Writing Prompt: Tell the story of trying to learn a new talent or hobby that you only pursued
briefly
Perhaps it was from reading "A Year In Provence" by Peter Mayle. It could have been from watching "Under The Tuscan Sun" starring Diane Lane. Or, maybe I was inspired by some excellent spaghetti sauce I made but, whatever it was that inspired me to learn Italian, it hit me hard and I wanted to learn it immediately.
I had taken two different foreign language classes in high school so I had some guidance in how to train my brain to understand a different language. (The first language class I took was Russian. Then, after dealing with those words for two years I took Spanish. So much easier!) I was ready to get my mind warmed up to learn something new and I was excited!
After a visit to the Library I came home with "Learning To Speak Italian" dvd's. I told my husband Rob that I was going to immerse myself in the language and speak it when ever possible. I set up a schedule and promised myself I would treat these dvd's just like a class, I would "go to school" even when I thought I was too busy. Dedication!
First day: good. Second day: good. Third day: um, good. Fourth day: oh, not as good. Fifth day - don't I have laundry to do? Six day: Family function so I'll just double up tomorrow. Seventh day: Which lesson was I on again? Eight day: Oh geez, maybe I need to start over.
By the ninth day I had lost my excitement and my drive. It still sounds dreamy to me to learn Italian, it's just that it was much harder to remember the phrases then when I was in my teens.
I decided to settle in with popcorn, a nice glass of Barolo and watch "Under The Tuscan Sun" again. Who knows, I may give it a try again.
Have you learned a new language as an adult? How did it go?
Cheers!
Perhaps it was from reading "A Year In Provence" by Peter Mayle. It could have been from watching "Under The Tuscan Sun" starring Diane Lane. Or, maybe I was inspired by some excellent spaghetti sauce I made but, whatever it was that inspired me to learn Italian, it hit me hard and I wanted to learn it immediately.
I had taken two different foreign language classes in high school so I had some guidance in how to train my brain to understand a different language. (The first language class I took was Russian. Then, after dealing with those words for two years I took Spanish. So much easier!) I was ready to get my mind warmed up to learn something new and I was excited!
After a visit to the Library I came home with "Learning To Speak Italian" dvd's. I told my husband Rob that I was going to immerse myself in the language and speak it when ever possible. I set up a schedule and promised myself I would treat these dvd's just like a class, I would "go to school" even when I thought I was too busy. Dedication!
First day: good. Second day: good. Third day: um, good. Fourth day: oh, not as good. Fifth day - don't I have laundry to do? Six day: Family function so I'll just double up tomorrow. Seventh day: Which lesson was I on again? Eight day: Oh geez, maybe I need to start over.
By the ninth day I had lost my excitement and my drive. It still sounds dreamy to me to learn Italian, it's just that it was much harder to remember the phrases then when I was in my teens.
I decided to settle in with popcorn, a nice glass of Barolo and watch "Under The Tuscan Sun" again. Who knows, I may give it a try again.
Have you learned a new language as an adult? How did it go?
Cheers!