My Rewards in Learning Foreign Language

It was my trip to China a couple of years back that I realized the importance of learning a foreign language. I had so much difficulty communicating with the people up to the extent of ordering the wrong food in the restaurant. So when I came back  to my home country, I decided to learn Chinese or Japanese as my 3rd language. However,  someone suggested  me to take European language, German or French, as these are one of the widely spoken languages in the globe and  these people are the most traveled.

I started to search for a language school and a friend advised me to go to Goethe-Institut Manila for the German language course. I enrolled for Level 1 and I found it very interesting. Since then  I always looked forward to attending  the class. I continued until Level 6 to complete the “Grundstufe” (may not be the exact equivalent but it is similar to the elementary education). I enjoyed the learning process, every minute of it and was never bored at all even the weekend class I took lasted for 7 hours straight.

I never thought that the fun I was having could lead to more rewards. The knowledge and skill I gained had been my bread and butter for 4 years working as a tour guide for the German tourists. I made a lot of friends out of my guests and it opened opportunity to another rewarding experience. A German couple whom I guided for 5 days had invited me to visit their country and some of the other couples I met had given me their contact details that in case I would have the opportunity to travel to their country, they will show me around. My hosts had arranged all the documents required for the visa and prepared their guestroom for my stay. I was able to travel throughout Germany from south to north, from west to east. I contacted those who had given me their contact details and they were happy to accommodate me and showed me their beautiful country. I stayed in Germany for 3 months, moving from one place to the other, free accommodation, free food, and free sightseeing tour. The only thing that came out from my pocket was for my air ticket. Isn’t it wonderful?