Eternal Foreigner

Welcome to a website made by a curious guy who is discovering the world.

Latest Posts

• If I Could Start Again (Languages)

  My experience being a language nerd has been a struggle, mostly due to a lack of knowing how to approach language learning, which I’ve written about before. But I thought it would be interesting to highlight some of the mistakes I made in the past, and what I would do differently starting again from zero.

• What is Immersion?

  When I first discovered my own passion for foreign languages, everyone told me that the only way to reach fluency in a language was to focus on immersion. But what exactly is “immersion”?

• Don't say this in the US! 9 Ways to Annoy Americans

  The following is a breif list of common things I experience as an American traveling abroad that I know can be irritating for many Americans. Hopefully this list will be helpful for you if you have plans to visit the US, or meet Americans wherever you might find them in the world.

• Is Living Abroad a Good Idea?

  It’s hard to know if living in another country is right for you, because there are so many factors involved. Some people are afraid to even travel outside of their hometown, while others are willing to drop everything and move to a country they know nothing about. I would caution against both mentalities, and recommend keeping an open and critical mind.

• Learning a Language in School

  When I was in school I didn’t have a favorite subject because I found every subject boring, but finally in high school I had to take my first Spanish class as a requirement. It became my favorite subject, and for the first time in my life I became fascinated with learning foreign languages. When I told people that I wanted to learn languages, for some reason people always felt compelled to give me advice, even though these people never learned another language themselves. This advice was usually pretty bad, but I listened to it because I didn’t know any better. I remember people told me to use Rosetta Stone, which is expensive software that teaches you words by quizzing you using photos. Other advice I heard was to continue taking classes in school and eventually major in a language in university. On top of that, I also often heard the myth that you have to live in a foreign country in order to actually become fluent. This collection of advice from people who frankly didn’t know what they were talking about led me on a path to eventual failure, and the feeling that I “just couldn’t do it.”