Languages are part of our identity. For many people, they form a huge part of who they are. You can clearly see this in places like Catalunya, Galiza, or Euskal Herria. When we speak the language we call our mother tongue, we feel at home 🏡; we feel safe.
I think it is very difficult to pinpoint the exact moment when I fell in love with languages as it is something that has grown very slowly.
A very important moment was for sure when my secondary school organised an exchange with a school from Tricarico, Italy. After two weeks in Tricarico, I was already able to speak some basic 🇮🇹. Immersion really helps to pick up a language.
More importantly…
How did this new adventure of mine start?
How did I end up teaching 500 lessons to almost 100 different students in less than 3 months?
I am an introvert. No, I award myself the title Mr. Introvert’83. I have no idea how some people don’t start sweating when they meet new people. I start sweating when I know there is a POSSIBILITY, I MIGHT have to meet someone new sometime in the future.