Today is my daughter's 1st birthday, and it's amazing to me how meaningful that feels. As a non-parent, non-mother for all the years before this one, I would look upon others' birthdays, and see most of them as passing days, thinking simply thinking that, 'Everybody has a birthday.' Granted, I actually love the idea of birthdays, and do my best to recognize people on theirs. But never have I felt this intensity, this meaningfulness and depth that I feel today, the day of Kaya's birth.
Now that I'm older, and more interested in pairing my life down and ridding it of the superfluous, I love the idea of doing meaningful things on meaningful days. So, when I was reading an email this morning (a response I received from a woman after I had been doing "research" on raising babies bilingually), I felt inspired to start this blog--in small part for me, to better process the highs and lows that I have through this process; in small part for others out there, wanting to read and connect about the idea; and in large part for my daughter, Kaya, so that I will have the greatest chance of being successful in giving her the gift of bilingualism.
I see this blog as a place for me to share the details of this process, in which I speak German with her and Geoff, her Dada, speaks English. Living in Portland, OR, I have no concerns that she will acquire English with ease. A second language, on the other hand, is harder to come by in this country, with most schools starting second language study after the brain has already lost its greatest ability to acquire language. For this reason (among others), I have chosen to speak German with Kaya, a non-native language for me. In my mind, this blog will serve as a place to write about the mini and the grandiose, the challenges, pitfalls and huge successes that acompany any endeavor.
Should you be someone doing the same, or simply someone with any interest whatsoever in the concept itself, please feel free to contact me. I'd love to hear from you.
For now, it's time to attend to the babe, but with my next post, I look forward to detailing the past year, in regards to language acquisition and progress.
Thanks for listening! Tamara
Wow Tam, I think it is amazing that you are doing this! So cool :) Kaya is incredibly lucky to be growing up with exposure to a language that she would otherwise never be exposed to. And don't get frustrated, remember that she is picking up so much more than is apparent to the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteI shared the blog with all my other friends with babies.
Nicole. Wow. I didn't even see THIS post before I read the other one. It helps me SO much to know that others are out there supporting me, in word especially, but even in spirit. I really appreciate your confidence, it makes the challenging moments that much easier to overcome. I also like your reminder that she's picking up so much more...and I just remembered that you're a language teacher too! Yay to that--your support means even more somehow when I remember that.
ReplyDeleteAND thank you for passing it on. You are wonderful. Hope to see you again soon,
Tam