Start small, not big

Hello reader,

I've just reached 61 days of learning Portuguese on Duolingo! And wow, it's unbelievable. I have always wanted to learn Portuguese. You might be wondering why Portuguese when I could learn French or Spanish.

In 2016, I went to Mozambique for a holiday. I stayed there for four months and a half. It was weird being around people speaking a language I could not understand. But I started learning a few things every time I was with everyone. Olá means hie. Com licença means excuse me. But it was not easy. Everything was just so new. 

I was just lucky because my aunt could speak English and Chichewa as did my cousins. But now I started taking a computer class in English of course. I had to get myself to town everyday. I got lost the first day. I was in town on a place I knew. But I didn't know which way to take to get a bus that was going to get me home. I called my aunt and she picked me up.

But then, from then onwards, I never forgot. I started going to town on my own. I managed to count the money and know when a certain amount was being requested.

One day, I was on board of a minibus waiting for it to fill up. A lady was sitting next to me. And she said qui hora? Now, when these words were spoken, it was all gibberish to me. I said what? Then she repeated her question, this time pointing to her wrist and then my wrist watch. Oooh, I just showed it to her.

Now days later, I realised she was asking what time it was. Being in Mozambique was fun. I enjoyed the food and the new flavors. Being at the beach. Pool. Family get togethers. It was amazing. The language, when people spoke, I just wished I could too. But I didn't know the words. Yes, I started to hear certain things but it wasn't easy to form and speak myself.

I had a blackberry phone at the time. I started googling words in Portuguese so I could learn. I have this notebook. I used to write in it. It was something new every time. Letters of alphabet, numbers, colors, telling time, days of the week and phrases. I even drew the map of Mozambique and colored in the cities in different color. I was in Beira. The capital city of Mozambique is Maputo. 

Image by omersukrugoksu

One day, I was excited about what I was learning and told my aunt, I can understand now, ask me a question. She told me to make coffee and I didn't get it. She just said it so I could understand. It was frustrating. So the other problem is, reading alone can't help me learn a language. I have to speak it. Practice it to know how the words sound. Was Duolingo there then?

I don't know, but 6 years later, I'm learning Portuguese on Duolingo and I'm so much better at it than back then. I started small, 3 to 5 minute lesson per day. Some days more. I could miss a day or maybe two.

So Duolingo has this thing where it counts the days you're taking the lessons. If you skip a day, you lose what is called a streak. It starts counting how long you've been active once again. You want to have a perfect streak. It makes you feel good about it. 

This, and the constant reminder at the end of the day that I should just learn for 3 minutes from my email keeps me going.

 My desire to speak the language fluently is the other motivation. Now I can confidently say I'm a rookie. I can hold a basic conversation in Portuguese with a certain level of confidence I never had before and for the first time I believe indeed, starting small is okay. It gets you going to the big part. You don't have to see the end or middle of the tunnel, just the step in front of you. 

Indeed, a habit starts to stick when you do it more than 30 days. It becomes part of you. For the first time in my life I've witnessed what it's like to stick at something no matter what. The results are huge. So great. You learn so much and you're happier.

Start small. The big comes with time. 

Until next time, say cheese!