Dabbling with the Dutch

The other night, I had a lovely FB chat with Tim, who is a friend of mine who hails from the city of Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Tim and I met in Perugia, Italy in 2008 when I was there studying abroad and he was there finishing up university. Tim and I hadn't spoken since I randomly (and magically) literally ran into him in the center of Perugia last July while I was back there for a visit and for Umbra Jazz, the international jazz festival in Perugia. Oh, the workings of crowds! Anyway, in our spontaneous chat the other night, we found our shared love for writing. He just got a journalist job with a local newspaper in Eindhoven (woo!) and also has his website on which he blogs about social media and other happenings. We talked (er, typed) commerical writing and blogging and such and such, and we decided to become each other's cohorts in blogging from overseas. That's right, folks, I have found myself an abroad correspondent, a special guest, a friend in his brilliant trilingualism (there's probably more languages he speaks that I don't know about) who will write an entry or two or let me interview him for my blog, etc. And in return I'll give his website an American insight every once in a while. Anything you'd like to know about the use of social media in Europe? I'll pass it on to Tim as we brainstorm ideas for his first entry (though, it might be a while before he is fit to write after the Netherlands' heartbreaking loss in the World Cup).

So here is Tim's first shout out on my blog. Keep your eyes and browsers open for my Dutch partner in crime here soon! In the meantime, check out his website here. Now I know, unless you know Dutch there is not yet much to see (it's still a baby too, like my blog), but don't give up on it, there is more to come.

K, I'm trying to be all chill and non-chalant about this but how freaking cool is this?! I'm amazed, I really am, whodathunk I could do this. So flippin' cool!!