Flemish II

We enjoyed Flemish I so much that we signed up for Flemish II. I was anxiously awaiting the start of the class since I don't get the chance to speak Flemish otherwise. Why is that? The same reason Jim and I don't speak Flemish at home . . . everyone here, including us, speak perfectly good English so why bother with anything else. It's true.

I'm still amazed that this country - 50 years ago or more - had the foresight to teach its children to speak fluent English, French, and German. I know all the reasons they did it, but the main thing is that they did it.

No matter, we are progressing in Flemish despite the tendency to revert to English and our new class is great.

Our teacher's name is Karen and she has some big shoes to fill since our last teacher was amazing. Hmmm, I wonder if we're the same age since I'm pretty sure all Karen's were born in the same year. No one named their daughter Karen before or after the year I was born. It immediately stamps me with my age.

It was also like "old home week" as we got to see some of our old classmates - Nephat (Thailand), Michael (England), Khoren & Karina (Armenia), and Adbellatif (Morocco). And we met some new classmates from places like Lebanon, Guinea, Romania, Brazil.

It seemed more people in this class speak English also. I asked Mohammed, from Lebanon, how he learned to speak such good English. He said that when a child starts school in Lebanon, a choice must be made for all lessons to be taught in English or French. Can you believe that? So his parents chose English for him. He also said that they are taught grammar in their native Arabic, but all other classes are taught in the language of choice (French or English).

Thankfully, many progressive countries teach English in their schools since you don't have to live in a foreign country long to realize it's a good thing we speak English in America. We would be at a serious disadvantage worldwide given the little importance we put on learning another language.

We've all heard the joke "What do you call someone who speaks two languages?" Bilingual. What do you call someone who speaks only one language?" American.

It's not funny to me anymore.