Insert The Dutch Words For “Adorable” And “Awesome” Here

The tram I was on going to work announced the next stop. A little girl — she was three, as it would turn out — repeated one of the words as kids of that age so often do. Carefully and slowly, and with a little roll of her hand, she repeated, “De volgende” — Dutch for “next” — over and over again. Then, I caught on. It was actually the mother repeating the words that the little girl so patiently uttered.

As I overheard the mother explaining to a fellow traveler in a very understandable Dutch, she was of Spanish descent and learning Dutch from her daughter — or with her daughter; the mother certainly could express herself in Dutch but did not grasp as yet the full extent of the language. Being Hispanic, she had problems distinguishing “v” and “b” and when she finally got it (almost) right, the little girl awarded the mother with a thumbs-up.

It was the cutest start of the day, and whenever I needed a little pick-me-up during the rest of the day, I just had to think of the solemn thumbs-up and smile the little girl gave her mother and I had to smile, as well. Apparently, the little girl spoke already three languages and if the little Dutch I heard is any indication, on a level that few three-year-olds have in one. Kudos to her and kudos to the mother, as well, for willing to be taught by her daughter to acquire a new language faster and for raising such a polite and gentle girl.