Time to add another language ~ Diving into Spanish
If you've ever read my profile, you know that I'm multi-lingual. My first job in the military was as a linguist. I suppose I chose that field because I'm an insatiably curious person and I'm fascinated with the unknown. Those far-away lands call to me, and contribute to my ongoing case of wonder lust.
The first foreign language I learned was Hungarian, which is not for the faint of heart. It's ranked as a category 4 language and is one of the few languages not offered by Rosetta Stone. (I suspect because of the difficulty). Anyway, it seemed a rather fitting language for me since I spent half my childhood imitating Zsa Zsa Gabor's fabulous accent. I'm also a huge fan of anything dark, dreary, and Gothic, which makes Hungary a country after my own heart.
I've dabbled in some other languages, but didn't get serious about learning another one until I came home from my last trip to Europe. I'm smitten with the European continent as a whole, and German seems to be universally spoken there. So for the past year, I've been studying German. I'm not all the way through the program, but there aren't exactly a lot of chances to practice the language here in Cookeville.
There do seem to be lots of Spanish speaking people here, and I now have a client who speaks Spanish and very little English. So, I've decided to put German on hold for 8 months while I master Spanish. I have to be honest and admit this has never been a language I have any desire to learn, probably because I've never had the desire to visit Spain or Mexico. My knowledge of that culture is limited to Sombreros, Siestas, Flamenco Dancing, Matadors, and Running with Bulls. (Ok, now I will admit it Running with the Bulls sounds like fun.)
Anyway, hopefully digging into the language will introduce me to some cultural aspects that will bolster my entheusiasm about learning the language. This will be the first time I've decided to learn a language out of necessity rather than desire. If you speak Spanish, or have pictures of beautiful places where the language is spoken, please feel free to share and inspire me!
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