Learning a language while traveling is essential and rewarding. I have always loved foreign languages. As a child, it was for me a way to travel before the hour and a mirror on the cultures . I do not really know why, but as soon as I started learning English , it was a kind of click and I became gifted, already reading English books in college (yes, I partly learned the language thanks Harry Potter). And then, I did German, Latin, Japanese and Swedish, some learning more successful than others …
I have always loved languages and when you know a foreign language, learning a new one is certainly easier. On paper, I was good in English, but I had not really had the chance to test my abilities on the field with natives or travelers. To be good in a language in a class and to be good in language while traveling , it is not really the same thing … Then, I had the chance to study one year in Sweden. The beginnings were not easy and shyness helping, I stammered my English more than anything else. I quickly met two Hong Kongese, one Argentina, one French, one Romanian, one German and many others and with them, it became immediately easier. Friendship, total immersion far from the French and the French pushed me to speak English without stuttering. A year later, I returned bilingually, without a hint of recognizable French accent. Of course, my subsequent travels to Canada and the UK have helped me keep the level.
When I went around the world, I spoke only English. I had vaguely learned some Spanish on online applications, sites and podcasts, but concretely, landing in South America, I could only say “Hola” and “Gracias”. I still remember my arrival at the Colombian border, where I did not understand anything and where I had wondered what I had come to do here. It took me a month in Colombia to stammer a little tongue and three months in South America to have a good foundation. I know that I have facilities, but it is also important to make efforts to learn a language while traveling!
