My language and life situation as of August 2018

Two years ago, in 2016, I wrote this:
http://ujoelee.blogspot.com/2016/08/im-just-language-learner-not-polyglot.html
Let's see how far I've gone this year.

On 30 July 2018, I passed the Goethe C1 exam in Kuala Lumpur. I have German C1 written on my resume, and I speak the language well enough to communicate with native speakers. Consider this a birthday present exactly one month in advance.

I believe my speaking ability in German overtook my Mandarin sometime in 2017. Most probably in mid-year. The opportunity to teach A1 and A2 learners gave me a strong push to improve my reading and speaking especially with monolingual textbooks which I had not up to that point in time used.

At the end of 2016 I had found a few language exchange partners via the HelloTalk app. In February 2017 I got to know Nataša from Bosnia, who was learning superintensively on her own and was at that time active on the DW - Deutsch lernen Facebook site. In fact from mid-2016 up to late 2017 I diligently hand-copied all the "Aufgaben & Lösungen vom (date)" on a daily basis and also other postings on verbs, easily confused phrases and so on.

Thanks to Nataša I got inspired to learn Serbian. I listened to songs, watched YouTube videos, basically the same thing I did to learn German. However, German learning took up 90% of my time and so my Serbian is still at the A1 stage. It's not yet up to a level I can really converse in.

Now that my German is firmly established at C1 level, I can learn more Serbian, but soon I shall start a new full-time job, and with that means less time for everything else. Still I am very grateful to be given the chance to step back into a so-called "normal" life after years in the wilderness.

Nobody knows the future. I do not know if all these was "pre-planned" by a higher power, but I do know that when I started to learn German seriously in early 2016 (even before the CELTA course started), it was like an inner conviction that I would go far with it.

It didn't happen overnight, it took time and meeting the right people along the way. People who practiced speaking or chatting with me, people who gave me the chance to share my passion and knowledge, people who guided me with advice, feedback and suggestions, people who opened doors for me, people who corrected me when I made mistakes. I am grateful for all these.

Even when I was down and out in terms of career and finances I still had the dream of going to Europe one day. I wanted to be in a German-speaking environment and experience being there, interacting with like-minded people, savoring the cool weather and participating in a culture different from the one that predominates in my home country. Now I am one step closer to the dream, the immediate challenge is to deliver the goods in my work first.

In a month I will be forty. Ever since some thing happened in the past seven years or so, I just knew that my life path will never be conventional. I just cannot live the same stereotypical conventional family life or career path that many others live. It has to be something that suits me and that I can do better than other things.

Well, as they say in German, "die Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt". I believe as long as I continue to do the right thing at the right time, stay true to myself and do good, constructive things in life, I will survive. There will of course be down times, but they shall not be fatal.

Road Trips: Why I Enjoy Them

I've always enjoyed road trips because of the feeling it gives. Having embarked on a journey of a thousand miles before, I look forward to the next drive be it on a familiar or unfamiliar route.

The most important thing is preparation. Yes, you need to ensure that you're in good physical and mental condition for driving long hours. You need to ensure your car or vehicle can survive the entire journey to and fro. You need to get proper supplies based on duration and environmental considerations.

In the past three years I've done quite a fair bit of day trips to places within an hour or two's drive of Kuala Lumpur. Tanjung Sepat, Bentong, Hulu Yam, Kuala Selangor, Sekinchan, Bagan Lalang to name but a few. It's possible to do Malacca and Ipoh but for these and further destinations I prefer at least a night's stay, and for places like Penang I prefer two nights' stay.

Driving along the Kahang - Felda Nitar - Mersing route at night gives many opportunities for seeing stars. Without any street lights or populated areas, the whole road goes pitch black when car headlights go out. Some might feel nervous but I felt entirely comfortable doing it a few months ago. It's just me.

More Road Trips Taken

Back in December 2009 I wrote down a list of road trips taken. That post is available at:
http://ujoelee.blogspot.com/2009/12/road-trips-to-date.html

Since then, I've achieved the following visits from that list:

01. Port Dickson (twice)
02. Kuantan (Secret Beach & several other beaches)
03. Hulu Yam Lama (Fishcake)
04. Malacca (thrice, all including Historic City, visited Portuguese Settlement but not yet Umbai)
05. Sungai Lembing (Lembing Mee, Tin Mining Museum, but not yet sunrise)
06. Seremban (to attend the funeral wake of a friend's father)

Also revisited Bentong twice and Tanjung Sepat thrice. Went to Penang once, and stopped by Ipoh on the way back. Went to Singapore thrice.

Taiping (Wild Boar Temple) and Kampar (Food, Waterfall) have not been achieved yet.

Kota Kinabalu can be considered a local overseas trip, as the only way to get there other than by ship is by aeroplane, a 2½ hour flight. The distance is roughly equivalent to that of Philadelphia to Miami, i.e. a journey of a thousand miles (1600 km).

I would like to revisit Sekinchan, and also explore other places within an hour or two's drive of Kuala Lumpur. I have several other potential holiday spots lined up in mind, but as per my modus operandi I'll only talk about them after I have personally recceed and evaluated the places first.

Road Trips To Date

Done:
01. Kluang, Mersing, Tioman
02. Penang Island, Nibong Tebal
03. Ipoh
04. Cameron Highlands
05. Tanjung Sepat
06. Sekinchan, Kuala Selangor
07. Old Gombak Road
08. Bentong

Coming Soon:
01. Port Dickson

Potential:
01. Taiping (Wild Boar Temple)
02. Kuantan (Secret Beach)
03. Hulu Yam Lama (Fishcake)
04. Malacca (Historic City, Umbai Seafood)
05. Sungai Lembing (Sunrise)
06. Kampar (Food, Waterfall)
07. Seremban (Siew Pau)