Monday, March 31, 2008

Ik ben Phoebe...

... and ik don't know any more Dutch. But I want to! I want to be able to say insulting things about fellow subway commuters to my boyfriend in a language that no one, really, no one in New York will understand. OK, not exactly, but I would like to be able to at least get by in Dutch, to at least have a brief conversation like I can in Hebrew (Ani rotza cafe vechocolad. Achshav!) when I'm next in Flanders in search of a waffle. Which is bound to happen.

So, are there Dutch classes this summer in New York? Good ones? Any at all? Also useful: driving lessons. The goal there is to be able to rent a car once I'm old enough to do so, and 25 is now looming in the not-so-distant future. My mother suggested that I have driving lessons taught in Dutch, which might not work out, but it's a thought.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had dutch classes for 2 years. i love when people talk dutch. they always sound like they are in a good mood :)

Jacob T. Levy said...

It seems wrong that Dutch can be a secret code language in New Amsterdam.

Phoebe Maltz Bovy said...

Marvin-Were these classes by any chance in/near NYC?

Jacob T. Levy-Tell me about it! The question is why New Amsterdam University doesn't offer any Dutch classes...

Anonymous said...

I can tell you I have lived in the Netherlands now for almost 2 years and my Dutch is still horrid. Good luck...

Anonymous said...

Hmm. Do you perhaps know someone who could speak to you in Dutch?

Phoebe Maltz Bovy said...

Anonymous #1: I figured this might be futile.

Anonymous #2: Well yes, but at this point I cannot respond to him in Dutch, nor can I tell at all where one word begins and the next ends, or, for that matter, that the language I'm hearing is Dutch. Meaning, I need the basics.

Anonymous said...

I could tell you where the classes are in north germany, where i live, but i guess that doesnt help you...sorry

Anonymous said...

How funny. My (probable) abviser just told me I might want to learn Dutch. We can complain about it to each other, should we ever actually do it.

Anyway, I think I will be in NYC learning French this summer, so I will certainly be seeing you then.