It is exceedingly convenient.
It also makes me feel like a heel.
Here I am, third trip to the Netherlands, and I don't even try to say two words in Dutch. I know people from the US, England, Australia - even people from non-English speaking countries - who have lived here for years and haven't bothered learning Dutch, because they know they can get by with English.
I want to believe I'm different, that I really care about other cultures. So yesterday, on a long train ride, I grabbed the local newspaper and vowed to decipher as much as I could.
It turns out, my Dutch is better than I thought. I was able to understand this entire article of huge international import.
Here I sit, in the land of dairy, contemplating the cognate boobjob and bewonderen to myelf about the multiple and possibly terrifying meanings of the phrase "breaking news."
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