I’m a student at the military’s language school, wherein one is expected to learn a language to practical fluency in reading, listening, and speaking in somewhere around one year.
I am 2/3 of the way through the Hebrew course, and my brain has gone k’tzat mishugah! All my marbles have halchu l’ibud. The shingles on my roof are neh-edarim.
I think I understand at least a bit of what it feels like to be stricken with Alzheimers (sp?) disease. I feel as though I am cramming my mind with so many new words and concepts, day in, day out, that it is no longer able to function in a normal manner.
I find myself forgetting things all the time. Not just occasionally. I find that I can’t remember why I went to rooms, what was said in a conversation (even if I said it) 2 mintues beforehand. I misplace things with undying regularity, even though I have tried to put things such as keys, wallet, phone, etc. in the same place each day.
You know that feeling you get when you wake up from dreaming, but don’t know what about… you just have that clear knowledge that you were thinking about something else a few minutes before, but have no clue what it is? I get that feeling on a continual basis. I frequently find myself thinking about things, solving problems in my head, and then realize I have forgotten the context of the problem.
I try to maintain 8 hours of sleep each night, and when necesary use coffee or exercise to try to clear up my mind, but I feel like my head if filled with fog. I can’t wait untill I’m finished with this class.
Don’t sweat it. At least you’re not having a problem writing and reading English. When the reading gets confusing that’s when you have to worry. After all ashteo askht dueot stheio vnseipr nwo nsdi ghssil nsehiut sq wueospammdrf.
Yeah… it’s pretty, but it gets old after about a month. It’s a beautiful place to VISIT, but when you have to live here, it wears thin. It’s ungodly expensive, which isn’t much fun on an airman’s salary, especially with my wife not working because she’s very pregnant at the moment.
I’d much rather be somewhere that gas is cheaper and there is a wider variety of not-expensive restaurants.
OOOOH! I am a DLI graduate and I loooooved it there in Monterrey! Of course, I was young and single and living in barracks, so my cost of living was more or less zero.
I loved the coast along Pacific Grove (right by a park–is that still there?), where you could walk right up to tidal pools and see starfish and anemonae. (was I even close on the spelling?)
There was a sub shop just outside the gate on the PG side of DLI called Campagno’s, that I still remember to this day as having kick-ass subs.
And Liquor Barn. Maybe those are all over California, I don’t know, but how can you not love a place called Liquor Barn?
Sigh…
As for DLI: I know this is small consolation, but the language programs at DLI were designed to be tough so that not everyone makes it through. In my day, Russian had the highest wash-out rate because at the time they wanted only the best Russian linguists. Hang in there! You’ll make it.
And whenever people ask “what kind of linguist are you?,” reply “A cunning one.”
And don’t be so hard on yourself…you have a LOT on your mind. I am sure things will get better once the baby gets here and all you have to worry about is your studies. Heh.
No, really…I know you are going to be sleep deprived once the baby gets here, but I ALSO know that part of your mind is occupied with your wife’s pregnancy and everything.
My sister spent a year as an exchange student and basically spoke NO English the entire year, and when she came home couldn’t keep her languages straight. I’ve never forgotten when she saw a banana label and said, “Oh, I think I visited the factory that banana was made in!”
Hang in there – you’re doing something few of the rest of us could do, and it’s not surprising your brain is a bit scrambled! It’ll get better once the Hebrew gets totally ingrained.
