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Learning a Language Despite the Difficulties

Learning a language is difficult enough as it is, but it can become even more difficult when faced against social anxiety, depression, or your own introversion. Particularly when most language learning tips seems to start off with “talk to people!” as if talking to people in your native language weren’t already hard enough. I currently have depression and have had it for the past two years, I also suffer from anxiety which used to be near crippling but has become much better thanks to DBT therapy. I am an introvert and a very shy person, though I do not suffer from social anxiety. I hope I may still offer some wisdom, take it as you will. This applies to the rest of my advice as well, if it works for you then I am happy to have helped, if it doesn’t, I hope you find something that does.

Depression Depression, as those of you suffering from it know all too well, makes you not want to do anything. Everything, even existing, is a chore. And as much as you wish you could just stay in bed, in the end it’ll be far better for you if you don’t, trust me, the only reason I drag myself out of bed every morning is because I know I’ll be slightly less miserable if I do. Here’s some tips and encouragement for powering through your language learning goals despite your depression.

1. Take care of yourself: This may seem obvious but it needs to be said. If you’re on medications, take your medications. Keep yourself fed (remember, average human needs like 1,500-2,000 calories a day, make sure you’re getting your proteins, fats, and carbs), exercise even if it’s just meandering around the block (I do this a lot, meandering is the only reason I’m still moving). 2. Motivation will often be impossible to find, so forget motivation and build habit and discipline instead. Habits and discipline will keep you going when you’ve got nothing else. Even if you’re just going through the motions, you’re doing something and you’re moving forward. Check out this and this. 3. There is evidence that learning a language can actually help depression. Not only are you accomplishing a goal, but you’re also exercising your mind which has more than just the one benefit. If you can power through this you might wind up feeling a little better on the other side. 4. Make it as fun as you can. Which at times will feel impossible, but do what needs to be done, it’s the little things that make it different. Listen to music in your target language, it doesn’t require much effort and you’ll be training your ears in your target language while doing it. Write your notes in bright colors, get notebooks with your favorite color, make things bright. Not only is there evidence that bright colors can help improve mood, but having a color you really love around can make things seem a little bit better. Not just with colors but surround yourself with things you love, if that means all your notebooks have the Avengers on it then so be it, and if that means that you need to spend a little extra money on that one particular moleskin notebook you just need, if you have the money, consider it an investment. 5. Figure out what works. Know your learning styles and methods and work with them. This is important for everyone but even more important when you have depression. Doing things that don’t work is just going to leave you feeling discouraged and upset and it will become all too easy to give up. Work on developing techniques so that you can keep your learning moving, because if you feel like you’re successful it will become much easier to keep coming back to it.

https://www.languagetrainers.com/blog/2015/02/19/how-learning-a-new-language-can-help-you-fight-depression/ https://blog.mondlylanguages.com/fought-depression-bylearning-language/

Social Anxiety Social anxiety can make picking up the telephone seem like a herculean task, and that’s in your native language. But you don’t have to have social anxiety for social interactions to be difficult. I myself don’t have social anxiety but am instead just a generally shy person, and I cannot imagine the struggle for those of you who are far beyond “just shy”. Here I offer the things I do to help me overcome my own personal shyness, though it may be harder for you to do these things particularly if you have a more intense form of social anxiety. Just know it won’t be easy, but I hope you keep working at it, the rewards can be amazing.

1. Break your comfort zone. You’ve probably heard this a million times and it can be pretty annoying but it’s actual good sound advice, so long as you do it right. Take things small, you don’t have to jump 2 miles out of your comfort zone but you can take a baby step out of it. Figure out the closest thing that’s out of your comforts zone (but still completely out of it) and do it. Maybe try turning off anon when you go to send someone an ask. Most of the people in the Langblr/Studyblr community are sweet as hell, and you can always ask them to respond privately if having a ton of people view your ask with your URL on it makes you nervous. 2. Text is easier than speech. Use this to your advantage. If meeting people in real life is too much find people online. If you’ve met some people in real life but practicing your target language with them is difficult, try practicing it via writing. Text them in your target language, ask them to correct your practice sentences, whatever it is, just start out a little bit out of your comfort zone until your comfort zone expands, and then move back out again. 3. Keep interactions small. Eventually somewhere along the line of the language learning journey you are going to have to talk to people in real life. And it’s terrifying. To try to make it less terrifying take control of as much as you can and keep it short. Keep interactions 1 on 1, set time limits so even if it’s not going well you have a prearranged time limit (it makes it easier to leave). If you’re concerned about things getting awkward when you meet start off with “I have a ton of homework so I probably can’t stay long” and if you’re just really not feeling good about it or you’ve maxed out your social interaction for the day you can pull out with a polite “I really gotta go do homework.” 4. Remember that eventually at some point in time you are going to have to do exactly what you’re terrified of. But there is a reason the most effective therapies for anxiety involve some kind of exposure therapy. The fact of the matter is the fear is probably not justified, either in intensity or duration or even the fact that you’re afraid of it at all. The fear is still crippling, and your brain is probably spinning circles around itself trying to justify your fear, but trust me when I say life is so much better when the fear is gone. But the only way you’re ever going to stop being scared of something is to do it, because that’s the only way you can ever prove to yourself that all the horrible things your mind is imagining won’t actually happen. So get out there and do what needs to be done so you can be an effective language learner and get all that you want out of life. It’s going to be seriously fucking hard at times, but start small and keep going and it will get easier.

For the Introverts Some of the tips in the social anxiety category can probably apply to you. I just want to acknowledge that introverts and extroverts are very different, and also remind you that it’s okay to work within your limits. Language learning may seem like a task for extroverts only, but remember, you manage to be an introvert in your native language, don’t you? So you sure as hell can do it in another language. Do what needs to be done and figure out what works best for you. You can so totally do this! http://www.omniglot.com/language/articles/introextrolanglearning.htm http://www.omniglot.com/language/articles/introextrolanglearning.htm

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Ya vino la lluvia

Wow, it's been a while. Life has been life. Much like France in that it's definitely not a vacation, but an amazing cultural experice nonetheless. My extra two more months living in Nicaragua are off to a great start. I figure they're going to benefit me more than two months working would benefit me financially. Also, the weather here is really nice. Not living in a homestay is good and sad. I miss my family. It's nice to have more of my own space but I've discovered I'm shit at cooking for myself. I pretty much eat different combinations of gallopinto, tomato, avocado, and eggs. And mangoes. Thank god the fruit truck (like the Nicaraguan version of the ice cream truck, but for fruit) comes around every other day. The most exciting thing that happened recently is that my 15 year old brother visited!!! By some miracle we made it from Managua to Gigante to Ometepe, a beautiful volcanic island in Lake Nicaragua. We had a lot of quality hammock time and visited this swimming hole called Ojo de Agua, which was RAD. He was only here for a week but it was so nice and fun. And a bit weird to see someone from home. A few WOO folks have been on vacation for the past week so Jamie (another gap year intern/homie) and I have been running the show. It's actually be insanely fun. We've gotten a ton done. There was a party as a hostel last weekend with live music and so much dancing and good vibes and it was awesome. And it RAINED!!! For the first time since I've been here, at least. It was beautiful and cloudy all day and *heart eyes* amazing. And muddy. Nicaragua and its people are amazing and never cease to surprise me. Nicaraguans are passionate and dignified and have great senses of humor (better than the French, sorry!) They are stubborn and have terrible planning skills, but I have complete confidence in their resourcefulness. There isn't a problem they can't solve. It might not be solved in the fastest or most efficient way, but shit gets done here. If only the same could be said regarding their motivation towards sustainable community work... I'm slowly waking up from my gap year coma in which I've barely thought about college, and returning to the real world where I have to actually make decisions about my future. I joined Clark University's Facebook page and have been talking to a bunch of people, and poking around their website for housing plans and such. I can tell I'll be really excited about college (probably starting when I get home) but right now it sounds so bizarre to re-enter that kind of environment, and the first world in general. I'm actually pretty nervous to go home. I thought reverse culture shock after France was bad, but this will be a whole new ball game. 😬 But I am so looking forward to being home again. I love Maine so much, and I love summer in Maine even more. Until next time! xoxo Isabella

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Not quite over Nicaragua yet

Nica life has been good. More or less the same. A group from Old Dominion University came for a few days and it was cool to get some new faces and do some activities with them. Me and a couple other volunteers were supposed to spend the weekend in Grenada with a group of high schoolers before coming to Gigante, but their flight was messed up so we're just waiting for them here. I think I was a little too excited to take a shower, watch some TV, sleep in a nice bed... *sigh* Abby left for Costa Rica. Semana Santa is coming up, which means Gigante is about to become a circus. Yesterday we got a beautiful set of furniture delivered to the office, so we can really go to town in getting it set up. Which we're going to need to do, because I'm moving in there for the next two months!! I spent a lot of time thinking about it (and Copa Airlines spent a lot of confusing phone calls making it as difficult as possible for me to change my ticket) but yesterday I booked a flight for May 28. I'm really excited to spend two more months here, and also a little surprised at myself for wanting to stay. There's something about life here that's so simple and appealing. Although there are three big qualms I have with Nicaragua: the men take misogyny to a whole new level, good cheese is expensive and hard to find, and Nicaraguans have the worst creative problem solving skills ever. These might sound like pretty important things, but really, Nicaragua is a beautiful country and I love it. This was actually very much not my week, for a lot of little reasons. But eating a warm chocolate chip cookie in a hammoc might be a sign that things are turning around. Really, nothing too exciting is going on, but apparently people in my life want to know what kind of nothing. xo Isabella ps. Spanish is cool. Surfing is cool. (I can do neither of these things very well, but they're cool.)

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A collection of ocean pics from Playa Gigante, Nicaragua

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Lunch at Mama Lin's, Finn/Jamie/Abby/Braden on top of El Gigante, two ADORABLE dogs, and a personal watermelon

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Hi! I'm a sophomore in high school and I've been thinking about taking a gap year between high school and college. I just had a few questions; how did you find the organization that you work with? Does the organization pay for any of your expenses? How did you know that taking a gap year was the right choice for you? What are your plans for the end of the year? Thank you! :)

I don't know how long ago this is from but here goes!I got involved with Project WOO through a family friend... it's fairly small but I'd absolutely recommend it and can give you more information if you're interested! A lot of gap year programs are expensive and really structured, but because I'm a volunteer with Project WOO it's more of an independent/internship experience.WOO doesn't pay for me to be here (I actually had to do some fundraising as part of my contract), but there are a lot of options out there if you want to travel and work at the same time :) WWOOFing, being an au pair, or getting a short term job are always great ideas.What I always tell people is that I just wanted to do something that was not college for a while. I had a fuzzy idea of what I want to study, but now it's a lot more clear to me. I also wanted to travel on my own because I thought that after college I'd just get a job and not be able to, but I'm starting to realize that doesn't have to be the case. There are so many ways to live your life. And I've learned more this year than I ever expected. My gap year has been a break from academic learning, but it's been an education in how to... live, I guess. (This might sound awkward but it really is true. I don't like to use the term "real life" for life outside of school, but I am developing a lot of skills that I wouldn't be able to in a school environment. If that makes sense.)From April until August I'll be living at home, scooping ice cream. I'll try to get another job too... hopefully something intelectually stimulating. And surfing, of course! Lots of that.Thanks for your questions!!Isabellaps. I'm currently reading a book called Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder and it's REALLY COOL.

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Has it been a while? It feels like it's been a while.

Happy Valentine's Day! I'm writing from the front porch of our new office (!) although we have yet to get wifi so I'll have to post later. A little more background info about Project WOO: It was started in 2006 when 2 surfers saw the damage tourism had on cities like San Juan del Sur and wanted to create an organization to work with local communities to facilitate sustainable projects that would allow the community to be more in control of their future development. Whew. You can read more about the organization on their website. Here in Gigante there's me and about 10 other employees and volunteers, all working on various projects that are more or less connected. Sadly summer camp is over, but the kids are back in school and now we're working on a new series of projects including teaching English in the elementary school, getting the Youth Club up and running again, and preparing for groups of volunteers that will start coming in March. It's the kind of work that defeinitely challenges you to think, but also requires spending a lot of time in meetings and planning future events. I've more or less been surrounded by non-profit/sustainability groups my whole life, but I'm learning so much about what it takes to run a successful organization. It's pretty cool. I am once again so so glad I decided to take a gap year. High school was exhausting. College seems so far away right now, and yet it's never been clearer to me how much I can potentially get out of if when I do go. And I'm excited to go, too. This hasn't been a break from learning, but rather a time for me to learn through experience. And if that experience includes a surf almost every day... It's pretty much perfect. Don't get me wrong, though. I have actually properly surfed maybe 5 waves since I got here in January. But it is a blast. And 3 months in Nicaragua means 3 months without first world amenities, which takes some getting used to. The constant sun takes getting used to as well. Whatever the opposite of cabin fever is, I'm feeling that. I never thought I'd be tired of sunny days. Maybe it's an overdose of vitamin D. But I've learned to shut up about that when talking to friends and family from home. I saw the monkeys for the first time this morning. They make this terrible low-pitched hoarse howling noise, but they're pretty small and cute and what you'd expect a monkey to look like.  I also got a wicked sunburn. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson by now... But no.

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Buenos dias! Or as the locals say, Buena! I'm loving Gigante life. It's the perfect balance between responsibility and chill time, and Nicaragua is interesting enough that chill time can also be adventure time if that's what you're looking for. The summer camp I'm helping run is 9 to noon, with the teenagers (jovenes) on Monday and Wednesday and kids (niños) on Tuesday and Thursday. (Side note: there are so many words for children here!) Other than that it's basically free time. Two days ago the other volunteers brought me and Abby one beach over to a resort where they totally don't mind if we use their lounge chairs and wifi. It was a magical discovery. My host family is great. In my house there's Carla and Homar, and Milagros (6) and Carlos (14). Carla and I are very similar people, I don't see much of Homar but he's nice, Milagros is chatty and cute, and Carlos and I are slowly becoming friends. He didn't talk to me for the first couple days but he's warming up now. I don't spend too much time with them but when we do it's quality :) I miss my family and friends and dog and winter (never thought I'd say that!) and, like, real showers and Netflix. Everything here is dirty. Everything. There are maybe two or three houses in town that are completely Nica-proof, with glass windows and air conditioning and reliable toilets. *Sigh...* Oh how nice that would be. Although yesterday I did buy a banana for about 9 cents, which would be nuts in the US. Nothing much else to report... summer camp ends in another 2 weeks and I'm not sure what my role will be after that... I'm hoping I can organize the new office. Or I could work in the health center, volunteer at the school, make up something for myself to do... we will see. One piece of advice for people visiting Central America: bring your own tampons!!!

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Hey all! I've made it to Gigante and everything is great. Spanish is a bit of a struggle; I keep panicing and wanting to speak French. But it's coming, slowly but surely. My host family is really nice, but it's definitely a more casual situation than when I was in France. We bond over how we can't understand each other. There is a little girl named Maligro who is very excited to have an older sister :) Which is helpful. Right now I'm at the internet café called Party Wave. I just went for a swim in the Pacific with Abby, the other volunteer. There are more white people here than I expected and they mostly hang out at the café between their adventures. It's really hot and humid here, but really windy as well. For once I'm not sweaty/grimy/dirty, as will be the norm for the next few months. Welcome to Central America, right? My time looks like it will be half summer camp/WOO and half free time to spend with my family, at the beach, etc. Tomorrow Abby and I are going to Rivas to get some cordobas (the money in Nicaragua) because there's no ATM in Gigante. I can't think of anything else really... Happy New Year! Isabella

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THIS ADORABLE CHIHUAHUA PUPPY STAYED WITH US AT THE HOSTEL IN PHOENIX SHE LOVED TO CUDDLE

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at the Phoenix Art Museum - strings of LED lights and mirrored walls make the room look like outer space

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The Grand Canyon (it's big)

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A superb meal at Dara Thai in Flagstaff

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Flagstaff

Flagstaff was my favorite city I went to. It’s laid back like Santa Fe, but still busy and a little hipster-y like Portland Maine. There are a lot of people traveling through to visit the Grand Canyon, people of all ages from all over the world. It was definitely a change from the hostel in Vancouver, which was full of young Australians.

After a self-mandated chill day, I headed an hour and a half away to the Grand Canyon. I went on a tour with an Australian couple in their late 50s, a young Indian couple from New Jersey, a Korean dude with a fantastic sense of humor, and our guide Molly. We spent the day driving around to different viewpoints along the south rim while Molly told us all about the history of the area. I won’t try to describe the Grand Canyon because you really have to see it for yourself, but it’s big and lovely and awe-inspiring.

I didn’t spend too much time in Flagstaff, but I ate some good Thai food and a great bagel and bought some Christmas presents. I spend an afternoon in a coffee shop drinking hot chocolate and reading Life of Pi (and blogging). It was really nice.

I’d definitely like to go back to Flagstaff someday and see things other than the Grand Canyon. It seems like a nice place to hang out for a while.