For the longest time, I have wondered how awesome it would be to be bilingual. During high school, I even made the attempt to learn another language...........Spanish...........with Senorita Phillips. OH sure! I learned how to say my name and how to ask another person their name, along with a few phrases........but.....put me into the middle of Spanish Harlem and I was totally lost both physically and mentally, unless of course ... I wanted to know the name of the big guy beating the hell out of me for getting onto .............HIS TURF...... I realized that many of my classmates were able to grab onto things faster than I did..... so I just strung along and learned as much as possible. As years went by, I picked up phrases from other languages, phrases that I would use from time to time in toasting, throwing down my weapon, asking for clemency and asking a young lady to show me home..........or was it to take her home.......I forget, but it just didn't work as well and the person who taught me said it would, so I gave it up. Anyway, some years later in joining SAS, I found that I was being sent to Stockholm for some classes, so I said to myself..........self.......best thing to do is learn some of that Swedish stuff, after all ............The city of free love was calling.........which I also found to be really a myth. After 30 years with the company, someone finally convinced me to become more efficient in the language so off to Sweden I went........to the University of Lund........WOW!!! do I get to wear one of those silly caps collage students wear? It was one of those courses whereby you immediately change your whole speaking life in a matter of minutes. No more English until you are on the airplane back to the USA. Eat, sleep and literally become a Swede overnight. It was tough going but after 5 weeks I walked away and actually thought I was born a Swede. I stayed with my bosses mother in her house, Her brother lived just in the house to the rear of the main house, so I spoke Swedish 24/7 per say. It was really funny on the airplane coming back home. I was travelling with her mom, who spoke very very little English. I did notice that the more we drank on board the better my Swedish became and the better her English became. In Immigrations inspection in Seattle she had to interpret for me. I will never forget the last day of my course , I got a letter the night before my exam from Margot. Our dog had dug her way under the fence in our backyard and was gone all night but the next morning she was sitting on the front door step and promised never to leave the yard again, Our son, who was at Emery Riddle collage in Arizona had decided to leave school, sell his books, and drive back to Seattle ..........because he missed his girlfriend.............our daughter had been dating a guy 10 years her elder and was planning to move in with him. BOY!!!!! WHAT a disaster to bring up just before exams. That morning, instead of taking the bus, as I usually did, from school, I decided to walk 5 Swedish miles back home.......all the way talking to myself. Guess the local population thought I was some retard. Best news, tho, I passed and carried home my diploma, OOHHHH!!!! what a wonderful day. I can remember, quite clearly, my first day back to work where I was just going to astonish everyone with everything I learned. I spoke Swedish to everyone including the crews, who on one hand some were Norwegian and some Danish but we all understood each other, ..............I think. To this day, Margot still questions my Swedish, seems I speak with a little bit of Danish dialect, since Lund is in the southern part of Sweden , and Stockholm in the central part. Similar to the dialect difference in the States between the North and the south. Margot compares it to someone speaking Swedish and eating hot potatoes at the same time.
I mention all of this because I think everyone should try and speak another language.........why????? ........I haven't the slightest idea but its fun. Here's a little clip I found to be quite humorous about learning Italian (which is my next challenge in Life).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URU33qxPtPU
Along the same lines ( in some respect) I recently made contact with an old friend and work colleague via skype. He happens to live in one of the Carolina's and I briefly worked for him both with SAS and after SAS as a consultant. We would send emails back and forth but I must say..........skype........the free online phone service where you actually see the person you are talking with (we originally got it to talk to our daughter, who lives in Hungary) is really fun. I suggest everyone get connected by going to http://www.skype.com/ and signing up. Then get in touch with me. The call is free. You do need a web cam on your computer but you can always pick one up if it's not already installed. Give it a try.
For some time now, my email box is overwhelmed each day with POLITICAL MISINFORMATION................something I call................garbage!!!!! Very simply put, I have never in my mind imagined how gullible people are to believe what comes over the cyberspace circuit. I can't believe how stupidity overwhelms intelligence........and in most cases.......you don't know who they are passing this stuff on........ Do you actually believe what you are reading or passing on................or is it something you actually want to believe.
