Mental Health Catch-up

[stormdog]

I haven't been around here in a while. It's basically because I haven't been together enough to write a lot about what's been going on.

(Having posted this, I looked at the dates. A month‽ Wow. That's probably the longest I've ever gone without posting something since I started Livejournaling. My perception of time has been a bit off for a few

Comments

[resonant]

You may want to have the TV on at all times. Good for getting your brain used to hearing the words. If there are subtitles in Dutch, it helps with the written language too.

(except when the subtitles and spoken phrases don't match up, that just gets frustrating).

[stormdog]

That's a good idea! I started listening to Dutch internet radio before moving, for a little while. Though I think having the TV on all the time would be really annoying to me after a while. I actually don't know if we even get any TV here. We have a TV, but the whole six months I've been here I've only used it as a computer monitor and to plug the Switch that my boyfriend bought us into.

And sadly, Danae is still having symptoms of hyper-vigilance due to her abuse at work and we're doing our best to keep things pretty quiet. For a time, the sound of her own voice was causing her to startle.

[anais_pf]

It's so good to hear from you! Congratulations on your acceptance to the MLIS program. When do you start?

[stormdog]

Thank you for the congratulations! And for being happy to see me; feeling cared about is so good for me.

First day of class is September 2nd. Today I'm looking at course registration and things. I'm going to send an email about which courses are best for the first semester. There's an automatic email with advice, but it's not quite clear.

[anais_pf]

That's great! And something for you to look forward to. I find it really helps ME to have something that I can look forward to.

I forgot to mention, when I've been in the Netherlands (probably a grand total of eight weeks spread over my lifetime), Dutch people have been so thrilled and eager to practice their English with me. This happens more often outside of Amsterdam (which gets tons more tourists than the rest of the country) but people were even MORE thrilled when I would ask, in very halting Dutch, whether they spoke any English. Often they would say "just a little" and then proceed to speak to me in flawless, fluent English, beaming with pride when I told them their English was excellent.

It's never good to assume that people do speak English, but as long as you are a little apologetic about your own lack of Dutch, I think you will see on people's faces that they are pleased to be able to speak English with you. Try to bear all this in mind. The Dutch *know* their language is not among the ones people learn readily.

[kanzeon_2040]

It's good to hear from you!

(There's nothing wrong with you.)

[stormdog]

Thank you; it's good to hear that.

[davesmusictank]

Welcome back. Nice to hear from you and congrats with the post.

[stormdog]

Thanks!

[basefinder]

Good to hear from you Chris. Sorry you guys are having such a tough time over there.

The MLIS sounds right up your alley. So does the dog-walking. :-)

Your dad's situation is concerning. The back-to-school proponents tell us the kids need it, but they overlook the risk to the adults who have to teach, feed, administer, and clean up after those kids.

Colorado just went under a mask mandate a few days ago, in hopes that our state will not follow the poor examples of TX, FL, and a few others in resurgance.

[stormdog]

I hope things get better for you in Colorado. I hope they get better everywhere in the US.

I'm excited about the MLIS. Lots of other things too, but really excited. I think it will be a good path for me.

It's so good to have doggie time! Poesjkin is being neutered this week, but I'll see him again on Monday!