We are in Belgium and done with Jet Lag! What can I say, Brugge is great. Baby Axel is hitting the pave early... if he had any teeth they would likely rattle right out of his head on the stroller rides through the cobbled streets.
Yesterday I ordered "een wafel natuur" which means one plain waffle and said thank you in Flemish (aka Dutch). The Arabic gentleman at the snack shop had no idea I wasn't a local. This morning a mother and her grown daughter had a minor dispute at the coffee shop regarding who would pay, until the daughter forcibly pressed a coin into the mother's wallet. The mother, exasperated, turned to me and said something in Flemish. I smiled, nodded and said, "Ja."
I've basically been going around all of town practicing my Flemish; here is the key: You cannot let on that you speak English, once you do everyone will speak English to you. You proceed until apprehended in Flemish.
Yesterday I ordered "een wafel natuur" which means one plain waffle and said thank you in Flemish (aka Dutch). The Arabic gentleman at the snack shop had no idea I wasn't a local. This morning a mother and her grown daughter had a minor dispute at the coffee shop regarding who would pay, until the daughter forcibly pressed a coin into the mother's wallet. The mother, exasperated, turned to me and said something in Flemish. I smiled, nodded and said, "Ja."
I've basically been going around all of town practicing my Flemish; here is the key: You cannot let on that you speak English, once you do everyone will speak English to you. You proceed until apprehended in Flemish.
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