Odd, but the
word "foreign" for me begets a cozy sound, a friendly warm feeling: anything
but strange or difficult or unfriendly.
Ever since age
13 when I took my first French class and fell in love with:"Ou est le
livre?", and met my first foreign friend from Belgium in Jr. High
School, any language other than my own (my first) has offered delight,
interest, and earnest desire to engage in it.
This August my
husband and I are planning to spend time in Berlin to share an anniversary (our
23rd) with another couple who live in Germany. At one time I did enjoy a
moderate degree of fluency in well spoken German.
The fact that I
had heard, although not really understood, frequent Yiddish expressions and
short conversations apparently opened a wide door of familiarity.
The last few
weeks, I have been preparing a return to the language. It has felt like
visiting an old and cherished friend.
True, I have
been missing hours of sleep as words and expressions pour out of my mind and
onto my tongue as I mutter these out of most willing lips! I have also listened
to an internet teaching series to review my grammar.
The feeling is
one of exhilaration. When I stumble, lying in the dark, all of a sudden, the
right word comes to mind and I am summoned to say it out loud.
For the past
six weeks I met with a visiting Yoga instructor from Austria to exchange
Hebrew for a review of my German. I was "teaching" while she spent
her hour listening and correcting. She has since returned to Austria.
Some people
thrive on flipping through photos. I thrive on bouncing dictionaries on my
knee, and uttering foreign words and sentences which are not
"foreign" to me!
Each language I
have learned has given me rebirth, a full sense of renewal with which to
thrive.
I will miss
this once I am gone! An end to language-----will, perhaps, be my greatest loss!
A new language
has repeatedly given me a new sense to life. We are all connected, after all,
by language. We all love to talk! And so, I will be taking off after this week
for a short journey to Jerusalem and Tiberias, thereafter preparing for
Berlin----so Miss Rheingold hopes to return to you at the end of August, if you
still want to hear from her!
Meanwhile,
enjoy your flight into summer, and read any past blogs you may have missed! That
is , of course, only if you wish to.
In the spirit
of love and humor,
MISS RHEINGOLD
MISS RHEINGOLD
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