As a generic white guy born and raised in the Midwest I’m so happy that the school system there forced me to learn a foreign language.
Spanish has been by the far the most useful skill taught to me. Having moved to Los Angeles I quickly befriended many people, some who only spoke Spanish and I got to hear their stories firsthand. It’s rather depressing how other white people here don’t know Spanish at all despite being surrounded by it.
My wife is from Mexico City and I’ve gone to parts of Mexico to visit her family there. It’s liberating spending weeks thinking, speaking, listening and conversing in another language. With an open mind the weird cultural ticks you might see in others begin to make sense.
All this to say: learn another language! I hated it initially and without it being required I would’ve never discovered so much later in life.
As a generic white guy born and raised in the Midwest I’m so happy that the school system there forced me to learn a foreign language.
Spanish has been by the far the most useful skill taught to me. Having moved to Los Angeles I quickly befriended many people, some who only spoke Spanish and I got to hear their stories firsthand. It’s rather depressing how other white people here don’t know Spanish at all despite being surrounded by it.
My wife is from Mexico City and I’ve gone to parts of Mexico to visit her family there. It’s liberating spending weeks thinking, speaking, listening and conversing in another language. With an open mind the weird cultural ticks you might see in others begin to make sense.
All this to say: learn another language! I hated it initially and without it being required I would’ve never discovered so much later in life.