If you have been following the blog for a while you might know that I’ve been living in Belgium for over four years.

It took more than a year until I had my resident permit. Then I attended their social integration program. I had my Brazilian diploma recognized. I went to several meetings at the VDAB and information sessions about courses and jobs. Until I finally started to settle down. Until I finally found a job in my field.

All the while, I studied Dutch. Morning lessons, evening lessons, summer lessons. I was good, I could speak. But I got tired. I had other things to do.

Nowadays I find myself trying to have a decent conversation and feeling frustrated and embarrassed. It’s been four years! I should be speaking fluently! But I know why I don’t and it’s about time I do something about it.

Here are my reasons/excuses. What are yours?

I speak English at home

Since we met, my boyfriend and I spoke English to each other. I learned Dutch after moving back to Belgium and he learned Portuguese, but as much as we tried we could never make an efficient switch. We speak each other’s language now and then but we always fall back to English. It just feels more natural.

I speak English at work…

… and I can’t believe my luck! I not only get to speak English, I also do something I’m good at and care about.

Most people I know in Belgium speak English

They will likely switch languages when they notice you struggle in Dutch, and thus you’re rarely forced to improve.

I am self-conscious

As a teacher I have always told my students that it’s important to try, that mistakes are okay, that’s how you learn. But I’m terrible at following my own advice. I want to say things perfectly, I’m nervous about making a fool of myself, so I often choose to be quiet.

It hasn’t been a priority

During the first two years here I learned Dutch based on the thought that otherwise I wouldn’t find a job. At the same time I hoped that, being an English teacher, I wouldn’t need it. I kept myself busy looking for work, writing, reading, taking online courses, blogging, volunteering. Very little of that was done in Dutch.

The less I practice, the worse it gets

I forget words. Verb conjugations. Word order. It takes a lot of energy to say something. And then again, the frustration, the guilt, the shame.

These have been stressful years

There is no need to repeat everything I wrote above. These four years have been marked by uncertainty, anxiety, discomfort and low self-esteem. Stress is one of the worst enemies of learning.

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So speaking the local language is not always a natural consequence of living somewhere. It takes effort and time. What will I do about it from now on? I will add a little more Dutch in my life, every day. I will read, watch movies, listen to music, talk to people around me.

One day it won’t be such an effort anymore.

What helped you become fluent? 

I have always been organized. Always enjoyed cleaning out my closet and throwing stuff away. Making space.

When I left for the USA in 2009, I gave most of my old clothes, shoes and accessories away. I burned a lot of notebooks, letters, cards and school material. I didn’t need any of that in my new life. I traveled light, one suitcase and one carry-on, and I felt lighter still. I was setting off for a year that would be the beginning of the rest of my life. I needed space and clarity.

Au Pairs made decent money, considering we didn’t have any obligations, and things are cheap there. It would have been easy to fall into the trap, but before buying anything I always asked myself: “Do I really need that?” The answer was often no and most of my money went to trips, events, going out and my bank account back in Brazil. 

I packed my bags and moved another four times after that: USA – Brazil, Brazil – Belgium, Belgium – Brazil and finally Brazil – Belgium again. Cleaning up my belongings is a ritual I love. I appreciate the memories, reflect on how I’ve changed and feel great in letting go. I was proud to have everything I owned and needed in a suitcase or two. Such freedom! 

But now… 

Now for the first time in my life I’m living in my own home. It’s a small apartment and we keep it very neat - we recycle everything we can and we’re quite conscious shoppers, but I still believe we could do with a little less. 

Less clothes, to start with. I donated two big bags in the end of summer and there are a few items on probation that, if not worn by the end of the year, will definitely find a new owner. It’s much more fun to have selected clothes that I love and look good in than to have a cluttered closet full of what I “don’t really like but might wear one day”. We all know how that goes. 

I don’t think I could strictly adopt a capsule wardrobe, but my philosophy is easy and simple to live by: How many pairs of shoes do you possibly need? How many bags? How many dresses? I haven’t bought jewelry in a long time and you’ll often see me wearing the same eye shadow and red nail polish (now thanks to my sister I have So! Many! Colors! Five.)

Less “things” lying around. A good rule for this one is: if it’s not useful or beautiful, get rid of it. I’m pretty merciless in letting go of things, but I can’t say the same for my boyfriend. We’re working on it. We never ever play the wii and I suspect it doesn’t work anymore, but it’s still there. A couple of side tables I don’t really love, tennis rackets we haven't used in two years, cups, candles, magazines and other knick-knacks can certainly find a new fate. 

If you’d like to give us awesome gifts, just give us books. Or a bottle of wine. Or a restaurant coupon. We don’t mind those one bit. We’re far from living a minimalist life, but I’ll certainly keep trying. 

Less things to do. Saying no is hard sometimes, but it’s essential. I’m learning to skip engagements I don’t really want to go to or activities I don’t love in order to focus on what brings me joy. 

Less unhealthy food. We’re cutting soft drinks, packaged treats, processed meat, frozen meals. We’re lucky to have the time and inspiration to cook our own food every day. To avoid waste, we plan what we'll eat the following week and only buy those things (also because of our tiny fridge). 

Simplify. It’s calming. It’s good for the environment. Your wallet will appreciate it.
​ 

What I've been reading on the subject:
You can choose to want less, Yes and Yes 
All you need is less, The Guardian
The 10 Most Important Things to Simplify in Your Life
Simple Living Manifesto: 72 ideas to Simplify Your Life
The Cheapskate Guide: 50 Tips for Frugal Living

​Any suggestion? 

I’m back!

August was a very busy month and I didn’t do any writing, which made me feel anxious and frustrated. However, I did a lot of Dutch-learning, which made me feel proud. When I say a lot I really mean it: I had three-hour classes five days a week plus a shit-ton of homework plus newspaper reading plus talking with the Flemish boyfriend. I was constantly busy with Dutch.

It all started with me not wanting to sit at home for two months letting all I’ve learned slip away from my brain. The school where I studied didn’t offer summer courses, but the University Language Center did. It’s quite expensive (€375 per month/level) but I got hold of this valuable piece of information: the City of Ghent grants you a discount if you meet the following requirements:

"1. To reside in one of the sub-districts of the City of Ghent
2. Being a legal resident and have a real and permanent judicial residence expectation
3. The gross monthly family income is below 4000 euro
4. Reference of the Huis van het Nederlands Gent vzw."

All I had to do was go to the House of Dutch with my identity card and some pay checks and get the paper. After I enrolled paying only €99 I took an entrance exam and – no shit – passed for their highest level! Maybe I’ve been underestimating my skills.

Passing that exam shifted something and I immediately started speaking more Dutch with the people around me.

Classes were fast paced and my classmates really motivated. I realized how behind I was on vocabulary and fluency and worked my ass off at home. I was challenged and I was learning, yay! The one thing I didn’t know was that at the end of that level everyone was supposed to take this ITNA test (Interuniversitaire Taaltest Nederlands voor Anderstaligen). It’s a proficiency test for those who want to go to University here.


Proficiency! Hello?!

The whole month was ITNA this, ITNA that and a lot of anxiety on the part of people who depended on it for their visas. I tried to relax and just learn the most I could because that was my goal to start with. We did a lot of reading and grammar/vocabulary exercises in order to prepare for the first phase: the computer test. If you pass that you can take the oral test. That annoyed the shit out me. The oral test was composed of a presentation and an argumentation. You get diagrams and you have to interpret the information and present them. Boring.

I did the best I could, all the while thinking that I didn't know half of what everybody else did and that I wouldn't pass. 

I was wrong.

Proficiency, people!

Of course I need to learn more and I’m going back to the CVO, twice a week. I took a new level test and they let me enroll on level 9. Nine! I just skipped four levels, bam!

Bragging is the least I want to do with this post. What I want to say is: NEVER UNDERESTIMATE YOURSELF. Cliché but true.

What is your experience learning languages? 

Do what is doable. Start now.

That is one of my favourite lessons from Leonie Dawson’s Business Goddess Course, which I did for the first time a year ago.

Last year I was a confused, insecure, freaked-out mess. I’m still not over it, but I can certainly say that I’m on the right path. When I couldn’t find a job in Belgium and felt like I had a whole lot to learn about myself and “what to do with my life”, I decided to take the leap and sign up for the Amazing Biz and Life Academy. God, I love that name! Because that’s what I dreamed of: having an amazing career and an amazing life. I wanted to create my own income somehow, doing work that I love and doing whatever the hell I wanted with my time!

Leonie teaches women all over the world how to start and grow online businesses and she does that by sharing exactly how she did it herself. How she went from blogging and selling prints of her art to a million dollar a year company that keeps on growing.

The ABLA is overflowing with e-courses, workbooks, videos, meditations and, best of all, a forum where we can ask and share anything and where people are honest and serious about sharing their talents and creating the life + work they dream of. They are artists, teachers, writers, coaches - creative and spiritual women.

Since I joined I learned so much about blogging, websites, mailing lists, creating, marketing and selling online products (books and courses), connecting with like-minded people, different ways to make money online and so much more.

However, the best thing I learned was how to get out of that paralyzing freaked-out state I was in. Leonie’s resources, other members’ blogs and forum discussions eventually brought me more clarity about what I want to do. It was a twisty road that included the creation of this website (with my own domain name!), e-books, a LOT of guest blogging, reading and networking, ideas that never left my head, doubting and crying and being broke. Damn, I’m still broke! But things are coming together and looking up. I KNOW now what I didn’t know then: I am a writer. I am going to write all my life and I’ll get better and better at it. I’ll publish this book I’ve been working on, one way or the other. And I’ll write another one. And another one. Money will follow.

Leonie's newest program, Double Your Biz Intensive, is out today! It is so complete and full of advice and I've already started taking notes and thinking about what I can improve about my blogging and online presence. And as she says, theory is not going to grow your business; implementing what you learn will. 

So if you own a business (online or "in real life") or have always dreamed about starting one; If you would like to learn how to make money online or profit from your passions, check her out: Biz and Blog Star Workshop - blog - videos - freebies. 

Are you learning a new language?

Living abroad?

Do you love reading?

Don’t you mind reading your favorite books one more time?

Once you’ve reached a certain level you should challenge yourself to read more than textbook dialogues and articles. Reading a story you already know is one of the great ways to learn new words and train your brain to read in another language.

One of the advantages is that you won’t stress about understanding everything – you already know what happens. Besides, if you chose to re-read that book, I suppose you love the story and the experience will be pleasant and relaxed.

When I first came to Belgium I bought the book Mange, Prie, Aime which is the French version of Eat, Pray, Love. I had read it at least twice and also seen the movie, so my transition into reading “real things” in French was very smooth. 

Now that I am learning Dutch and reached a comfortable reading level (past comic books and magazines) I decided to go for my boyfriend’s Harry Potter series. The first one, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is called Harry Potter en de Steen der Wijzen.

There are many a-ha times like “Oh, that’s how you say______!” There are also times when I know a word “in real life” because I’ve read it on the book. Fun and effortless learning.

My only disappointment are the translated names: Hermelien (Hermione), Perkamentus (Dumbledore), Zweinstein (Hogwarts), Malfidus (Malfoy), Marcel (Nevile) and so on. Names are names, for God’s sake!

Now, for training your listening skills and learning how to properly pronounce words: animations! Choose your favorites and re-watch them in the language you’re learning. The pronunciation in animation movies is very clear and easy to understand. Again: fun and effortless.

A foreign language can be stressful and frustrating, but we can find our own ways to lighten things up. What are yours?

Last Saturday I attended the second BELTA Day in Brussels. I was lazy to get up early and take the bus, but I am glad I did. It was a nice, productive day from beginning to end. From meeting new people during coffee breaks to sharing what we learned on the swap shop (we were divided in groups and shared our thoughts on the most interesting aspects of the workshops, since we couldn’t be in all of them).

I have been having my doubts about being a teacher since it’s been so hard to find a job here in Belgium (and for other reasons as well). However, I have to confess that I left the HUB that evening with a new sense of encouragement.

Thoughts like “I understand everything they are talking about!”, “I was a very good teacher. No, I AM a very good teacher!” and “I actually miss being in front of a class” populated my mind all day.

What I enjoyed the most were the topics discussed. They were current and relevant (the seminars I used to attend back home were a bit boring and meaningless).

These were the highlights:

Why do we need teachers at all?

Jeremy Harmer introduced us - or me. I didn’t know it before - to The Hole in the Wall experiment: a computer was put in a wall in a slum and soon the children started playing around with it and teaching each other.

I went ahead and watched Sugata Mitra’s TED talk. His idea is that children learn as a group and don’t need teachers. He also says that we don’t need to “stuff” our heads anymore, you just have to know how to Google.

Ok. I agree that we are able to learn things ourselves and pass it on to others, but there are things that only a teacher can do: guide and motivate, target weaknesses and pinpoint errors, impose structure, etc.

We can’t be replaced by machines yet.

Later in the day, Luke Meddings spoke about Dogme.

Dogme is a teaching approach I recently came across and became very interested in. It’s about relying less on materials and lesson plans. In the schools I worked this would never work since we had to finish the book by the end of the semester. Everything was planned to the minute. But imagine a conversation lesson with more spontaneity, more interaction, more flexibility and not having to cut your student off because you have to finish that page.

Two of my favourite workshops were about online teaching and I left the event full of thoughts involving online teaching, Portuguese, conversation, Dogme and jobs.

The only downside of attending an ELT event is that I have to explain why I haven’t found a job in Belgium yet. I’ve been searching for over a year and nothing. In part it’s because they are simply not hiring but it’s also because of the wrong idea that native speakers are better English teachers. Excuse me?! Do singers make good singing teachers? Can all writers teach literature? Not necessarily. The ability to do something doesn’t automatically translate into the ability to teach that to others. And that I can do. 

Share your thoughts in the comment session below! 

Over 250 million others speak it as a native language, so when will you start?

Perhaps you’re considering learning another language, it might be your second or further down the line; you might already have a language in mind, or maybe you’re still undecided. Which ever scenario applies to you, it might be worth your while considering this often undervalued language, let’s look at how it’s gotten this far and why it could be a good idea to learn it in the future.

Portuguese is a close relative of Spanish, they both originate from Vulgar Latin which was used in the old times of Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire by the lowly townsfolk, while the higher class spoke classical Latin. During the Roman Empire’s collapse, the Moorish invasion of 711 took place; as a result there are now a substantial number of Portuguese words with an Arabic origin -- Such as as-sukkar becoming açúcar, sugar.

It was in the 15th and 16th centuries that the Portuguese expanded across the globe, they were a major economic powerhouse and as they spread, so did the language. Now it’s an official language of Portugal, Brazil, Mozambique, Angola, East Timor, Principe, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau and Sao Tome, while being spoken in many more.

Today Brazil is the largest country to have Portuguese as the official language, with over 200 million residing there alone, and that brings us to one of the reasons why you should be learning the beautiful language. Brazil, in the next four years, will play host to the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics, either of these is a big deal by itself, but to have both is rather incredible. This make it one of the places to see within that time-span and long after -- with a strong and ever-growing economy, the long white beaches, Carnival and friendly welcoming Brazilians, there’s never a bad time to visit the sun-soaked South American giant.

To make matters even better, Portuguese and Spanish are the fastest growing European languages after English and display the highest potential for growth as an international language. As such, upping your level of Portuguese will prove invaluable in the long run, people will congratulate you for your hindsight and rue the day they too did not pick up the language.

This is really just the tip of the iceberg, Portuguese has a lot of history and many interesting stories will come from learning a little more about it. So if you’re at all interested in taking some classes and upping your language game I encourage you to do it soon, when you get wanderlust and begin traveling you’ll wish you did it sooner, believe me. 

Ten years ago (!) I sat in one of the crossroads of my life. I was seventeen and had just finished high school and taken my entrance exams for University. I knew then, as I know now, that choosing a career is not something fair to ask of a teenager.

Our schools taught us one thing: what would be on the entrance exams. “Pay attention now, this is probably going to be on the exam”. And so we went throughout high school: learning how to pass the feared vestibular, solving hundreds of questions a week, taking extra classes and practice exams.

People broke up relationships and gave up their social lives in order to study because “while you’re having fun your opponent is studying” or “that is the difference between those who pass and those who don’t”.  

For a while my biggest fear was not passing the damn thing. Not that I was a bad student, mind you. I was a perfectly trained exam-acing machine. I didn’t mind studying and I liked writing essays, so I was ok. But I regretted what I was forced to learn – I hated math and chemistry with a passion. I didn’t see the use of memorizing so much information only to regurgitate it back during exams. It didn’t make my life any better, it didn’t make me a more skillful and resourceful person. To be honest, after exams I used to forget most of what I had just done. Nowadays I can barely recall what I studied then.  

I wanted to learn how to be a decent adult, how to manage living on my own, first aid, self-defense, cooking, fixing stuff around the house and more creative things.

I have so much going on in my mind now that I started writing about the education system in Brazil that I think I will just drop it and go back to where I started.

When I was seventeen I didn’t have the faintest idea of what I wanted to do with my life. God, I still don’t. I went through our University brochure picking out what I definitely didn’t want to do – medicine, law, IT, etc. I eventually settled for English and my teachers thought it was a waste of good grades.

I passed on the first place.

I couldn’t have done much being educated in a town where traditional careers like law and medicine are still regarded as the best one can follow. I wasn’t taught to be creative and daring. I was taught to get into University, get a job and settle.

And that is what I did. In part, anyway. In four years I graduated as a teacher and had already been working for two years. I was restless. I didn’t want to do that. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed teaching and I was quite good at it, but I couldn’t allow myself to get comfortable.

I knew there was more to life, so I set out to explore it.

Ten years after that first crossroads in my life I have the same familiar feeling of uncertainty and curiosity. I am still not sure about my career choice and that can be frustrating at times but I get to learn new things and choose new paths.  

We all do. Always. 

New Year resolutions for me have never been more than wishes. In that magical moment at midnight, I’d close my eyes and think about the things I wish would happen. Needless to say, they didn’t happen or I simply forgot about them with the passing of time.

Then, I started having these big, yearly goals - living in the USA, living in Europe, coming back to Belgium – and give them all my attention and energy, not really worrying about what else would happen. They were a fun couple of years, focusing on the big decisions and letting the rest surprise me.

But now I feel like taking more action and responsibility in creating my own life. I know I can’t control every single thing and it’s not about that. It’s about starting a new year – and a new cycle of life, in my case – with a clear vision of how you want your life to unfold and what concrete actions you can take in order to achieve that.

The Create Your Amazing Life Workbook, by Leonie Dawson is making me think in detail and putting me in the best mindset for making things happen.

It starts by Celebrating and Releasing the past year. Maybe you just want to forget things that happened this year; or maybe you’re clinging to good and fun things that won’t come back. Either way, give thanks and let go. I wrote about the lessons I learned this year, the ways I was transformed, what dreams came true and why I’m happy today. I made a big gratitude list and let go.

I opened space for the new wonderful things to come. 

This workbook is not only about making plans. It’s about the BIG picture of YOUR LIFE.

How do you want to feel during the year? What will you give yourself this year? When everything sucks, what will you turn to? (It’s very handy to have this list around. I wrote down everything that makes me feel better, because when you’re sad it’s easy to sink even more.)

Leonie also prompts us to make lists of good habits, mottos and affirmations to hang/paste around the house. She encourages us to dream big and to dare writing our wildest goals down. Then, she shows us how to break it down in smaller steps.

I had never thought about planning my year like this. Sure, I’ve promised myself to eat healthier and exercise more, but it’s so easy to forget and slip into old habits and routines.

I’ve completed my workbook and I’ll review it every month to keep me on track of my gorgeous plans and challenges (Publish a book! Lose weight! Go to Brazil!). I’m sure the reminders, calendars and posters will help. 

What are your big dreams for next year?

Despite living in Flanders and being surrounded by Flemings, I couldn’t just flip a switch and start speaking. I’m not a natural and I get really self-conscious of my mistakes and shortcomings. Every time I hear “We moeten Nederlands spreken, eh, Ana?!” I shy out because the things I actually can say are so basic I feel stupid. I wish I could, from the moment we decree that I must speak Dutch only, chat your ears off or at least speak my mind before it gets lost in translation and the conversation moves on. Frustrating.

I doubt that I’ll stop speaking English with the people I’ve already been doing so for years. It’s our default communication. But I’m sure I’ll improve enough to be a functional and fully integrated member of the Flemish community.

Anyway, I digress.

As a beginner learner of any language, you’ll need to learn a lot of new words and it might be hard to remember all of them or know how to use them properly.

Before I started the intensive course I took advantage of the resources around me, tried them out and decided which ones were the most helpful for me.

These classes have been crucial in my case because even though I learned a lot of words in the last few months, I wasn’t able to maintain a conversation. I like following a structure, learning each situation/vocabulary/grammar on their own and doing homework and exams. Maybe it's a teacher thing. I now use the following tools as extra learning support:

1. Television: I love cooking shows (Hellooo, Jamie Oliver!) so imagine my delight in discovering a Flemish cooking channel that would teach me not only their culinary secrets but vital food vocabulary. Njam! Now and then I also watch Komen Eten, Thuis, series like Salamander and Eigen Kweek (hilarious!) and cartoons. Cartoons are especially good because their speech is clearer and easy to understand (Don’t you dare bother me when I’m watching The Penguins of Madagascar. I’m actually studying.)

2. Music: Gers Pardoel’s songs are modern and catchy. I like to read the lyrics and try to sing along – it helps a lot with pronunciation.

Children’s songs are awesome and I think it’s the right time for this: 

3. Word of the day: You can subscribe and receive a new word and sentence every.single.day. What I like to do is to write down the sentence on my study notebook, listen to the native sound (on the website) and say it out loud a couple of times. Vocabulary, spelling and pronunciation practice right there. Daily. And free. Unlike booze. 

4. Wablief: You can find it on Fans of Flanders website or watch it when the show is on tv. Chris explains a Flemish word or expression (in English).

5. Comic Books: Belgians are suckers for (oops, pardon me), fans of comic books. There’s even a Museum in Brussels. My boyfriend owns a decent stash that I’ve been slowly exploring. Kufje (Tintin), Suske en Wiske, Jommeke, Urbanus, you name it!

Just look around and see what you can use to learn the language you want (or need to). Read everything: labels, flyers, posters, magazines, brochures, etc. Listen to the radio, look for websites or YouTube channels. Languages are all around you, happy learning!