June 15, 2010
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Have you ever tried to learn a foreign language? I have…and I have failed miserably. I spent years taking Spanish in school. I never enjoyed it and the only reason I have a bunch of college credit in Spanish was that it was required to graduate. I’m now trying to learn another language…
In preparation for my little trip to Afghanistan this year, I’m getting a crash course in Pashto. Pashto is the language in the area that I’ll be working. We are spending 10-12 hours a day trying to learn it and let me just say that it’s tough. I guess that my brain just isn’t wired for language…
It’s really frustrating…because I actually have an excellent memory. I can retain an inordinate amount of information, but when it comes to foreign languages, I just stink.
On a non-language note, I just received a promotion. I’m now a Captain in the Army, which is cool. For those of you not abreast of military rank, it’s the third ring on the Officer ladder. Typically a Captain is responsible for a Company of Soldiers, usually between 80-120 strong. It’s basically mid-level management but with a lot more responsibility.
I’ve been in the military for over 10 years now, and have served as an enlisted Soldier, Noncommissioned Officer, and as a commissioned officer. I’ve been a Private, Private First Class, Specialist, Sergeant, 2nd Lieutenant, 1st Lieutenant, and now a Captain.
I’ll have to post the picture of my promotion when I get a copy of it.
That’s it for now…time to read and relax.
Comments (3)
I don’t think i could learn a foreign language either. While i’m okay at understanding Spanish, speaking it is a whole different story for me. Have you thought about getting the Rosetta Stone? I’m not sure if it works, but wouldn’t hurt. But i’m sure 12 hours a day of learning is enough…yikes. Oh and congrats on your promotion. That is awesome!!.
Little trip? I think you need to rephrase that.
Congrats on your promotion to captain, Captain!
As for languages: a lot, I think, depends on how it’s taught to you. Pashto doesn’t share any roots at all with English, whose ancestor is German – which means you have to teach yourself to think, from scratch, in a completely different way, and without being able to rely on any familiar root words.
I’ve heard good things about Rosetta Stone, which has an ascending price scale based on how quickly and intimately you need to learn the language. It’s apparently really good because you learn modern use, not just textbook material. There’s also some kind of process that relies primarily on improving your ability to hear different frequencies – apparently different languages rely on different frequencies, and the theory follows that it’s easier to learn a language, faster too, if you know how to “hear” it. Literally. I forget what the method is called, though.
Kisses to Amanda. @amanda21580 The travel must be a bitch for you; I get slightly aggravated if Gaël leaves me alone too often over the course of a couple of days. There’s also a guy who works in oil here, in the middle east, and he leaves unexpectedly, sometimes for months at a time, without the ability to give any notice to his family. His wife has lived with that for about 40 years now, and they both seem happy enough … now they mostly travel and enjoy being old together.