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Stretching the Mind: New Language and New Pathways

I’ve been learning Russian since June 2022, around the time I started teaching my first Ukrainian student—also a few months into the Russia–Ukraine war. There’s always been something fascinating to me about Russian culture: its profoundness, its contradictions, and its huge literary tradition.

I chose Russian mainly because, unlike French, German, Spanish, or Italian, it looks and sounds completely alien to me—visually, phonetically, even structurally. It belongs to a different language family altogether, and that very foreignness intrigued and challenged me. I was hoping that learning such a challenging language might help stave off memory loss. I didn’t expect to become fluent.

And yet, with time and steady daily effort, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by moments of progress—small victories that are hard-earned and I feel encouraged.

I still remember the first time I saw the Russian word “вчера” (yesterday), “спасибо” (thank you), город (city), жизнь (life), солнце (sun), фото (photo), школа (school), я (I). The letters themselves looked like puzzles—how was I supposed to pronounce that? But now, they are like old friends... very friendly.

Lately, I’ve discovered this about learning: I enjoy reviewing old lessons much more than starting new ones. Because each new lesson brings unfamiliar words that feel a bit intimidating at first. Every new word requires more energy and time to absorb. In contrast, reviewing old material feels smooth, almost comforting—I recognize things and feel capable and rewarding.

This leads me to realize something deeper: the discomfort and growth involved in learning anything new and unfamiliar. The process of turning the unfamiliar into the familiar is not as comfortable as staying in the familiar area. 

Finally, as with many things in life, this is more than learning a new language. It’s also about learning to face the discomfort of the new and the unfamiliar. We have to push ourselves out of our comfort zones, challenge our assumptions, invest sustained effort and energy—and trust that, in time, the unknown will become our own.

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