So... As some of you may know, being Australian has quite a number of advantages... The most important one being that English is the first language...
Now, I say this because it is the 2nd or 3rd most spoken language within the world so a wide variety of people know what I'm saying across the globe... And this means I am not necessarily required to learn a second language... It's typically optional...
I know that some countries are raised with two languages as a set thing, which does baffle me sometimes... English is bad enough as it is... Seriously, I can't spell to save my life and don't get me started on my essays... They ain't great... BUT MY STORY WRITING IS DESCENT ATLEAST... You can't take that one away from me...
I've been learning English for 17 years and I still can't get half of the shitty rules right... ' I before E except after C' gets me every time....
But then again... I think I might go get myself tested for dyslexia because I read at about a quarter of the speed and level of someone my age and my mind tends to mix up words and letters... I also rely a lot on auto correct and Google to help me spell...
This is really not the point of this entry...
What I really wanted to talk about was the fact that I am terrible at learning other languages... Again, this could be due to undiagnosed dyslexia... But I just can't get the hang of any language...
I studied Japanese for 3 years and can't recall a single phrase...
I also studied French for 1 year and don't even remember attending the class...
So yea... My grades in those classes weren't exactly great....
I usually get A's and B's on my reports... In my final year of Japanese I was awarded with my very first D... Just putting my language skills into perspective... AND IT WASN'T THE FACT I DIDNT TRY! I've always wanted to learn Japanese...I just couldn't wrap my head around it... It's hard...
So I've always been upset at the fact that I am pretty much incapable of learning a different language... So I decided that in my spare time.... The little amount that I have during my final year of high school... I am teaching myself how to speak Dutch.
Why Dutch? Because my grandparents were Dutch and my grandma used to be my teacher back when I was 12... She would teacher me numbers and little phrases that always made me so excited because I felt like I was learning some sort of secret code that not everyone wold understand... I always found it a lot of fun...
But she past away when I was 13 and for the longest of time I couldn't even listen to anyone speak Dutch because it pained me too much... I would burst into tears any time someone like my mum or my aunties and uncles would start to speak the language...
I really loved my Oma... She was like a second mum to me.
I would visit her every afternoon after school and talk to her about school and how I was doing. She was such a kind hearted person and never stopped smiling.
I miss her everyday...
I started to not care so much about school and became extremely withdrawn and depressed... She always motivated me and cheered me on even if I didn't do that well in something...
For example, when I was younger I was a competitive swimmer... A bloody good one at that...
But this one day when I had to race in order to represent the state for backstroke, I had hurt my wrist pretty badly a couple of days before from playing Oztag (which is like football except with tags instead of tackling)...
I had worked so hard to get to that point and I knew that with my sore wrist I wouldn't be able to swim properly... I really wanted to pull out because I knew I would just embarrass myself...
But I tried my best because Oma was so happy that I had made it that far..
As expected, I came last by half an Olympic pool length because my wrist was too sore to go any faster...
I was devastated... But Oma didn't care.
I went over to her house after the race, feeling pretty down... But after I told her the news, she smiled and told me that she knows that I did my best and that she was so incredibly proud of me... She would always brag about me to my uncles and aunties about my swimming and how much I tried in the race... And she always made a big celebration out of every swimming race... Even when I lost...
And I know she would be looking down on me right now... Smiling one of her gorgeous smiles and cheering me on... Even though my grades have dropped and I'm not as happy as I used to be...
And I just feel that I want to finish what we started... For her...
I'm sorry, I really can't write anymore... It's been 5 years and I still bawl my eyes out every time I think about her... She was the kindest women I ever met and I wish she was still here... But I'm sure she's having a good time in a better place...
I love you Oma
I really hope to see you again some day so I can thank you for everything you've ever done for me... And I hope to be able to do that in Dutch...
