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I go to language school (and it's been a very long time since I've been to school) two days a week, and the teacher has us acting like 6 year olds.
I panic every time I have to go out and speak to someone in their language (even tho' I'm gettin' better at it daily), and I miss home like you wouldn't believe. I can't even find some decent bread :(
Any expats out there who've gone thru the same pains?
2odd...
Can't really help except to say hi and congrats on the move.. and if it's any consolation, I understand the Scandinavian languages are supposed to be particularly difficult for us.
The closest I've been to a similar situation was when I visited Vienna. I speak (a little) German and expected to be able to speak to the Viennese (or whatever you call it), but unfortunately they speak a dialect of German very different to the German I was taught in school. So they could understand me, but I couldn't understand them!
Good luck with it. Where in Sweden are you? I can understand and speak a little Swedish, what are they teaching you?
Spanish ain't French.
For me, I learned Spanish by dating Mexican girls who barely spoke any English. ;)
If you are not married, or involved, that is perhaps a good option.
Other than that watching English language films/TV with Spanish subtitles helped too.
As far as feeling like an idiot.... tequila helped numb the embarrassment.
Ivana, thank you too for the sentiments :) I'm up in the North. In fact, about as far North as you can get - I think the next stop is the North Pole, but I haven't bothered to look. At the very least I'm gonna learn to snowboard this winter, but sheesh, not being able to talk to anyone but the Missus is driving me (us) crazy :s
The problem is that I look like one of the locals, so when they talk to me and expect an answer, they think I'm a retard with all the stammering, stuttering, coughing and spluttering I come up with.
2odd...
I've joined a 'soccer' team and met a few people that way. I think the key is to meet as many people as you can, then you'll soon get some mates.
Now the rugby world cup is on, you could go into a few bars showing the games and meet people - that's if you like rugby and sports.
I know what you mean about feeling 'out of place', but I just think about what I would be doing back home (eg. the same old stuff probably) and soon feel better. It's an experience isn't it?
O'yeah, alcohol helps too.
tequila helped numb the embarrassment.
Given the prices for alcool in Scandinavia, I don't think that would be an option.
I have always found reading a lot in a language helps to learn it. Starting with comic books helps, if you try to really read the texts and not just look at the illustrations.
The problem is that I look like one of the locals, so when they talk to me and expect an answer, they think I'm a retard with all the stammering, stuttering, coughing and spluttering I come up with.
Dress like a tourist (an American one - gimme cap, camera, Clothing with US companies on them), and carry the Lonely Planet Guidebook with you everywhere. ;)
Don't panic - I've tried out my bit of Spanish with native speakers here (I'm in Texas) and they were glad I was trying to use their language - it was fun, I even picked up a few new words. When I lacked the appropriate word, I used English, so I'm sure I sounded like a 6 year old too. :)
I know this isn't quite the same thing you're up against, (what a move!) but don't give up.
LisaB
PatrickDeese / Fruit 'n' Veg, I wish alcohol was an option :), but as Sinner_G pointed out, it's prohibitively expensive up here. In fact, one of the first words I learnt was the word for the local moonshine ;)
I'm trying to make my own right now, so we'll see how it goes. I live on the top floor of an apartment block, so if you happen to hear of a mysterious explosion that kills 30 or so up in the North of Sweden, and my post count doesn't increase for a while, well.....
2odd...
LisaB
Gameshows in a foreign language are a hoot!
I totally agree - and when you don't understand the lingo, you can always convince yourself you had the right answer :)
2odd...
I find people usually appreciate that you make an effort especially if you want to sell to them :-).
I just dont bother in cities in Holland because whatever I choose to speak or try to speak the locals (especially those in retailing) seem to have mastered that language already .. quite wonderful language skills there.
go for it ..
I lived in a couple different non-English speaking countries and had to learn from scratch too. So, I feel your pain, but it does get easier over time as you learn their culture and language. To learn a language well, you have to be able to think in it. One technique some use is to regress you back to an age when you started learning your own language.
For me, watching TV and movies helped a lot. Initially, I didn't understand a damn word but as I kept watching/listening and attending classes it slowly sunk in. I found the hardest thing was distinguishing words when locals talked because they spoke so fast. Well, actually it was normal speed but sounded fast.
I agree with Patrick if you look Swedish do something with your appearance so they know you aren't a local. People knew I was a foreigner, and they would speak slower when I didn't understand what they said. They were very patient when I butchered up their language and pretty badly too initally. At times, some would speak in English which made it easier in some situations. Don't worry, you'll pick the language up.
I thought i would feel a lot of difference than india but not much ... i was even little disappointed becuase the America in reality was very different than i imagined :)
I am saying this from my heart , Americans are the most friendly people in the world and this is the best country in the world for an Immigrant.
Sure. I am writing in one of them right now.
Pretty good definition of a Gimme Cap [bartleby.com].
I guess G got it right. d;)
I agree immersing is the fastest way to learn. Don't know about his situation, but for me the job required we all speak in English. So, practicing was limited to off-time. TV, radio, papers, etc were in the local language not in English. Telephones? We didn't have any at home.
I even learnt German here in Spain, talking to neighbours who couldn't speak English or Spanish.
On second thought it also makes me feel like running away to some far off land. :)
On a serious note, I really envy people that have the ability to communicate in other languages. A large percentage of the population where I live speak both french and english and move between both languages freely, sometimes within the same sentence. I never picked it up, but my 11 year old can speak fluently in both. Of all her talents, that is the one I am most proud.
Good luck 2odd, considering your skill at the gizmo quiz, I'm sure you'll solve the puzzle in due course. :)
Yes, the alcohol is very expensive in Sweden. In the south of Sweden, in Malmø, there is a bridge to Copenhagen in Denmark (20 min drive) and lots of Swedish people go over every now and again to buy lots of alcohol because it's really cheap (0, 4 Euro to 1,6 per bottle of beer). There used to be a ferry instead and the Swedish would get really drunk (which was very amusing to the Danish) just before they went home again.
The Scandinavian languages are difficult to learn, but Swedish is a little easier for English speakers. But it'll be really fun for you when you speak it properly, it's spoken by so few. Imagine being back home and impressing people with this language that no one else understands!
What I have found recently was that a bit of english TV, something you may be able to catch at home, has helped me to scare away a bit of homesickiness...
Immerse Immerse Immerse.
@t-bear - I know Magpie!
My problem in Norway was that I look Norwegian and I have the ear of a parrot-- very easy for me to say anything I've heard said, and I sound like I know what I'm saying, but really I've just memorized "I don't speak Norwegian" and I sound like a native saying it. Oh dear. So they thought I was crazy and spoke Norwegian to me anyway. I learned to say, in English, "I'm sorry, my Norwegian's not very good," and they'd answer me in beautiful, flawless English that they learned watching Dallas and Flipper re-runs.
>this is the best country in the world for an Immigrant.
Gopi, thank you so much for saying that. All I ever hear is bad stories on the news of people being badly treated, Californians trying to outlaw Spanish, people wanting to enact anti-immigration laws; this is a country built on immigration, and just because my ancestors were immigtrants in 1620 (I've studied my genealogy) doesn't mean they're more intrinsically American than anyone else or better for the country-- People in my hometown whose ancestors got off the boat 300 years ago are welfare cheats while the migrant Mexican workers who drive a thousand miles every spring to work the upstate farms keep the local economy going. So, a belated welcome to the country and I'm glad you like it here.
[edited by: dragonlady7 at 11:14 am (utc) on Oct. 18, 2003]
Communication is overrated.
Nick
Kan we prota engelska?
It's all you need ;)
Nick
Who was it who said, "It's better to be a fool for 5 minutes, than a fool for the rest of your life!"?
I took about 5 lessons in Spanish and just couldn't get my head around it, all that grammer and stuff.......
Sometimes (when the conversation takes an unexpected turn, which my head didn't follow), I blurt out, "What?", which is a source of amusement to my Spanish mates. It has now become a local catch phrase for them!
One of my daughters asked, after being here for a couple of months, "Why can't everyone speak English? It'd be an awful lot easier...." She's now taking her Masters in Spanish, English and Portugese translation at Westminster University....
Nick_W: LOL....... :)
Kan we prota engelska?
It's actually "Kan vi prata engelska?" (Can we talk in English?). Well, if you think that is funny, try to pronounce these ones:
- Godis (= candy)
- Groda (= frog)
(Favorite weird words in Swedish while I was in in grad school at the University of Houston. My Texan friends just loved to pronounce them, especially after a few beers...)
"Rødgrød med fløde".
First they have to speak it, then they have to eat it. Did Nick ever pass that test, Ivana? ;)
