languages and setting goals

i was out and about the other day when i bumped into a swedish girl in a shop. but that's brilliant, i said (in swedish. i speak a bit of swedish. and off we went. comprehension was a major stress for me when i lived in sweden, in large part i think because i thought 'mastering' the language would help me live there (as it turned out it wouldn't have mattered if id been born there - an issue for many in itself - i wouldn't be making a living in sweden!) and latterly this became a real problem. in the interim i've really chilled out about it but, having left the country, my swedish has eroded exponentially because there's no one to speak it to.

along the way i lost contact with my spanish friends and, while there's a lot more people working in shops, there's little scope for an actual conversation - annoying as my spanish is better than it's ever been. that it's important was the feeling i had when i'd finished speaking to the swedish girl - as if a pressure valve had been released, that just for five minutes i didn't have to exist in english.

and i think that's the key. i love english. i love its history, its utility, its playfulness. but i also love to be able to manifest myself through a different filter and that's just not possible in a country as obdurately monolingual as this. i could then, as i did in sweden, get very stressy about it all, or i could just accept the fact that i live where i live and it is the way it is. i need to pay more attention to my swedish, take care of it a bit, make more of an effort. the others likewise, amybe less time, maybe less duo, but set decent targets.

i'm not a social media creature and covid killed any desire to speak to anyone online ever again but that's my choice. my target will be to be able to read, be able to listen and i'll just need to accept speaking badly!

things i've listened to recently that have been of use - 

i haven't looked at easy spanish in ages but it's a really nice trip down memory lane. most spanish tv i can watch with spanish subtitles now and this i can pretty much do without but it's lovely for nice clear speech.

i still like listening to the swedish news when i finish a shift in the morning while i'm waiting to hand over to the day team. this was at its best as an app but, as is their way, it's being made less and less available. the yt channel continues tho 

and i listened to an outstanding episode of the allusionist re brazilian portuguese recently 

my targets for language tho? with the exception of swedish it's really all about the cycling. if i can watch my races etc i'll be happy. simple things!