Parlais Francais or Habla Espanol ?

Which language to learn - French or Spanish?
For who, you ask? - Me.
Why? - Just want to do something with my rapidly aging brain. I can't do astro-physics. So, i'll settle down for a new language.
How? - No online courses. I am quite a 'flesh and blood' person. Thank you. I need live teachers whom i can ask annoying questions.

Now that i've covered the basics, can we get back to the topic? Which one to choose?

Let's see. I've learnt French about zillion years back in high school and somehow have a liking for the language. Maybe it sounded so exotic when you are studying in a remote metro in India . Whatever. I love the language and want to learn more. So, that sounds like a no-brainer, right? Not so easy. After a long search for classes in our city, surprisingly, i couldn't find anything. Zilch. Nada.

Spanish was my second choice. It's not hard to find classes that teach spanish because we live in a beautiful part of the country which once belonged to Mexico - of course, i mean California. I said beautiful, so it can't be Texas. Hah, deal with that, you Texans. Anyways, be a Roman when you're in Rome, right? So, habla espanol it's going to be.

I'm excited about my classes which are starting next week, but, meanwhile the dream to Parlais Francias is still alluring...

Minding the language...

So, the ability to use language as a mode of communication is one of the main differentiating factor between us and the rest of our primate friends. It gives us that crucial "one-up" to dominate the earthly scene, making us feel all superior. Of course, we easily gloss over the fact that some of us can share so many other traits with the animal kingdom - don't we have enough samples of sly foxes, wise owls, slimy weasels, scared chickens, sharp eagles, vain peacocks etc all around us? Makes one raise an important, poignant question: are we so different after all? Me thinks nah, not so much. More on this topic, it's also fascinating that there are around 3000-6000 languages spoken by us humans around the world (as per our friend "Wise Wiki"). In India, even if you're linguistically-challenged like me, there should be an average of at least two languages acquired over a life time by each person (this is my own extrapolation, so please don't ana...

You and your compass....

Let's talk about what each and every one of us have within ourselves. That deep, down voice that tells us strongly what to do, not to do, what we ought to do but choose not to and regret later on with a "I-told-me-so", things that we wish to do but dare not try in our lifetime....you get the drift. Yes, it is that all-pervading, metaphorical inner compass, or the SatNavs of our lives that I'm getting into. Young adults think they have an independent mind, and do and act that way. In reality, though, in most of the cases, it's not even of their own choice, but out of peer pressure. Which interestingly, brings a point- whose collective, mob voice is it then? If everyone is busy copying someone else doing the same, then who the heck started the fire? No clue, but let's assume for sanity's sake that some life form starts a trend which gets viral, bacterial, whatever. And, suddenly there's a strong urge that compels every youngster to do it ...

Human Needs and Relationships......Part 2

continued from part 1..... Let's start from the bottom of Maslow's pyramid, which is Physiological & Safety needs . These are our basic survival ones like eating, breathing, clothing and, living under a decent roof. The human mind will come to grinding stop if these are not met, and you'll be unable to even think about the next level of needs. Don't believe me? Try dieting/fasting for a day, and you'll be amazed how your fat brain (please, it's a compliment) which used to process complicated thoughts like the greenhouse effect, looming elections, world economy etc. till the day before, can obsessively think of only one thing and nothing else now, which would be the magical, four-letter manna - FOOD. Anyways, these needs would probably come from the closest relationship of all, i.e. parents or caregivers. And, from an evolution point of view, would be our Infant/Childhood stage. Next, is the Love/Belonging needs, which deals with our sense of ...

C'est La Vie;That's life

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