Trine Blogs: Omnilingual

Last night, I went to my first Stitch-and-Bitch.

If you don’t know what that is, that’s okay. It’s quite simple, really. It’s a group of nice people, mostly women but sometimes also men, who get together… and knit. Or crochet. Or weave. Or spin. Or do needlepoint. Or all of the above. They meet, mostly at a café, and they sit together for a few hours and do “yarning” and talk (and sometimes b*tch). There’s always a lot of talking. Sometimes there’s more talking than “yarning”, but that’s okay, because you can “yarn” at home by yourself. Talking to yourself is a bit more strange.

I knit. I used to knit a lot before I came here, but the university workload (of which I’ve spoken a sickening amount by now, so this is its only mention in this blog post) was so overwhelming the first weeks that I didn’t have the energy to knit. Most nights, after homework, I’ve only had the energy to watch an episode of House or Big Bang Theory before bed.

This past week, though, things have settled in. Now I knit while watching House or Big Bang Theory. I’ve had more energy to go out too – on my own, even. I’ve been to the market on Saturdays in the centre of Tilburg*. I’ve been to the city centre in general to do a bit of clothes shopping and search for those funny ponchos everyone wears when it’s raining. And last night, I went to an S-n-B, which I found online, with people who I didn’t know at all, and who aren’t related to the university (except maybe 40 years ago). It was a little scary…

… and it was amazing. I mean, yes, I was the youngest, but I’m used to that. (The Internet professes many, many young knitters, but I haven’t met more than a few. I wonder if the Internet lies, or if I’m unlucky, or if they’re all avoiding me.) Some of the women spoke a bit of English, but it was mostly Dutch. Thankfully, I understand quite a lot of Dutch – I am lucky that Danish resembles Dutch as much as it does. It allowed me to participate in conversations, at least by nodding or laughing or waving my hands about (which you really shouldn’t do if you’re holding pointy sticks). Later I was so fortunate that a Swedish woman, who has lived in the Netherlands for about a decade now, also joined the party and we were able to communicate in an exciting mix of Swedish, Danish and Dutch.

I think it’s great that there are activities, such as knitting or dancing or football, that allow you to come together despite not speaking the same language. We admired each other’s work, we discussed different techniques (I hold my yarn differently from everyone else, apparently), and when I realised that I had brought the wrong instructions for the sweater I’m making, a 70 year old Dutch woman turned to me and said, “That sucks”. Some things are universal.

My next project is to take a bellydancing class. I used to do that on/off for a long time too, and I miss it. It’s good exercise, and it’s fun, and I’m pretty sure that you can bellydance in all languages. I kind of forgot that life isn’t about fulfilling every single one of your duties – there should be time for fun, too. It keeps you from going mental… and it’s omnilingual.

*If you haven’t been yet, GO! It’s amazing. The produce is so fresh it’s almost still clucking/growing/oOoOooOo-ing (what sound do fish make…?). Go on Saturday. It’ll do you good.

Trine Larsen (23) from Denmark studies Management of Cultural Diversity at Tilburg University and blogs for Univers.