π Again, opnieuw and Π·Π½ΠΎΠ²Ρ
The Summer School has a very peculiar sense of time. Students leave almost every week. New students arrive in week four. And so by week 5, week 1 already feels ancient.
New students
By the end of week 2, students already start leaving again β just as you're getting to know them. In week 4, new students would arrive again.
This made week 3 a really curious week: it was eerily quiet in the hallways during the breaks. Going from 19 students in the first week to just 10 students makes a real impact on the vibe too.
Staff and students by the end of week 2 and 3
Week 4 also started weirdly, with Monday off for the "old" students. On that day the teachers were busy doing intakes with new arrivals β basically a repeat of the Monday of week 1. You can meet the new arrivals at breakfast, but the real bonding can only start on Tuesday. This wasn't any different from last year, but it still felt strange.
New class
By the end of week 3, we had already said goodbye to Pablo and Jim. Our class was down to Roman, Nick, myself and teacher Sofiia. We knew that Roman would leave in week 4, and I would leave in week 5, and Nick would uphold class honour until week 6.
We expected we'd simply leave one-by-one with teacher Sofiia being the only constant. So, we were shocked to learn that Sofiia would not be our teacher from week 4 onward!
I was a bit ambivalent about this: breaking up the team or streak we were on didn't feel right. Sofiia had also been my only teacher until now β she taught me during last Summer School and also in digital lessons. And yet I also was curious about what new dynamic a different teacher would bring.
Roman, Nick, Sofiia and I β our class by the end of week 3
Luckily, as I'll explain in another post, the new teacher and new class are different β but also help my language learning in ways I didn't expect.
New languages
Another difference this year is the amount of Dutchness! Daan and I thought we were already contributing peak Dutchness to the group in the first three weeks, but in week 4 we had another Dutch person (living in Denmark) and a French-speaking person from Brussels, Belgium join us.
Dutch is now the second language in this year's Summer School! The running gag in the Summer School is that you're either a heritage speaker (reconnecting with Ukrainian heritage by learning the language of (grand)parents) or Dutch.
Daan and I had some difficulty with the Brusselaar β to our own fault. Because on the one hand, he's a French-speaking Belgian from Brussels β and that says enough to any Dutch person. During our first night out, we were already negotiating the return of Flanders to the Netherlands.
On the other hand, he's a real awesome dude who tolerates our jokes at Belgium's expense. He even tries to speak in Flemish Dutch with us. Daan and I actually admitted that Flemish just sounds better than "Netherlandish" Dutch. However, that sincere compliment also gives us an excuse to imitate a Flemish or French accent β undermining our own sincerity again.
Sigh, we make a really bad neighbour to the Belgians. What have they ever done to the Netherlands? Apart from seceding, that is.
New memories
It's a fascinating phenomenon how quickly you can bond with other people β and how quickly you can then "forget" about everything you experienced. Of course, I still remember people and events, but they feel like ages ago. Time really moves differently these weeks.
This blog is actually helpful to me to remember events I experienced myself! As I write articles and browse pictures, I often stumble on pictures of events I completely forgot about. If only the blog could help me remember Ukrainian grammar and vocabulary...
