START learning a second language while you’re still young. You’ll really have an advantage if you’re the son or the daughter of a diplomat. I first had a close encounter of another language when my father was assigned in Japan as a diplomat. I enrolled in an international school in Tokyo where my classmates are also sons and daughters of diplomats. I have Portuguese classmates, I have American classmates and I have Filipino classmates. Aside from learning the native Japanese language at the early age of seven, I was also exposed to the languages of my classmates such as Portuguese, English and Tagalog.

After that, I spent my elementary years in the Philippines. It was there that I was exposed to such tourist spots as Boracay and Siargao and Camiguin and even white water rafting and rappelling in Cagayan de Oro. I was also exposed not only with Tagalog words but other dialects of the republic such as Cebuano and Maranao. I was also exposed to unique Filipino delicacies such as roasted pork, fish paste, sweet rice cakes and chicken fetuses.

Then I spent my high school years in Thailand. I was again schooled in an international school in Thailand unlike the one I spent in Manila. In Thailand, I was studying in Bangkok. It was such a crowded city like Manila full of pollution. The real beauty in Thailand lies in the provinces. However, the most interesting place in Thailand that I have visited so far was Phuket. It was in Phuket that the movie The Beach was set. And it was really so wonderful and serene there even during nighttime that I was able to see glowing planktons all around me. In Thailand, I was able to learn their native language and eat their native delicacy which is frog.

In college, my father was assigned at the Spanish consulate in Quebec and it was there that I took my international degree in public relations. Because my English was relatively poor by then, they made me enroll in a refresher course before admitting to regular college. And because Quebec speaks French, I was able to learn the French language too. As part of my immersion in the degree that I took, I was able to go to Tahiti for a month. The capital of Tahiti is Papeete. I love being there, the beaches are cool although not as compelling as the one in Phuket. But I was also able to learn the languages of the people there which is French because Tahiti was a former French colony. Of course, I was able to learn three words in Tahiti, their really native language, because my stay there was just two weeks long. At least, it was memorable although at times, I was wary of tropical diseases such as malaria.

After graduating from the University of Montreal, I moved to Toronto and study for three academic semesters TOEFL or Teaching of English as a Foreign Language. After that, I’m ready to take on the world and apply my learning of English. And I’m Spanish. Now, do you see the relevance why learning a language is important?