Catherine CP#5

On Saturday, Ebru and I had our second meeting. This time we went to Black Dog Cafe at Lake Ella. We spoke a little bit about literature, history, and politics. I am once again amazed by language exchange, and the differences between my native languages (Spanish and English) and other international languages. We discussed the differences and similarities between Turkish and English, Turkish and French, English and German, English and French. Ebru is not only a bilingual speaker of English and Turkish; she also taught herself how to read, write, and speak English-- truly incredible! I think it's both fortunate and unfortunate to be a native US English speaker. Although English is the "global" language, it really discourages US Americans from learning a second or other language. On the other hand, I think people who learn English, apart from their native language, are heavily underestimated. It is so difficult to learn a language, especially one as stifling as English.