I definitely agree with you! My mother tongue is German but I am fluent in English after living abroad in the States, the UK and Canada and having a Canadian husband. I like my English personality much better than my German one! I am more confident, louder, happier and cheerful. It feels like a reflection of the culture in Canada versus in Germany.
Katharina, This is so fascinating to me. I can only hope to one day be more confident in a second language. I have a long, long way to go. Thanks for sharing.
It’s wild, isn’t it?! Due to near immersion over the past three months, my Spanish has improved exponentially, and many of my non-English speaking friends have commented on how goofy and sarcastic I suddenly am — I guess having a bit more confidence and local slang down has allowed that part of my English personality to finally surface in Spanish.
My bad people-pleasing-habit of sugarcoating things also doesn’t appear in Spanish because I simply don’t have the breadth of vocab. It’s really fascinating!
Loved this, Jen! As a long-ago serious French student, I'm trying to dust off at least some of it so I can fight back against all the ugly American-ness I feel might be ascendant in the world again. My favorite weird second-language experience was being able to say things in my dreams that in my waking life I absolutely do not know how to say. And in my dreams, I knew what I was saying. Weird.
Now, I will tell you that I'm *incredibly* fluent in French when I drink :D
Hi Jen, I love this post! I recently enrolled at the Alliance Francaise in St. Louis. During class this week, my instructor told me that my expressions while speaking are "very French." I guess that means that I'm appropriately animated? Whatever the case, it felt good. I wonder what my Spanish self is like? I'll have to pay more attention the next time I speak to someone in Spanish, now that I know it's "a thing." Can't wait to follow you to Paris! Un abrazo, Veronica
Thanks, Veronica. I love that you're taking French. We'll definitely have to talk more about that when we see each other next. The pronunciation is so hard for me. Un abrazo! Hablamos pronto.
I definitely agree with you! My mother tongue is German but I am fluent in English after living abroad in the States, the UK and Canada and having a Canadian husband. I like my English personality much better than my German one! I am more confident, louder, happier and cheerful. It feels like a reflection of the culture in Canada versus in Germany.
Katharina, This is so fascinating to me. I can only hope to one day be more confident in a second language. I have a long, long way to go. Thanks for sharing.
It’s wild, isn’t it?! Due to near immersion over the past three months, my Spanish has improved exponentially, and many of my non-English speaking friends have commented on how goofy and sarcastic I suddenly am — I guess having a bit more confidence and local slang down has allowed that part of my English personality to finally surface in Spanish.
My bad people-pleasing-habit of sugarcoating things also doesn’t appear in Spanish because I simply don’t have the breadth of vocab. It’s really fascinating!
Loved this, Jen! As a long-ago serious French student, I'm trying to dust off at least some of it so I can fight back against all the ugly American-ness I feel might be ascendant in the world again. My favorite weird second-language experience was being able to say things in my dreams that in my waking life I absolutely do not know how to say. And in my dreams, I knew what I was saying. Weird.
Now, I will tell you that I'm *incredibly* fluent in French when I drink :D
Love this! And a great reason to revisit French. I must say I wish I had your background. I’ve never studied seriously for any length of time.
Also, my Spanish is excellent with a little mezcal. 😉
Hi Jen, I love this post! I recently enrolled at the Alliance Francaise in St. Louis. During class this week, my instructor told me that my expressions while speaking are "very French." I guess that means that I'm appropriately animated? Whatever the case, it felt good. I wonder what my Spanish self is like? I'll have to pay more attention the next time I speak to someone in Spanish, now that I know it's "a thing." Can't wait to follow you to Paris! Un abrazo, Veronica
Thanks, Veronica. I love that you're taking French. We'll definitely have to talk more about that when we see each other next. The pronunciation is so hard for me. Un abrazo! Hablamos pronto.