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Hey ho. Well, what do I do? I intend to translate various Dutch and English pages, focusing mainly on history. I also intend to add some pages on Ancient Greek history. I do hope my contributions will be appreciated.
Who am I? What do I know? What do I do? edit
Language Skills edit
Well, I am a resident of Tilburg, province of North-Brabant which is in the Netherlands. My primary languages are Dutch and English (although I am Dutch I grew up with both languages). Since my mother is Polish I know a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but I haven't really spoken it anymore for years, so it's VERY rocky. I have a certain aptitude for French, but nothing special. This is mainly the result of a teacher who does simply NOTHING and lets the students do everything on their own. I have studied Arabic for two years, and I should be able to grasp the basics... SHOULD be... Of course, since I specialise myself in Ancient Greek history (or so I tell myself) I also ought to have some basic knowledge of Classical Greek. When I read a text, I can understand it, but I can't give a perfect translation, but at least I know what is being said. For 6 months now I have been studying Gothic, which is a lot of fun since you can recognize the words easily and the grammar is a lot like those of languages I already comprehend. I can also read Cyrillic and since Russian and Polish are quite alike... I can understand a liiiiiiiitle bit of Russian, but not enough to add to my babel list.
Knowledge of History edit
I just finished my VWO (Voorbereidend Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs/Introductory Scientific Schooling) exams and in two months I will start (with very good reason) studying Archaeology at Leiden University (the first university in history to teach Archaeology). History is a lot of fun for me and I have a certain aptitude for it. I can quickly grasp a historical situation, imagine what it was like for the people, immerse myself in history, etc. My knowledge mainly encompasses ancient history, that is to say the Ancient Greeks, Romans, Phoenicians, Babylonians and Christian History (already did a course at the university for that subject (History of Religion: Christianity) which I passed with a C). I finished my Secondary School (the equivalent of High School) with a sort of "Final Essay" (much like a paper) concerning the Foederati's influence on the downfall of the Roman Empire. I quite a knowledge of ancient symbology. Deities' attributes, ceremonial items, etc. I am well able to recognize them. I also finished a course at the university called History of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy... which also speaks for itself. (a C here as well) The fact that when I have an image of a historical situation or event, that doesn't mean I can explain it that way. My stories usually become huge garbles where facts are just being chucked in, and that's my main flaw. However, by coming here I hope to remedy that.
The great mystery: Me edit
I am sort of... unusual. Let's put it this way: 156 IQ, ADHD, slight autistic tendencies and weird parents don't really lead to a person being average. The ADHD mainly causes my stories to be unorganized heaps (maybe even this one) and the autistic tendencies cause me to put in bits of information that I think are important... but others don't. I am also a very arrogant git. I also typo A LOT... and I mean A LOT.
I am a very versatile person, often able to surprise myself and others, but also often able to disappoint myself and others. With no musical education, but with a love for music, I was forced to take things into my own hands. Thus far I have the following instruments (I can actually play the bold ones)
2 Cimbaloms (I am afraid I don't know the plural)
2 Zithers
Italian Mandolin
Syrian Violin (Which is basically one string made out of the hairs of a horse's tail and a bow made out hairs of a horse's tail)
I may be able to contribute on some of those articles as I progress... or not. I am not going to list the kinds of bands and music I like... It would probably make loading this page a pain in the... well... Not that I just like any music but my taste for music is... odd. Music has to catch my ear to earn my liking so it depends on each individual music piece, rather than on the artist or genre.
I happen to own the most freaky cat ever to walk this planet. His white, rather fat (but not overly fat) and lazy as hell. He enjoys cat food, sausages, cheese, milk, melons, grapes and red hot chili peppers (not the band, the peppers themselves). He occasionally brings a mouse back home... then leaves it in the garden to rot. When he catches a bird he ceremoniously dumps it in front of our back door and eats it, after that he litters the garden with feathers.
Also, for those that understand, I am anonymous. Obviously Rules 1 & 2 apply so this is as far as I'll go.