Well... the time has come to finally learn some dutch! Carrie is currently taking dutch language lessons through her work and I am enrolled in private lessons that will last for two weeks, prior to me entering into a small group, 10-week course.
We have started to place post-it notes around our home to support our learning and we are hesitantly beginning to speak more dutch when we are out-and-about. Learning the correct words and how to properly pronounce them is proving to be quite a challenge! (..not to mention that the word order isn't always the same either...) However, we are committed to learning this language and we will keep reminding ourselves that we will both get there... eventually.
Here is a sample of some words learned so far...
Amerikaan (American)... Amerikaanse (used to refer to an American female)
Collega... Colleague
Nieuw... New
Naam... Name
Spreken... To speak
Uit.. From
Komen (uit)... To come (from)
In... In
Wonen (in)... To live (in)
En... And
Werken... To work
Alsjeblieft... Here, here you are
Hoi... Hi
Hallo... Hello
Mag ik... May I
Als... As
Waar... Where
Nu... Now
Graag... Please
Willen... To want
Goedemorgan... Good morning.
Koffie... Coffee
Voorstellen... To introduce
Geen... No, not a
Ook... Also
Ontmoeten... To meet
Aangenaam... Pleased to meet you
Secretaresse... Secretary
Ik ben... I am
U bent... You are (formal) -or- Je bent... You are (informal)
Hij is... He is
Ze is... She is
Het is... It is
We zijn... We are
Julie zijn... You are
Ze zijn... They are
Oranje... Orange
Pink... Rose
Purple... Paars
Red... Rood
White... Wit
Yellow... Geel
Black... Zwart
Blue... Blauw
Brown... Bruin
Gray... Grijs
Green... Groen
(... yes, our heads are spinning!)