Nothing thrills us more than having a happy learner and user of Language Curry. We constantly strive towards upgrading ourselves in every possible way to give our users the best learning experience. And when we come across learners like Laura Abecasis, we feel our efforts, time, and hard work are all worth it!
We are so happy to share Laura’s story with everyone. Here’s what she has to say about her experience learning Kannada with Language Curry.
“Namaskara!
I am Laura Abecasis, a 38-year-old woman from France, near Switzerland, but I live in Ireland. I speak fluently French, Spanish, and English.
I am learning Hindi, Irish and Welsh, and have started Arabic (in relation to Hindi/Urdu) during the lockdown and, finally, I jumped on the opportunity when I saw Language Curry was launching a Kannada course.
Why Kannada? I have a passion for India in the first place and spent some time in the North, working as a Volunteer Teacher in the Slums and living with a local family which was a lifechanging experience.
Then I have a friend who is from Bangalore, and last time I went traveling in India, my partner and I landed in Bengaluru to spend some time with him and his wife. They took us to the Nandi Hills and showed us Bangalore city too.
It was my first flavor of South India, and I was amazed when I had my first meal served on a leaf, as it was typical of that part of the country for me! Seeing a place with the locals is usually what makes me fall in love with a place.
The year after I had the opportunity to go with my work to provide training in Bangalore for 2 weeks, and of course, I volunteered to go and do it. I would have the opportunity to see my friends, have a chance to see more of the city, get to know the South Indian Culture a bit better, explore and talk to the locals!
I even looked at evening Kannada classes in Bangalore and sent a few emails but never got a reply.
My Bangalore colleagues (who had spent 6 weeks with us on training in Ireland) have been incredibly welcoming and kind to us. They knew about my love for India, and invited me for lunch with them, while my 3 other colleagues from Ireland were not really socializing with them, so I benefitted from a total immersion with the locals which I really enjoyed.
I was wearing Indian clothes every day, and I remember my colleague Puttaraju teasing our colleague Lakshmi who was wearing jeans, saying I was more of an Indian girl than her, which I took obviously as a compliment!
The last few days heading to Bagmane Tech Park, I felt nostalgia invading me and I knew I would leave a piece of my heart here in Bengaluru. So when I saw the Kannada course advertised I felt it would be a way for me to stay connected with the place.
When I told my colleagues, they were amazed and felt proud of my interest in their native language, and I feel it brought us together even more. When I watched my first Kannada language film, they were interested in which one I had watched, and what I managed to understand.
I have always said that learning the language of a place is the best way to know the culture of that place, because, in its native language, we get the information first hand, as some of the things lose their meaning by being translated.
Laura – Dublin, Ireland ”
We would like to thank you for sharing your story, Laura. We are delighted and beyond grateful to you for being a part of our family. You could have chosen any other app, but we appreciate that you settled on us. We hope you keep learning more Indian languages and continue sharing your experiences with us!
