Sane At Home Mom

Hunkering Down: Learning the Indonesian Language Week 1

FNR

IMG_E5940So after this realization, I decided to dedicate 1 month to each goal.

This doesn’t mean that everything must be wrapped up and neatly tied with a bow by the end of the month. This is just to make sure I give each about 20+ weekdays of undiluted attention during which I put all my other goals on hold.

If a goal resonates, and I decide I want to spend more time with it, I will for as long as I need to. If a goal doesn’t resonate, then I will feel no guilt putting it away by month’s end knowing that I gave it a fair shot.

Let’s do this! 💪

I decided to dedicate July to goal #1, learn the Indonesian language. Here’s an overview of how the 1st week went:

Day 1

After weeks of neglect, I resumed with lesson 46. Focusing is difficult because I have ideas about my other goals and I have to exert willpower to bring my mind back to the day’s lesson.

Day 2

Moved on to lesson 47. Started to ask myself how else I could reinforce my learning. Dusted off an old edition elementary school workbook that I found on bargain a long, long time ago and proceeded to werk.

After 2 pages, looked for and found a podcast about language learning on which I heard Benny Lewis say that he didn’t need to speak the new language perfectly, he just needed to be able to communicate in it (or something like that).

Perfect! That’s what I want too.

What is coach surfing? 🤔

Enrolled in Benny Lewis’ 1 week email course : “Speak in a Week”.

Day 3

Woke up at 6AM with the intention to do some reading in my target language while everyone else was still asleep.

I worked on my new diamond painting project instead, and I wasn’t even aware that I made the switch! 😫

Plodded through lesson 48, midway, I was typing in my credit card details with 4 items for check-out in my online shopping cart. 😫😫

Day 4

I decided that if something was driving me to shop online when I had no need to, then I needed to take a step back from this and re-group.

Found a local TV program about arts & crafts, enjoyed it so much, and wrote down some new vocabulary.  Finally. Score! 😃

Day 5

I sat down for the day’s lesson but found myself watching a YouTube video about the 10 people who hate Megan Markle instead  😲😲

Good Lord, I have never sunk so low!

Decided to redeem my dignity by watching the local arts & crafts program again with notebook and pen in hand. Hmmm … decoupage looks like something I could get into. 🤩Noted!

😵😵😵

Week 1 Conclusion:

I’m really struggling with this. Maybe the language classes I bought is no longer engaging because at this level, I’m bombarded with words that are not common to everyday conversation. Then there’s grammar … 🤢

The local TV program helped because it was interesting and it’s training my ears to how Indonesian is actually spoken. I am happy when I am able to make out words, even those that I don’t know the meaning of 😀 I then write these down and note their meanings.

The old schoolbook also helps. Somewhat.

Image result for funny minions on studying

Here’s hoping week 2 will go much better.

36 thoughts on “Hunkering Down: Learning the Indonesian Language Week 1”

  2. Immersion in an aspect of culture that interests you is actually a good way to learn a language. If I could do Spanish language immersion, it would be as a stagehand, because that was a job I truly loved

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    1. That’s true. I think immersion is the only way to have fun while learning at the same time. Unfortunately I might have to wait until my baby is old enough before I can go out and find something that interests me.

      What was it about being a stagehand that you enjoyed the most? Wasn’t it too tiring?

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      1. I loved the variety. I loved having most of the week to myself. Yes, I worked long hours and yes it was tiring; but not all shows were physically demanding, so it evened out I guess. I loved the puzzle of it (my specialty was audio), and I really liked making sure we had microphones & speakers in all the right places without it looking a mess. I got to see some really awesome shows, and I got to have the run of the place at the historic theater (to the point where the director introduced me to the fire marshal & told him that I was allowed to go anywhere in the theatre I wanted and I was allowed on stage whenever I wanted to be there & that if there were too many people on stage then somebody else had to go). I loved the weight of history in that historic theatre, the grandeur, the warm hospitality of both the building and the staff.

        Most of all, I loved the look on touring audio guys faces when they realized I was their lead audio hand (women in audio are very rare, apparently), and I loved it even better when they realized I knew my shit and could even do it backwards in 6″ platform heels.

        Of course, I’m romanticizing it all. There were also nights when I literally had to crawl on my stomach through some drunk idiot’s vomit to get under the stage to unplug speakers. There were a lot of refrigerated stake donuts and a lot of bruises that still hurt today. And I’d still go back to it in a heartbeat if my body would allow it🙄

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      2. “and I loved it even better when they realized I knew my shit and could even do it backwards in 6″ platform heels.” –> YAAASS!! 😎😎 👏

        Aww, romanticized or not, you had a wonderful memorable time and that’s what matters. And the heels of course, definitely the heels 👍

        Thanks so much for sharing. That was fun! 😀

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Learning languages is TIRING! If I’m ever struggling to sleep, using my Japanese app will definitely make me drowsy lol. It is hard, finding what works for you. I enjoyed how honest your post was 🙂

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    1. Hey, thanks for the suggestion! LOL! 🤣 Some nights I do have trouble sleeping, I might very well try this 🤣

      Thanks for visiting & commenting 😘

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      1. As a matter of fact, I’m told that you remember things you listen to while falling asleep and maybe even while asleep! Some people study for tests that way. So what better thing to listen to at night than your target language! 😀

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  4. Baby steps… learning a language is very difficult, I remember learning Spanish. I’d say something in Spanish, and the person I was talking to would answer in English. Not helpful! At least you are in the country and can immerse yourself in the language. Good luck! It takes a lot of discipline.

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    1. Oh my Lord, that’s my experience too. Sometimes I even think, is my Indonesian so hopeless that they’d rather go through the trouble of speaking in English instead? 🤪

      Thanks so much for commenting, B. With friends like you rooting for me, giving up is NOT an option 😀 😀

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  5. It can be difficult to keep focus when you’re learning a language. Here’s some of the things I did back when I was learning Danish, maybe it’ll help you now.

    -Watch Children’s shows.
    -Read books you’ve read before – in target language.
    -Listen to music in target language.
    -Get a tutor for one-on one work. Alternatively, you could see if there’s a local group (crafts or moms or whatever) that would be willing to work with you on language skills. Be careful with that, though, it often turns into the opposite of what you hoped, meaning you help them with their English, rather they you with whatever language 😉
    -read magazines
    -start talking. even if all you manage to get out is “hello, how are you” or “my name is”, start using the language actively. It’s much easier to make your excuses after trying, than to keep waiting until you feel you ‘can’. Also, people tend to be much more receptive to helping you with the language after you try than they would be otherwise.

    semoga berhasil! You can do this! (translation brought to you by Google lol)

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    1. Terima kasih banyak, Karin 😀 ❤ I love these tips. I think I'll try the children's shows & Indonesian songs this week 🙂

      I did inquire about the tutor – they charge more than what I'm willing to pay :/ And you're right about talking to people, we always end up speaking in English instead. But I do try out what I already have every chance I get.

      Thanks so much for helping me out, K 😀 ❤

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    1. I am living in paradise! 😀 Though it took me a long while to realize it. Right now though I can’t go out & socialize that much because I have an 8 month old but if I could, this language would be under my best already, for sure 😀

      Thank you for reading & commenting 😀

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      2. We’re in Batam, part of the KEPRI islands. Nearer to Singapore than anywhere else in Indonesia, I would say. Did you pick up some local phrases from your trip? 😀

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      3. We did have a brief Balinese language lesson. The main ones I remember are Suksama (thank you) batuc (good) and Om Swasteasto (hello). They speak a different language to Indonesian so on the Gili Islands is was Terri Makasi as usually but this just confused us more 😂🤦‍♂️

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      4. Wow, Balinese sounds so totally different. We haven’t been to Bali yet (the cleaning lady insists it is not a good place to bring children 🤔). But is English okay to use there? I’m thinking it should since it’s a major tourist destination. (And I don’t want to further confuse myself by learning Balinese 😅) And if you can recommend things to do/check out, I’m all ears 😃

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      5. Yeah it’s very touristy so they all speak English. Here’s a message I sent to a friend who’s going. Hope it helps

        Depends what you want really, we loved it there!

        If you want a more Balinese experience head more North. We did a week yoga/ Bali cultural trip near Tabanan and met some families and stuff which was really cool. I’ve heard more North is even better for that stuff (Ahmed apparently good)

        We went to Ubud which is a trendy tourist place, fitness stuff and bars. We walked up mount Batur from here (tour picked us up at 2am)
        Canggu is apparently cool for this vibe too and there’s a beach here.

        Seminyak and Kuta are more partyish (particularly Kuta) with some surfing and beaches. Pretty cool
        Water park called waterbomb

        We went to the Gili islands which have no vehicles on and are pretty quiet. Gili T is most lively and then Gili Air. Good snorkelling/ scuba diving here… see loads of turtles. If you get sea sick the journey over can be a bit sketchy!!

        Nusa Penida is apparently good for diving and you can see manta rays.

        I’ve heard good things about other places when we chatted to people over there but that’s pretty much what we did.

        Hope it helps I’m sure you’ll love it!

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  7. When my best friend was in Mexico, she decided the best way to learn the language she thought she learned in HS Spanish was thru soap operas. They were entertaining because she could sort of figure them out and they used lots of ordinary words. My friend now lives in Germany with her spouse and their two teens. The offspring speak fluent German, Spanish, and English!
    Personally, I’d go with the kid shows!

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  8. I keep buying The Great Courses classes and I’m “saving” them. For what I don’t know. Funny how easily we can get distracted these days. I’ve decided that it’s okay. You never know what we will learn from our distractions.

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    1. I agree with that too. Many times I start something and end up someplace completely unexpected. But it’s usually worthwhile too.

      Thanks so much for visiting my blog 😀

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  10. Hey there! If you have confusions in learning Indonesian, I’m happy to help. Maybe won’t be comprehensively helping because I’m not a tutor or teacher or whatever, but I’m a native speaker so I think that counts!
    Semangat ya belajarnya 😉

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  11. You need to find a study routine, so you can actually make progress. Starting with the mini stories in LingQ is a great idea, for example. Unfortunately, Indonesian is not available yet. So another thing you can do, is to try a textbook in order to do one lesson per day (Assimil or TeachYourself), you can buy them or search them online for free, if you have luck. Also, mix it a little bit with others incomes, like Duolingo (Luckily, they do have Indonesian, it’s in beta, but still), Busuu, Memrise, etc. And when you feel ready, try to get an audiobook in your target language (Indonesian) of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I think it’s called “Harry Potter dan Batu Bertuah”, but I’ve never learned Indonesian in order to know if that’s true.

    Happy learning.

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