She found it relatively easy to learn her 10 languages. ‘I grew up in the Netherlands, so I learnt Dutch, English, German and French at school, and I also took the classical languages of Greek and Latin,’ Carole explains. ‘When I went to work in Italy, I discovered that Italian is actually French with an added touch of drama. The French word for eating is manger, for example, and in Italian it’s mangiare! Later, I learned Spanish, Portuguese, Croatian and Indonesian, which is a lovely language. By that time, I could speak nine languages and I found that number so odd that I started to learn a tenth language: Greek. And now that I’ve mastered that, I’m learning Russian.’

Each year, Carole attends a polyglot conference where language lovers from all over the world come together to speak different languages and learn more about languages. Because she teaches at RBS, where many students and lecturers with diverse backgrounds work and study, she saw an opportunity for language meetings in her school. She now organises the Language Café in Café Bras on the Kralingse Zoom, from 16:00 to 18:00 every Wednesday afternoon.

Text: Tosca Sel
Photography: Levien Willemse