My family’s first Big Family Vacation since my parents came to visit me in London has officially been planned for May, 2018. We’ll be staying in Rome for one week and Vienna for one week…. Which means it is the perfect time for me to double down on my Big Scary Goal: 3 by 30.
Speak 3 foreign languages by the time I turn 30 years old.
I currently have 3 years and 3 months.
I’m still working on my Italian, and hoping that a week in Rome will really cement some things I’ve been working on.
Now, it’s time to really start learning German.
After a few false starts of studying on my own, I realized that committing to spending time with a native speaker was the only way I could really get going. So, armed with a few memories of listening to German with Jenny, a chapter of Benny Lewis’s Hacking German, and an hour of Duolingo, I jumped into German lessons on italki.
So far, I think my German has a half-American, half-Italian accent.
Italian was a fantastic choice of first foreign language for me, given my minimal background in Spanish. It gave me the tools and the growth mindset I need to jump headfirst into the (to me) much more difficult German language. So instead of becoming frustrated, I’m eager to make mistakes and stumble through attempting to make those guttural sounds.
First Impressions
After speaking with three different native German speakers on iTalki, I’ve answered more than one question with “si” instead of “ja.”
Normal-speed Native speakers are still mostly incomprehensible.
Conjugation is downright easy. (I’m not even close to worrying about cases yet.)
German sounds beautiful.
I’m excited to continue my journey!
any of my Italian horse-related vocabulary… there’s something to be said for being at the back of the line on a trail ride. You don’t have to be nose-to-tail. We got to walk around a farm, through a slightly wooded area, and right down into a vineyard, going between rows of grapevines. It was sunny with a slight mist, which made the temperature PERFECT.
When I booked our Notting Hill AirBnB, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I had been tempted to spend a little extra to go back to the Pimlico area, which I missed living in. But it turns out that exploring new neighborhoods can pay off. (Who knew?)
The staff turn the tea into a bit of a formal affair, as I was helped into my seat by the host and given two weighty, bound menus. One for the meal, and one for tea blends. We both ordered the traditional afternoon tea, although there were savory and vegetarian afternoon teas available. I opted for the Royal Blend tea, and Kate opted for the Jubilee Blend. They were both excellent! We had to try a sip of each other’s tea for comparison’s sake – while we each preferred my own choices by a thin margin, they were each delicious.
Recent Comments