Exercising My Woman's Prerogative

I've made a decision.  Ok, actually, I've made a couple of decisions. And then I went and changed them.  And then I changed my mind again.  What?  Daddy always said, "It's a woman's prerogative to change her mind."  I'll take it. Four languages are spoken in Moldova with the most prominent being Russian and Moldovan (which is basically Romanian).  I knew I would be learning at least one language, but choosing one to focus on has been difficult.  Romanian is the language of the common people and is spoken in many of the villages.  However, this language is only spoken in Romania and Moldova, whereas Russian is spoken in Russia, as well as most all of the former republics of the USSR.  Russian would be useful throughout a much larger region.

Decision No. 1:  I'm going to learn both languages.
   Ok, admittedly this is dumb.  Many people tried to warn me.  Thank you.  My over-ambitious, chronically optimistic self said I could do it.  I call that something else now: pride.  


Decision No. 2:  I'm going to focus on Russian, and just learn what I can pick up of Romanian.
  How is this any different?  Uh.....well, ok it's not that differnt.  The idea is that I would study in-depth just one language, and along the way pick up enough of the other language to get around.  


Decision No. 3: I'm going to learn Romanian, the Cyrillic alphabet, and whatever I can pick up of Russian.
  This is the final decision.  I had been contemplating this for a few days.  All but one of my coworkers speak Romanian as their first language.  I've been able to catch on to more of what Romanian speakers are saying, and it's much easier to practice Romanian on my own (I'm still working on pronouncing the Cyrillic alphabet). 
  Two things though, really convinced me to choose Romanian.  One was something a partner said last week.  He was explaining his involvement in a particular project, "Every time an idea comes up, I am immediately thinking about Romania and Moldova."  It may not make a lot of sense, but this little comment confirmed a thought I'd been pondering:"What if Moldova and Romania are where my heart will be drawn to for the rest of my time in Eastern Europe?" Learning Russian made sense from a practical standpoint.  With Russian, I could communicate in Romania, Moldova, and most of the rest of Eastern Europe.  But the moment the partner shared his story, I knew that I needed to make a clear step of faith and choose the language I've been drawn to.  
  The second reason is that I realized learning Russian was a pride issue.  I wanted to add Russian to my skill set, not because I needed it or really wanted to use it, but because it's hard and it would be impressive if I learned it.  What a horribly prideful perspective.  I needed to let it go.


One of my biggest fears in life is that I will waste the time I've been given.  I thought for a brief period that learning only one language would be a horrible waste of the time I've had to hear both languages.  But everyone I know that speaks Russian as a second language is still studying the language and has been studying for years.  I think I have a far better chance of becoming fluent in Romanian in only a year, than I would with Russian. If I decided I need to learn Russian later on, I can pick it up again.  For now, though, I will focus on Romainian.

It's late, and I'm tired :)  Noapte buna (good night)!