Thoughts on travel and language

Coming home from El Salvador taught me many things. I know only a few Spanish words and luckily survived the two days that I was there, thanks to helpful translators i.e, my sister and her hubby:) But even still, language welcomes you into a culture and makes you become part of it almost immediatley. But I think an interesting thing is that, one can still get by in a foreign country without fully knowing the language of that country, since body language, facial expressions, hand movements all play a role in communicating, though sometimes not as directly as one would desire.

Traveling opens your eyes into another world, perspective, with new eyes like never before. It forces you to become open minded and embrace the present moment, especially since things can be very unpredicatble at times. But isn't that the fun of it? As a foreigner, a vistor, a guest in that country, you are no longer in control of what you know, or what you thought you knew. Nope, you're in for a ride, a ride that will bring you to places you never imagined before. And more often than not, you learn about yourself in the process throughout the adventure.

Going back to language, I want to keep striving with my Chinese studies! I know it's my passsion and interest, but even then it can be difficult and exhausting to keep up at times. Have you ever felt this way? Recently, I've been making flashcards, but not just the ordianry, plain jane ones. No, colorful, pictureqese, nice to look at, and easy and fun to read, as well as create. But I wanted it to have meaning, use, not only for my creative mind. So, what better way than to share it here on plum tree, and maybe it could be of use to others, or even creative inspiration nontheless!