I had a wonderful experience today.

A young Indonesian man (Ahmad) whom I met at an English as a Second Language conference in Swift Current last May phoned me because he and his wife are in Saskatoon for a couple of days. I had lunch and coffee with him, which gave me a chance to practise my limited Indonesian.

Before I met him last year, I hadn't spoken more than a few words of Indonesian for ten years. I've been to Indonesia twice: 1986 and 1993. Although I made lots of mistakes and had to consult my Indonesian/English dictionary sometimes--as well as switching to English often--I was amazed at how much came back to me.

I've often been told that I have an "ear" for languages and language in general. I guess that ties into my love of teaching English as a Second of Language (ESL), writing and acting.

The most interesting part of our time together today was when I introduced
Ahmad to a Japanese co-worker at the Saskatoon Open Door Society. I spoke Indonesian to him, Japanese to her, and then English to both of them. What a mental workout! Also, I kept thinking of words in Japanese when I was speaking Indonesian with him because I've lived in Japan. I even had a Spanish word leap into my brain, which is very strange because I know only a few words in that language.

Ah, the fascinating mysteries of the brain and of language!


[NOTE: For those of you who don't know, Swift Current is a small city in Saskatchewan.]