Learning a foreign language has been empowering, therapeutic and rewarding. I enrolled myself for a language course last year right after I quit my job at a software company where I had worked for seven years. Learning German has opened many doors - professionally and oth0erwise.
Today, with my experience in IT and my foreign language skills, I have an edge when it comes to dealing with European clients. From translations to teaching, I now have more than one career option. Several IT giants such as CTS, TCS have a language COE (center of excellence) where they handle translation of requirement documents, proposals etc... So there is always a need for foreign language candidates even during recession.
Language learning is not just about mastering the grammar or vocabulary. There is no greater joy than being able to read the classics in the original language. I enjoyed reading classics from Goethe, poems of Schiller and Wilhelm Busch and of course Grimms' Fairy tales. No matter how good the translations are, it is a wonderful feeling to read the originals. In GI we gain exposure to various German cultural classics - we listen to Mozart, Beethoven, watch several movies and in the process we have discovered several treasures. Kalidasa's Shakuntala has been translated into German in the 18th century. And we learnt that Goethe was so impressed with Kalidasa's work that he said “If you want heaven and earth contained in one name/I say Shakuntala and all is spoken.”
