I remember a few years ago, we had some friends who were getting ready to move to Africa. Before they left, the organization they were working with sent them to a different country, on a completely different continent, for maybe a year, to focus on learning the language. The main language of this country was also one of the main languages of the country in Africa that they would soon be calling home. I remember thinking at the time, "Why not just go straight to Africa? Why waste time in another culture?". I was just curious- not disgruntled or anything.
Well- many years later and living in another culture/country myself- now I COMPLETELY understand! Now, I see the wisdom and benefits in this kind of decision. Now, I wish we had done the same thing. (Though, I'm not sure where we would have gone to learn Ukrainian- Brooklyn?)
I understand now that when you do language study in another city/country, etc..., you can give 100% of your time and energy and mental capacity to learning the language. When you do the language study in the same place where you will be living, building relationships, working, volunteering- so many other things begin to swallow up your time and learning the language becomes the last thing on your list.
Yes- people warned us of this before we moved to Ukraine, but we thought we had it under control. We would find tutors right away, we would only focus on language study, we would not get sucked into doing everything else except learning the language.
No- it did not work.
So here I sit, brooding over the fact that I speak Russian like a 2 year-old after living here for almost 2 years.
Maybe it's not that bad- but it feels like it.
Whenever I had a new potential patient in the past, I would always take a translator with me to the first meeting. This way, I could understand exactly what was going on- no mistakes. After the initial interview/assessments/testing, I would just go by myself. It wasn't too bad- sometimes a family member spoke a little English and it helped, but usually I just used my limited Russian vocabulary, a dictionary and a lot of charades to get through the therapy sessions. If something serious came up, a question I did not understand, I always got help from a native speaker. And- thanks be to God- it has always gone very well, and people have gotten better, and they have become more independent and have gotten their lives back.
But- I'm tired of this. I'm tired of speaking crappy Russian (and any Ukrainian phrases I remember from listening to Mike). I really want to speak better, but guess what? I have no time.
So the moral of this story is: if you plan on moving to another country, learn the language first.
