Ok, that was a really long introduction to say, it's amazing what our minds do all by themselves. See, I'm not studying Swedish at all. I see it around on signs, and hear it (and its translation) at church, and it has a lot in common with English. Still, the amount I have learned through that caught me by surprise last Sunday. We had an English speaker, so the sermon was translated from English to Swedish, instead of the reverse. I was listening to the Swedish translation instead of zoning out, cause I'm a language nerd like that, and at one point the translator paused, looking for the right word. "Helig" (holy) I thought, then nodded in support as that's what she said. And then I did a double take. Was I actually trying to translate from English to Swedish?
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My sister sent me a link to Duolingo, an online language learning site, the other day. I'm headed to Germany in March, and the struggle I had filling out the application for enrollment form (WHY on earth don't they just send it in English like all the other forms, or at least include English directions if they want it in German?) was enough to convince me that I should know a bit of German before I go. So, I'm studiously working through the levels. It's fast at the lower levels! I'm up to level 3 and can now say very useful phrases like "Ich bin eine Frau" (I am a woman) or Die Jungen trinken Wasser. (The boys drink water)
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My Finnish is slowly progressing. I moved from Spot books to longer picture books. I'm currently working on the Finnish version of Zen Shorts- the story is definitely more involved and interesting than Spot. But it's too hard for me to read at one sitting and makes my head hurt. :)
My best Finnish moment came at the bank. At Finnish banks you generally take a number and wait til it's your turn. An older gentleman sat down next to me as I was waiting. He asked me what number I had and when I'd gotten there, and then commented on how long I'd been waiting. I mostly understood him, and showed him the right thing (my ticket, my watch) in response, so I don't think he realized that I don't speak as much Finnish as your average 2 year old. Finally, he asked me a question I couldn't answer. So, I had to explain that I don't speak much Finnish. That didn't deter him though, so we chatted, with me politely nodding even though I only understood a few words here and there, and answering his questions about where I'm from, where I study, and what I study. It was great because it's one of the few genuine conversations I've had in Finnish outside of class. "I'll have a hot chocolate please" "That will be 1.80€, Here you are." "Thanks" does not count.
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And then there's Spanish. There's something about sliding effortlessly back into Spanish that just makes me feel at home. Spanish language circle has started back up for the semester, and as I sat drinking my hot chocolate (that I ordered in Finnish) and speaking in Spanish with people from around the world, I felt happy that I have something here that links me to my life in Colombia.
I picked up a book at the library this week in Spanish. It's a bit harder than the book I'm reading in Finnish. It's by a favorite author of mine from Barcelona, Carlos Ruiz Zafón. His book La Sombra del Viento was the first book that drew me in enough that I couldn't put it down, despite the added difficulty of being in Spanish. (I highly recommend it, it's called The Shadow of the Wind in English) I haven't gotten very far into this one, Marina, but so far it hasn't disappointed.
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Oh, and of course, there's also English. But there's nothing really interesting to say about that.
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