Dutch!

I did walk into the Poel music school yesterday afternoon and found out about the music training program that starts in September.

Frank at the front desk was so helpful. He said the first thing was to reserve a weekly spot with one of the cello teachers. He thought there weren’t many openings left. Frank gave me directions: out to the street, turn left, go in another school door maybe thirty metres away, first right and then the first door on the left.

There stood Lieven. He was to teach a class in fifteen minutes. I spilled out my story – I haven’t played cello for 56 years … and I want to. There followed a flurry of conversation. He seemed happy to have me. I needed to get back to the main office, go through the process of registering for the program, then e-mail Lieven to confirm that I’ve paid. Only then was my spot in one of his classes safe. There were only two places left.

The application was in Dutch. I couldn’t read it but Frank sped to the rescue. Together we got the job done.

I’m in!

Each week from September to May (I think) I’ll have a one-hour cello lesson with three other students and a two-hour music theory class. A new life!

Frank was happy for me … and concerned. “The music theory class is in Dutch [really the dialect of Dutch called Flemish]. You need to know the basics by September.”

Oops.

Almost a year ago, while I was in Canada, I bought the book you see. I haven’t broken the cover. I knew it was important to learn Flemish but that understanding wasn’t enough to get me started.

Neither was the fact that my one-year Belgian visa is up for renewal for a second year in February, 2024. My kind of visa is rare. I have to prove that I’ve taken steps in my first year to integrate into Belgian society. Learning the language is considered to be the prime way of doing that.

So … I’ve been procrastinating. Frank woke me up. I have three months until classes start. Yesterday I committed to do what it took to register for the Poel program. I also committed to play my cello on a certain bench, in public view, on July 7 at 5:00 pm.

Now there’s today. You can count on me to play my cello for an hour today … and to study Dutch for an hour!

Here’s what the authors of Dutch For Dummies have to say about me: