E'un po' come.. It's a bit like..

Every time I make a trip to Europe, I come back motivated to learn yet another language.

My romance with Europe began 14 years ago when I fell in love with 'German' followed by 'Espanol' and 'Italiano'.

Awed, feared,praised, envied by many around the world,this beautiful continent and it's inhabitants really have an 'image' given to them. Nevertheless, had it not been for them, I don't really know what would have been my 'future' like. I have been living 2 of her languages and cultures ever since I stepped out of the cocoon of my sheltered life.

Beautiful and charming continental Europe never ceases to amaze and captivate my attention. The closest analogy that can do Europe justice is, that of being a beautiful old woman, sitting gracefully and watching the lave go by. Her rich heritage, beautiful nature, delicious cuisine and myarid people - all juxtaposed to the perfection, has made Europe what she really is. Since the last 14 years, I have been a regular visitor to Europe - covering the likes of Germany, Russia, Austria, United Kingdom, Belgium, Luxumberg, France, Spain and Italy.

When I fell in love for the first time, I remember the gutteral German sounded like beautiful bells chiming into my ears. The sound of the frightfully long words like 'ausgezeichnet' and 'entschuldigung' seemed cool and exciting... like moffassa or something of the sorts. May be around the same time, all french words were harsh to the ears and unpallatable. It was 'love' in deed. Anything german was favoured and all offences towards the language, literature, culture etc, was taken personally. May be, the romance ended years ago, but the affair continues to this day. A label, 'Hergestellt in Deutschland' makes my heart throb that extra bit even today.

But apart from Germany, I was never as captivated by any other land than Italy. This has been a dream come true... the natural beauty of Isle of Capri, the rich art of Florence, the colours of Sienna, the ruins of Pompeii, the gondollas and bridges of Venice, the collossal and mejestic Rome - not to forget the beautiful Sistine Chappel in the Vatican ... the countryside of Tuscany and the aroma of everyting in Italy; right from the coffee, to the pastas, to the art, arcitecture, music, history, nature - everything - what I did not have then, was the gift of speaking the language... I realised that I had fallen in love once again - only this time, it is for my lifetime. When I was leaving Italy, I had made up my mind to learn the language and visit the land some day, one day - again.

My stint with learning italian has been really different than what it was with learning German. I can never compare them both as I shall never do justice to any. I learnt german in the most formal environment and I have been learning italian in the most informal environment. German was learnt because I had wanted to make it a part of my professional life, am learning Italian because I have made it a part of my personal life. The mindset of both the cultures are really anything, but similar and yet, I relate to them both... the yin and yang.
Whilst I can never forget that to learn the language, one must be passionate about it; I have never been more convinced that eating, drinking, reading, thinking, sleeping, cooking, counting ... dedicating every living moment of my to the 'pursuit of happiness' - to imbibe the essence of the culture to become one with it.

It is a bit like..... to be the ' Essence' !!

E' un po' come essere 'La Essenza' !!