The obsession
Language learning is one of those pursuits that reveals itself to be bottomless the further you go. Every language you learn opens a door not just to communication but to an entirely different way of organising thought, experience, and the world. I find that completely irresistible.
I've lived and worked in China, which gave my Mandarin a real-world grounding that no classroom could replicate. I spent time in Shanghai speaking Chinese every day — navigating a city, running a team, building relationships — and came out the other side with a deep appreciation for how much a language unlocks when you're immersed in it.
Current languages
I'm working on Spanish (which gets daily use in Madison, a bilingual city in many respects), Mandarin (ongoing and humbling), Greek (helped enormously by multiple trips to Greece and a great deal of tsipouro-fuelled conversation), and Arabic, which I'm approaching with appropriate ambition and caution.
Each language has its own personality and its own demands. Spanish rewards consistency; Mandarin rewards patience; Greek rewards socialising; Arabic rewards stubbornness. I'm trying to cultivate all four.
Languages & science
There's a connection between language learning and science that I've come to appreciate — both require holding uncertainty comfortably, building understanding incrementally, and accepting that you'll be wrong a lot before you get things right. The same curiosity that drives me into the lab drives me to a new grammar book at 11pm.
Speaking someone's language, even imperfectly, changes the quality of every interaction. It's one of the most reliable investments I know.
Photos
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