Well, I passed the A level Dutch exam at James Boswell Instituut, and can now continue onto B1. This is a good thing, since I already signed up for B1 and I think the city has already paid my tuition for it :-)
I went into (and out of) the final exam quite confident that I would pass it. I'd gotten the highest score on the written midterm. Then we found out Wednesday that half the class had failed, and I only passed by a few points. It felt like I'd dodged a bullet without even knowing it was there at the time. Sheesh. I think the main thing I learned was to stay within my realm of comfort on the written test. If I'm not sure what preposition to use, I should think of something else to say :-P
It's given me incentive to improve my study habits in B1, realizing how hard the A test was. The B1 test to advance to B2 will be even harder. Class starts in about a week - we only get a 4 day weekend between A ending and B1 starting. But after 2 weeks of class we get a 2 week vacation, which I really do feel like I'm going to need.
3 people who rarely (if ever) did homework failed the exam. One of them missed enough classes to fail on the attendance criteria of attending 80% of classes. But she also failed the exam. 2 more barely failed, which was something of a surprise, since those two had been doing homework and trying hard. It sounds like grammar was their main problem.
Dutch grammar is hard! And we learn most of the rules for it at the A level, which makes it difficult to keep all the rules straight. The dutch love to change word order in various ways depending on whether you're using a main clause, a dependent clause, a question, a modifier at the beginning of the sentence, past tense, future tense, command tense, reporting what someone else said, using a modal verb (can, shall, may, must), etc. It gets confusing. Presumably we get more comfortable with all of that in the B levels.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Healthcare
Well, I'd heard all sorts of things about the quality of mandated health coverage. Ranging from "It's just as good as in the US" to "you die while waiting to see a doctor" to "god hates government mandates".
I definitely didn't die while waiting. I signed up Friday morning with the local doctors' office, and was able to make an appointment to come in that afternoon. Both visits I waited about 15 minutes past my appointment time, which is pretty similar to the docs in the US, except they don't automatically have a nurse checking blood pressure and such, followed by another 15 minute wait.
My doctor speaks good english, at least in a medical setting, and seemed to know exactly what to do to check me out for pericarditis (and any lung problems while she was at it). I was given the all clear on that account, and she suggested that intercostal muscle soreness from the flu and a bit of coughing was making it a bit painful for me to breath normally. As a result I was compensating for that by breathing abnormally, and basically hyperventilating a bit, causing the excessive light-headedness. She suggested breathing "lower", which actually helped. Still having the usual asthma crud, but that's manageable.
She checked out my jaw pain a bit and decided it's probably muscular in origin. Told me to come back after the weekend if things haven't improved, or call their emergency line if needed. Well, the jaw pain didn't get better, so I went in for another appointment today. I could have gone in yesterday but would have to miss Dutch class and a final exam, so I opted to wait.
The doctor poked and prodded a bit more, ruling out teeth grinding, etc, and pinpointing the likely misbehaving muscle (the masseter) and prescribed a high dose of ibuprofen (advil) for 10 days, to be taken even if the pain seems to be getting better. And to make another appointment if it's still a problem. So I'm taking a pain killer and waiting for my chewing muscle to heal. And she also told me to avoid very hard foods.
The doctor's office is located on the south end of our neighborhood, and is in a small medical complex building. Downstairs is the doctors' office (4 doctors working each day on average, closed on the weekend), and an apothecary. Dutch apothecaries should not be confused with American drug stores - they only have drugs and medical paraphernalia in apothecaries. Upstairs is a dentist, and some other medical type offices. It looks like registering with a neighborhood doctors' office here requires living in the same neighborhood, unless that's impossible. So most people probably live within walking distance of a general practitioner, which is pretty awesome.
Picking up the drugs was also very easy. My doctor sent the order to the apothecary via computer, and I just walked across the hall and picked it up. It was so WEIRD not getting charged anything for it. I half expected to get tackled by (the non-existent) security personnel as I left, for not paying. Also no line waiting for the drugs, very fast. The employee I spoke to spoke "a bit" of English well enough for everything to go smoothly.
So in my experience, the Dutch health system works quite well for visiting a GP, both in quality and in speed. I've never been impressed with all the whining back home against government mandated healthcare, and I'm even less impressed now after seeing that a big chunk of it works just fine over here.
I definitely didn't die while waiting. I signed up Friday morning with the local doctors' office, and was able to make an appointment to come in that afternoon. Both visits I waited about 15 minutes past my appointment time, which is pretty similar to the docs in the US, except they don't automatically have a nurse checking blood pressure and such, followed by another 15 minute wait.
My doctor speaks good english, at least in a medical setting, and seemed to know exactly what to do to check me out for pericarditis (and any lung problems while she was at it). I was given the all clear on that account, and she suggested that intercostal muscle soreness from the flu and a bit of coughing was making it a bit painful for me to breath normally. As a result I was compensating for that by breathing abnormally, and basically hyperventilating a bit, causing the excessive light-headedness. She suggested breathing "lower", which actually helped. Still having the usual asthma crud, but that's manageable.
She checked out my jaw pain a bit and decided it's probably muscular in origin. Told me to come back after the weekend if things haven't improved, or call their emergency line if needed. Well, the jaw pain didn't get better, so I went in for another appointment today. I could have gone in yesterday but would have to miss Dutch class and a final exam, so I opted to wait.
The doctor poked and prodded a bit more, ruling out teeth grinding, etc, and pinpointing the likely misbehaving muscle (the masseter) and prescribed a high dose of ibuprofen (advil) for 10 days, to be taken even if the pain seems to be getting better. And to make another appointment if it's still a problem. So I'm taking a pain killer and waiting for my chewing muscle to heal. And she also told me to avoid very hard foods.
The doctor's office is located on the south end of our neighborhood, and is in a small medical complex building. Downstairs is the doctors' office (4 doctors working each day on average, closed on the weekend), and an apothecary. Dutch apothecaries should not be confused with American drug stores - they only have drugs and medical paraphernalia in apothecaries. Upstairs is a dentist, and some other medical type offices. It looks like registering with a neighborhood doctors' office here requires living in the same neighborhood, unless that's impossible. So most people probably live within walking distance of a general practitioner, which is pretty awesome.
Picking up the drugs was also very easy. My doctor sent the order to the apothecary via computer, and I just walked across the hall and picked it up. It was so WEIRD not getting charged anything for it. I half expected to get tackled by (the non-existent) security personnel as I left, for not paying. Also no line waiting for the drugs, very fast. The employee I spoke to spoke "a bit" of English well enough for everything to go smoothly.
So in my experience, the Dutch health system works quite well for visiting a GP, both in quality and in speed. I've never been impressed with all the whining back home against government mandated healthcare, and I'm even less impressed now after seeing that a big chunk of it works just fine over here.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Tussentoetsen
I love the way that word sounds :-P It just means midterms, though in the case of our language class it's not used in grading. Just assessment, so we know what to work on. I passed mine with flying colors. Woohoo! Now we have another test today, just one week later. Today is writing, and Monday is speaking. I'm pretty sure it's just another progress test (our schedule is a bit weird because we started later that the other classes), but there's no final test on the schedule anywhere.
I made it to class yesterday, but skipped Thursday, Monday, and Tuesday. Pretty sure I have pericarditis again. Ick. Sometimes when I get a virus, it gets into my joints and pericardium (sac around the heart) and everything gets inflamed. In the joints it mostly just hurts like hell, but in the pericardium it causes extreme physical exhaustion. Like, I get out of breath if I stand up. Seriously. I've stocked up on Aleve and taking a big dose for a week or so, which seems to be helping a bit now - it's supposed to remove excess fluids. But my jaw really hurts on one side and is getting worse, so going to try to go to the doc tomorrow. Need to get signed up with the local clinic first :-P
Just 2 weeks of class left! Can't believe how fast it's gone, and how fast we're learning. Sometimes my head wants to explode, but things seem to be sticking pretty well so far. My book for the next level arrived. I leafed through it, then showed the author names to my fiance: "Are these girl names?" He said they were, and asked me why. Well, the primary color in the book, other than black type, is pink. Ugh :-P It seems like a good book though. No word lists, but it has a compilation of grammar tables in the back, which is something I wish our current book had too.
I made it to class yesterday, but skipped Thursday, Monday, and Tuesday. Pretty sure I have pericarditis again. Ick. Sometimes when I get a virus, it gets into my joints and pericardium (sac around the heart) and everything gets inflamed. In the joints it mostly just hurts like hell, but in the pericardium it causes extreme physical exhaustion. Like, I get out of breath if I stand up. Seriously. I've stocked up on Aleve and taking a big dose for a week or so, which seems to be helping a bit now - it's supposed to remove excess fluids. But my jaw really hurts on one side and is getting worse, so going to try to go to the doc tomorrow. Need to get signed up with the local clinic first :-P
Just 2 weeks of class left! Can't believe how fast it's gone, and how fast we're learning. Sometimes my head wants to explode, but things seem to be sticking pretty well so far. My book for the next level arrived. I leafed through it, then showed the author names to my fiance: "Are these girl names?" He said they were, and asked me why. Well, the primary color in the book, other than black type, is pink. Ugh :-P It seems like a good book though. No word lists, but it has a compilation of grammar tables in the back, which is something I wish our current book had too.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Flu :-(
I gots it. I had it yesterday too, but I also had 2 of my midterms yesterday. I went to class anyhow, though it was made more exciting by my first bus arriving 7 minutes late, and my train leaving 2 minutes early. WTF.
I missed the train, but found another one going to central Amersfoort 15 minutes later. From there, I found a 2nd train going directly to central Utrecht. I ended up in a different part of the Utrecht train station, but tracked down the bus area, and managed to catch a bus and get to class only 15 minutes late. Fortunately the speaking exam was first, and we were doing it two people at a time. I arrived when the first pair was still in the class room taking the exam.
I think I did fairly well, given that our topic was "clothes shopping" versus easy stuff other people got like "talk about yourself" and "talk about your family." The writing was a lot easier than the speaking, and I finished with 10 minutes to spare after checking over my answers.
I'm skipping class today, on account of feeling like crap due to flu and the lovely asthma that always comes with it. The flu part isn't too horrible (yet?) but the asthma is pretty bad. I get exhausted from sitting upright for too long :-P Fortunately I have a nice couch to sprawl on while studying.
We went to 2 libraries on Saturday. The first (closer) one had a good selection of non-fiction for inburgerers, but the fiction was all angsty teenage emo crap. We chatted with the librarian, and she told us the more central Zonnehof branch had the biggest selection. So we went there, and that library is huuuge. A ton of novels for adults learning Dutch up on the 2nd floor (3rd floor if you're American). I only went through 1 of the 6 or so bins before finding three novels that looked good and declaring the mission a success.
I started reading the shortest of them, "Hittegolf" (Heatwave) by Rene Appel. It's 60 pages, but is written with nearly every sentence on it's own line (though organized into paragraphs), so would be about 30 pages if written in a normal format. It's based on a best-selling Dutch novel of the same name, but with very simple language and all in the present tense (except when people speak/think about the past). Present tense has the potential to be annoying, but it works very well in a mystery/thriller of few words ... it's actually pretty sexy. I don't understand all the words, but enough to understand what's happening at each point.
I missed the train, but found another one going to central Amersfoort 15 minutes later. From there, I found a 2nd train going directly to central Utrecht. I ended up in a different part of the Utrecht train station, but tracked down the bus area, and managed to catch a bus and get to class only 15 minutes late. Fortunately the speaking exam was first, and we were doing it two people at a time. I arrived when the first pair was still in the class room taking the exam.
I think I did fairly well, given that our topic was "clothes shopping" versus easy stuff other people got like "talk about yourself" and "talk about your family." The writing was a lot easier than the speaking, and I finished with 10 minutes to spare after checking over my answers.
I'm skipping class today, on account of feeling like crap due to flu and the lovely asthma that always comes with it. The flu part isn't too horrible (yet?) but the asthma is pretty bad. I get exhausted from sitting upright for too long :-P Fortunately I have a nice couch to sprawl on while studying.
We went to 2 libraries on Saturday. The first (closer) one had a good selection of non-fiction for inburgerers, but the fiction was all angsty teenage emo crap. We chatted with the librarian, and she told us the more central Zonnehof branch had the biggest selection. So we went there, and that library is huuuge. A ton of novels for adults learning Dutch up on the 2nd floor (3rd floor if you're American). I only went through 1 of the 6 or so bins before finding three novels that looked good and declaring the mission a success.
I started reading the shortest of them, "Hittegolf" (Heatwave) by Rene Appel. It's 60 pages, but is written with nearly every sentence on it's own line (though organized into paragraphs), so would be about 30 pages if written in a normal format. It's based on a best-selling Dutch novel of the same name, but with very simple language and all in the present tense (except when people speak/think about the past). Present tense has the potential to be annoying, but it works very well in a mystery/thriller of few words ... it's actually pretty sexy. I don't understand all the words, but enough to understand what's happening at each point.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
New Year, New Post
New year's eve in our neighborhood reminded my of the night videos from Operation Desert Storm. Like, non-stop lights and explosions and smoke so thick we couldn't see across the street. It lasted at that level for 2 full hours. Some of our neighbors decided to burn the fireworks boxes after using them ... I'm glad there's idiots here too, not just in the US. Fortunately the box that exploded was in an upright position on the fire, and the fireworks went up instead of, say, up the nose of one the idiots.
I started back to newbie Dutch class last week, and it looks like the Russian girl dropped out. She's missed more than 20% of the classes now, so can't pass. I'm still making good progress with my speaking and listening. I went to the library last night with Astrid, and didn't have any problem. The librarian mention she had a British colleague that managed to learn Dutch in 6 months, and both her and Astrid thought I was well on my way to doing the same. Woohoo!
There's a lot of people that stay here for years without learning Dutch (EU still people don't have to until applying for permanent residency), which I just don't understand. Sure, you can speak English at your job and most shops and talk to family and fellow ex-pats, but it seems so limiting. Like you're only living half the life you could be living. I don't get it :-P
So I got signed up with the Utrecht province library system, which just involved showing a photo ID and a random letter from the bank with my name and address on it. And 42.50 euros for an unlimited yearly subscription (and 3.50 for a waterproof satchel with shoulder strap). But that includes up to 10 books borrowed at a time, and free CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray. I could have gotten it free through the city because I'm inburgering, but it's a small price so I'm not bothered about it.
The library closest to me is less than half a mile away, though it's a smallish one. There's a huge one south of downtown Amerfoort that has a huge selection, including a decent amount of novels for adults learning Dutch. I checked out three this morning. There's a closer library with books for Dutch learners, but all the novels were for children and angst-infested teens. Ugh.
I signed up for B1 lessons at James Boswell Instituut last week, after emailing my inburgering contact to get the info needed to have the NVA billed instead of me. It was easy ... also ordered the textbook. I'm taking the morning class, since I can get a ride with Jan and get there just a bit early, then take the bus and train home quickly afterward. I'll be home in time for an afternoon nap, and making dinner will be waaay easier. I had to get a new OV (public transit) card, since the regular one can't handle off-peak discounting on the trains.
Riding the train sounds pretty easy. I just put my card near a reader when entering the train station or on the platform before boarding, then do the same thing after I get off. Apparently conductors have a card reader to make sure card-using passengers have swiped in, when they walk through to check for tickets. I'm going to give it a try on Monday. A classmate living nearby is be taking the same train at the same time, so it shouldn't be too scary :-P
I started back to newbie Dutch class last week, and it looks like the Russian girl dropped out. She's missed more than 20% of the classes now, so can't pass. I'm still making good progress with my speaking and listening. I went to the library last night with Astrid, and didn't have any problem. The librarian mention she had a British colleague that managed to learn Dutch in 6 months, and both her and Astrid thought I was well on my way to doing the same. Woohoo!
There's a lot of people that stay here for years without learning Dutch (EU still people don't have to until applying for permanent residency), which I just don't understand. Sure, you can speak English at your job and most shops and talk to family and fellow ex-pats, but it seems so limiting. Like you're only living half the life you could be living. I don't get it :-P
So I got signed up with the Utrecht province library system, which just involved showing a photo ID and a random letter from the bank with my name and address on it. And 42.50 euros for an unlimited yearly subscription (and 3.50 for a waterproof satchel with shoulder strap). But that includes up to 10 books borrowed at a time, and free CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray. I could have gotten it free through the city because I'm inburgering, but it's a small price so I'm not bothered about it.
The library closest to me is less than half a mile away, though it's a smallish one. There's a huge one south of downtown Amerfoort that has a huge selection, including a decent amount of novels for adults learning Dutch. I checked out three this morning. There's a closer library with books for Dutch learners, but all the novels were for children and angst-infested teens. Ugh.
I signed up for B1 lessons at James Boswell Instituut last week, after emailing my inburgering contact to get the info needed to have the NVA billed instead of me. It was easy ... also ordered the textbook. I'm taking the morning class, since I can get a ride with Jan and get there just a bit early, then take the bus and train home quickly afterward. I'll be home in time for an afternoon nap, and making dinner will be waaay easier. I had to get a new OV (public transit) card, since the regular one can't handle off-peak discounting on the trains.
Riding the train sounds pretty easy. I just put my card near a reader when entering the train station or on the platform before boarding, then do the same thing after I get off. Apparently conductors have a card reader to make sure card-using passengers have swiped in, when they walk through to check for tickets. I'm going to give it a try on Monday. A classmate living nearby is be taking the same train at the same time, so it shouldn't be too scary :-P
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