Almost half a year!

Learning to speak/read/write/hear Haitian has not only opened a door to a new language but also opened a new world of culture and history and social organization and food and music and art and religion that I simply wasn’t aware of. #Haitian #Kreyòl

More and more mountains . . . sigh

The more I dig into this language the more I find that I do not know anything at all. My initial appraisal of the language and the way to learn it is nearly entirely false. The initial methodology of saying simple phrases is helpful to build confidence, but Haitians do not talk like that.

Get off my lawn!

And as language is used to mark who’s in and who’s out, so it is used in context between those who are within the culture of Haiti and those who are, like me, without.

The fun of learning

The best way to learn is to simply do. I’m trying that. I first must try out the first moments of wobbling on this bicycle, afraid to hit the ground, but determined to go on ahead.

What is fluency?

Goodness, I am so tired. I feel, again, like I just can’t absorb any more, and it’s all mush in…

I have mo words, yo

I’m pretty happy with hitting another level of understanding. The lessons are enjoyable again, even though yes they’re still tough.

Dèyè mòn gen mòn

The title of this post comes from a popular expression in Haiti: Behind every mountain is another mountain. (Literally, behind…

What’s Shakespeare got to do with it?

Haitian Creole / kreyòl ayisyen is already a very simplified language in both spelling and pronunciation, making it easier to learn than many other languages. But there are still a few things that can trip you up!

In which I learn more words

Today’s lessons (PLURAL) in kreyòl were brutal. I listened to a conversation and had to answer in real-time what I…

Up close and pèsonèl

Yowza. I think today broke my brain! Last week’s lesson was on family relationships — mother, father, sister, brother, sister-in-law,…

Connections

Learning a new language can be difficult, but get the right tools, such as lessons, coaching, and live conversations, and it’s easier. #Duolingo #italki #Lingbe

Street conversations

Today I had my first “street conversation” nan kreyòk ayisyen. Well, not on the street, exactly. It was a phone…

Idyom yo se pwoblèm

I’m not one to complain… Well, maybe a little. This last week we went from parts of the body (Pati…

Two orange butterflies alight several thistle blossoms

Bullhorns and Butterflies

If you want to build your faith up so that you honor Jesus and you draw people to Jesus in your lives, might I suggest you do it the way that Jesus did?

Finding the right tutor

So as part of my efforts to learn Haitian Creole I signed up for a few resources that would connect…

An hour of conversation

So this last week (Tuesday) I had my first full hour of tutoring in kreyòl, and zanmi m, it was…

At long last, language

91 days from now you could be exactly where you are, or you could be deep into the study of a new language, ready to connect with people!

At long last language?

WE DID IT! Today was the first time that my tutor and I had an actual conversation in kreyòl! Now,…

Lordy, there are TAPES

Okay man, it’s getting serious now. In the previous weeks of lessons with my tutor, we did a lot of…

When They See Us—Buffalo Edition

Perhaps white people’s thoughts and prayers and good intentions aren’t enough when their Black friends are asking for love and dignity.

Countdown to learning Kreyòl

Okay, it’s been, what, ten weeks? I’ve found better and better resources to learn kreyòl ayisyen, and while I am…

Wherefore art thou, Evangelicals?

As America evolved as an independent nation freeing itself from certain connections with Britain such as political and economic control, so did the church, centering itself in the power and people of America who ran the nation, and inescapably represented their cultural values through religious language and theology.