Learning a new language is like stumbling through darkness to a destination not yet charted. I know I’m going to get there at some point but where and how I’ll know, I have no idea. Learning Spanish has been like a shot in the dark. There’s a goal but I’m not quite sure exactly when I’ll know I’ve made it.
I’ve never been very good at languages. I supposedly graduated from the French immersion program in high school but it was a big fat joke. I don’t even know how I managed to write the book reports required of us. What I do remember is reading the English version of the French novel and going from there. Lazy, I know.
In London, I hired a private tutor. He was from Spain, took his job as a tutor very seriously and within a few weeks fired me because I wasn’t taking my job as a student seriously enough. That was the end of Spanish learning in London.
In November, while spending six weeks here in Buenos Aires, I was taught by another private tutor. She was great and we became friends. We became such good friends, in fact, that we talked more about our lives, our men and our hopes and dreams than verbs, conjugations and all things academic.
Today, I’m enrolled at the University of Buenos Aires. And it’s amazing. Though the pace of class isn’t that of a normal university course (I’m taking Spanish for Foreigners, which ensures that our class is a mixed bag of immigrants, party animals and people who are just hanging out not knowing what to do between lunch and dinner), we have proper homework and verbal exercises and (hopefully) quizzes. The teacher does not speak a word of English and at first I thought this would be counterproductive. I was wrong. It’s amazing how much harder your mind will work when it feels like it’s drowning in misunderstanding.
It feels so good to learn something new again. I’ve been on vacation for almost a year now. My mind has relaxed and expanded, my perspective has grown and changed. However, I’m starting to feel the itch of wanting to take on the next big challenge, the next new thing. Human beings aren’t meant to be idle. I think we all have an innate desire to grow, to change, to stretch ourselves.
I wish I’d done more of these learning courses while I was working. Doing something fresh and different from the everyday grind is good for the mind. What would I have taken on? Let’s see…
… drawing classes
… a pastry course
… French for beginners
… jazz dance
… a sales course
… blacksmithing
… creative writing
What are you going to learn next?
