A short bio of our guest blogger, Benjamin Bossaert
Benjamin Bossaert was born in Belgium in 1985, on Christmas Day. He was a bright toddler who was very knowledgeable about dinosaurs and quick to pick up foreign languages. In college he majored in Slavic languages, mainly Russian and Czech. After a wild Erasmus experience in Trnava, Bratislava he fell in love with the Slovak language. After graduation he went straight back to Slovakia and taught English in the Slovak town of Puchov. Eventually he got a job teaching Dutch at the university of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. He’s the co-founder of publishing house and theater group Donkichod and he’s currently translating a Slovak novel to Dutch. On top of that he’s researching folk heroes. He’s has only two addictions: Facebook and socializing face to face. He’s the life of a party and loves dancing and singing. His biggest passons are his job, his academic research and his Slovak girlfriend.
Here is his entry in the Authenticity Diary:
What is the one thing I can do today to really get closer to my goals?
Reading some chapter in the History of Dutch language.
Other things I absolutely want to focus on today:
Translating pages for a Slovak novel we would like to publish to entertain some people, preparing classes for the Leuven intensive Dutch summer course
How can I create more value today than I did yesterday?
By writing something on my article, and from a personal point of view, by spending time with my friends and people I like and love.
What new approach can I try to come closer to my vision?
Try to lessen the use of Facebook a bit, I guess.
What made me feel happy, in flow, recently?
Very recently I saw a lot of people eating, drinking, having fun on the Old Market Square in Leuven. It made me really happy that people still know how to enjoy life and let all stress about terrorist attacks or economic crises go. Of course I was also happy to spend time with my girlfriend in Vienna where we went to Schoenbrunn Castle to visit the gardens, let her take pictures and try to find the best Wiener Schnitzel in town and send a post card to my Father later about it!
What is the one product we can really promote?
Speaking as a teacher and founder of the publishing house Donkichod, I’d say literature in any form (poetry, novel, drama)
I am grateful for:
Having a beautiful girlfriend, a caring family in Belgium, a nice room during the summer course in Leuven, nice colleagues, having the opportunity to be a best man for my best buddy and his fiancée on the 20th of August in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia.
I’m really excited about:
The day I will be finished with preparations of articles I need to write and the weekend the Dutch studies jubilee will end.
These are the most important habits I’m building:
To translate at least one hour a day. Eating three regular meals a day. Every day a little singing, it makes you merrier.
Stuff I did right:
Singing!
New ideas:
Creating exercises within the course of Dutch studies on the theme of the Olympics 2016.
Power decisions: /
Things I’ve learned:
A lot of new things about Nepal (chapter translation) and synonyms of some words.
How do I want to feel today?
Satisfied, feeling prepared to start a very nice Summer course with a challenging bunch of students!
How do I want to treat others today?
Not different from any other day, so I hope I’ve had enough sleep to accomplish this!
Some material stuff I’m acquiring:
/
How are you going to reward yourself today?
By watching one episode of the netflix Canadian mockumentary Trailer Park Boys and by sharing a beer with a colleague.
What kind of people am I inviting into my life today?
Sometimes I meet people who ask too many favors of me, I’m afraid.
The one thing, in general = Love
The power question = How can I develop the best possible course of Dutch?
Remind yourself of your vision. What does your ideal day look like?
My ideal day is when I am teaching a few things and I can tell from the faces of my students, they are getting the hang of it. Later on, I correct their homeworks, get some translations done, enjoy a regular meal and have a chat with my girlfriend. I am going to see her again in two weeks and I can’t wait to have her back in my arms!
My mental health blog. A public diary trying to make sense of the world 