I try to be a Mensch.....

A Mensch is a person with the qualities one would hope for in a dear friend or trusted colleague'; I can only hope I'll be able to make that come true.
Since I started to write and publish my brainwaves on the blog “writing and more” exactly two months ago, I’ve had almost 500 visits. That is absolutely amazing! I’m very proud of you all!
What started as a way of keeping in touch with my friends everywhere, apart form the personal emails I still write, now turned into a tiny readers community. For my friends in Spain I try to write at least one message a month in Spanish and for the Dutch speaking and reading there are a couple of small “schrijfsels” (writings) every week.

But now I got a comment from a Swedish lady, a friend of a Spanish friend, who once lived in Valencia where I worked about ten years ago, with the idea of writing something in English so she can send it along to her friends. Wow, my ego glows up in the dark and of course I’m going to try hard, who wouldn’t? My best friend Janet in Chigwell, England would approve, although her Spanish is better than my English. But she can’t read the writings in Dutch either, nor can Kathy in Jerez or Anne in el Puerto and it might be helpful for Victor in Portugal, he understands English as well as Spanish.

I must say I find it hard to write something worth writing ( I try not to think to much about it being worth reading) in another language just as spontaneously. Especially because I write a lot about things happening over here in Holland. Now I’ll have to think about grammar and spelling and it might interfere with the need of simply writing what I feel. But I’ll try and hope to get enough feedback for either going on or stopping immediately! So Sara, I hope you will enjoy a message a month in English and maybe you might consider learning Dutch if it is not enough; Swedish and Dutch should be able to understand some of each others written language, I should think!
I sometimes get a little annoyed about those that don’t speak anything but their own language! Yes, some English-speaking ( not the ones mentioned before of course) and even more Spanish-speaking friends can’t be bothered learning languages and force me to learn theirs, but as I love to be able to talk to everybody, I keep reading in English and Spanish to keep myself updated.

Now please, I’ve seen that there are readers in Belgium, you definitely musty move to the Flemish-speaking part! And as for the French-speaking Belgians and German and Swiss readers, I’m not going to write in French or German! I am sorry but I have no time to update all the languages I’ve learned at school. I’m very flattered by you reading whatever I write, but I do have to work for a living.;-) So my willingness to please everybody will not resume in writing in more than three languages. I hope you’ll understand.

Any comments you have on my “schrijfsels” ;-) you may send to gavimensch@hotmail.com . Especially when it concerns mistakes in spelling or grammar,( just to keep my spirits up) but you can also leave your own ideas about what I have written in the space underneath. It should be nice to start discussions about actual items, right there and then and for everybody to see.

You’ll be hearing from me!



©Gavi Mensch
Maastricht, 23-03-2010