Q+A w/ an American Expat in the Netherlands

Along the lines of my last post, I reached out to u/ok-friendship-2. They successfully relocated from the US to the Netherlands last year, and they were kind enough to answer some questions about their experience through the lens of language.

You mentioned you moved with your family. How are they adapting to the new linguistic landscape? For instance, the kiddos, how are they finding the language at school or daycare, and how do you navigate being a multilingual family in a new country?

School is very understanding and the teacher makes sure the kid understand the activities, first they are explained in Dutch and the teacher translates to the kid. This is a public school. Everybody is very welcoming. In our house we speak English, I speak exclusively English at work. I've heard from internationals that after years now speaking Dutch that their problem now is natives still speak to them in English.

What's one Dutch word or phrase you've learned that has given you an 'aha!' moment about the culture.

I like the word "toekomst" which means "future", it turns out in English we got it from latin "futurum" whereas in Dutch is just something that is "to come" -> "toe(e)kom(st)" I found that funny. There are many words like that. Also it seems the pronunciation is closer to the writing, in English is never enough to know how something is written, you have to know how is pronunced (that's why we have spelling bee contests).

As a non-white American, you're navigating two layers of "otherness." How does this feel when you're trying to speak Dutch? Do you ever feel an extra pressure to "get it right," or conversely, do you find people are perhaps more patient because they have fewer preconceived notions about what a "Dutch-speaking American" should sound like?

Not really, but mainly because I barely speak any Dutch, I'm really a beginner and can only say thinks like milk and cheese (Duolingo basic level).

There's a Dutch word, regelneef, for someone who is a stickler for the rules. In navigating the maze of getting your BSN and setting up a life, have you had a run-in with a classic regelneef? Any situations in general where your Dutch has made the situation more challenging or comical?

I had a comic situation where ordering coffee, my co-worker ordered a Cappuccino, and I said "Cappuccino ook" (ook means "me too" or "as well") and the barista thought I said "oat"... as in "oat milk", so I got my Cappuccino with oat milk because trying to clarify the situation was making it worse. Another English speaking colleague, when trying to order a kilo of rice said "een kilo of rijst" got served eight kilos, because they thought "een" was "eight."