Learning Language and Love

Okay so once again I was reading in my favorite book, The Book of Questions when I became stuck on this question:

If it was the only way you could remain with the love of your life, would you be willing for both of you to wake up tomorrow as native speakers of an unfamiliar foreign language, knowing the within a week you’d permanently forget the languages you now speak and largely be cut off from your friends and culture?  If so, what new language would you want to speak, and why?

The first thing that came to mind was who would not want a lover or have the thought of having that foreign lover who could either speak French and Italian.  I know I did and I think that is why I took up Spanish in high school for the last 2 years. Then when I got in college, I continue with my Spanish and I took up Russian, Greek and Italian. Crazy right? Considering the Greek and Russian alphabets are so similar and that Spanish and Italian have some similar words.

It was not until 9 years later when I meet my ex-husband who is Turkish.  Was I fascinated by this Turkish man? Yes, I was! And when I married him he encouraged me to learn his native language as he had learned English.  My son is fluent in Turkish with reading, writing and speaking in Turkish. I can speak conversation Turkish and I still even today enjoy listening to both pop and classical Turkish music.  

As many of you know that I am a huge fan of Asian history culture and 90% of my free time at home is spent watching Asian cinema and television. (I have to continue to watch my BigBang because of nerd in me.) From the last few years while watching I am learning to speak some Korean and Mandarin Chinese. My Korean is so much better than my Chinese however I do do a great imitation speaking of Chinese.  I got the pronunciation of sounding like I can speak Chinese but yeah, horrible at it.

With this question, I think it depends on the person and how far he/she is willing to go for their lover and whether or not the lover is open to you learning their native language.  Yes, I learned Turkish for the love of my husband and he asked me to do it so that I could communicate with his mother and grandmother. Yes, my friends, at that time in the year 2000, did not like the fact that I married him and moved to Istanbul.  In fact, they threaten to handcuffed me, tie me up and lock me up in the closet so that I would not leave the United States. Grateful that they did not do that because moving and living in Istanbul, Turkey was an amazing experience that I will never trade for anything else.  Now I am in the mindset of living in either Shanghai or South Korea with or without a lover, it would not matter to me. And my friends that I have today are so okay with me moving there because they are like they have somewhere to visit outside the United States. With one of my girlfriends who would come me after her last child finishes high school. (Girl you got three more years and you are finished!)

However Japanese has become a sexy language in its own right. And that is my opinion.

Learning a new language is up to that person and I will encourage people to learn what they want to learn whatever the topic is. When it comes to love, we all find ourselves doing the strangest things for the person we love. And we never know what we are willing to do for our love. Right?  

Some of us have done some things or made some huge sacrifices for that loved one to feel or understand that they are that important to you. Right?

So when it comes to love, only you know what will you do for that person and what you will give up for that person.

And speaking of learning another language, I am about to embark on a new adventure since I am speaking of a foreign language.  I have accepted a job in Turkey. I have been saying for years that once I have finished everything I need to do here in the states that I would like to return to Turkey or someplace else to teach English as a second language.  I know that when I get there I will learn many other new things. And now I have that opportunity, and this time I don’t have a child or husband to worry about. Am more aware of how English is becoming more and more relevant in the world of communication.

I created a Facebook Fundraiser and I am asking for your help. If you donate I greatly appreciate you and wish you many blessings and I maybe I will be able to return a favor.  If not could you please share my page with others. I am sure there is someone out there who is either thinking about or too scared to go over to that region due to what is already going on there.  I will be setting up a Youtube page to upload my experience and adventures so that others can live vicariously through me.

Until next time . . . . . .