Not exactly. I've been teaching myself (via duolingo and a text book) for just over a year. I am supposedly placing somewhere in the high A1 to low A2 range if the online tests are right. But, this doesn't consider speaking which I've done only very very little of. Macaronus is helping me along with a non-TSD friend whose parents are Dutch (but now live in Canada). Reading it is, of course, much easier than creating it myself.
I understand and read Dutch very well. I must say that when I was in Holland some years ago it was very difficult for me to find French-speaking people because the second language is overwhelmingly English. Back then my English was really, really bad and although German is understood and spoken by a good percentage of the people it's not always a good idea to use it, especially with the older generation. If a Canadian goes to Holland he would find that in most places English would be the only language he needs. About 90% of the population under 60 speaks it fluently.
It was a freebie and have the puck so if it's no good, I'm not out anything. Maybe i will try it tomorrow and see how it goes.
My friend was raised bi-lingual (Dutch & Canadian, I mean, English. lol) and has also managed to teach himself Spanish. I've been to Sint Maarten regularly for the last many years and it still amazes me not only how well the Dutch speak English, but how quickly they are able to switch between English and Dutch when needed. And unlike the French side of the island, the Dutch seem to want to speak English and enjoy doing it. I've seen online "complaints" that folks learning Dutch find it very frustrating to speak Dutch with natives because the Dutch are are more than happy to speak English with you and do it well (generally). So, they just automatically answer you in English. And... I'm a wee bit (ok, a lot) envious of your language abilities.
The Dutch are extremely fond of Canadians because Canada liberated Holland from the Nazis during WW2. For that reason they love speaking English. In Scandinavia especially Denmark, the vast majority of the people are even more fluent in English than most of the Dutch and they get very annoyed if a non-Dane tries to speak Danish. They'll tell that person "Speak to me in English, or don't speak to me!" lolllllll In Germany, pretty well everyone studies English in school but they're less fluent or less willing to speak it than the Dutch or Scandinavians. Generally, younger Germans can speak basic English and a lot of them are actually very fluent and if a non-German speaks to them in German they'll answer that person in English if they're able to. It even happened to me in Germany once when a woman who owned a restaurant thought that I was a Muslim who ate only halal meat. When I opened up my yap at her in perfect German, complete with the native accent and dialect she stood there in shock! I told her I'd been speaking German probably longer than her. In Russia it's not that easy to find English speakers. Lucky for me, Russian is as natural as Hebrew and I had a Russian university professor compliment me on my fluency in Russian! Thanks for your nice compliments!
I find Gold Dachs gear to be quite good. I buy it off Amazon, shipped from Germany and its good stuff. Not cheap though.
I get my Gold Dachs off of Amazon for $22 for 2 60 gram pucks. They are a bit smaller than some other pucks but they last forever because theyre so hard.
Wilkinson Sword stick (the blue one). A "must have" unless you have a lanolin allergy. And the German Pitralon, of course. You may also try the Hâttric aftershave; personally I don't care for the scent.
Okay guys, in the same vein, Herself is going to Italy in August for her cousin's wedding. I already have Cella, any suggestions for soaps to ask for?
Tried the Pils soap this morning with a cold water shave. Since this was the first use of this soap I didn't know how much or how little water to use so I did my usual soak flick swirl and in a few seconds it looked as though I used too much water so I swirled some more and loaded up the HJM brush. I face lathered and the thickness I am used to wasn't there but the lather was even, not runny nor dry so why not shave and see what happens. No discernible scent or luxurious lather but the shavette glide was smooth. Post shave slickness was on par or equal to what I like but no scent. Pass 2 and 3 were comfortable irritation free. I cleaned up and was going to apply some Stirling Tuscany balm but my face felt moisturized. So I just spritzed some Tabac cologne on and am enjoying a BBS shave. Bottom line Close comfortable non irritating shave with bbs results. The only real downside for me was no scent from the soap. I did a quick search and see this soap at some vendors...some were proud of it but one included a stainless Pils Shaving bowl for a way premium price...I imagine because of the bowl. The one that stuck out had a shaving tin and puck of pils for $16. Because I like scented soaps I am not sure I would buy it, but it does perform well enough Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
