Know your ledikant from your boxspring

Yesterday, with -1°C outside, was time for a learning trip in search for a bedroom, involving, but not limited to, Villa Arena. Apparently, beds in this country come in 2 forms, ledikant and boxspring. Dictionaries are unhelpful (Prisma just translates ledikant as bed, and does not list boxspring at all). After analysing over 100 models of beds, I have come up with a theory, which has been supported by all experiments so far. A ledikant has a bed frame under the mattress, while a boxspring has a sort of second mattress there. So, an Italian would only consider a ledikant.

Still some way to go, but I've started making up my mind.

How to become completely Dutch

Long time ago, I heard that it was possible to get free Dutch language courses from the city. Curious, I went to the stadsdeelkantoor (neighbourhood's governing office building) to ask for information. Not only was it true, I ended up on a waiting list. After a not-so-long wait (about 3 months) and an assessment test, I started the 6-hours-a-week course. It was great, an occasion to train, in a place where there are so few (Dutch know English very well and are eager to show that off, so they start speaking English at the slightest sign the other party does not master Dutch at native levels). And the people at the course became real friends, invaluable mates in our stay in a foreign country.

The purpose of the whole class is to complete the Staatexamen NT2 (state exam for Dutch as a second language). And lately, the school pressed the students to sign up for the exam. So, reluctantly, I did. A few days ago, the result: sufficient in all 4 topics (reading, writing, speaking, listening). A big thank you to the teachers and the fellow students, you've been great. The only regret is that meeting the classmates will become less frequent. But they won't be forgotten.