Tamil

All right. Here's the pictures, finally, that I promised. These are my notes on Tamil. I do have one magazine in Malayalam, also. So here are pictures of what the languages look like.

This first picture is the collection of most of my books that I have been given or managed to purchase. There are some stores in town that sell the magazines. I grabbed a dictionary and a book with common words.

I have been working hard at learning. I have made labels and have posted them on my belongings in my room. Whenever I use it, I have to say the word. This card says, "Kadavu," which means door.

Here's a page of the writing in Tamil from one of my magazines I was given.

Here is the Tamil alphabet. I have written this myself. If you look, you can see the mistakes that I have made. It's not perfect, but you can get the point. The top row are vowels. The far left column is consonants. It's like a times table. I can't get the letters to type onto this page; however, their a vowel + their k consonant = ka, etc. etc. for all the other letters.

This is a close-up of the writing in the magazine. I have amazed myself at the fact that I can pick it up and read it. I just don't know what all of the words mean yet... lol. Guess I might have learned the alphabet a little too well... :D

This is a picture of the writing in Malayalam. This language I am not learning much in. I can say a phrase or two. It is, however, a sister language to Tamil. These languages are very similar so perhaps after learning Tamil, I can make do with Malayalam. Only time will tell with that one.

So here's what's occupying my time. I meet tons of people who speak these languages, and I enjoy the challenge. The people challenge me, too. They teach me words and phrases every day. They also quiz me on things like numbers and colors. I get mixed reactions. Most of them are excited that I am learning. However, one or two of them don't like it because they realize I'll understand what they're saying. But most of them are so excited. They took the time to learn my language, and now I am taking the time to learn theirs. So far, it's working. Wish me luck!

Where does the time go?!?

How does the time disappear so quickly now? I remember being a child and how it took FOREVER (no exaggeration) to get to Christmas or any date of any kind. Now, I wonder how to slow down the time. I mean it. Isn't it still January... or maybe February? How did the end of April arrive? I intend to post pictures and stuff for the blog, but when I turn around to do it, I realize it's been a month later! PS- the pics are still coming. I got my camera back finally.

When questioning my co-workers about my experiences, I was informed that as I continue to grow older, time will continue to move faster. Now I understand a little better the words in the song sung by Kenny Chesney:

Don't blink

Just like that you're six years old and you take a nap and you
Wake up and you're twenty-five and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife
Don't blink
You just might miss your babies growing like mine did
Turning into moms and dads next thing you know your "better half"
Of fifty years is there in bed
And you're praying God takes you instead
Trust me friend a hundred years goes faster than you think
So don't blink

What the song forgets is that blinking is instinctive and protective. Guess I'll have to watch life fly by and try to figure out how to savor every moment!!!

My Absence Explained...

Okay, blog! Here I am… finally back… for the moment.

I know my poor blog has been neglected, but I have been so very busy as of late. The youth and I have been practicing a musical number at church. I have been working tons! And I have been studying, studying, and studying. First, I do my homework for my schooling, and then I delve into the fun stuff and learn about our world. I have researched Mumbai, Punjab, Hyderabad, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Chennai, more about India. I have also researched Islamabad, Swat (beautiful!), Punjab, Peshawar, and Karachi, Pakistan. Next on my list to learn about is Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. My current goal is if I meet someone from that area and I see them frequently, to research their home and have something to talk about. While I am in Kuwait, I want to learn as much as I can and actually talk to the people from there. It’s not every day that I get to meet people from all over the world.

My other new hobby that has been keeping me busy is Tamil. I have never ever, EVER been interested in learning another language, and then I saw the Tamil language. We were a match made in heaven. I researched about it and was given a magazine in Tamil. I looked at the beautiful letters, and I fell in love. I asked the people I knew from that area if they would teach me. They said that Tamil was a little language, and that I should learn Arabic. “Arabic much better, ma’am.” Ha! Don’t tell me what to do! It became a challenge, and I came back to them. “Tamil is used in Sri Lanka, Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu (places I do want to visit). I want to learn Tamil.” They caved in and helped me. I have learned their alphabet (247 letters), and I am now working on words and pronunciations. The funny thing is, I’ve looked at other languages, I’ve thought about learning Spanish or something, but it’s never appealed to me. I’m not sure why I love this language so much, but it is beautiful. The letters are elegant, and the writing is so unique. I have only been studying for two and a half weeks so far. I am amazed at how well I am picking it up.

I have also been working on how to say, “How are you?” in many different languages. It amazes me at how if you learn to say that to someone in their native tongue how much it helps! I have less problems and love to see the smiles light up on their face when I say it to them! At the moment, I can say it in Punjabi, Macedonian, Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, Kuwait version of Arabic, Singuhlum, the national language of the Philippines (got to see what that language is called), and Telugu.

And that is the story of why my poor blog has been neglected. I hope to do better, and perhaps I will. But for now, I’m learning so much and enjoying living life. I’ll document it along the way a little better. Also, my camera has been on a vacation in Macedonia with my friend. I hope it was fun. J

I’ll put some pictures of the Tamil alphabet and my books and stuff up in a few days.