Language Learning Opens Doors

Learning a language means for me learning something of the culture. A door opens into a new world. For years this has made me think of a 'stargate'. Opening the door spells adventure, change and new opportunities for communication.

Over the years, I have stepped through doors into many languages. Each time,  a bond has been created between me and speakers of my 'new' language.  Sometimes, as in the case of Wolof, I do not know why I waited so long to step through the door. I knew Senegalese people in Montreal many years before I left for Senegal the first time for a kind of one-month immersion course in Wolof.  It is true, that I was learning French at the time I began to meet my Senegalese friends; it must have been enough of a challenge to communicate in French.  Despite this valid reason, I was happy when, in 2005, I opened the door to Wolof!

Maybe you would like to see a few words in Wolof.  I have just made a Quizlet to help me remember a  short list of very useful words. 

Finally, in my quest to open new doors to communication opportunities, I am excited to add that recently I have been joined in my French language adventure by my sister, Maggie, to some extent, her husband, Bruce, and 'toute récemment' by my sister, Rosalyn. Yeh!