The idea came to me mostly as a lark last November. I had often said in passing that I would like to see another country but I had never made any real attempts at actually going through with it. The "old" me was very good at talking the talk but never walking the walk. I would say all kinds of things to my friends only to back out at the last minute. One day I let it slip out that I would like to see Spain someday, not with the intention of going on vacation, but rather to spend time there totally immersed in the language. I had become frustrated with my progress in speaking the language despite becoming rather good at reading and writing. If you don't believe me, check out my blog written entirely in Spanish! My one struggle was still with speaking confidently. While I do not subscribe to the notion that one must live in a foreign country in order to learn the language, I did feel dropping myself in the middle of Spain would force me to speak the language and therefore increase my proficiency. That being said, there was a lot more going on in my head besides simply going to Spain.
I'm 33 years old and I have never left the country. In fact, I have never done much of anything daring. I allowed myself to become content with a life that was fairly plain and uninteresting. I made excuses not to do things and found myself often hidden inside a shell, afraid to face the world around me. Around the same time the idea of travelling to Spain bubbled up inside my thoughts, I had reached a low point in my life. I was unhappy with who I was and who I had allowed myself to become. Those around me saw me as a grumpy, rigid, unhappy person. Instead of countering those notions, I let it define who I was and it brought me into a deep depression. Thankfully, I saw what was happening and through a series of events, I climbed my way out. Part of my resurrection came when I decided to make the trip to Spain a reality instead of a fantasy. Going to Spain became more about challenging who I was and who I wanted to be. It was about more than taking a vacation. It was about putting myself in the most uncomfortable position I have ever been in and telling myself that I can do this. Originally, I planned on making the trip immediately after my 35th birthday in 2016, but thanks to some wonderful inspiration I have decided to go in May of 2015. I will spend the entire month in Spain, dividing my time between Madrid and Valencia and my goal is not to speak Spanish, rather it is to NOT speak English. You see, speaking Spanish is easy enough, but I can always fall back on English. If I make the goal to not use a single word of English, it forces me to find other means of communication.
There are so many other factors that are going to play into this trip. I used to say I was afraid to fly. Well, there aren't too many ways to reach Spain from The United States without a plane. I am quiet in social crowds. If I am going to improve my speaking skills, I'm going to have to talk, and I imagine it will be uncomfortable for me to start conversations with total strangers, especially those who don't speak English. Despite living alone, I have never been comfortable going places on my own where I don't know people. I am fairly certain I do not know a single person in Spain. This trip is about so much more than seeing a foreign country. This trip is about challenging myself and every aspect of who I am.
So what I want to know is how those of you out there have used a new language to overcome any fears or reservations about life you may have? Has speaking a new language offered you the confidence to do things you wouldn't have otherwise done? I still have months to prepare for my trip and it has given me a new reason to wake up with a smile on my face every morning. How about you? Let me know and I'll be sure to add more here soon.
Showing posts with label changing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label changing. Show all posts
Saturday, June 21, 2014
It Has To Start Somewhere
My name is James, and as you may already know, I have a small obsession with speaking Spanish. I've been hanging about Google+ since its inception, but never really found my calling when it came to involving myself in the Google community; that is, until now. While there are truckloads of pages devoted to language learning and just as many devoted to self-improvement, I am not so sure there are all that many associated with using foreign language acquisition as a means of self-improvement. Well, OK, maybe they exist, but I haven't found them, and this was an idea I had the other night, so I decided to run with it.
I thought it best in my first entry to offer a little background of who I am and what brought me here today. Also, I thought it might be nice to give you an idea of how I would like to run this blog so you know what to expect. First of all, a little about me.
Like many students throughout the world, years ago I was forced to learn a foreign language in high school. It was dull, it was confusing, and it was in no way helpful in learning how to communicate with other people. I learned the most basic phrases and spent most of my time trying to learn the most common Spanish swear words. Once I graduated, I mostly forgot what little I had learned. That was until I was confronted with a reason to actually speak the language. You see, I work with a lot of Spanish speaking people and I found it a little uncomfortable to see such a divide among the English speaking employees and the Spanish speaking employees. Some time around 2008, I decided to refresh my memory and start talking with the Spanish speaking members of the staff. I made a promise to them that June that in three months I would be able to communicate with them conversationally. Today, nearly six years later, I am still learning, but I am proud to say I have really impressed them with my progress and have reached a point where I can discuss almost any topic in Spanish without feeling totally lost in the conversation. I'm not perfect and I still have a lot of progress to be made, but it has opened up a new world for me.
That brings me to the second part of this blog. Speaking Spanish has not only made it easier for me to speak to my employees, but it has given me new found confidence in myself. I have always been a shy person and often times avoided talking for fear of embarrassment. I'm not entirely sure what it is about Spanish, but I get a tremendous high anytime I can talk with another Spanish speaker and feel like we understand one another perfectly. I watch my favorite movies in Spanish and I read some of the best novels in Spanish. Learning a second language has truly enriched my life, and I decided I wanted to start this blog as a way to share my experiences as well as learn from others who have found such pleasure in a new language. I'm going to attempt to write it both in English and in Spanish, but I have also included the Google Translate button for anyone who wants to read along in any language. I welcome comments and stories of both success and failure when it comes to learning a foreign language, because anyone who has attempted to learn a new language knows all too well the struggles that come with it. I'm creating this blog in the hopes of inspiring others to fulfill some of their life's dreams and it doesn't necessarily have to be through a new language. It just so happens that's how it worked out for me.
My plan is simple, but to be honest, I haven't looked all that far down the road. I am hoping to structure these entries around the responses I get from others, but I will of course use this page as a way to share my experiences and offer my thoughts. I hope to make some new friends along the way, so if you're interested, jump on board, because away we go.
I thought it best in my first entry to offer a little background of who I am and what brought me here today. Also, I thought it might be nice to give you an idea of how I would like to run this blog so you know what to expect. First of all, a little about me.
Like many students throughout the world, years ago I was forced to learn a foreign language in high school. It was dull, it was confusing, and it was in no way helpful in learning how to communicate with other people. I learned the most basic phrases and spent most of my time trying to learn the most common Spanish swear words. Once I graduated, I mostly forgot what little I had learned. That was until I was confronted with a reason to actually speak the language. You see, I work with a lot of Spanish speaking people and I found it a little uncomfortable to see such a divide among the English speaking employees and the Spanish speaking employees. Some time around 2008, I decided to refresh my memory and start talking with the Spanish speaking members of the staff. I made a promise to them that June that in three months I would be able to communicate with them conversationally. Today, nearly six years later, I am still learning, but I am proud to say I have really impressed them with my progress and have reached a point where I can discuss almost any topic in Spanish without feeling totally lost in the conversation. I'm not perfect and I still have a lot of progress to be made, but it has opened up a new world for me.
That brings me to the second part of this blog. Speaking Spanish has not only made it easier for me to speak to my employees, but it has given me new found confidence in myself. I have always been a shy person and often times avoided talking for fear of embarrassment. I'm not entirely sure what it is about Spanish, but I get a tremendous high anytime I can talk with another Spanish speaker and feel like we understand one another perfectly. I watch my favorite movies in Spanish and I read some of the best novels in Spanish. Learning a second language has truly enriched my life, and I decided I wanted to start this blog as a way to share my experiences as well as learn from others who have found such pleasure in a new language. I'm going to attempt to write it both in English and in Spanish, but I have also included the Google Translate button for anyone who wants to read along in any language. I welcome comments and stories of both success and failure when it comes to learning a foreign language, because anyone who has attempted to learn a new language knows all too well the struggles that come with it. I'm creating this blog in the hopes of inspiring others to fulfill some of their life's dreams and it doesn't necessarily have to be through a new language. It just so happens that's how it worked out for me.
My plan is simple, but to be honest, I haven't looked all that far down the road. I am hoping to structure these entries around the responses I get from others, but I will of course use this page as a way to share my experiences and offer my thoughts. I hope to make some new friends along the way, so if you're interested, jump on board, because away we go.
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