Languages

When I was in school, there were three languages you could take. There was Latin for those folks either going into medicine or were Catholic. There was Spanish for those folks who thought French was too hard. And, there was French for those folks perceived to be a cut above those taking Spanish. I went with French, because my brother had French, and he helped me with understanding numbers and the alphabet. In junior high and high school, I took French. I had to repeat one year of it, because I failed. One year, I had a teacher who had dated my brother. I don't know wht happened, but I passed that class. Another year, I had a cousin as my teacher. I thought that would be a breeze. She failed me. You just never know. When I went to college, I took a language exam to determine where I would be placed. I could say hello and goodbye in French, so I was put in the advanced class. It consisted of reading books in French, so I had the French book in one hand and a French dictionary in the other. My teacher in college had dated my father. She passed me. So, when I visited Paris, I thought I was hot stuff. I had 5 years of French. I could speak it and write it. I knew what the words meant. My first day in Paris was quite eye-opening. A large man came up to me and said something real fast. I could tell he was asking directions, but that was about it. He was speaking a foreign language, and I had no clue. All I could say to him was "I don't know, I'm an American" in French. He patted me on the back and apologized, as he went away laughing. I found out later that the French they teach you in schools is the French they speak on the Riviera, and not Parisian French. The same thing happened on our tour to a Spanish teacher. When we got to Spain, she looked at the menu and couldn't read it. Her Spanish was Mexican Spanish, which is different than the Spanish they speak in Spain. A friend in my high school took Russian. That seemed to be popular in the late 1970's. Now, it's not. I think now it is Spanish or Chinese. I took a crash course in Spanish to go to Puerto Rico to teach kids one summer. I found it easy to learn Spanish after taking French. But, one thing that might help you about all of this is that you can go anywhere in the world and speak English. Most people are going to know what you are saying. However, if you take a stab at their language, they are going to respect you more. Also, you need to be good with gestures. Just be careful, because sometimes a gesture might mean something entirely different to them. Don't use the OK sign in Greece, for example. Maybe one day we will all speak the same language. The language of love and peace. We can only hope.