I have visited your channel your channel videos are good

I thought of that tip by myself when I was self learning Spanish - Don't get stuck on a single word, listen for the bigger picture of what the person is saying. Sure, there are in-between words I can't understand, but focus on what I can understand, then learn the other stuff later

Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année❣️

I won’t be spending Christmas or New Year’s in the Netherlands this year, but it’s been lovely to see the streets all lit up and decorated! I wish the lights could stay up all through the winter season 🥹

Joyeux anniversaire (j'aurai 39 ans dans deux jours). C'est toujours un plaisir de voir ton vlog. Bonne santé aussi pour les années à venir. Thomas d'Allemagne

10:26 Je peux toujours comprendre beaucoup de Francais! Yay lol

congrats for starting bouldering! That's great that you decided to challenge your apprehension :)

A great vlog as usual, thanks for sharing! Concerning your curls with the straightener, personally I turn it 2 times, not just once, before going down the length, maybe that will help with your curls ;)

I am soooo happy for a vlog! I’m just finishing up with chemo, so I am really not wanting to do much. (I’m good, really. It was caught very early prognosis is very good!) But, I just want to chill with my cat, Sam and spend some time with my daughter and her family. No huge plans! Lol. 2025??? Shoot, I don’t even know! But, I think your boulder climbing is so fantastic!!!! I admire you for just going and doing it!!! That’s just amazing!!😊🤗❤

I began on french last year as my wife is fluent (her degree) and we were going to France for our honeymoon. It's mostly just duolingo each day so i'm not pushing it too intensely but I can gradually tell the difference in how well i'm able to recognise phrases and I could pull off basic interactions for the most part on the honeymoon!

I'm a nativespeaker im German. The only language I am truly fluent at is English (although I never got to go to am English-speaking country to truly test that out/ I only majored at university in English) I am advanced in Italian, though far from fluency and started learning French Spanish, Swedish. (Not at the same time 😆) I love all of them and I know, I should focus on only one but I truly don't want to even though this means being stuck at lower levels for longer.

I speak a few languages fluently but there are definetely stages of fluency you go through- when you are at the level where there is no hesitation or nervousness, no translating in your head- then you have reached a comfortable level of fluency. I remember what it felt like reaching that level in English😎😉

the second is the hardes to learn, then it become easier. and the best if not the only way is to immerse yourself in. French english spanish and dutch ( beginner)

You know more Dutch than you think you know. Take the idiom "de kat uit de boom kijken". The first four words are just "the cat out the" with a really thick accent. "Boom" doesn't sound anything like "tree", but it is cognate with "beam", and "boom" (the beam at the bottom of the mainsail) was borrowed from Dutch. "Kijken" does have an English cognate, "keek", but I never heard of it and found out only when I looked up the etymology of "kijken".

Funny you mentioned those "draw a blank" moments. American, born and raised and still live in LA, learned French in school from 1st grade through 12th, but that ended over 40 years ago (I'm old). I also took four years of German in high school, which worked out well since I ended up marrying a German woman. Last time in France was 2 years ago, and at one point on the return flight home, I was chatting with the flight attendant - in French - about our failed engine and our return back to CDG. I had to look up "jet engine" in Google Translate before starting the conversation because that's not the kind of word you'd generally learn in everyday conversation, but I guess in some respects, it was a relatively advanced conversation about oil pressure gauges, and turning back as a precaution, and dumping fuel, and so forth. But then, I completely blanked on the word for "swimming" and felt like an idiot as I had to make the swimming motions (I was joking around with her, obviously). Not sure why I didn't just say that one word in English, but... anyway, I felt kinda dumb. My French is still a lot better than my German by quite a bit, though apparently, it (my German) is decent enough to get (both verbally and written) instructions on taking a COVID test, asking a cab driver if he'd take us on an hour drive using a train company voucher, getting into an argument with a waitress who spoke a thick "Bayerish" accent about the onion in my dinner when I told her I was allergic. I don't consider myself fluent in either; I consider that the level when I don't really have to struggle to have a conversation about almost anything. But then, I've been complimented by some French people (who didn't speak English) about my French. When I test, though, it comes out really low - A2 - because my spelling is atrocious, and I can't do those "fill in the word in the blank" even in English. I don't speak Dutch, but a lot of it comes from German, French, and English, so I can kinda understand it, particularly when written. (Ever notice the phrase "te huur" which is Dutch for "for rent" sounds a lot like a derogatory English word which means someone who is "for rent?"). One day, I was watching some video that was in Dutch with Dutch subtitles and it was weird that I completely understood it, almost as easily as English. Weird, because normally, I can get a few words here and there because they're so similar to French, German, or English (but don't ask me to say ANYTHING in Dutch).

Everyone should be proud to speak a second language !!!

J'adore le français, mais mon parler est comme ci comme ca. Je peux lire avance francais, tel que Les Miserables par Victor Hugo en langue francaise. Cependent, mon francais parle n'est pas bon. Je cherche à améliorer mon français parlé tres bientôt. J'habite en Los Angeles, CA ce qui fait partie du problème de fluidité.

Very well said! I definitely relate to these moments of "blanking" and then questioning myself and you make a good point of how confidence that fluctuates in other parts of life can of course affect your linguistic confidence!

I know EXACTLY how they got the pear in the bottle! It GREW there. When pear trees are still in flower, an arborist ties a bottle to the branch with the pollinated flower inside, and lets nature do its thing. Incidentally, my local liquor store offers Massenez poire with the fruit in the bottle at $67 USD per.

«À la maison c'est le chat qui commande.» Miaou!

Love seeing so much of the cats! They’re adorable🧡 Hope you guys had a good night out with the new friends!!

Thanks for the vlog, Andrea! Poire Williams is an eau de vie that’s unique to France and Switzerland. They attach bottles to pear trees to allow a pear to grow inside the bottles.

15:19 Are these earrings larger on the inside than on the outside?

3:12 Being lazy, doing nothing, enjoying the heat from the Sun. Those are happy cats! They seem to enjoy their new home as well.

I liked you without make up))))

Love your videos they are very cozy ! Thanks for sharing !!

France loves you ! ❤️

Your landlord should have cleaned the apartment for you, no matter what state the previous tenant left it in. Shame that they didn't.

May I suggest this dutch you tuber called itchy boots and her channel about a for filling life. She has 8 seasons now and the 8th season has recently started. She has over 2.4 million subscribers from all over the world... so I'd say she does something right. Of course, she had to learn her way around, and so I would suggest you to start with season 2, since season 1 obviously is a steep learning curve to her and well, she has learned a lot in that first season about videoing, editing, sound and so forth.

A lot of romanticism content on TikTok. Is definitely done in a consumerism POV so if you have this set up, this cup, this device, this blanket, go buy a coffee out, exc Which plays into the whole “well I want a life like this and I need XYZ too” Obviously not all the day in the life romanticism trend. As someone who struggles with slowing down and trying to get this serenity like vibe. Where you try to do basic things like making breakfast. I definitely feel silly trying to do it cause my set up doesn’t look like the ones others share. Even though the point is just to embrace the life you have and fill your mind with gratitude. It’s definitely an interesting topic and there’s good and bad as with everything.

I know exactly what you’re talking about! I swear there are a lot of movies like that! It’s almost overtly staged. Is that the right term? Idk, But, no matter what is happening you’re almost drawn to the look of film or video rather than the complete story, or at the least, that scene. My life is not that groovy no matter what is happening. 😂

Thank you

So beautiful, thanks for sharing 🧡

Sooo jealous! Even in the rain I’d be thrilled!❤

Pas envie de chanter ou de danser ?🙂

What’s your favorite of the places that I visited during these three days in Paris? ♥️

Je suis totalement envieux !

Thank you for the Parisian tour and braving the inclement weather, Andrea. Much appreciated. 🖖🏻

0:01 Oh, the same weather as in the Netherlands! You could have left the clouds in the wetlands. ☔ 😅

I was introduced to your channel yesterday (by YT) for the first time. Saw your 2 most recent videos. Nice to see you making such efforts to decorating the apartment...but... (Dutch directness coming up) I think your Globe poster needs a good frame (Dutch: "lijst") A white poster on a white wall... I'm not sure. Standard sized simple frames can be had, if memory serves me well, at shops like Blokker and Action. Bespoke made to the size of the poster with a nice looking frame is of course also an option, but there will be a price attached. You'll need to visit a "lijstenmakerij" (frame maker). I used to live in the Hague and there's one at the corner of the Goudenregenstraat and the Laan van Meerdervoort (trams 3 and 12, stop "Goudenregenstraat"). You didn't disclose which part of the city you live, perhaps there is one closer by. May want to take your "cats looking at the sun" painting as well with you, it needs a proper frame too, IMHO. But that's just me thinking, of course it is all your stuff and you decide. At the end you asked if we the viewers have suggestions. Well, these recent videos were all about moving house and decorating the room(s). Nothing wrong with that in itself, but it is a bit generic, it could be in any new place on the globe. Perhaps a bit more about what you like, or dislike, about the city, the area, the country being new here? Comparisons with other places you've lived with your first experiences here? BTW nothing wrong being nerdy -- being 'normal' is so boring !

Hey Andrea, The space looks very cozy. Congrats on the move. Glad to hear that Hamlet and Bingly are still causing trouble as cats are want to do.

yeah We do use the word "Cheers" as another word for "Thanks"

6:50 what does it matter if it is still messy a move always creates a mess before you are satisfied with everything. welcome to the netherlands where in canada are you from if i may ask? i have family living in canada

Hi and welcome to The Netherlands! Many people have taken the step before you, and at least one fellow KZbinr named Dutch Americano I can recommend to you to go see. She has been here now for a few years and her channel is very educational. Also, AmerikaanseVrouw --> Written just like that ! Her Channel is hilarious; very funny and educational as well !

Welcome!!!! Please don't make the "mistake" like others, learn Dutch! Everbody speaks English as you already know, so why Dutch? Dan weet je écht hoe het is in ons mooie landje🎉!

I love your videos and this one is fun. I hope you manage to stick to your plans! At the beginning of this month I also decided to set myself a few goals. Some are similar to yours, definitely to get back on a regular schedule for writing my novel. Then similarly music, I've been learning guitar on my own since I was 16, but for the first time I have song goals that I want to reach, for example succeeding in doing the picking pattern of Death by a thousand cuts (which for me is very difficult). Then there are other goals, such as holding my yoga poses like Sirsasana or pincha.

3:56 I use a Bluetooth headset to listen to music quietly without disturbing the neighbors.

The Netherlands is comparable to Vancouver BC in terms of climate.

You already speak a Germanic language so dutch will be easy to learn, remember English is like a drunk Frisian trying to speak French...Forget all the French words, pronounce your English words like they are written.... And you are almost there :)

Den Haag is a grreat city, go visit the Zuiderpark, the beach, Madurodam, etc...Go eat indonesian food!