A Bump in the Road

A Bump in the Road

Too soon for the second chapter? I thought so too, but new adventures and challenges mean I have more to tell. And new bumps in the road mean new opportunities to grow and learn. Quite literally.

I went to my university today to sign the certificate of arrival. A moment that should have been a relief, solving all my problems, ended up being something else entirely. The lady behind the desk asked me what subjects I'd chosen to study, to which I responded "journalism". She switched her gaze from the screen to me and said "We don't have an agreement with Strathclyde to exchange students learning journalism. We only have an agreement to exchange students doing courses in languages." But I am a journalism student? Turns out it didn't matter what I considered my main subject, it was a compulsory year abroad for the Spanish part of my course, therefore meaning that all my chosen subjects would have to do with languages.

My mind went into a flashback to about six months ago, when I signed all the paperwork for my exchange, chose the classes I wanted to attend (journalism classes), and how everything was soon read, signed, and approved by my home university. Why and how? I have no idea.

So now I have a few days to choose what two languages I will study for the next five months. My options include German, French, Arabic, Italian, and English (the most useful one of all, obviously). I did German for six years in school in Lithuania, didn't learn much and it could possibly be a nice refresher. French is one of the more widely spoken European languages and I'm sure would come in handy. However, I tried learning the basics on Duolingo once, and the fact that an 11 letter word was pronounced with three letters drove me crazy. Not sure I could handle that. Arabic? Sounds exotic, but might be too overwhelming. Italian feels too close to Spanish and I'm concerned that it would get in the way of my learning of Spanish, which is the main reason I am here. English would be an easy way out but I don't think I've ever been one to look for easy escapes. 

I've always loved learning languages, but never quite thought I'd be thrown into a different culture where I need to learn my third language, to study two more languages on top of that.

I hope you didn't find this post too much of a ramble. My goal with this is to get some advice. If you speak any languages I've mentioned above, or tried to learn any of them, please tell me about your experience! Sound off either in the comments here or on Facebook.

Proverbs 3:5-6 New Living Translation (NLT)

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
    do not depend on your own understanding.
⁶ Seek his will in all you do,
    and he will show you which path to take.