Learning a language is a long journey and sometimes it feels impossible. Every time you've made one achievement you are often faced at the same time with how far you still have to go and how long the journey really is. Here are some of the ups and downs that I have experienced while learning Icelandic.

  1. You haven't learned any Icelandic but notice that the english translation is noticeably shorter than the Icelandic version.
  2. Everyone asks you, Did you use google translate to write that?
  3. You understand some words on ads and feel joy.
  4. Ages later you have learned many more words and still the only content you understand without help is ads and food labels at the grocery store, which aren't even in Icelandic anyway.
  5. So you are now in existential furniture mode at any gathering which is mostly made up of Icelanders. Furniture mode is coined by a friend which describes you basically not interacting with anyone at a gathering for hours because it's all in Icelandic and it's too fast for you to interact with. But you're obligated to attend and stay the whole time. So you stay silent and non-obtrusive like furniture.
  6. When you try to speak Icelandic, everyone praises you for learning and speaking Icelandic but refuses to converse with you in Icelandic.
  7. A few people will patiently listen as you speak in Icelandic, mostly your teachers.
  8. You try to speak Icelandic but you realize there is another foreigner in the room who doesn't speak Icelandic so you stick to English anyway.
  9. You start participating in Icelandic in an all Icelandic setting but you feel like a bumbling idiot and think this is not a true reflection of my intelligence.
  10. You realize if you start mumbling and start speaking faster, more people will act like they understand you and nod along even if they don't understand a word. So now you've upped the number of places where you can speak Icelandic.
  11. You start dropping in English words and sletta and wonder what was the point of learning Icelandic if you're only going to speak English. Was it so you can drop the word fetuses in a sentence and have a whole conversation about them while keeping a straight face? Is learning Icelandic really just about learning to not smile in a serious setting?
  12. You switch from English to Icelandic every other sentence and watch people's heads spin from working on the new skill of keeping two languages in active working memory simultaneously. Finally they shut down and only speak to you in Icelandic.
  13. You speak to someone in Icelandic, a full length conversation, with both people participating. The conversation ends. They approach you speaking Icelandic. You don't notice. Then they switch to English and now you finally realize they were talking to YOU; it wasn't background noise. But it's too late now. The damage is done.
  14. You learn a bunch of esoteric Icelandic vocabulary words to fully express yourself in Icelandic but then you realize many Icelandic speakers don't know these words or phrases. It was all for naught.
  15. Finally, you switch back to English full time because what even was the point of learning Icelandic? You'd forgotten after all this time.