Goede morgen! I'm trying to teach myself Nederlands, or Dutch. I didn't sign up for a course in Dutch because it was about €200! Besides, I'm already signed up for four courses this semester. At least the courses are only 8 hours a week total!
In order to learn Dutch, I've been copying phrases and words out of my phrasebook. I've also been trying to find children's videos online with subtitles, and I'm thinking about buying a few secondhand child's books. It feels a bit silly, but it's the best way to learn. Even going to the grocery store has helped me learn a few phrases and terms.
I've made friends with a few students who speak their native language, such as French, a second language, and English! I feel rather stupid with my limited knowledge of Japanese (which wouldn't help my situation anyway). When I return to San Francisco, I am definitely signing up for a course in French or Spanish.
When I explain how embarrassed I am to only speak English, many international students tell me I should be glad a majority the world knows English, and that America is such a large country that I don't need to know a second language. Which doesn't make me feel any better; it just makes me feel like a stupid American. I wish learning a second language in America was a standard, rather than an elective.
Oh, and I'm trying to learn the metric system as well. Why did the United States have to develop their own measurements? I always catch myself saying "it's 80 degrees back home" and everyone stares at me as if I live on the surface of the sun. Then I have to guess what the equivalent would be in Celcius, which I usually mess up because I'm awful at math, too. Americans can't get anything right.
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