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.
Hooray a post! Your blogging was missed- That is really cool that you are studying a language! I hope you find some peeps to talk with so you can really learn it. I think it is awesome how you are taking the opportunity to learn about all the different cultures and countries. What an amazing weath of knowlege you are going to aquire! so cool!
ReplyDeleteYeah. It's waaaaaay fun. I have found many people who speak the language where I work. I pick their brains every time I see them and have them help me. Now, they walk up to me and say, "Hello. How are you?" in their native language so that I know to practice and talk with them. :D
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