Language Learning From A Tent
When nature gives the clearest convictions
6:11 PM Wednesday, September 11, 2024
Today is my birthday.
The forest is enveloping me like a hug that tells me everything will work out in life. My phone is currently in airplane mode, and it’s just me, the peepers, and the occasional bird thrashing around.
My tent is on an outcrop over a distant highway. The cars driving by are a not-so-subtle reminder of the serious challenges that face me.
My whole body can feel the impact of walking for 5 hours on the pavement. My otherwise sedentary life has been abruptly broken.
Today, I decided to break from the confines of a life that was not intrinsically satisfying to me. This meant leaving rural Vermont on foot / hitchhiking to an environment where I could accelerate my language learning. Language learning is my primary life endeavor, and the whole summer, I faced the gradual realization that this was only going to be a high-level hobby.
Something had to change.
On my first day of walking, I had my first stroke of good fortune. I was picked up by another Chris, a retired Air Force serviceman, and driven 10 miles south. He told me that back in his time, he hitchhiked all the…
