It sounds like we've all had similar experiences. Have any of you noticed though, that the people who say these things are usually those who have never tried to do it themselves? This certainly sounds like what happened to you guys @raena and @mark. How can people tell you whether something is difficult of not if they've never done it before? Sure, there are always going to be trials and tests on our patience when we take on a new skill, but I really do believe that for every solution there is a solution.
I stopped telling people that I was learning Russian because I got fed up of being told it was hard. Another thing I tried was responding with two reasons why it would be easy (Russians are often very helpful because they are impressed you want to learn their language, there are lots of Russians in Barcelona etc.), although this can be tiring. I'd rather spend that time learning the language!
If you really love learning your new language, who cares what everybody else thinks? It's a shame that they don't enjoy it, but you certainly can. Besides, you can always come on here and speak with people who are supportive of your new venture!
@Diana if you read a little bit about Einstein, you'll see that even he wasn't 'bright' in the traditional sense. He got only modest results in University and spent years (about 20, if my memory is correct) working as a patent clerk whilst pondering over his theory of relativity. It was his focus on that one thing over many years that brought him his success. Imagine if Einstein had given up if he had got his results and believed he would never make a good scientist. Never give up hope!
