Last Monday I started my intensive Dutch course in Antwerp and today is going to be my fourth lesson. It is an intensive evening course, so it means that after your working day you go to your lessons and there you have to learn many things in a little time. You really need a lot of motivation. I've already studied a bit of Dutch with some friends of mine since I arrived in Antwerp, therefore I already knew something and my first week wasn't so terrible. The fun part will start in the next days!

By the way, I am quite proud to say that now my Dutch pronunciation (uitspreek) is getting better and better: Dutch speaking people now actually understand when I try to say something in their language. One of the phrases I learnt by heart is ‘Nederlands is een heel moeilijke taal, maar ik vind het interessant' which means ‘Dutch is a very difficult language, but I find it interesting' - ‘heel' means ‘very' and not hell, as you could think if you heard me speaking.

However, if Dutch speakers can understand me now, it doesn't mean that also the opposite is true, not at all... When I hear conversations in Dutch, it's still just an indefinite flow of words that I desperately try to get without much success. I still need the super easy tracks I hear at the lessons, in which people speak slowly and talk just about what is their profession or the address of their place.

Seriously, it's a really good course and I know it is going to help me a lot: my teacher, Els, doesn't speak English to me at all, only in Dutch. And it is quite impressive that we, the students, can understand almost everything.

Wish me good luck for the next months, guys, I know it is going to be a bit of a hell - not heel! - but I will succeed, trust me!