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I’ve done a lot of Dutch these days—reading, speaking, listening and a little writing.

That’s what happens when you agree to pass letters to on to other people—to my mother, in this case, from Holland. That required me to read aloud and record an interview about ancient family matters—real language work, in other words, the genuine stuff, authentic communication that requires you to switch from one language to another without thinking about it.

It keeps you busy. But it tires you out too. Sometimes I’d rather just sit down with a book—one in Dutch or German?