from all over the world, from Nottingham to the Philippines.

Amie,
I actually know 5 languages :-p.
I received the biggest compliment from my boss in the US who said to me: You have the same accent as I do, were you trained by the CIA?? He calls me when he needs a translator. I should have studied languages or tourism or something like that.

Anonymous said...

I know how it feels, I had the same problems when I lived and worked in Germany for 8 years.

amiethinggoes said...

yay! 5 languages! cool!

GypsyChique said...

I really should learn another language. Living in Texas, I guess Spanish is the way to go. However, since my daughters' father lives in Switzerland, maybe German would serve them well and I could learn it while I'm teaching to them. Hmmm ...