Uncle Dan’s Blog: Fun with Languages

Posted by Uncle Dan on July 10th, 2008 | Categorized as General Forum | 231 views and 11 Comments

So it’s been a long time since I wrote an actual blog entry. So far it’s been some notes, and that’s not as fun, even if it’s interesting.

I spent the last few months in Zürich, which was alright. A few times, friends came by to visit. I also went downtown to the Fanzone to watch the Euro Cup on the big big screen with lots of screaming fans, which was fun.

And now I’m back in Brig on internship. It’s a pretty easy job, and there’s not much to say about it.

What I *will* say is that there’s no more refreshing feeling than that of five or more languages going on around you. English, German, Cantonese, Bulgarian, Portuguese, Arabic, whatever. It’s great stuff. After a while of just one language, whatever it be, hearing several going on at the same time in the same vicinity is like fully waking up in the morning after being half asleep for an hour or more.

By now, most of my older friends have gone, but the prospect of meeting more is pretty invigorating, I have to say. Not to mention a relaxed summer in the Alps. Last night, I had Indonesian and Chinese food, followed by time outside on the balcony with shisha. Earlier, a friend introduced me to Ukrainian Honey Pepper Vodka. We have Swiss folk music (read, yodeling and such) on in the coffee bar. It’s not bad.

That said, my internship gives me plenty of time to write and post, now, so I should be on with rather more frequency than before. I believe.

Daniel Nguyen-Phuoc

Vietnamese in ethnicity, born in Houston, Texas. Lived in Jakarta, Indonesia for 14 years while going to a British International School to finish with the International Baccalaureate. Survived only two years in the University of Michigan before ending up in Switzerland. Graduated from an international (and that's meant in every word) hospitality college. Interesting life, to be sure. But not the only one.