Feeling pretty good right now
Nov. 13th, 2019 06:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
druewildingI remember a time, not so long ago, when I felt really pleased with myself for going a whole weekend without speaking English. Now I think it’s happened at least two more times, and I barely even noticed!
Last weekend was especially good. It’s not like I was actively trying to avoid English, but no reason to speak English came up. Which was great because it included going to a bike shop to get new lights fitted, arranging to buy something on the internet, cycling round and picking it up, and having Elses family come round for dinner and happily chatting Danish with them.
It always makes me feel good when I can communicate the things I want, understand the questions and reply to them, maybe not perfectly, but well enough to get the message across.
And the meal was especially good. It was Mortens Aften, an annual Danish tradition, and I remember the same people coming round last year. I think that was the first time I met the lady who I now call Farmor like I’m part of her family. Last year, I remember not understanding much of the dinner conversation at all, other than a few words. This year I could follow every topic, even if I couldn’t contribute much, at least I knew what they were talking about. It felt to me like they were speaking a lot slower. Of course they’re not, it’s my speed of processing that is so much faster now.
Else and I speak mostly Danish at home but not exclusively. There was a period of several weeks when we spoke no English at all, but I felt it affected our friendship a bit. Because my vocabulary is somewhat limited I felt I couldn’t fully express myself, so our conversations were a bit superficial, and I felt we weren’t so close. Then one night we had a dinner together and spontaneously switched to English and it felt so much better for me. So now we have a good mix, mostly Danish but we’re both okay with using English when it feels appropriate.
Sometimes I don’t notice my progress, or I think I’m slower than I want to be. But other times I sit back and listen to myself having a conversation in Danish and I have to think, if a few years ago I were to hear myself now, I would be astonished!
Last weekend was especially good. It’s not like I was actively trying to avoid English, but no reason to speak English came up. Which was great because it included going to a bike shop to get new lights fitted, arranging to buy something on the internet, cycling round and picking it up, and having Elses family come round for dinner and happily chatting Danish with them.
It always makes me feel good when I can communicate the things I want, understand the questions and reply to them, maybe not perfectly, but well enough to get the message across.
And the meal was especially good. It was Mortens Aften, an annual Danish tradition, and I remember the same people coming round last year. I think that was the first time I met the lady who I now call Farmor like I’m part of her family. Last year, I remember not understanding much of the dinner conversation at all, other than a few words. This year I could follow every topic, even if I couldn’t contribute much, at least I knew what they were talking about. It felt to me like they were speaking a lot slower. Of course they’re not, it’s my speed of processing that is so much faster now.
Else and I speak mostly Danish at home but not exclusively. There was a period of several weeks when we spoke no English at all, but I felt it affected our friendship a bit. Because my vocabulary is somewhat limited I felt I couldn’t fully express myself, so our conversations were a bit superficial, and I felt we weren’t so close. Then one night we had a dinner together and spontaneously switched to English and it felt so much better for me. So now we have a good mix, mostly Danish but we’re both okay with using English when it feels appropriate.
Sometimes I don’t notice my progress, or I think I’m slower than I want to be. But other times I sit back and listen to myself having a conversation in Danish and I have to think, if a few years ago I were to hear myself now, I would be astonished!