When you learn a new language it can be rewarding is many ways you can’t imagine possible. Once you learn the basics all you need is a good friend that speaks the language your learning and they should help you. If you get stuck on a word you want to know, just learn to say “how do you say (the word) in (language)” It will come in handy and you will eventually get a sense of how the language flows. If you decide well one day I want to go to Spain or Russia to work or teach, it can really help when you’re searching in that country.
Make friends in the country you want to go to and when you do, try to talk to them in that language. If they see you trying to learn they would be glad to help you if you are serious about learning that is. A lot of people say “I would love to learn a language so others can’t understand me”. Well if you heard this before then you’ve discovered another perk. I’ve worked in restaurants before and half the people always seem to be Latino. There are things I would tell them that I wouldn’t want my other coworkers knowing and it would make them mad but I didn’t care. There are times where they would communicate in the back about making extra food to take home and they would talk in Spanish so our manager wouldn’t know what they are saying. And of course you guessed it, they took free food home, but don’t worry it was going in the trash anyways.
If you have a boyfriend or girlfriend overseas then my gift to you is to LEARN THE LANGUAGE!!! There’s nothing worse than to go meet your love and not being able to communicate with them. I will give you an example of how I had it when I went overseas. I was in Japan for 3 months and those 3 months were the best of my life! I stayed in a guest house and met people from all walks of life. It was interesting and very fun! Well any who just for legal purposes I will name this friend Jerry and the other Ben which by the way are very close to what their real names are.
Well me, Jerry and Ben went to Shibuya for Halloween and let me tell you, you thought fast and furious Tokyo drift was showing you crowded, you haven’t seen crowded until you go there on Halloween. So anyways we went there on a train that night and we were walking around dressed up, I was dressed normal with a wicked painted face, Jerry was dressed up as a bloody doctor and my Australian friend Ben was dressed like a Jedi from star wars. We walked around and took pictures with so many people and drank on the streets.
So we kept running into a lot of girls there and we all were talking to a girl each. My friend Ben who barely spoke Japanese was talking to a girl but because he had charm and was funny he just knew how to talk to any girl didn’t matter the language. My buddy Jerry was trying to talk to a girl but was very awkward because he would try to say a word or two in Japanese and would try to get the girl to talk to him, but he didn’t have game and the girl eventually lost interest quick.
As for me I talked to a girl dressed like a cop and the conversation was endless. I knew what she was saying and she knew what I was saying. My friend Jerry said; “Man Jorge you were smart to learn the language and come here because you can talk to anybody”. Which to be honest made me feel good to hear along with built my confidence even more. When someone tells you something like that without you mentioning anything about it, then it must be true. Needless to say me and the girl set up a date and had lunch in Ikebukuro at a bagel shop, also went to an arcade place called Round One which had a huge bowling pin in front of it.
My Point about the story was to tell you that when you show interest and know how to speak the language, things can be so much easier. Just ask Jerry when you get the chance. If you go to a restaurant and want to order something, you won’t have to be stuck in line for an hour looking ridiculous trying to order a meal. And finding directions is a big one. Let’s say you want to know where the train station is to go to your place or hotel, Make sure to know these things before you end up spending nearly 20 or 30 dollars in train fares that you wasn’t necessary if you just knew how to communicate.
Tip: Google translate 5 words a day and learn those 5 throughout that day. 5 a day will go a long way!
