Trying to be a Polyglot since time immemorial

I'm pretty amazed with people who can converse in different languages. Take note, converse. Not just merely speaking or writing cause there's a thin line.

The title post is : Trying to be a Polyglot since time immemorial. So what are the things that I have done to become one?

photo courtesy of  kjk9.myweb.uga.edu

I was never satisfied with just being able to speak fluently in Filipino and English. There were a lot of influences actually that made me or should i say pushed me in pursuing other languages. The first that I got curious was Japanese. The coolness of it was brought about by me being addicted to anime (the likes of Naruto, Ghost Fighter etc.) I thought that for you to be as great as the anime characters are, you should know how to speak nihonggo, crazy right? But after learning some words and applying it to everyone, I got tired of it and eventually forgot everything that I have studied. I tell you, you can never really be fluent if you don't practice conversing in a daily manner. Bottomline, Nihonggo attempt = FAIL.

Hola! Que tal? can you guess now what's next? yes, it's Spanish. So why the hell I thought of studying that? T'was a boring summer (2009) when I stumbled upon a forum on Pinoyexchange under Hobbies & Recreation. I got curious when I saw "Instituto Cervantes" thread. The people there were conversing in Spanish so I was like "I wanna learn too!!" I got interested so I searched about it more over the net. I figured out then that the said school is just situated near U.N. LRT Station so it's really easy for me to commute back then. After spending 2 months for my Spanish course, I just learned the basics. It's a bit hard I must say :| but it's worth it! plus our professor was really great cause she didn't make it boring for us. My co-students were professionals, businessmen and the likes. Only a few were in the same age bracket.

photo courtesy of enjoythebest.ph

photo courtesy of writersblockphilippines.com

So how's my Spanish as of today? I don't know. HAHAHA I can still speak some words and comprehend a little, though.

Last but no the least, Mandarin.

The sole reason why I wanted to learn Mandarin was because of the Chinese people surrounding me. I have lots (AS IN LOTS!) of chinese friends at school and sometimes I talk to them in basics. What's really difficult about this language is the tonal projection (cause there are same words that have different meanings depending on how you pronounce/say it. Say for example the word "si" it may mean the number "4" or may mean "death" so be careful when saying it especially to oldies. I had my fair share of sleepless nights just to master mandarin, its really interesting, sure do. So how do I study? I bought this book at National bookstore a year ago:

photo courtesy of findnsave

It's a bit expensive. Around 400php++ if my memory serves me right. For the pronunciation part, I depend on YouTube so I'd know if I am saying the words or phrases the right way. Up until now Im studying the said language. Another difficult thing is the way chinese people converse, they talk so fast! I cant even understand a thing about what they say on television. I guess I just have to learn the common used words or settle for a Mandarin class to upgrade myself.

After all the things that I have done, may it be a waste or not, I think I can never be a polyglot. I can never be as great as our national hero Jose Rizal. It really takes passion and time to become one. I only have one.