Just the beginning

Every journey has a starting point and a finish point. With this journey I want to share how I am learning or broadening a knowledge of my old dream - knowing different languages for different reasons. 

How it all started?

When I was just a child I still lived in Soviet Union Lithuania. So at this point I have to mention my mother tongue is Lithuanian (not English - excuse me for my mistakes). Television, radio most of it was in Russian. After a while my parents were surprised by the fact, that I started to understand Russian just by watching TV. 

After declaration of freedom broader choice of TV came our way. Including Polish shows for kids, American cartoons and movies, Spanish soup operas. All those things were new not only to me. It was new to my parents and brothers. Television took big part in our exploration of the new world that opened up for us after occupation. 

And having young brain I was taking it all in. I was learning languages even without noticing it. After a while I could understand original language next to translation. But it wasn't an end. Cable TV allowed us to reach even more. I got to see German channels. That was the moment when I fell in love with Japanese anime. Though at that time I was still watching it with German dubbing. But with rise of internet I was able to watch anime in their original language - Japanese. So around 10 years ago I already understood:

Russian

Polish

Spanish

English (had it in school too)

German (had a little bit of this in school)

Japanese (just a bit, because it was so far away from anything I knew until that point)

Hindi (just bits and pieces from loving Bollywood movies). 

But to that list I always wanted to add Chinese and French. Why? I always loved the sound of French. And Chinese - well we all know that this is a language that you are ought to know in this new world. 

I could say I know a lot of languages, but I can't do that. I only know my mother tongue and English. Most of other languages I only understand, because I never got to talk with TV :((... So I can't say I know a language until I can have a normal worry free conversation with native speakers and read books and magazines without a self doubt. And I really can't at this point of time. 

But that is why it's only just the beginning of my journey that I started this week. My plan might sound crazy to some, but what I understood over the years waiting for the right moment in my life to learn those languages properly. It might never come. I just have to do it now. Without any pressure - just start doing it. Bit by bit, every single day, every free second I have. 

What is my plan?

Monday - Spanish

Tuesday - Russian

Wednesday - French

Thursday - Japanese

Friday - Polish

Saturday - Chinese

Sunday - German

I have listening material for all those languages and also internet is full of help with videos, apps and other helpful ideas. So far I had no trouble of satisfying my need of little pieces of knowledge for each of those languages. Some of them need less because I know them from the heart. I only need to practice my speaking. But others require my full attention. You know what I mean - Chinese. Japanese too, but it is easier because I already have some understanding of it. On the other hand Chinese is completely new to me. Just like French, but French is at least in the same Indo European Family of Languages as my mother tongue :). And after starting this journey I already understood one thing about Chinese - it's very beautiful language and worth all the challenge that I put on myself to learn it :). 

What is the end point of this journey?

Even though I believe, that you can't ever fully learn any language, even you mother tongue, but this is a journey and it would be hard to travel without knowing where you are going. And I set up a goal I felt very happy about. As I love reading books (watching TV wasn't all I was doing as a child and teen) I decided that upon knowing each language I will read books in their original language. 

The list:

Don Quixote

Hundred years of Solitude

Anna Karenina

War and peace

Little Prince

Beauty and the Beast

Romance of the three kingdoms

The art of war

The Wind Up Bird Chronicle

Woman in the Dunes

The Sorrows of Young Werther

The Castle

Quo Vadis

Sir Thaddeus 

(Hopefully soon enough I will be able to write down this list in their original languages ;),

So I have a long journey ahead of me. I believe some of those books aren't easy to read in languages that I know well let alone their originals. But isn't life interesting this way? We can challenge ourselves to be better each day.

Why writing the blog? So it can work as one of the motivators. I don't lack motivation just yet, but in case I ever will :D. Writing down all my steps might remind me later why I even started.

Wish me good luck on my traveling. Or even better - join me in :) and we can do it together :). 

Au revoir for now :).