Just about enough

I think my brain has finally had it. At the very least, it's protesting. Perhaps its even considering a small revolt.

I do have one excuse to make for myself. I spend the whole day speaking Dutch to my colleagues now, and well, I'm still not used to it. My brain gets more and more tired the closer it gets to the end of the day. It's hard work learning a new language!

And so Jerry leaned over and asked me how to pronounce something in English, pointing to a word on a page. I leaned over, squinting at the nonsensical combination of letters. I would have sworn I had never seen that word before: A - D - A - G - E. Must be some French word that gets used in English or something, I thought to myself. "I think you pronounce it aDAHj," I suggested hesitantly. "What does it mean, anyway?" He tried to explain it to me in Dutch, but I just wasn't getting it. So I looked at the page again and saw an example of an aDAHj: "A penny saved is a penny earned."

....

Go ahead. Say it.

"Wakkata!" I exclaimed, further confusing us both. Apparently my brain could understand English better when I spoke Japanese. "It's pronounced ahdij," I told him. And that was that, though I doubt he'll be asking me for pronunciation tips anytime soon...

What country am I supposed to be from again? I find myself mixing up the Dutch and English spelling of words, and Dutch words creep into my English sentences sometimes. Speaking with another coworker yesterday, I discovered that for some reason he thought I was from Japan. On days like today, it makes a person wonder. I'd better be more careful in the future. At this rate, my secret identity is likely to be blown...