For those who don't know me that well, I love to travel. I may be very picky about where I stay or what I do, but a major item on my bucket list is to travel the world. So far, I have only been out of the country once, and even though Canada is extremely nice, I didn't experience a huge culture shock. To prepare for my world travels that start next summer (more on that in a future post). At school, I learned French, all the way up to level 4. Even though I am in the higher level of the language, I still feel like I need to go to the country to try out my speaking ability! My family was able to host a foreign exchange student from Nice a year ago, and it was crazy trying to communicate with him! My French was not the best, and neither was his English. The majority of the time, we relied on Google translate, and bonded using hand signals. We were even able to communicate a little bit using Spanish.
It is truly amazing how language can unite us together as a world, but also create distance between us. Though the world is growing in diversity, many still don't know how to speak a second language. I would say the majority of the blame lies in America, because as children, we are not pushed to learn another language. I know that my little knowledge of French helps unite me to others in another country, and helps me to understand a culture better. Even better news- once you learn an additional dialect, it is easier to learn another! This summer, I am trying to keep my french skills sharp, but I might add another language to the list.
As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said,
“Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own.”
Ciao,
MBE
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