Vad heter du? and overcoming inhibitions

Last night we watched the World Cup at a local bar called Pitcher's with some of Russell's co-workers.

The Swedish natives asked about our Swedish language lessons, which I had finished only two, one-hour sessions at that point. After telling them I only knew the alfabetet, siffror (numbers) and names of en familj, they were still willing to practice with us. I was a little reserved and didn't take advantage of it as much as I should, and now I regret it.

Learning a new language, especially when you're surrounded by people who speak it perfectly, is almost like running naked through the park because every mistake is exposed. This is difficult for an editor who is used to constantly hearing and seeing other mistakes in the English language.

But of course, if you don't practice, especially in the beginning, then you're not going to get better. I may only know things like Jag heter Angela (my name is Angela) and Hur många syskon har du? (How many siblings do you have?), but with every day and every lesson, I improve. This reminds me of a phrase a true Indian yogi told me to repeat every morning: "I get better and better every day. Thank you, Lord."

Here's to many confused expressions to come...and then clarification!

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