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Now that we’re plastic free, omega 3 boosted and fit, lets
move on to something else. If the first
three topics for you came out of right field, then this next one is going to
come from the bleachers.
Go learn a foreign language.
Newsflash – English isn’t the most widely used language in
the world. Different languages are used
everywhere, literally. On you next trip
– you’ll run into something that knowledge of another language will help you
with. Learning another language will
help you in your workplace, with your friends, with friends that you haven’t
met yet, and will help you understand different cultures in the world. Language is really an incredible thing and it
will open doors for you that you didn’t even know existed.
Learning another language is tough. What you’ll notice as you dive into this new
world though is that a lot of languages are linked together. For instance two of the biggest language
groups are Germanic Languages (Danish, Dutch, English, German, Norwegian, and
Swedish) and the Romance Languages (French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and
Romanian). Each of these languages have
similar words, context, sentence structure, etc. On the flip side if you take The English
language and compare it to Japanese, you’ll get a lot things confused. A quick example would be the Yoda principle
(yes, from star wars) – in English you say “you are right” but in Japanese you
actually say “right you are”. You think
this would be so confusing, but in reality the sentence and word order of Asian
languages are much easier than English.
The more you learn about different languages the more appreciation
you’ll have for other countries, and the easier it will be to learn more and
more languages. This won’t be easy and
it’ll take some time. Sticking with it
though will yield practical results that can make life a lot, well, cooler.
Choosing a language is fun and tough. You want to choose one that will keep you
entertained, but you also want to pick one that is practical in your life. I grew up 4 hours away from Mexico, so
Spanish was one of those languages that I tried to learn as much as
possible. Surf trips, shopping, eating,
and asking for directions were all made easier because I applied myself to the
language. What’s even crazier is that
10 years down the road half of my “co-workers” speak Spanish too. Who would’ve thought, right? Maybe you choose a language for a trip you
know you’re going on soon. Maybe you
choose a language that your best friend speaks.
Maybe you choose a language whose culture intrigues you the most. It doesn’t matter which one you choose, as
long as you choose one.
You’ll create more value to yourself when searching for new
jobs, and you’ll make more jobs available to search for. It’ll make traveling to a foreign country
extremely easier. You’ll be able to
strike up a conversation with someone you think is cute because language will
no longer be a barrier. New cultures,
backgrounds, and traditions will now be understood, and in return, it’ll make
foreign countries not so foreign.
You don’t have to go out and spend tons of money on classes or
language learning software. I’m not even
saying that you need to become fluent in languages you choose. First, you need to make sure this is
something you want to do. There are tons
of free introductory lessons available.
Podcasts, websites, and even going to your local bookstore are ways to
try for free. Watching movies with
subtitles, or a foreign news station, or even listening to foreign music can be
a fun way of learning. Get a good grasp
of the language and make yourself comfortable with certain, practical
conversations. You don’t need to spend 3
years learning a language so you can discuss politics with someone. You just need to know simple things that
everyday life consists of.
It really is a lot of fun and will open your eyes to a world
of new experiences.
