So in keeping in line with the takcy [jk] stuff of new year's, I had a few thoughts taking a walk the other day and am trying to recreate them to text, so we'll see how this goes.
Being in Korea has made me want to learn Korean. In fact, I've already looked into some language university programs and might possibly enter studying again once I finish up JET. (This was kind of the plan anyway.) My main hobby of learning languages has now become my life career I think. I never really chose it, I never entirely expected it, but I kinda always knew it.
This means that I travel of course for all the rich cultural experiences, all the food, all the natural beauty, all that jazz, but the driver behind why I do it so much and what drives my fascination with the world is language itself. Of course language isn't everything, but through language, you experience parts of cultures and people that I would [and do] argue that you just can't get any other way, period.
So Korea's kind of just grown on me, it was never on my "map" per se, until I moved to the island in Japan, and now, well, I'm finding I'm more motivated and dedicated to try and learn the language well. It means going to shops and listening to greetings, hearing what friends say in the street, and people on the phone, the trains, you know, the Korean all around me. (And of course I guess I'll continue my Japanese study as well ha ha ha)
I think the most fun thing for me is that I feel like a fresh language learner again. Well, not too fresh and starting because I already have a good grasp of three languages and use them to learn other languages. But Korean is new, it's exciting, it's like every other language in the world, but like no other at the same time (the irony of language learning).
Simply put, I enjoy being able to communicate well whatever it is I have to say or am thinking. So for now my Korean is very basic, things like please and I want this to eat, where is, etc. But it's not so much the fact that I still don't know alot of Korean, it's the fact that I WANT to learn it. That passionate fire that had settled down because I hadn't been learning a new language for a few years is now blazing strong again (but not too strong to be overwhelming and quit).
Then as all this flowed through my head the other day, I realized that I'm okay living anywhere in the world. Well, maybe I do need certain things like clean water and food and shelter, but that's about it. I'm beginning to realize and put into practice a theory I've had since being a child that language itself is not a barrier. And thus, I feel at ease. Because I know that even if I can't express myself in the immediate moment (many times we're not sure what we're trying to say anyway), then I will make "mistakes," I will learn from them, and most importantly I will stay motivated to keep learning. And that to me feels very liberating. The fact that as a teacher, I am also quite a good student (so I hear) is quite awesome to me. It makes me feel more complete, have more piece of mind, and be more at ease with the ever-changing circumstances of life.
And with that, I relax when I need to, learn what I want to, and let my passion for language flow from me. I take language very seriously, but I have fun with it too. I'm not perfect, nobody is, so rather than worry, I try, I learn, I challenge myself. And I've found that it doesn't matter how well people around the world can speak English, they can be completely fluent, but when you can speak a common language with them outside of the perhaps not so common language of English, you see a more holistic version of the person I think. [disclaimer: I'm not saying learning English or folks who only speak English don't have this, I'm saying that adding another language to your daily usage opens new worlds you would not see otherwise, English as a base language is just what I'm used to and that's why I reference it, but it could be any language really.)
Anyway, I think that makes sense... I'm hungry and I didn't jot my ideas as soon as I should have. Oh well, living in the moment is quite nice.
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