with learning a new language comes the fear of getting into a chat with a local and getting stuck with not knowing how to translate your thoughts into that language. also, when you have a line repeating itself in your mind that you know could end up as a really good poem yet your grammar feels nonexistent and your attempt ends up nonsensical and incomprehensible.

those two things, in addition to reading and finding no sense in most words of a sentence, are surely frustrating. but what i have found to outweigh this frustration is seeing the effect of your constant exposure to this language actually making you more fluent and confident. you find your mind popping up with the right word when you need it, and your familiarity with other words helping you understand new ones.

that’s what i love about the process of learning a language. you discover yourself from a new light, and you see the world through the perspective of the culture whose language your mind can think in now.