(:title About me:)
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(:div class="noprint" style="font-size:0.85em":)
PICS:link_icon.gif"link" [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsterdam | Amsterdam at Wikipedia  (EN)]] PICS:link_icon.gif"link" [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghent| Ghent at Wikipedia  (EN)]]
(:divend:)
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(:div class="translated":)
{$TransBy} Bieneke Berendsen
(:divend:)
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It seems a bit presumptuous to dedicate a whole page to my person as there are so many people contributing to this website: Translators, proofreaders, contributors to the podcast, people offering suggestions, and all the active forum members. Yet, if I were visiting this website, I would like to know who this person is who claims to have enough authority to say something about Dutch grammar.

!! Amateur linguist

Let me begin with this authority question. I do not claim any authority based on formal training as a language teacher or a linguist. I am not a subscriber to linguistic journals, nor do I have a thorough understanding of highly academic linguistic issues but I do take a great interest in Dutch grammar. I suppose you could call me an amateur linguist.  With websites such as the official {$WEB}[[http://taalunieversum.org/koppelingen/66 | Dutch Language Union]] (Taalunie) linking to dutchgrammar.com, I take it my grammar explanations must make at least some sense.
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!!So what ''is'' my profession?

''Note: The information in this paragraph is outdated.''

I live in {$WEB}[[AXS:ax.pl?http://www.gent.be | Ghent]], Belgium, where I work for a training and employment organisation. I work in a department that helps unemployed immigrants. I am engaged in different projects, each facilitating the entry on the job market by a variety of methods (e.g. internal training, external traineeships, competence assessments). Through my work, I have met interesting people with different backgrounds from all over the world and I learn something new every day. Although I am a keen sleeper, I -almost- always enjoy getting up for work, especially on sunny days when I walk to work in 20 minutes through the historical centre of Ghent. I think I am a lucky person.
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!!Where I am from

I was born on New Year's Day of 1975, in the small city of {$WEB}[[http://www.amstelveenweb.com/english | Amstelveen]], but I moved to Amsterdam when I was one week old. I was raised in the {$WEB}[[http://www.zuidelijkewandelweg.nl/ | Rivierenbuurt]], a quarter in the south of {$WEB}[[http://www.visitamsterdam.nl/ | Amsterdam]], the capital of the {$WEB}[[http://www.holland.com/global/ | Netherlands]]. I have also lived for a few years in the pleasant village of {$WEB}[[http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilpendam | Ilpendam]] but I spent most part of my life in Amsterdam, which I believe is one of the best cities to live in. I realize I am seriously biased. 

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Throughout the years, I have travelled to different countries and met a lot of nice people from all over the world. One of them is my husband, whom I met on a trip to {$WEB}[[http://www.budapest.com/ | Budapest]]. I always thought of myself as a global citizen and somehow imagined myself moving to an exotic country some day. That country turned out to be {$WEB}[[http://www.visitbelgium.be/ | Belgium]], two hours away from Amsterdam. For a native Dutch, not as exotic as Ecuador or Madagascar but it certainly was an excellent choice! With Gent, I think I have picked the best place to live in Belgium but then again, I am probably as biased about my new hometown as  I am about Amsterdam. Gent really is a city one easily gets attached to.

Bieneke Berendsen