alterkrmn | Japanese, Madarin, Thai...

Japanese

I started attending japanese classes last year and it makes me happy. I really love learning languages. And even though I'm going slowly, I feel like I am doing fine. I had to pause my classes this ummer because they didn't open a group for the third level but also because after some awful homophobic and transphobic comments the professor made, I decided I didn't want to stay there. So I looked up everywhere else. I am enrolling in a different school this fall. There, they also offer conversation practice, kanji classes, and some other activities like karaoke evenings (in japanese, obviously). It makes me excited.

Mandarin

I would be lying if I said reading danmei and watching cdramas didn't influence my decision of wanting to learn mandarin, because it did. But it goes beyond that. I wish I had the oportunity to learn many languages when I was younger, but back then my resources were a lot more limited. I just had access to english lessons and I've never been a self-taught person, to this day, I always feel like I need the guide of a teacher for some stuff, at least for a while.

So, it really wasn't an impulsive decision. I thought about it for months, researching the different options I had and last week I finally decided to enroll for Mandarin classes. Starting next month. I think I can do it. And I know it's not going to be quick, but the fact that now I can pay myself for the things I want, it's very satisfying. Let's see if my brain doesn't break. I hope it doesn't.

Thai

I couldn't find in person or online Thai classes here (in my city/country)... so I looked for any kind of lessons. I ended up subscribing to Lingodeer for almost half a year, but I didn't feel like it worked for me. I also enrolled in a MOOC offered by the Thailand Foundation but I really don't learn watching videos, I get easily distracted and have to repeat them at least three times because I almost always end up spacing out at some point. I decided to pause the Lingodeer subscription because right now I need to save as much as possible, but I plan to at least finish the MOOC. I hope I can find different resources at some point because I really like Thai and want to learn it. Although I don't have a specific goal, it's nice to recognize some words in the dramas.

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Sometimes I fantasize about just dedicating my life to learn as many languages as possible... unfortunately, I have to work to survive and that doesn't leave me the time to do it. And also... money is limited an there are other priorities like... eating and paying bills, and all that stuff.