Immersive language learning is the best way to learn. I was in Russia as a nineteen year old, desperate to make friends and get away from the tiny apartment where my family lived. I had to learn the language so I could have converations which meant friends.

I practiced the alphabet on the plane over, I was nowhere near skilled enough to have a conversation. But that immersion thing helped. I spoke to strangers and studied every day and night and got closer eery day.

I did make some friends—at first people who knew English. As I tried to practice speaking Russian, that translation dictionary came out to help me find the right word. And conversation stopped as I flipped pages to find the meaning.

After time I got just enough vocabulary to string together a basic conversation.

Barely.

with my goal of leaving my home and making friends, I could visit other people’s houses and have a chat. But if I wanted the conversation to flow, I had to be the one talking.

If I let the other people  speak, I could never be sure of what would come out of their mouths. I could be sure that I would understand the words I was speaking.

It was risky to let new words in, otherwise, we’d be back to that vibe-killind dictionary.

I’m not proud of my choice. It was intentional to limit the language learning in order to get a chance to use the language.

We had a lot of enjoyable conversations, my new Russian friends. I was very fluent in the words surrounding preparing tea. A lot of companionable things can be said without using complicated words.

It would take me quite a while to get that fluent in Russian again, but I have learned to invert that strategy in my conversations.

I know my life, I lived it. BUt when I start conversations with new friends, I avoid talking about my life. I choose carefully which pieces to introduce into the conversation, because I want the keep the conversation going.  I don’t’ want to get stuck on old news, flipping the pages of the unchanging dictionary of my life.

What is in your story? Do you know something I could use? Something I could chew on and ponder?

I’ll tell my stories—I’ve published books about them. More important to me is knowing something new. I want to keep the flow rolling.