ONU Life Poem #8 "World of Languages"

How many of you know a second language? When it comes to me, I know quite a few. I'm not confident that I'm fluent, but I do have a good understanding of several languages. I know Spanish, French, Scottish Gaelic, and Welsh, and I have begun learning Romanian as a hobby. There is still quite a lot more I need to learn from these languages, but I believe one day that I will be able to have a full conversation without having to look up the meaning or pronunciation of the words. Hey, I even have trouble with English sometimes; just look at my blog grades. I'm bound to mess up with proper grammar techniques; I wouldn't doubt that. Besides that,  I love to understand new cultures; it's an important way of connecting with the great world around us. Like many of our parents taught us, we can't continuously live in our own world. We must be able to expand, gather new knowledge, and have our own unique experiences in life. While learning a new language may not be at the top of your bucket list, it is just one of the things you can try to better your understanding of the world. 

My experience with learning a new language starts back with one of my grandparents. My grandfather came from a Spanish-speaking background, and I picked up a few of his phrases from time to time. Especially when my mother used them as more authoritative commands. "Te sientas aqui" or "te alimentas los gatos" were some of the commands I heard. Instead of resenting them, like most children would when having to deal with the commands of their parents. I found them to be quite interesting and wanted to know more about my family roots, not just the Spanish side. I learned that I was part Welsh, Mexican, Native American, and, like most people in Northwest Ohio, German. I was curious about these cultures, buying textbooks and listening to my favorite songs in other languages. In my opinion, some of the songs were great, but some sounded like a goat yelling into a camera. No offense to the languages; I just wasn't used to hearing my favorite song in that style.

 I expanded to other languages that I had no connection to, like French, Scottish, and Hawaiian. I found their languages unique and their cultures fascinating. When I was in high school, I had a Spanish teacher who continued my pursuit of other languages. She was kind of odd and scary, well, to an introvert who feared extroverted people. Still, she opened my eyes to other cultures. In a way, I began to learn French at the same time as Spanish because of her influence. Over time, I picked up a few more and have given up on some because of their difficulty. Still, they haven't given up on others nd continue to practice every day. I'm glad to have a close friend who continues to pressure me to continue to learn. She is learning Japanese, and from what I hear, it's a difficult language to learn. Still, she does her best every day, and I continue to support her. In my eyes, she is a super genius who won't stop at anything until she completes something. That encourages me to continue my journey as well. 

As I close this blog, remember that the world is a big place. I know that in the majority of my personal blogs, I talk about building a connection to nature. Still, we must remember that nature includes the people around us as well. In part, that includes their cultures and ways of life. To connect to the world, we must understand all ways of life. Again, you don't have to learn another language; you just have to be aware that it exists and understand its significance. The world and the universe are big places, and we need to recognize that we are all unique. Everything we do may look small and insignificant, but it exists for a reason. We must cherish it and find our place in it. 

Every time I hear of France

All I want to do is sing and dance

Their culture is plentiful

The food and songs are wonderful

It is necessary to give every culture a chance

When I think of the Earth

I'm thankful for my birth

The cultures that thrive

The people that are alive

Give this planet its worth 

PS: Try Duolingo