Language, especially when trying to communicate in one that is not your first, can have some results that are not entirely expected. For instance, a younger lady at work said to me, 'baby', which made me pause for a second. Do I now go red, stutter out something about being married? Or do I actually think about this for a second and realise that there should have been a slight rise in tone in the second syllable, making it 'baby?'. I answered 'nie', then tried to demonstrate the potential for embarrassment through the English language and mime, by sidling up to her and saying 'Lenka, baaaby' in an exaggerated fashion and using to my full advantage the optional extra of the waggling eyebrows. The result was that she went bright red, then laughed it off along with other work colleagues and myself.
The point of this is that I am amazingly blessed with the types of work that I do at the moment - first with the 'normal' eight hours a day, but secondly and more importantly the work that I can do with the youth groups here that are a part of ACET, YouthAlpha and the church plant that we're creating. With a bit of creativity (i.e. being completely bonkers), I've found that very little language skill goes a long way, especially when it comes to working with the kids here. My 'Mr. Bean' style of communication has helped immeasurably, as has my willingness to play various games with them.
On the other hand, going to the Post Office here is horrible, whether you know the language or not, but especially so if you don't know the local lingo. I do my best to smile, nod and look as friendly as possible without overstepping the invisible boundary and ending up looking like a creep, but there does come a time when you really do need to know what is being said and if your battery has died on your phone then you're a wee bit stuck. I'm currently resolving this by taking lessons with a personal tutor, who is not afraid to correct me on every word that I say and who actually encourages you to speak, not just stick to the books. I'm hoping to get at least to the standard of 'functional' within a year - but I'm not sure even then, as Slavic languages are the fourth hardest to learn in the world (according to the embassies in the UK, Basque is No.1, with Hungarian second). English is relatively easy to learn, but like the rest of them, you have to take the time and effort to master as much as you can.
Support from Slovak friends has been great - especially about positive comments about the accent, which I was afraid of. Come across as too British and there is no flow, making the language seem ungainly. Speaking it correctly the first time around - even though there may be a short silence before you work out what you want to say and how to say it - is a great thing and is hugely encouraging to the student, tutor and other potential students. I just want to fast forward a few months...
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