IT pays to be the son of parents who are both diplomats. My mom and dad work in the CIA as diplomatic undercover agents. Our family is hobnobbing with diplomats and spies from all over the world. It’s just like seeing the setting of all James Bond movies before your very eyes. In the event of it all, I have gone to a dozen different elementary and high schools all my life since I was born in 1978. I have also learned a dozen different languages and dialects during that period. I am not bragging. That’s simply the truth.
In 1979, as far as I can remember, I was in a city called Cagayan de Oro in the Philippines where my parents have been assigned. The most popular danceable track then was YMCA by the Village People. My parents recounted to me that I was dancing to the tune of YMCA with glee. And while I was already a year old, I was already learning a few Filipino words like mabuhay which means long live and po which means please. They said I was the apple of the eye in the suburbia that we lived there because I was the only inhabitant child with Caucasian features. Wow, I was really flattered.
But off we went to Moscow when I was about to enter nursery. It’s nice being in Moscow although I had to endure their very cold winter as far as I can remember. There was snow falling all around and it was at a later period that I had learned that the temperature back then was about up to -5 degrees Celsius. I was already shivering. It was there that I first learned how to play baseball as a nursery kid. They had advanced international schools there and I was beginning to learn a few Russian words as well from my Russian friends. It was there that I met Svetlana. I never knew back then that Svetlana would later become my wife. But it was really heartwarming in Russia.
The only thing that I hated in Moscow was that folks were lining up for grocery items. I pitied them. We were lucky because we were living in an apartment full of diplomats and their families and we were a little bit pampered. Then the Soviet Union disintegrated and my parents were assigned in Japan. It was there that I experienced my adolescent life. It was there that I experienced being flirted with a mere 14-year-old schoolgirl in Japan. They were wearing micro-mini skirts for uniforms. I find it weird in some way but then again, that’s their culture so I respect that. But the girls there were really friendly and awesome; they helped me struggle to learn a few Niponggo words. They even toured me to their Shinto shrines, at least the public part of it. Believe me, I graduated from high school there in an international school of course because I had not mastered the Japanese language yet.
The next country that I grew up with tagging along with my parents, me being their only child, was Canada. The particular province was Quebec. This is much more of a familiar environment for me because I was surrounded with Caucasians like me. But then again, I have to endure learning French because Quebec happens to be located in the French-speaking part of Canada.
IT is really important to learn another language. If you are here in Spain for instance, it is definitely advantageous for you to learn English because there are lots of British tourists and expatriates here. Even if you are not working in the tourism or hospitality industry, it is still imperative for you to learn English. Who knows, you’ll stumble upon a British retiree who has some connections in London where you can work there if you have the proper degree and if you’re that polite enough to befriend the person.
Another language that is highly appreciated here is Danish or Dutch. These two languages are commonly spoken by tourists here because most of them – apart from the British, the Scottish and the Irish ones – come from Scandinavian countries such as Norway, Greenland, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands. These folks want to come here because they enjoy the relatively temperate climate of the Mediterranean. Most of these folks are rather wealthy back home in their respective countries of origin.
Thus, if you happen to befriend one of them, you may as well work in Denmark. Being in the hospitality industry here in Spain is also an opportunity to befriend these people. And your opportunity will surely be optimized if you happen to know some English or Danish language. But then again, there are still lots of languages that are quire more interesting to learn even if you’re just here in Spain. There’s the Scottish and the Irish languages.
These languages are also important because there are also lots of Scottish and Irish persons here in Spain along with people from the Wales. Never mind the people in the Wales, they speak English too. British English is the same throughout the world. But there’s another English kind that is not used in Britain. This is American English and it is spoken in the United States, Canada and the Philippines. It’s so easy to learn these languages.
There are lots of language schools here in Spain that caters to foreign languages that are mentioned earlier. These language schools are supported by the European Union because the European Union has encouraged people in its member countries to take on a second language. Europe is just a small and a contiguous continent even but its countries are peopled with individuals who do not speak the same language. Aside from traditional language schools in the classroom-type setting, there are also online schools based from as far as across the Atlantic which specialize in linguistics.
It is advisable to enroll in an online school that is based from the country where the language is used as a first language. For instance, an online school in London is obviously better than an English language school located in Alicante. On the other hand, a Spanish language school in Alicante is better than a Spanish language school located in Haifa. Try to enroll in two online courses at the same time so that it will be more exciting to divide one’s time in learning two languages at the same time. Anyway, an online course will last just six months.
IT’S fun when you learn a second language. If you’re a Spaniard, then you can learn other languages in your area. Here in Europe, everybody is encouraged to learn a second language after all. That is because Europe is such a very small continent composed of countries contiguous to each other. The irony here is that each country speaks a different language and in each country, there are even regional dialects present. Take for example Spain. There are various dialects in Spain such as Catalan and Basque. Spain is located in a peninsula called Iberia where Portugal also belongs. But even Portugal has its own language – Portuguese. Another country in Europe which uses two or more languages is Switzerland. They speak both German and French there.
After your own language, the most easily learned tongue if you’re a Spaniard is British English. There are lots of English tourists here in Spain and it really boosts the tourism industry if most of the natives know English. So there are lots of English language schools in Spain and they are staffed mostly by Spaniards and Englishmen. These Spaniards are graduates of TOEFL or Teaching of English as a Foreign Language which is composed of three stages – the basic, the intermediate and the advanced. On the other hand, Britons who are making a living as English teachers here earn as much as $4,000 a month. That’s already thriving if all you need to do is teach students day by day on how to learn your native tongue. You can even embark on a tourism tour every weekend going to exotic diving spots and golf ranges in Ibiza or Palma del Mallorca.
Once you have mastered the English tongue, it’s already easy to deal not only with foreign tourists but with foreign businessmen as well. You do not need to hire translators anymore as this just eats up the budget and besides, you’ll never know that translators will just double-cross you, right? And also, translators are just part of the clutter. Anyway, after English, you may want to learn Danish too. Scandinavians make up the second group of tourists in Spain. They like it here because Spain has a relatively moderate climate as compared to the rest of the continent. It is warmer here because of its proximity to the Mediterranean.
The next language to learn is French. There are expensive French language schools in Paris or you may want to learn relatively cheaper tutorials in Montreal. Canadian French is similar to what you can learn in Paris minus the expenses of course. The only difference is that Paris has more sights to offer than in Canada. There’s the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, the Shakespearean Library, among others. And it’s not just Paris which offers dazzling sights. There’s also the city of Nice as well as Lyons. But even if Canada doesn’t appeal to you, then you can always enroll in online language schools. Online language schools accept enrollees around the world. They are not bound by land borders you know.
