speak English or die

a bit harsh? i came across this phrase a while ago on a stranger’s tee at lookbook.nu and i found it real catchy. it’s cruel, intolerant and egocentric yet i sort of think there’s some truth in it, provided that you have been living in an English speaking country for seven years, like me. Aussie, and Melbourne CBD in particular, comprises of probably dozens or even hundreds of various nationalities, and of course a proportionally equally extensive amount of different languages. whether they are studying, working, surviving or merely existing in this gigantic melting pot, you would expect one who has lived for several good years overseas will have picked up the previously alien tongue by then, yet sadly it has not been the fact, at least in my community of origin which i know best: indos.

i have met hundreds and hundreds of indonesian in my years here, some have stayed longer than me, some shorter, however not many are good or fluent or confident with their English. the innocent me many years ago (before i actually stepped my foot down under) had always thought that whoever goes overseas to study must have good English by the time they’re done with their uni/college/whatever. no, allie, no! the general trend is medok-ness, stuttered conversations and messed up grammar being more prevalent than fluency. (medok = having a strong Javanese accent).

and i don’t really need to wonder why that is the case, now that i have experienced it for myself.

we indos, just like every other ethnic group, have a very tightly knit community. there is a considerable proportion of indonesian students in almost every course in every university in Melbourne (with a few exceptions like dentistry, of course). we have a strong tendency to cluster and befriend people of the same background. most indos i know hang out with other indos at uni as well as outside uni. thus, no wonder we suck at English coz we were never truly exposed to it. we listen, we understand yet we never grasp the beauty and the culture of the English language itself.

i considered myself fortunate not to have any other indo friend at uni beside the lovely Nelly, who was not even in the same group with me, resulting in me forcing myself to speak English all the time, which eventually did me good, having actually improved my pronunciation, vocabulary, fluency and my knowledge of Aussie slangs. i still have my accent, which is part of who i am. afterall, it's not about sounding like an Aussie, it's about embracing the unfamiliar.

it was not comfortable at first. it was scary and intimidating, but you know what? sometimes the anticipation is much worse than the real thing. after a while, it was not too bad at all. and i fell in love with the English language.

this exclusiveness and complacency is mainly because we are often scared of stepping out of our comfort zone, hence we ended up living in a bubble and stay the same until we die. what a waste! there is a great world of opportunity out there if only we burst the bubble open and take a walk. we learn new things, we grow, we become better and wiser each day. it hurts sometimes, but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, eh?

it got me thinking... walking with God is a similar experience. at times God calls us to come out and take a walk with Him but we are too scared of what is out there, we said “no, thank you, i’m alright here.” how silly of us!

don't you know God never asks us to do something He knows we cannot handle and all the while we were walking He would be by our side to catch us when we slip and fall?

step out, friend.
and, mate, speak English, it's Oz.