I can’t remember ever being this focused. My exam for Level One of Dutch language training is on Tuesday, November 7. That’s the written part. I’m online with the teacher on the Wednesday for the oral section.

It’s disorienting for me to launch into a new language. The structure feels so … foreign. There are so many times when the subject shows up at the end of the sentence. So many words with “ij” in them. And of course irregular verbs.

A counsellor suggested a “fast course” for me – six weeks. The usual speed is twelve weeks. I said yes to six. Ouch.

Oh well … I signed up for Belgium. All of it. And now it’s home.

Maybe I won’t write much for the next few days. My mind will be zeroed in on a four-letter word:

Pass