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Cultural Overload

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LingQ Writing Contest submission by edo9k
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I learned English when I was 17, this has helped me so much through so many different occasions, I have worked as an amateur interpreter in some occasions met people from India, Holland, United States, Egypt, Russia, France and couple other places. I know it doesn’t sound much for those who travel a lot or live in the developed world, but for a Brazilian who has lived all his life between small towns and the countryside, it’s just awesome. I owe my first real job to English, I owe many of my best friends today to English language, I owe some of the best moments I lived to English.
It’s interesting to note the amount of cultural information you learn with a language, this “cultural overload” has opened my eyes, and my mind, to the differences among cultures (in this case, Brazilian and North American), this mindset has given me the tools to better understand the world I’m living in, and to better position myself over countless issues we face today as a global community (or in the effort to become one).
I’m now studying Spanish and Japanese, and from this cultural learning experience I have strengthened my belief that when you seek to understand people from a different nationality (and language, and culture) you can only benefit from that knowledge and experience, and as a result both parts involved gain.
It inevitably reminds me of The Beatles, whose lyrics I only understand because I learned their language, and the more I learn about different peoples, their languages and their ways, the more I dare to imagine “all the people, sharing all the world”, I know I’m a dreamer to some extent, but I also know I’m not alone in this dream, and if you’re reading this, I hope feel the same.
 
Thanks for sharing the love LingQ team!

Gracias, muito obrigado & ありがとうございます。 

 

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