My verbal interactions with the natives seem to wax and wane.
Last weekend I asked for "twee grote bier" and the bartender laughed. When I asked if I said it correctly he said I did but it sounded funny. So, there's that.
Earlier that same day hubs and I were at a restaurant and when it came time to pay the bill (I've learned to say "de rekening, alsjeblieft") the waitress asked if we spoke English or Dutch. I told her I was trying to work on my Dutch and she was kind enough to say "Let's try it in Dutch and see if you understand". By far the most helpful customer service person I've met to date.
Today I went to the local market that pops up on Thursdays. I was able to interact with the produce stand completely in Dutch. I went to the cheese stand and was able to ask if he had a cheese by a specific name. He seemed to understand me. After that I had to flip to English, though, as his answer was "nee".
After that I went to the grocery store. As I'm loading my items onto the checkout belt the woman in front of me said (I think) "Gezond". I found it odd that she felt compelled to comment on my celery, but, so be it. She started chatting on a lot more, I was on the verge of saying "Ik spreek Engels" when I caught the words "twee voor één" (2 for 1). One of the items I was purchasing was on sale, "één plus één gratis" as hubs likes to say. I said "Ja", plunked the second one on the belt and said "dankjewel". Fortunately, that was the end our "conversation". Not sure I could've continued the ruse much longer! lol
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