Once more from Russian

By mid-week Ms Budget Travel had learned just enough to become hopelessly confused. Stas, her teacher, put her confusion into perspective. "I've noticed," he said, "that when people learn a new language, they become very childlike. Also, and I've had years to think about this, that there is a place in the brain for the mother language and a place for all second languages."

At least Ms Budget Travel understood why bits of Hebrew and Italian kept dancing through her brain while she tried to conjugate Russian verbs.

She also understood why roaming the streets reading signs in shop windows had become so seductive.

"Language is the way we think," Stas explained. "Our mother tongue influences how we look at the world. Language is the world we consciously live in." As Stas elaborated on the differences between Russian and English Ms Budget Travel started seeing the world from a different perspective.

Which is, Stas explained the point to language study --- far beyond technically grasping a language when other words, other structures are incorporated into your thinking --- the world looks different.

Walter Denz, the mind behind the entire language school explained another benefit of language study. "When people arrive here they have a lot of expectations. Within two or three days the confidence rises."

Ms Budget Travel did find her confidence increasing at an alarming rate. She thought she'd figured out how the possessive worked in Russian after Stas went over it one last time. In Russian ownership is expressed in a form that would literally translate into:

By me is a computer.

Instead of:

I have a computer. Or, This is Ms Budget Travel's computer.

Ms Budget Travel really thought she had it under control. Right until the moment she misspoke to the customs agent and said, I am a computer.

No wonder he looked at her with bemusement.

Again, if you are interested in recreating this odyssey on your own of checking out other language options, click over to http://www.languagestudiesabroad.com

For even more ideas on budget travel, see the online courses
Travel Planning at http://www.suite101.com/course.cfm/18488...
Family Travel at http://www.suite101.com/course.cfm/18576... and
Archaeological Vacations at http://www.suite101.com/course.cfm/18626/
or the online topics
Family Travel at http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/3672;
Archaeological Vacations at http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/1889... and
Travel Book Reviews at http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/1893...

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