The Dutch Language

I've had several people ask me if I'm going to learn Dutch while living in the Netherlands. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea... Last fall, Andy claims that I laughed at him when he wanted to purchase a computer program to help you learn Dutch. :) I probably am guilty as charged! I wasn't really planning on learning Dutch while living over here. And I had an experience back in December that sealed the deal. I met a nice lady at church one day and she is a native resident of the Netherlands. She basically told me that Dutch was a useless language and that I shouldn't bother learning it. I was quite surprised! She went on to say that the Netherlands is such a small country, where else would I use it? So, I'm not planning on actively studying to learn Dutch. We are also spoiled, because most, if not all, native adult Dutch residents can speak English. I've never had anyone upset that they had to speak to me in English. The Dutch are generally very kind people who are willing to help. Who knows what they say behind my back, but face to face, they seem okay with it. :) I do feel guilty when someone is just trying to strike up a conversation with me or Rachel and I have to tell them I speak English. I usually quickly inform them that we've only lived here a few months! I don't know what I'm going to do when that's not true anymore. :) I have learned quite a few Dutch words here and there though. I certainly wouldn't be able to speak a complete sentence or carry on a conversation, but I do know some words. Andy is much better than I am about saying good bye and thank you in Dutch. I still revert back to English. I guess it's what I'm comfortable with! I have also found that some Dutch words are very similar to English. Here are a few examples:

hello = hallo

thank you = dank u

bus = bus

train = trein

car = auto

bread = brood

butter = boter

milk = melk

fish = vis

apple = appel

Okay, so I could go on for awhile, but you get the idea. There are plenty of words out there that aren't as similar to one another. I think a lot of the nouns are very similar, but verbs are a bit different. Please don't quote me on this, because I am no expert! I do get a kick out of some of their words. They can be super long, like 20 letters. It's crazy! I guess they like to do compound words. I do frequent http://www.freetranslation.com/ - it has been a nice resource. I have definitely learned to be grateful for being where we are. As we have traveled to other countries, people either can't or are less willing to communicate in English. I am definitely glad that we are in a country that teaches English in their schools. It has made our move here easier. I couldn't imagine what life would be like otherwise! :)