Lesson 2: Foreign Languages
Learning other languages is helpful. I wish I had realized this in high school so I would have applied myself in foreign language class. I took Latin to help me with my SAT’s. That did me real good. Knowing another language would be so useful. Rebekah knows Spanish and it helped her pick up Romanian. Just the act of learning another language helps you at least pronounce words correctly. I stink at saying foreign words. Everything has a funny American accent and every letter is pronounced. I have no rolled r’s or silent letters. I’ve enjoyed learning a few words in every language. It’s funny to see what words stick. Will still says Nihao (Chinese) when he says hello. Many of my teammates say Da (Romanian) for yes. We can count in a few languages. Thank you is always a fun word to say in 10 different languages. In Asia, people bow to greet one another. This was a hard habit to break. Switching cultures so often has been so fun and a whirlwind in our minds.
But if you only know one language, the one language that is very helpful is English. You can find people in every country who speak English. I’m so thankful that my disadvantage of only knowing one language, does help me communicate with people all over the world. The world is so cool. Languages are intricate and exciting. This experience has been amazing.
Tung (Albanian for goodbye)
