Preparation

In this week we have been doing a lot of preparation, because on the 25th of September we will have an event. We made posters and flyers, it was a creative and very interesting process. On Friday we will represent our country at the workshop. I have never been at such events, so I’m curious to know how it will be.

Now all my free time I spend on learning English, it is difficult and at the same time very interesting. I see progress and it motivates me to achieve great success in the process.

I enjoy the weather in Baia Mare, today was plus 26, that’s amazing for me as a person from a more northern country.

Next week we will start our activities with children. I hope everything will be good. It is very important for me.

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The language of friendship is not words but meanings

Languages of the world word cloud illustration. Word collage concept.

The moment that a baby babbles their first ‘mama’, they embark on a lifelong voyage of communication through language. Language is the life blood of culture, and learning a new language is like gaining access to the nerve centre of a country.

While living in the UK, language and communication was something that I took somewhat for granted. Although I studied French at university, and had friends of different nationalities, I spoke only English in my everyday life. The first time I moved abroad, to France in 2011, I already had a reasonably good grasp of the French language. While I was far from being fluent at that time, neither was I completely alienated by the language. Moving to Romania has been a very different experience for me. In my life in France, and at home in England, my ability to speak English and French was about more than just communication. It was my passport into the community, my way of demonstrating that I was not just a passing tourist, and allowing me access into the heart of their way of life. Here I feel completely bewildered by language.

Since arriving in Baia Mare my world has been flooded with new languages, and interaction with people has gone from being something that I take for granted, to a daily challenge. Our flat is a beautiful melting pot of languages. We have three girls from Germany, two Estonians who speak Russian at home, and one Danish girl. This creates a wonderful mixture of unfamiliar sounds in the flat, with all our different native languages swirling around. We have all been enjoying sharing our languages, and finding their similarities and differences.  Our attempts to teach each other snippets of our native languages have been a source of great entertainment, as we struggle with the unfamiliar shapes our mouths must make to throw out these alien sounds. Teaching each other tongue twisters in our mother tongues has been a great party game!

But this is more than just a little bit of fun. It is said that if you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart. When I stepped off the plane in Romania three weeks ago, I could just about manage to say ‘multumesc’ at the correct time, although even that was quite difficult. It was a strange experience arriving at the airport and not even being able to communicate the simple question “where is the bus stop?” Of course we managed to get by with hand gestures and Basic English, but it was a rather uncomfortable experience. I’m used to being able to express my needs and desires in the language of the country in which I am living. I find it very unfriendly always having to force the conversation into English. I feel like the rude British tourist, who expects and demands that everyone speaks English, and refuses to make an attempt at the local language.

However little by little, one lesson at a time, I can feel myself slowly starting to connect to the language. I’m beginning to connect with the people. Small, every day interactions correctly completed are an exciting triumph. I look forward to the day when I will be able to kiss goodbye to my tourist status of being an English only speaker, and proudly use my knowledge of the Romanian language to gain access to the heart of the vibrant culture and people of Romanian.

Until then, I’m getting by with a warm smile, the universal language of kindness.