[MD] the land of Confusius

[Andre Broersen]

Adrie to Andre:

Sometimes i wonder how it is possible that your own native language has faded away in time.

Andre:
Hi Adrie, sorry for the delay in my response to you...have been busy with other things. What makes you think it has faded away in time. I, like you can switch Dutch and English in a split second as well. It's just that I feel more comfortable 'in' English than Dutch... I am sure this has cultural roots. It also has to do with; when I left The Netherlands my level of Dutch was, if you like, high school level.

In Australia I attained and mastered university level English.( loosely contrast social and intellectual levels of experience/expression).

Adrie:
Sometimes i wonder , Andre, how did you end up in the land of Confusius..just like to know.

Andre:
In the Netherlands, (which, as you know has historically always concerned itself with trade and exploitation and monetary considerations) the dominant intellectual pattern is in turn still dominated by economic and monetary considerations (quality=money...the Protestant Ethic...the higher your bank-saldo the higher your place in heaven!). This particular pattern doesn't like 'old' persons with lots of experience...they are just a nuisance because they usually question things, and that, in one's drive to make money only diverts from the path of what life really should be about (money-making).

So my prospects were/are bleak and I decided to work for an International Development Agency. Not the one that pours money into different places but one where one shares one's knowledge and experience and skills.

This is how I ended up in China as English teacher and now as Education Advisor.

Thank you for your interest and I hope I haven't bored you with my value-laden judgements about my country of birth...it's one of those 'inexplicable' things...when I was 11 years old, I told my mum I wanted to leave Holland (quite a shock to her and this conclusion a bit to me as well...perhaps one of those 'dim apprehensions...?').

This was realized 8 years later.

Kind regards
Andre