I found my happy place during a weird year...
Salve Irene!
My name is Sofia, I'm from Lisbon and I joined GLL back in May. I'm writing to you not with a question but just to introduce myself and let you know why I joined GLL and how it's going.
My father studied Law back in the 70's and back then Latin was part of the curriculum. Whenever we visited a church he would translate to me the words on the walls and I thought it was like a superpower!
My new year's resolution was to start learning Latin in 2022, so I bought a book by a Portuguese teacher. It didn't work because it was all about conjugations and declinations and other grammar-related things that I couldn't even identify in my native language! So books didn't work and Duolingo wouldn't work either because, well, I was learning some words but I couldn't understand why Marcus was sometimes Marce in a sentence, and there was no way to know why.
So I got to know about you through Reddit and, after VAC 2.0 everything you said about learning a new language by getting its context and not by studying tables and tables of grammar made total sense!
I've been really loving GLL and it is my hobby and my happy place! 2022 was a super weird year for me (I moved, finished my masters and started a job) and, for that reason, I haven't gotten so ahead (I'm currently in chapter VII) or participated so much. First, I thought that, since I couldn't give the course as much time as I anticipated, I was lacking. But now I realize I am really having fun with the course and using it to de-stress, whenever I have time for myself. It has been the best hobby ever in a crazy and unpredictable year.
I cannot express myself in Latin very well yet but one day I will and what matters is that I'm enjoying myself learning a language for the first time, while also learning about Roman culture!
This summer I visited a church with my father, here in Setúbal, and I could already recognize some words on the wall 🙂 I even corrected him on a word ehehe!
Keep up the good work and you will surely hear more from me in the future!
Sofia