The Last Post

Well, my journey is almost done. I guess you have seen the news reports about the explosions in Brussels.

This is Kathrin and Andres. We stayed with them in Brussels, where they are living now. We met them when they were travelling in New Zealand.  

They are safe, but we are very worried and sad for them, their friends and family. 

Over the last five weeks I have learnt and used some basic phrases in Malay, French, Dutch and Icelandic; hello, thank you and goodbye at least.I would practice each word repeatedly. Then, I would nervously try it out, in a store perhaps, or on a bus. It felt good to get a smile and praise for my efforts, then I would accept correction, and try it again. I got better and more confident each time; I guess that is called learning.

On another trip,  I tried out my Chinese Mandarin in a shop. The storekeeper congratulated me on my pronunciation, but I apologised, explaining that hello (Nī hāo), thank you (xiè xie) and good bye (zài jiàn) was all I knew. She smiled and said, "That's all you need".

Thank you for reading this blog. I sure have enjoyed writing it. So, until next time, terima kasih, dank u wel, au revoir and bless bless.