Wondering, What are the reasons that I became a happy traveler in this Linguistic journey ?
Ah, yes ! This being a blog about languages and to be more precise, about how it all really happened. I mean, I am gonna try and make sense of why, when, what and how I ended up being drawn into and even hopelessly in love with the world of languages.
To be honest, the process was ( and still is !) really quite chaotic when it comes to languages and to try to present it as something more ordered, something that was really planned would just be wrong and would mean that I had some sort of a skill or something involved in the entire process. Nothing can be farther from the Truth !! Although, I do like to think that whatever planning I was doing at the time was the reason that I fell in love, but that doesn't really seem to be true anymore.
Actually, my decision to learn languages was motivated by three factors.
> I had always wondered that Why is it that all the names that I came across in Science and Mathematics were Europeans. the seeds of curiosity. And then later on I realized that most of the important books in Mathematics and Physics were written in Latin, not in the colloquial languages but in Latin !
And obviously most of the names that one comes across in modern physics in the High School syllabus are so overwhelmingly German ! I noticed this and it was a pretty useful mental note. Though the effects of this observation were to be felt only later.
>> The second reason was, Me being bored the hell out of my mind in the University.
Yup, I study in reputedly one of the "best" Universities in the country which offers the most reputed courses in the Engineering fields. And trust me I worked my ass off to get in this one. I even "dropped" to prepare for this University and I would prepare myself for the exam while studying even at a different university in a different state. I wasn't here in the first place because of some weird mis-fortune, question paper was leaked or something and I was one of that minute fraction which had sit for the exam again on a different date. In my mind, it wasn't a defeat, I wasn't defeated fair and square and I was burning with the thought that I deserve better. The next year, I got through;)
Plus there is this Reservation System in the country and it is apparently a tailor-made and highly discriminatory solution that government seems to love baiting people with.
But, back to the topic;P, once I got in and saw how screwed up the university really is, as a place of learning. I was just so depressed !! Seriously, I won't even mention the name of the University here, I find the place to be so blatantly pathetic. Though, I acknowledge that for all extra-curricular activities, the beauty of the campus and for the much desired exposure this place is pretty awesome. The place really is alive because of the students but as far as one's intellectual development is concerned, this is Auschwitz !!
And I don't mean to disrespect the memory of that horror just that, for those of us who seek more knowledge and to be guided by inspired teachers this place is not really different from Auschwitz.
The place is a classic example of darned bureaucracy, incompetency, primitive animal hierarchy, faking intelligence, do-nothing-look-busy philosophy and a superb ability to justify the usage of public funds for a demeaning and dehumanizing treatment of students. Most, but not all, teachers take a perverse delight in this particular aspect ! The Education system just sucks over here !!
>>> Third one being, there seems to be an affinity for the German language in my family. And it's a family legend one of my relatives actually holds a record for completing the Ph.D. at the youngest age in the country and he did it in the German language. Later, he went to Germany and made Germany his home.
But that's not the end of the story and his influence. As it happened, I was admitted in a hospital and my elder cousin [ for some reason, Cousin sounds impersonal somehow, so hereafter I use Bhaiya=) ] stayed at the hospital to look after me. He was at the final year of his University degree and I was nearing the end of my High School so there was this fascination-with-the-elder-brother as well. Actually, it still is, somehow all my siblings continue to inspire me in many ways.
But, back to the story. he mentioned something about German language being difficult because of all the vowels and the sounds of the language and I was like "What ? Why would you learn a human language". Of course, I was impressed at some level and I think it was then that the real seeds of fascination were planted in my mind.
So, as soon as I had realized that to survive and to even get by in the University and to make it more bearable; I need something that wide enough and deep enough that it doesn't get boring soon enough.
Actually, I had only realized and recognized my love for the "Perfectly Logical " and as it goes I actually love Mathematics, Physics and of course Computers, though not Chemistry. There just are too many exceptions for my taste.
To be honest, I am predisposed to a certain stubbornness and even pigheadedness at times;P ! Though I am learning to control the pigheadedness, to use the emotion more creatively, To me, stubbornness is more along the line of persevering whereas the latter one is more along the lines of being a pain-in-the-arse. So, I have realized that it is nothing but counter-productive, it's a part of the problem and not the solution, see, it's a work in progress;P
Little did I realize at the time that Perseverance is my greatest asset;P
To be perfectly honest, I must tell you more about the my Strengths and Weaknesses. So, self-indulgence alert !!
I hate being told what to do and the more people force me to do things their way, the more likelier I am, to do the exact opposite. You know, there just are soo soo many ways to doing something and I question a lot, I think a lot and mindless execution of some such and such command by such and such authority is just beyond me. I find that kind of behavior loathful and repulsive to my very core. I know that I get on people's nerves sometimes but that's just the way I am. I ask, I wonder and I observe keenly and enthusiastically;P . Which might be the reason that I love the "Perfectly Logical"
Remind me to write another post about becoming comfortable with "Irrationality", learning to appreciate the irrational aspect of life more, to be more acceptable to what people do and, you know, just taking things in just as they are, being comfortable being uncomfortable. I find this particular skill to be one of the most valuable skills that I have learned during this journey. Recognize the differences and accommodate them, which means that you have to be less judgmental-mindset and more of a learner-mindset at all times. And this is only going to make us more or ourselves, this is only going to free us. This habit, this mindset only leads to freedom, embrace it.
As I was writing this post, I realized that I better put it up in parts so the story is to be continued...
Ah, yes ! This being a blog about languages and to be more precise, about how it all really happened. I mean, I am gonna try and make sense of why, when, what and how I ended up being drawn into and even hopelessly in love with the world of languages.
To be honest, the process was ( and still is !) really quite chaotic when it comes to languages and to try to present it as something more ordered, something that was really planned would just be wrong and would mean that I had some sort of a skill or something involved in the entire process. Nothing can be farther from the Truth !! Although, I do like to think that whatever planning I was doing at the time was the reason that I fell in love, but that doesn't really seem to be true anymore.
Actually, my decision to learn languages was motivated by three factors.
> I had always wondered that Why is it that all the names that I came across in Science and Mathematics were Europeans. the seeds of curiosity. And then later on I realized that most of the important books in Mathematics and Physics were written in Latin, not in the colloquial languages but in Latin !
And obviously most of the names that one comes across in modern physics in the High School syllabus are so overwhelmingly German ! I noticed this and it was a pretty useful mental note. Though the effects of this observation were to be felt only later.
>> The second reason was, Me being bored the hell out of my mind in the University.
Yup, I study in reputedly one of the "best" Universities in the country which offers the most reputed courses in the Engineering fields. And trust me I worked my ass off to get in this one. I even "dropped" to prepare for this University and I would prepare myself for the exam while studying even at a different university in a different state. I wasn't here in the first place because of some weird mis-fortune, question paper was leaked or something and I was one of that minute fraction which had sit for the exam again on a different date. In my mind, it wasn't a defeat, I wasn't defeated fair and square and I was burning with the thought that I deserve better. The next year, I got through;)
Plus there is this Reservation System in the country and it is apparently a tailor-made and highly discriminatory solution that government seems to love baiting people with.
But, back to the topic;P, once I got in and saw how screwed up the university really is, as a place of learning. I was just so depressed !! Seriously, I won't even mention the name of the University here, I find the place to be so blatantly pathetic. Though, I acknowledge that for all extra-curricular activities, the beauty of the campus and for the much desired exposure this place is pretty awesome. The place really is alive because of the students but as far as one's intellectual development is concerned, this is Auschwitz !!
And I don't mean to disrespect the memory of that horror just that, for those of us who seek more knowledge and to be guided by inspired teachers this place is not really different from Auschwitz.
The place is a classic example of darned bureaucracy, incompetency, primitive animal hierarchy, faking intelligence, do-nothing-look-busy philosophy and a superb ability to justify the usage of public funds for a demeaning and dehumanizing treatment of students. Most, but not all, teachers take a perverse delight in this particular aspect ! The Education system just sucks over here !!
>>> Third one being, there seems to be an affinity for the German language in my family. And it's a family legend one of my relatives actually holds a record for completing the Ph.D. at the youngest age in the country and he did it in the German language. Later, he went to Germany and made Germany his home.
But that's not the end of the story and his influence. As it happened, I was admitted in a hospital and my elder cousin [ for some reason, Cousin sounds impersonal somehow, so hereafter I use Bhaiya=) ] stayed at the hospital to look after me. He was at the final year of his University degree and I was nearing the end of my High School so there was this fascination-with-the-elder-brother as well. Actually, it still is, somehow all my siblings continue to inspire me in many ways.
But, back to the story. he mentioned something about German language being difficult because of all the vowels and the sounds of the language and I was like "What ? Why would you learn a human language". Of course, I was impressed at some level and I think it was then that the real seeds of fascination were planted in my mind.
So, as soon as I had realized that to survive and to even get by in the University and to make it more bearable; I need something that wide enough and deep enough that it doesn't get boring soon enough.
Actually, I had only realized and recognized my love for the "Perfectly Logical " and as it goes I actually love Mathematics, Physics and of course Computers, though not Chemistry. There just are too many exceptions for my taste.
To be honest, I am predisposed to a certain stubbornness and even pigheadedness at times;P ! Though I am learning to control the pigheadedness, to use the emotion more creatively, To me, stubbornness is more along the line of persevering whereas the latter one is more along the lines of being a pain-in-the-arse. So, I have realized that it is nothing but counter-productive, it's a part of the problem and not the solution, see, it's a work in progress;P
Little did I realize at the time that Perseverance is my greatest asset;P
To be perfectly honest, I must tell you more about the my Strengths and Weaknesses. So, self-indulgence alert !!
I hate being told what to do and the more people force me to do things their way, the more likelier I am, to do the exact opposite. You know, there just are soo soo many ways to doing something and I question a lot, I think a lot and mindless execution of some such and such command by such and such authority is just beyond me. I find that kind of behavior loathful and repulsive to my very core. I know that I get on people's nerves sometimes but that's just the way I am. I ask, I wonder and I observe keenly and enthusiastically;P . Which might be the reason that I love the "Perfectly Logical"
Remind me to write another post about becoming comfortable with "Irrationality", learning to appreciate the irrational aspect of life more, to be more acceptable to what people do and, you know, just taking things in just as they are, being comfortable being uncomfortable. I find this particular skill to be one of the most valuable skills that I have learned during this journey. Recognize the differences and accommodate them, which means that you have to be less judgmental-mindset and more of a learner-mindset at all times. And this is only going to make us more or ourselves, this is only going to free us. This habit, this mindset only leads to freedom, embrace it.
As I was writing this post, I realized that I better put it up in parts so the story is to be continued...
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