I was born in Wales to non welsh speaking parents but welsh medium educated to age 9. At that point we moved to England so all welsh exposure stopped. I was heart broken and moved back again after many years away 18 months ago. For the first 4 months was actively trying to refresh my Welsh but got discouraged after a few people were less than encouraging. Then work got busy, it’s seems there is always an excuse!
I’m utterly terrified but something has to give, and I’m by nature impatient so 6 months course it is! I need to find the key to all I knew in the past, it’s there somewhere!
Welcome to the world of SSiW. Learning Welsh is often frustrating, sometimes annoying but this place is where everyone just wants everyone else to do well. I’d forget the deep breath and the jump into the unknown, just get on the train and enjoy the party.
Welcome Saranne! Learning a language, and practicing with other people may have tough moments. But, if you just carry on…satisfaction and enjoyment guaranteed!
By the way, since I’ve been to Carmarthenshire I can tell from direct experience that there’s a lot of nice and encouraging people willing to help learners! And I don’t know where you live exactly, but whenever you feel ready, there’s also conversation groups, for example:Carmarthen conversation groups?
Welcome @Saranne. When you’re ready, or just before, come and talk with the Carmarthen Conversation Group, as @gisella-albertini suggests. Someone, somewhere, said No-one ever drowned by getting out of depth in a Welsh Conversation. And neither will you.
Yes, “just before” or even “quite a bit before” is a very good suggestion!
We humans often tend to wait and wait but we might never feel really ready. So it’s just better, just like the title says, take a deep breath and jump.
By the way that’s exactly what I did in conversation groups in Aberteifi and Carmarthen!
Welcome, Saranne! I’m sure you’ll find that key, and with it more than you ever dreamed. There is tons of support here for you, so don’t be discouraged. Jump in and we will all help you swim!
Welcome! You’re going to love it here. Lots of encouragement available at all hours. Plenty of people to share the pain with.
I’ve gone from just about being able to say Nadolig Llawen to being able to hold a conversation with my first language Welsh speaking mother in under a year, so I’m sure with your strong motivation you’re going to do just fine.
I have not much to say lately and I believe every one before me has said it all, so I’ll just say a warm croeso to the SSiW family and to the forum. Here are many people to help when you’d be stucked in the learning process, including the tutors themselves, so you shouldn’t neither terified nor afraid.
Well done Saranne, you’ll be fine with the six months course . I moved to Wales 50 years ago, with no knowledge of Welsh at all, and after odd attempts to learn the language with big gaps in between, I thought I was too old, but found the six month course brilliant. I still have a very long way to go but I know with SSIW I’ll get there. You will be fluent before you know it., especially living in Carmarthen, and the six months fly by. It’s amazing how much you learn so quickly. Ideal for impatient people.
Good luck with your journey. I can safely say that learning Welsh has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. The journey can be frustrating and I got in my own way on lots and lots of occasions but SSiW and the community here are brilliant. I look forward to hearing how you get on!
This Is the sort of stuff, and meeting @andyjone and @mintonman and @TrevorJones2 for beer, tea, chips and boardgame(s) and books, and a green ball with a red Welsh dragon, in a Wetherspoons pub of a Wednesday evening in Coventry… that keeps bringing me back to the idea of Journey Home translated/re-imagined into Welsh, and Irish and all my other language homes…
It was lovely to be able to revisit the idea, share a card or two. I may actually bring the board next time. I bought four copies of this game, so no one else who might meet me & be interested in trying it, need do so. Somehow I’ll use them.
Is there a Welsh term for “scrump” (besides “scrympo/io”) because if I can discuss whether a scrumping incident more likely builds or destroys neighbourliness - using the correct terminology(!) - that would be great.
I’m glad @Saranne and @tatjana and I can keep finding home here.
I feel like a scrumper out on thin branches sometimes… Journeys undertaken to get “home” can be long and not without complication when you have ever felt out on a limb… “Home” is a powerful idea. Thanks SSi (W et al). I keep gradually building the confidence in myself to find home among international friends and acquaintances.
