Hallo allemaal en iedereen!

Ik ben Tiffany, the newest member of the blogging team here at Transparent Language.

Since we’re going to be spending a lot of time together, I’d like to take my very first post to introduce myself.

First off, don’t be fooled by the last name – I’m American through and through. The last name comes from the Dutchman I married back in 2008. That’s what brought me to the Netherlands, where I’ve been living for four years, three months, and fifteen days…. but who’s counting?

My first day of official Dutch language education was the end of January 2009, after which I did a year-long intensive study of the language and took and passed the NT2 (Nederlands als Tweede Taal, or Dutch as a Second Language) test. Also called the Staatsexamen, just to make it even more confusing. Now I’m busy working as a freelance writer and Dutch to English translator while raising our bilingual, half-Dutch, half-American daughter whom I refer to on the interwebs as Kleine Munchkin (Little Munchkin).

I live just outside of Utrecht with my Dutch husband, Kleine Munchkin, and my American dog Turner (now a proud exPET). Not long after I made the Netherlands my home, I started the blog Clogs and Tulips: An American in Holland to record my adventures and discoveries and to share what I was learning with other expats in the Netherlands to help make their journey a smoother one.

My dad works for a major airline, so I’ve been traveling all my life: Japan, China, Germany, Greece, France, Ireland, the UK, Belgium, and all over the US. So when I got to university, I couldn’t imagine living anywhere other than the international dormitory. I also did a study abroad in London at the British American Drama Academy, and have spent beaucoup time (one language at a time Tiffany!) in France with my French “family.” Once upon a time, I could speak Spanish and French, but Dutch has kicked them all to the curb and I can only understand them now. Maybe one day when I feel Dutch enough, I’ll go back and relearn them.

I am so glad to be joining this ride with you guys and look forward to sharing what I know and learning from all of you! Please feel free to let me know if there are any specific questions you would like answered or topics you would like covered here on the blog – you can send them my way at clogsandtulipsblog@gmail.com and I’ll get to them as soon as I can.

So, tot ziens for now, and I’ll “see” you next week!