Learning Languages

Discussion: Dominicana by Angie Cruz.

Dominicana brought up a lot of memories about my journey to learn the English language. That is not a book review, it includes a few thoughts influenced by the book I read and enjoyed so much.

The book takes place in the 1960s and is a tale about a young woman named Ana who grew up in the Dominican Republic (and moves to New York). Angie Cruz writes with warmth, empathy, and remarkable perception about the immigrant experience. Powerful, captivating, and ever so emotional.

In the book, Ana needs to go to the Post Office and nervously smiles as she pretends to understand the person behind the counter to avoid awkwardness. She purchased stamps to send letters home, to tell stories about her new life in New York to her family who reside in the Dominican Republic.

Just like me in the Post Office when I moved to London. My experiences led me to feel the need to write down what I wanted to say on a piece of paper. ‘Can I have a stamp for Hungary, please?’

We all have dreams, goals, and aspirations. Like learning a new skill or language, it is most certainly achievable. My goal was to speak English fluently.

After attending the English course for a few months, I felt ready to buy my first book in English. I will never forget that feeling of excitement I had when I entered the bookstore with my mission in mind.

If you are planning to learn a new language, do not hesitate to pick up a book and challenge yourself along the way, whenever you feel ready. You might start by checking every single word in the dictionary, but trust me, it will get easier with every single page you turn. It’s a fun journey to be on, piecing the puzzle together. The learning journey always evolves.

May your language learning journey evolve with every page you read.

Sincerely,

Diana