PS: ik spreek Nederlands!

Last night I was watching an episode of America’s Next Top Model – cycle 11. With each cycle they go to one of the fashion capitals of the world and this time they went to Amsterdam.

I was feeling a bit of the post-vacation-depression again, because I saw places that I’ve been to myself and knew exactly where the girls were or needed to be.  What really caught my attention was that the girls were struggling to read the Dutch street names and were also absolutely clueless when they were greeted in Dutch upon arrival.

I was laughing my brains out of course, but suddenly I realized. Would I be able to survive on my own and travel the country of Holland like I do if I wasn’t able to speak Dutch? Technically Dutch is quite a complex language if you don’t speak it or never learned it. Then again, so is Norwegian, Italian or any other foreign language.

I myself speak and write a lot of English. In speaking I actually mix the two languages. Funny enough, most of the people I hang with do the same. It’s not that I purposely do it; I am just better in expressing myself in English. This probably is due to the fact that I watched way too much television in my life and my passion for music. Also I love to read and prefer a book in English over a Dutch book. English is an universal language and it’s just easier to communicate. For example on my Facebook I am connected with a lot of non-Dutch-speaking friends and instead of having to translate all updates I post them in English so everyone can understand what a new status update is about.

Those of you that don’t know the history of Holland and why we speak Dutch in Suriname, please go seek wisdom at Mr. Wikipedia.

So tell me, what languages do you speak?