Keep My Word

旅とタンゴをこよなく愛する。カラダナオル創業者。

Tips for acquiring a foreign language and the outcome of it.

2 months passed. Originally, I was going to spend a few days in Mexico City yet somehow I'm still here.

For 2 months, I've already made circle of friends and we hang out quite often. My days are filled with a lot of parties and dinner with friends.

I've spent 2 years in Buenos Aires, but the truth is that I have more friends in Mexico City than in Buenos Aires. How did that happen?

My first year in Buenos Aires, my days were filled with just studying Spanish. I didn't go out cause I had a lot of homework to do and was quite stressed with the situation where I had no idea what people were talking about.

I was more relaxed in my second year in Buenos Aires so I started going out and made some friends. (But still I took a lot of private Spanish classes and even started studying Portuguese)

Now everything is paid off. I go out and talk to them and can understand what they are saying.

People are often surprised by my fluent Spanish and usually ask me how I learned it. So I say to them that I had spent 2 years in Buenos Aires and learnt it there before I came here.

The thing is that many of them don't understand the implication of it. They generally think if they spend 2 years in a foreign country,  they can naturally acquire the foreign language.

It doesn't happen.

What they don't understand is that acquiring a foreign language takes pure effort and hard work. You don't need so much talent for it but you have to have the willingness and determination to keep studying 3-4 hours a day for a year or two.

It sounds all fair.

You don't have to find any secret method to acquire a language. Just find a good teacher who can support you and motivate you.

The most important thing is, it's all up to you and you should commit yourself on this. (These day, I go to many parties and they can't imagine me studying so much nor  working so hard.......I do it occasionally in my life, that's why I am able to have  this kind of lifestyle now.)

Having all said that, it's worth taking your time and committing yourself on acquiring a foreign language.

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(Remind you: It's all photoshopped, it's not me having so much fun with those girls.)