As you all know, I am trying to learn Slovak. In fact, this is a picture of my Slovak text book. Isn't it all nice and colorful? Yes. I think so too. And, like most textbooks (at least the ones I remember from high school), all the pictures inside are extremely outdated. I don't mind though, because they sometimes provide me with entertainment when I'm supposed to be studying. You've got to love that sweet 90's fashion... tapered jeans for everyone!!!
Anyhow, this language is extremely difficult. Well, at least for me it is. I never thought I had a natural tallent for languages, but then again this is the first language I've REALLY tried to learn (I was a bit of a slacker when it came to Latin and Spanish). And it's quite demoralizing to accept that I sound like a 2 year old most of the time. But, such is life when you move to a different culture.
So, the other day I was having lunch at my friend Zuzka's house. She is married to one of my teammates, Draho, and they have 3 little kids. While I was there I started playing with their oldest son, Oliver. Oli is 4 years old, and he actually attends an English pre-school. So, he and I had a nice little communication thing going on. He understood most of my English, and I understood most of his Slovak (considering he's 4 and uses basic words... but hey, that's something). While we were playing, he decided he wanted me to read to him, and brought me a Slovak children's book. However, this was no See Spot Run. This was like a mini novel. With long paragraphs and what not. I was intimidated. But, the kid wanted me to read, and I didn't want to disappoint. So I started reading... or should I say stumbling... through the first sentence. When I finished trudging through that first line, I turned to look at Oli. He had his hand on his forehead and was shaking his head. That's right, my Slovak totally got judged by a 4 year old. Impressive, huh?
And, no. He didn't have me read any more of the book.
