5 Comments

You said this so well. The word: destabilizing! And the ego does completely have to die and then be built back up again. It’s almost like bringing reborn. Same here in Italy and Italian. Thanks for your lovely post!

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Yes-- to being reborn! Thank you for reading!

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This is beautiful and almost painfully accurate to my experience. I've spoken many languages in my life, but the challenge I'm faced with now as an American living in Slovenia feels like the biggest ego death that I could imagine. And clearly I need it because it has been so excruciating. The death of the character I played for most of my life. That character wouldn't have worked here anyway because the culture is so different. All that said, this was so beautifully written — funny and profound. Thank you!

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I feel you so much. It's easy to glamorize the end product of speaking a language fluently but to get there, we must become a different person. It really is a death of who we once were and that can be so excruciating. Thank you for sharing! And congrats on being brave and learning a new language. ❤️

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Oh I love this so much! You have accurately captured something in one essay that I've spent 10 months trying to explain to my French husband! LOL! BRAVO!!

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