One of the things that has popped up time and time again as I research what a true future in Latin looks like is the importance of modern foreign languages, most especially the Romance languages.
I strongly dislike learning modern foreign languages. I had four years of French forced upon me in middle school, and I quit as soon as I could. It’s one of the main reasons I started Latin in the first place; I liked the logic of the language, and I liked how, well, non-modern it was.
Thus, I come to a conundrum; if I go to graduate school and study the Classics, I will need scholarly reading level of proficiency in French, German, and Italian. Yet, the classroom approach clearly doesn’t work for me. What to do?
That’s where my gap year comes in.
My family is a strong believer in gap years; my sister took one, and learned German. Throughout that process she grew and learned a lot about herself and her priorities, and I would love to follow in her footsteps and do the same.
With that in mind, this is my announcement that I have officially started working on my application for a study abroad program based in Italy. I will live with a host family, attend an Italian high school, and cram as much Italian into my brain in a year as possible. If easing me in via classroom didn’t work, I might as well chuck myself into the deep end, eh?
I’m really nervous, but I’m also INCREDIBLY EXCITED. I love Latin and Ancient Greek and I want to prepare myself as best I can for a future with them in my life. That means getting a strong basis in a Romance language, where I can then branch out and pick up French, German, and who knows what other languages (Spanish?!?).
Plus, I get to live in Italy for a year. HOW COOL IS THAT?