u/Ok-Bet2975

Some words I come across in Dutch and I naturally try to guess the meaning of word.

Like Samenwonen = is living + together

terugkomen = is return + coming

schoonmaken = schoon ( clean/ beautiful ) + maken ( to make) = to make it clean

most of the time I have guess the meaning right but there are times when I absolutely mess up.

For example this:

schoonmoeder, and I go.. schoon ( ok cleaning ) + moeder (means mother) -> ahhh. cleaning + mother.. what the F is that!! and then I go google it, what does it mean = damn it.. mother in law. I would have never guessed it right. Infact, I was ROFL!!

Do you have more such words which have absolutely weird or different meaning from the words forming it. pls share.

#Vocabulary

#LetsLearnDutch

This is a strangely specific thing I've noticed about myself. When my daughter (autistic, 9F) touches my toes, scratches off hardened/dead skin around the edges of my toes, files them, or cuts my toenails, I become extremely calm, to the point of feeling genuinely sleepy.

What's strange is that I'm normally very aware that scissors near my toes could potentially hurt me. You'd think I'd be alert or tense, but when she's doing it, I don't feel that way at all. My body seems to completely switch off. It's almost like my nervous system goes, "Yep, we're safe, you can relax now."

I'm wondering whether other people experience something similar with foot touching, nail cutting, scratching, filing, etc. almost like a very strong relaxation or ASMR response.

There's also a cultural layer to this for me. I grew up in India, where children touching their parents' feet is traditionally associated with showing respect toward elders. There are also cultural beliefs in some families about whether a girl child should touch her parents' feet. So I never really thought of my daughter's touching my feet as something that could be comforting or relaxing.

But in this case, she's basically taking care of my feet, and I find it incredibly calming.

And I'm also curious about the other side of the interaction. She's not very verbal, so I don't really know what she experiences or gets out of it. Maybe she enjoys the sensory aspect, maybe she likes helping me, maybe it's a form of connection, or maybe it's something completely different.

Does anyone else experience a similar response to foot care/touch? What specific sensations trigger it for you? And if you're a parent, have you noticed your child getting something emotionally or sensory-wise from this kind of caregiving interaction?

PS: Please be respectful in answering.

I've wanted a dog for a very long time, but life never seemed to be at the right stage. I'm finally in a position where I could make it happen, but there's one thing I just can't get past.

I work from home most of the week, but one day a week I have to go into the office from around 8 a.m. to 2–3 p.m. That means the dog would have to stay home alone for about 5–6 hours.

I know many people work full-time and have dogs, but I genuinely feel guilty even thinking about leaving one alone. I keep imagining the poor thing waiting at home, and it's making me hesitate.

For those of you who are single and own a dog:

• How do you manage office days?
• Do you leave your dog home alone for a few hours, use doggy daycare, hire a dog walker, or take them to work?
• How did you train your dog to be comfortable being alone?

For context, I've always dreamed of having a German Shepherd, so I know it's a breed that needs plenty of exercise, training, and companionship. I'm trying to be realistic before making such a big commitment.

I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences and what has worked for you.

Do we have something of this sort in Netherlands, where we can go for full body check which can do basic vital, vitamins, and can cover basic stuffs to monitor.

A few years ago, I used to be in another country where annual or once in two-year check was very normal, it included some 20 tests like diabeties, Vitamin test, Eye test, Hearing test, CBC, Uric acid, etc and the cost of the tests was tax benefited and at times I could trace some vital before they became bad or worse.

If there is no such option its fine. No hatred please. I am well aware some tests should not be done very often unless needed.

EDIT:

Overall conclusion: Visiting another country for preventive health check is far more affordable and convinient than convincing Huisarts/ running expensive tests in private labs. Thanks all!!

I am currently at A2 level in Dutch and I am looking to follow a book to learn advanced concepts to reach B1/B2 level.

What would be a list of top 5 books that you can recommend me to reach that level. It would be nice if you have followed those books yourself/ but not necessarily and can give some recommendations based on that. That way I know what to expect in that recommended book.

Recently I have got my attention on the on-call shift allowance that I get. I do it once a week/ month.

Under that I am supposed to be available on call all the time after work hours. for example: after 6 pm to morning 7 am on weekdays, and on weekends 24/7. If there is a holiday in the weekday then that day also autmatically becomes 24/7.

So I was calculating total number of hours

weekdays = 13 hours * 5 days = 65 hours

weekends = 24 hours *2 = 48 hours

Total = 113 hours.

At times, there is no issues, no one calls. That week is wow. I get to sleep without getting interrupted in the night. But my phone stays on ringer. and i dont sleep deep then. I wake up feeling, oh did I missed a page/call? that kind of feeling.

Then there are weeks when I do get called/ paged and I fix something on my laptop. Tech stuff. I do carry laptop with me when I am going for a walk, market, gym. So basically my laptop stays near me. I cannot go without laptop in that one week.

My question is:

1. Is there some baseline hourly rate for such kind of work in Netherlands?

2. My company pays me a fixed allowance say X euros for this, i get called/paged or not, doesnot make a difference. Should I be getting paid more for when I am getting called? or when i fix something? when i need to get up and login and fix.

3. I was calculating the gross hourly rate for this work. The fixed amount that I get divided by total number of hours 113, it was coming down to 4.3 euros/hour. Is that normal?

4. After tax, this rate comes down to even 2.4 euros/ hour. and I was wondering, is this normal?

5. I happen to talk to a friend of friend who works in belastingdient, and as per this person who is also in tech, when he works in night shift ( on-call) he gets a standard pay/ allowance and when he gets called he get more for working on it, on top of standard allowance. So, my another question is, is this not standardised as per country laws that every company should pay more when people are called on night on call support?

Asking this question to get more general knowledge about this subject. No hate for my company on it, or on NL laws but more in the sense of trying to understand what is normal and what is not normal.

I have taken Dutch course by a personal tutor ( 1 year ago that ended) and I learnt the basics there for A1 and A2 level. Then I had a gap, no practice of dutch. Recently I have started practicing again, and I can read and write in dutch basic sentences I would say.

My work doesnot requrie me to speak or write dutch, and my english is pretty good. I am not a native english speaker either but I can speak very fluent english, had cleared IELTS 10 years ago.

The problem is I can even think in English, self talk in english, but I am failing to do that in Dutch. I can write dutch, I can read A2 level in dutch but speaking, I am not able to get a hold of speaking dutch.

I don't have anyone to practice speaking either.

Any tips for me?