Broken Brain

Posted on Jun 17, 2013 | 4 comments

I had another broken brain moment the other day. Which is nothing new, really, but unfortunately this one happened during an exam. Usually this frustration arises when I have to write in Spanish or in Dutch but this time it happened while I was writing in English.

Stopping the thinking.

Posted on Jun 16, 2013 | 0 comments

I’ve been studying a lot in the last couple of months but I’ve also been thinking a lot about writing. When I need to take a little break and give my brain a rest I often find myself reading other blogs (what other blogs?). I think about writing posts myself but just don’t do it. I think sometimes I’m struggling with the idea of what I should write. I imagine the people that I think read this blog and I try to anticipate what they would like to read. I don’t like the idea of filling up my space here with nonsense just to have more posts but I also think that writing just for the sake of writing has some merit to it.

Office Assistant

Posted on Jun 11, 2013 | 4 comments

I have been writing fewer posts lately because once again an exam period has arrived. I feel like I’m a broken record constantly repeating, “Sorry, I don’t think I can make it because I have to study.” Anyway, this will be a very short post but I wanted to share a few pictures of what life looks like lately. Mr. Dorian is the constant study companion, checking everything for safety and giving me reprimanding looks when I become distracted.

Wine in the supermarket – help yourself!

Posted on Jun 5, 2013 | 0 comments

On late Saturday afternoons we always head to the supermarket and stock up on the weekly groceries. As we were taking the usual path through the aisles on a recent Saturday, I noticed there was a cart set up to try out a new beer that the store was selling. The guy manning the cart was washing the glasses and it seemed as if he had finished with his job for the day. Sometimes there are moments like this when I have to remind myself that I would have found this an unbelievably strange thing only 3 or 4 years ago.

For the love of hygiene.

Posted on Apr 18, 2013 | 10 comments

On Wednesday it happened. The last straw was placed on the delicate little camel’s back and my toes crept right up to the very end of the ledge of sanity. I was washing my hands in one of the women’s restrooms in my faculty building and as I rinsed away the soap bubbles a girl exited a bathroom stall and came up to the sink.

Words, Woords, Woorden

Posted on Mar 15, 2013 | 3 comments

In this video David Crystal, a linguist with great authority on the English language, discusses his favorite words in the English language.

Lately I’ve been thinking about my favorite words. I don’t necessarily think I have chosen any favorite words consciously, but I think I subconsciously choose to use certain words and certain constructions of words without realizing it.

This phenomenon is even more interesting to me when I think about it in the context of learning a second or third language.

Testosterone Terrier

Posted on Feb 27, 2013 | 0 comments

I regularly take the tram to and from the city center of Ghent and I’ve found that there is a pattern involving the occurrence of unusual events and my presence on the tram. The other day I was just on my way home after a long day of classes at Ghent University and I was allowing my brain a few moments of relaxation while I enjoyed the warmth of the tram car, watching people going about their day on the other side of the glass. We went slowly past the Kouter and that was when I saw something unusual.