Dear friends,
What are the most important things you gain from learning a new language, no matter a 2nd or a 3rd language?
I've been learning English as my 2nd language since junior high school, and work for international business with it for some years. Most of the time, this language is for work, and for obtaining new skills like 3D modelling, mechanial installation etc.
Then I began to learn Italian as my 3rd language, and I gain the most important thing via this language - friendship and the love between different people.
The reason for me to begin learning Italian was because that my employer decided to buy automatic machines for producing nonstick cookware, and the majority of machine makers are Italian companies.
I went to Italy for verification before delivery, for training and purchase negotiation; after machines arrived, I worked together with their technicians even business owners for installation, training etc; then almost everyday, I have some small conversations with their people via Skype or WhatsApp.
As time goes by, I become a good friend with these Italians. We can usually meet 1 or 2 times every year, but every time we meet, it always feels like meeting a long lost friend, and there is some "happy tears" in my heart.
Those are very nice people. They are gentle and patient, who will explain in a very clear way to make me - someone has never had any technical education - understand how to resolve a problem of an advanced automatic machine. And they will also tell me a lot about their language, their foods, cultures etc. "Che barbai che sei" ("How stupid you are", a dialect of Brescia) is something interesting learnt during we were trying to resolve a problem related to a fuse of electric board.
I've heard a lot of about Vietnam since I was a kid, and my hometown Guangxi province is directly connected with this country. I've never been there before. Now I'm beginning to learn Vietnamese and other subjects, I hope that I will make some new friends there too, who will be one of the most important part in life.
What about you? Would you like to share your stories with us?
