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!