I’ve had an odd life. I mean, if anyone had ventured a guess at where I’d end up after high school, “learning two languages and living on the other side of the world” would not have crossed anyone’s mind. Mine especially. I knew nothing when I was a senior in high school. Looking back, I can’t say I had a plan at all. I certainly didn’t have college in mind. Not seriously at least.
Then the Air Force recruiter called. And he called my best friend too. And we both decided to give it a shot. Twenty-seven years later (and thirty for my friend), I retired with a lot behind me.
This all comes to mind because of that language thing. I was never interested in the business growing up. Maybe a Spanish class in high school, but I can’t remember. Part two of that is that I’m not really that good at it. My mind just flits around it too much. Sure, I can get by in both Chinese and Korean, but I know it’ll take a lot of motivation and opportunity for me to get any good at it anymore. I really believe a few months in China would do me some good…but of course that’s off the table now.
And here I am in Korea – talk about your opportunity. But the motivation is weak. I’m surrounded by English-speakers, and I’m good enough with the Korean that I can get by elsewhere. But, as much as I love Korea and its people, I’m not exactly a fan of the language. Chinese, on the other hand, can be absolutely beautiful. I went through a year-long course in Monterey with a woman who spoke it so melodically, I just loved to listen to her.
I guess, when it comes to language, Chinese is my first love.
But would I do it any differently if I could? Sometimes I wonder. Lately, I’ve been attracted to Spanish. I loved to listen to it when I was in San Antonio, and I still do. Van Duzer (a cyclist I follow on YouTube) speaks Spanish, and it’s always so interesting seeing him bike through Mexico. Knowing Spanish has opened a whole new piece of the world for him (as knowing Korean and Chinese has for me, I suppose). Then again, Van Duzer seems like the kind of guy who wouldn’t need to speak another language to go on an adventure.
As for me, maybe someday, if the opportunity (and the motivation) arises, I’ll give it a shot. While I know learning a language is never easy, I would think Spanish would be a breeze compared to Korean. Some of it already feels familiar – the words, the grammar, the sentence pattens. It would certainly be interesting – knowing Chinese, Spanish, and English, I could probably communicate with a good portion of the world.
I think that would be pretty cool.
I’ve always thought Italian sounded beautiful