I like to think I am reasonably good at learning languages. When I was introduced to French in 5th grade, I was in heaven. I loved learning new words and imitating the teacher's voice and the little girl with the page-boy haircut in the filmstrips we watched called Bonjour, Line. (Filmstrips? yes I know, I'm dating myself here). The fact that I remember the title of the clips, as well as many of the songs and nursery rhymes we learned is a tribute to the power that candy had over me. Our teacher, Madame Echevarria, gave out treats when you answered a question correctly. I studied each night because of that candy reward. Just an aside: what did we do before the Internet when we wanted to check a distant memory. I couldn't resist googling "Bonjour Line" and found her! Voila!

Hard to believe that this little girl could inspire me to learn French. Now you know something about the power of chocolate in my life.

So after passing my two month anniversary of living in Amsterdam this week, I am happy to report that I am starting to feel less like I am here on a really long vacation, and more like I actually live here. There are a few notches on my belt that have helped with the transition from guest to resident For some reason, it's the cards that are piling up in my wallet that make me feel like an insider. Although I got my residence, public transport, and bank cards the week I arrived, I now have the following cards that make me feel legit: an Albert Heijn card - the most popular/prevalent grocery store here, a library card, and a Museumkaart - a pass to the many marvelous museums all around the city. I visited the Rijksmuseum last week, after realizing that there would probably always be crowds here and that I couldn't wait any longer for the crowds to die down.

Beautiful Delft pottery display. The violin seemed to be not so quietly reminding me that I lugged my violin to Amsterdam and haven't played it once. That's on the to-do list!

I'm not exactly sure why the library card was so important, but it was. The library is a happening place here. There are many people who go there to use the Internet, and of course, there is a place to buy coffee right inside. The books on the English language shelves mostly consist of best sellers, classics like Moby Dick and Jane Eyre, and mysteries. It's interesting to see which American and British books have been translated into Dutch. Next on my agenda is to check out some picture books that will help me learn Dutch.

Even the cards here are colorful and beautiful!

That brings me to one way I am exercising my brain here: to learn some Dutch. A few weeks ago, Peter and I started taking Dutch lessons. His company offered this service as part of our relocation package. Despite the fact that we were told that everyone here speaks English, we both decided it was important for us to learn the language. So far, we have mostly been able to get by with Google Translate, which is a godsend in the grocery store. On some misguided trips to the grocery store without a phone, I bought vanilla vla (pudding) instead of yogurt, and Peter bought buttermilk and put it in his coffee, thinking karnemelk was whole milk (which is really volle melk). Not a pleasant mistake to make! We realized after this coffee mishap that it was time to get our Dutch on.

Maybe it's my 50-something year old brain, but Dutch is no French. It's really hard! The words seem to go on forever, and the vowels don't seem to match up with the vowels I have known and loved. Here's just a sample of what I mean: the Dutch word hoe means "how" and is pronounced who. The Dutch word for who is wie. And the w in that word wie is pronounced like a v. If I could only master "good morning" I would feel a lot better. It's an essential phrase to use when you are trying to meet new people in the neighborhood. The phrase is goede morgen, but the g is pronounced like the sound you make when you clear your throat. And to make matters worse, when the Dutch say it back to you, it doesn't sound the way our teacher says it. It almost sounds like they are saying, "Good morning" in English. Now you see why I really need some candy!

Now that I have told you how moeilijk (difficult) Dutch is, I have to concede that I realize English is no picnic. Through, though, thought? I guess it's true what they say about how people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Here is het Glazen … — Now that I have told you how *moeilijk* (difficult) Dutch is, I have to concede that I realize English is no picnic. Through, though, thought? I guess it's true what they say about how people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Here is *het Glazen Huis* (the Glass House) in Amstel Park to remind us of that point.

There are some really great words in Dutch, however. One of my favorites is the word for clogs which is klompen. I have yet to see anyone here actually wearing wooden shoes, however, or even the Dansko clogs that I wore nearly every day as a teacher, so sadly I don't have much cause to use my favorite word. Our teacher, Nelleke, is a former speech therapist, and possibly the most patient person in Amsterdam. She also has incredible self-control, because she hasn't once laughed at us. I'm looking forward to knowing enough Dutch so I can have some small conversations with people here, and not feel like an outsider.

Some days I feel like the big clumsy duck in the back, struggling to keep up with the graceful speakers in the front.

In addition to the Dutch language lessons that we take twice a week, we also had a four hour training on Dutch culture last Saturday. I'll admit that I was skeptical, both when I needed to fill out an online survey about my cultural assumptions and when I found out I had to give up most of a sunny Saturday (the sun always a cause for celebration in Amsterdam, especially when it ventures out on a weekend). The day ending up being really interesting, despite my skepticism in advance. We learned things like how the Dutch value consensus in decision-making, and how when you celebrate a birthday, you bring in your own cake. We learned about the basis for some expressions like "Dutch treat" (the Dutch are, well, let's just say frugal), and the history of the infamous Dutch open-mindedness.

This is from an exhibit at The Amsterdam City Museum. 2001? They were just a bit ahead of the U.S. on this issue. There's also their famous tolerance for people from other cultures, and of course, their liberal views on marijuana and prostitution.&n… — This is from an exhibit at The Amsterdam City Museum. 2001? They were just a bit ahead of the U.S. on this issue. There's also their famous tolerance for people from other cultures, and of course, their liberal views on marijuana and prostitution.

Even Casey is starting to feel like a native now. He spent the first month hanging back when we went to the park, a bit hesitant to run around with the natives. Last week, we dog-sat for an American friend's dog, a lab named Ruby. I let them both go "off leash" like real Amsterdam dogs. I think Casey was defending Ruby's honor and got himself involved in some sort of alpha dog struggle with another male dog. Before I knew what was happening, there was a lot of yelping and growling, and Casey was pinned down by the Dutch dog and ended up with a tear in his ear, a trip to the vet, and a course of anitbiotics. Now that we have a vet here, we are really locals. And Casey is going to learn how to say, "Leave my ear alone" in Dutch!

Here are Casey and Ruby just before Casey was shown how the new guy in the park is treated here. Ruby is forever grateful that chivalry is not dead!

P.S. For those of you who thought you saw someone who looked a lot like me in Maplewood on October 16 or 20, it was me! I came back for my niece Alissa's wedding in Baltimore and had a few hours in Maplewood on either end of a wonderful wedding weekend. It was so special to be together for such a happy occasion. My favorite moments in Maplewood were when Shayna's 2nd grade daughter Laurel reached out to touch me, to make sure I wasn't a ghost and when I literally ran into two former students, Okailee and Olivia, in town. They looked both so very surprised and so very happy to see me, and that was the best homecoming gift I could have received!