Only 65 years to go!

Back in one of the many 2020 lockdowns, (they're all a blur - I can't recall which) I had a bit of time on my hands so thought it was an ideal time to start learning a language.

It was one of those regular whims you have but with little intent to ever follow through - but faced with weeks trapped at home, it seemed like a case of now or never. Because I'd toyed with the idea for years, I'd already thought Spanish would be the best choice. Spoken by many countries and latin-based, a quick Google confirmed that it was (allegedly) the easiest language to learn for English speakers.

I've always assumed I didn't have a brain for language - and frankly, I'm yet to dispel that hypothesis! At school, I  struggled through a couple of terms of Indonesian and was tortured with French for a couple more. 

Having settled on Spanish, I signed up to the free version of Duolingo and got started. 

It's quite fun, a bit like a game. You only need to do a minimum of about 15 minutes a day - but here's the catch; to keep your 'streak' you need to do it everyday. Like Christmas, your birthday, holidays - every day. I suspect it's my personality type but I now have an unbroken 677-day streak. Tragically, it did break on an interstate trip when I had patchy internet and it didn't capture my full effort, but thorough research revealed that if I contacted Duo via Twitter and pitched my case they might restore it. And they did. Phew!!

So obsessed am I, that I recruited a Spanish-speaking friend to cover for me while I was hiking on an island in Tasmania. 

How's it going, I hear you ask? Here's the summary they sent me for 2021:

Now you may be familiar with the theory that it takes 10,000 hours to become truly proficient at pretty much anything. So let's do the maths:

• 9006 minutes is 150 hours a year.
• 10,000 hours divided by 150 is 66.66 years - let's call it 67. 
• I'm two years in - so a mere 65 to go....

And can I string a sentence together on demand? No I cannot.

Honestly, there are days I think I should give up but I feel too invested so I'm going to have to keep going.

Adios!!