Fall 2009, Kettering University, Flint, Michigan:

My heart rate was slightly elevated, as the official presentation began to draw to a close. My big moment was drawing near, and I only felt loosely prepared for it. And yet, considering the spontaneous and adventurous vibe that had brought me to this point, I mused that it was probably best that way.

The speaker thanked the small but very international audience and asked if there were any questions. It was now or never! The future of my German adventure, my final semester at Kettering University, and maybe, my next couple of years were at stake…

Before I explain what happened next, you need a little bit of context. But, where to begin? I suppose it had all started at a party and with a possibly serious threat to my own safety, just a little less than a year earlier.

Approximately 11-Months Earlier…

I was early in the fall 2008 semester at Kettering University, an engineering school known across the country for a number of things, but you’d be pressed to say it was known for foreign language education.

I was talking to a fell undergrad student, whose name might have been Jake, or David, or what have you? We’d only just met, after all, and the name is not particularly important. Instead, it was his inspired vibe, and the threat it led to, that changed my life, forever. Thank goodness…

“Jake” was recounting stories about his adventures during a recent study abroad semester in Germany. As I listened, I couldn’t help but begin to feel his excitement, passion, and desire to “do it all again,” myself. In some mysterious way, his sense of wonder about the semester abroad was transferred to me during that short conversation.

However, by the time we finished walking down Jake’s memory lane, I found myself doing what most of us do when presented with a potentially life-changing opportunity: I was preparing to move on with my night and put his suggestion for a study abroad semester safely into the, “Things I’ll Consider” box, never to be seriously explored again.

“That sounds pretty awesome. Man!” I said, with some fervor, “I’m seriously gonna think about doing it too.”

Jake looked at me, as if possessed by some other worldly force. Without hesitation, he responded, “No! Don’t think about it. Do it! Seriously!… Because, if you don’t, and if I see you back here next semester, I’m gonna punch you in the face!”

Naturally, sensing that he was just getting carried away, I laughed, and said, “You’re serious, aren’t you?! Alright! Alright! I’ll look into it.” While I was at least 94% doubtful that Jake would actually punch me in the face, if I didn’t study abroad, something about that conversation had been intense enough to make me want to make it happen.

And so, over the next few days I ran around campus, and town, sorting out various details, and learning that everything had somehow fallen into place, very last minute, for me to spend my second to last semester studying abroad in Germany. Of course, that journey would be a whole other, crazy, wonderful adventure, which I’m sure I’ll tell you sometime. What is important for now, is that I did it, and by the end of my semester abroad, was just as enamored and in awe of the experience as Jake had been. So much so, in fact, that, as I sat in the plane, on the way home from Germany, Summer 2009, I made a promise to myself. I remember thinking the following:

“You know what? This experience… This journey… was so amazing. It just can’t be my last adventure abroad. This can’t be a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity,’ like most study abroad adventures. I’m going to come back here again, and next time, I’m going to do it in German.”

And so it was that I made my initial decision to learn the German language, while flying over the Atlantic, reminiscing about my adventures in Germany and Europe, and scheming for how I would make it, or something greater, all happen again. I was beginning to sound a bit like Jake…

Back to Where We Started: Showtime!

I was sitting in a chair, at the far end of the room, observing the first Fall 2009 gathering of the International Club at Kettering University. I was there because, just a few days before, I’d had a rather brilliant idea: 

To continue my journey of learning German, started about 3-months ago, at the end of my study abroad semester, I would announce myself as the “Unofficial Ambassador to the German Students.” Did I have credentials? Not exactly. Was I backed by the University or the International Club? Hardly. What I had was pure passion, and the experience of partying and traveling the world with Germans from the semester prior. That would have to do.

As the speaker asked if there were any questions, I quickly raised my hand.

“Yes? Back there!”

It was showtime.

“Hi, everyone! Austin here. I’ll keep this short. I just wanted to welcome all the German exchanged students, in particular. I studied abroad in Germany last semester and had an amazing time there. I met a lot of cool people and decided to teach myself the language. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that if you are looking for cool things to do on campus, parties, places to go in Michigan, or whatever, I’m your guy, and would love to help make your semester here as awesome as mine was in Germany. Let’s talk after!”

Done.

It had been simple, and the last year or two exploring public speaking through Toastmasters had turned my nervous energy into just enough charisma to sell the message. As you won’t be surprised to learn, a number of German students did come up and exchange numbers with me, following my impromptu speech to them.

In short, I was in.

The rest of the semester would turn into another German adventure, this time, State-side, mixed with over 20 credit hours of course work and a senior thesis to finish. Somehow, I made it all work and even had a short-term German girlfriend until the semester drew to a close.

I also reached a surprising level of fluency, in a relatively short amount of time.

Why I’m Sharing this Story:

A lot can be said about the methods we use to learn a language. I, for one, am pretty obsessed with honing and improving my own methods; however, what I think gets missed, more than anything, is the raw passion and cultural connection that is needed to fuel the process.

Obviously, my experience coming to the point of learning German, and the adventures that followed, are not typical, but they highlight something important: You need to truly FEEL the excitement and connection to a culture to fuel the long-term desire and discipline needed to reach fluency.

My story demonstrates one way in which that connection might be made, and I want to draw out for you the impact of decisive moments, like: 

• Choosing to truly look into the study abroad semester, though I hadn’t ever planned on it
• Making the choice, during the flight home, to learn the language
• Acting on the impulse to become the “Unofficial Ambassador to the German Students.”

While the ebb and flow of life will rarely be predictable, the attitude of someone who acts on spontaneous inspiration, call it intuition, is the attitude of someone who is likely to find something of passion that lasts a lifetime. That’s what happened to me, and I hope you will find the same in your language learning journey.

What to do now:

Consider how you’ve explored your language learning journey, so far. Do you sense any magic in it, or has it only been rote memorization and process? What creative or bold moves could you make, now, that would bring the magic and excitement into your cultural and language exploration?

“Fortune favors bold ones,” as it is said. Just don’t get punched in the face!