(Chan e buileach) Toiseach-tòiseachaidh: The beginning of my Gaelic-learning journey (sort of)
'S e obair latha tòiseachadh. It's a day's work getting started as they say, and I have certainly found this true in the case of this blog. I've tried and failed to start writing about my experiences as a Gaelic learner and Gaelic culture enthusiast on several occasions, and each time I have found myself giving up before I really got anywhere. Ironically, this pattern reflects my history with learning the Gaelic language, with several false starts and abortive attempts over the course of almost ten years before I finally figured out a method that worked for me.
How NOT to learn a language
I've been interested in languages since I was a child. My absolute favorite movie of all time was Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and I have memories of spending hours leafing through a Spanish–English dictionary that my parents had in an attempt to try to teach myself the language. This was my first experience with language learning, and although I obviously didn't get anywhere, it was emblematic of a lifelong fascination with words that has persisted to this day.
Like many Americans, I ended up taking Spanish in high school as well. After English, it was my best subject.