On this day…

This last few weeks have been full of blogging milestones for me so I couldn’t let this one go by without marking it.

Today marks my anniversary of the idea of my Dutch blog. Well actually it went live on the 1st August but on the 28th July 2014 I had the idea of sourcing an outlet for my Dutch obsession and it has stuck with me and superseded all other writing outlets I’ve ever used. Its become my hub for everything as well as my Dutch. So not only have I been forcing my opinions on the world for 5 years but I’ve been Dutching for 12 months too.

Here’s my first every dutch blog post  – Girls Weekend in Amsterdam! I’ve not been away with the girls since this trip either but it was an incredible trip and one we would all gladly make again. I probably wouldn’t stay above a Falafel shop again given the choice!  I thought I’d be in a better Dutch-speaking place by now but alas I’m not. Instead I’ve just become rather opinionated on Dutch things! The Dutch do weird stuff and I love them for that. I hope that comes across here at mariavictoriasmith.com. 

Bonus fact: Today is also the anniversary of me passing my driving test!! Woohoo!!

Birthday Week!

Its my Birthday this week. Yay! Its a non-significant Birthday this year so there won’t be a massive party or any magnanimous event to mark it, however I am a big softy when it comes to them. I think they should be celebrated. You never know which one will be your last for a start off! So in true Maria-style I have embarked on a week long plan of celebrations. The key elements of a Birthday, cards and gifts, party, cake and songs, are what this post is all about.

Day One of Super Geek Mode!

I’ve got 6 days till my Level 2 exam. I am doing at least an hour a day. I can’t commit to any more than that. Ages ago I dug out my old GCSE French Questions and translated them into Dutch (via the-powers-that-must-not-be-named being Google Translate). I’m going to use these for a framework of my practice. Todays practice was Huiselijk leven.

The Power of Alternative words (Term 2, Lesson 9)

In this post I am going to be waffling about the use of alternative words in place of ones you may not already know plus giving a handy little language exam tip that has never failed me!

Generally speaking I enjoy my drive back from class. It’s a little English wind down that I really appreciate after being bombarded with conversation that I only confidently understand just over half of. On my drive back from college tonight I started thinking back at some of the notes I had made. Queue note: If you don’t know the word, just explain it.

The real huisvrouwen op Cheshire.

So this weekend I had a little roadtrip to my friend Layla’s house for her verjaardag. We met at my Dutch course, that’s our common denominator. Dutch, the language, the culture and the men! Now I’ve got to be careful what I say because I know she’ll be reading this! (Hi Layla!).

The inspiration for this post came from the ridiculous amount of chat we had about all things Dutch. With a share love for the Orange lands so it wasn’t hard for us to make nearly every conversation end up on or included something Netherlands related. In this post I am going to talk about some of the things that caused most discussion.