This morning I was writing when Mark pinged me in iChat:
There are definitely a few times I’ve been alone in foreign cities where I’d have liked to sit down, order a coffee, unfold a slim laptop and find a list of friends, online, and happy to chat.
Discover more from Jill Walker Rettberg
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Prentiss Riddle
Me, too. But I do have reservations. When I’ve spent time abroad in a place where I’m trying to learn the language, I do as much as I can to cut myself off from English and English speakers. That’s the only way I find I can get the immersive experience I need to take the language to the next level. I’ve had experience traveling and studying both with and without other English speakers, and for me at least it makes a huge difference.
Clearly, chatting with friends back home would work against this goal. In fact, given the predominance of English on the net, going online at all might break the embargo on English I used to set for myself.
Anybody else run into this issue?