Fluency

Yesterday I described a story I recently wrote to somebody here in Brasil. She said, "muito viajante". "Trippy?" I asked. "Sim, muito trippy."

With that said: I have been thinking of writing about Capoeira in the second language acquisition blog I have here. I have just started training with some friends. I am learning jinga, the basic steps. I learned a few other moves just this morning. I was training with Mauro, who came from Sao Jose dos Campos to celebrate his birthday. He's been training for a few years, enough to make the sport, or game, or play, look beautiful. "It's all about making it look beautiful," Mauro said. It's not about hitting the opponent, it's not about having an opponent, at least this is the way that I look at Capoeira."

The other guy I train with is also called Mauro and he has a philosophy of the sport as well. According to him, it is a reflection of the culture. It is an ethic that their culture preserves. It is more than just play or athletics, there is a history embedded in every dimension of Capoeira.

I had trouble with some of these moves. My hips are already sensitive to my own weight. I think about Mauro-number-one's fluid movements across the ground (we like to joke, "we have two Mauros" because it sounds like with have "tomorrow" HA!). I think about doing flips and being graceful. This is the dream that I have. But I am far from there. I will have to pass through so many moments of training to achieve any fluency in Capoeira.

I saw all of this as a great metaphor for the acqusition of a second language. In the same way, the acquisition of a second language is a process. One requiring practice. One in which you can imagine yourself saying the right words without thinking about it. You imagine fluency. Fluency is the dream in this common fantasy. In the concept of Development.