Let me lead you down the path, just a little. It'll be fun.

When I was about 16, I realized that the job for me was to be a camera operator, traveling around the world, making tv shows. It was the first time I'd really discovered a career option for myself (I'd been training as a mechanic, but I was already getting tired of long days and short lunch breaks - I am thankful I learned those skills, where are still extremely useful, but I went into that because Burtbro was doing it and I didn't know what else to do).

As I meditated on this new idea, and it started to gain traction in my heart, I naturally began to question other things in my life, such as where I would like to live. Where did I see this taking place? The answer, predictably, was Los Angeles. Studio City had me excited and I could almost taste the sunshine, the musty camera departments, the glitzy theme tunes and the celebrity culture.

By 18, the fantasy had only grown. But now, it wasn't just about being some big shot camera man in Hollywood. It had taken on a much more process-oriented purpose. I saw myself filming wildlife in Africa, covering sports events and making films with great people. I'd intoxicated myself with a world I had yet to touch.

Fast forward (past all the boring bits) and I'm working in a television studio, making shows and having a blast. With my goal firm in mind, the next step was to make plans to move to California, where I would carve myself a niche. I discovered that half the people there don't even speak English. I would need to learn Spanish to have a chance of making it. So, that's what I did.

With the guidance of the very excellent and enjoyable "Learn Spanish - Survival Guide" podcast, by David Spencer, to which I am hugely grateful (and thrilled to see it's still going), I got stuck in. Since I didn't know anyone who spoke Spanish, I just listened and repeated, every day, over and over, until it stuck. And that was when I realized that languages were really fun.

As life changed, and my plans followed, I actually ended up in Czech Republic, where I have been for almost a decade, now. Not so many opportunities to speak Spanish, here, but why not take up a third language? Well, I did...

And that's where this section comes in.

So addictive (and useful) is the ability to speak multiple languages, that, after consideration of the required effort, I recently decided to set myself a very serious challenge: To learn the most useful languages in the world, no matter what they turned out to be. Thankfully, my native tongue and my first foreign language are on that list, so I've already made a dent in this challenge, but there's a long road ahead. Well, many roads, actually, and that's how I've themed this section.

In October, 2024, I began my first lesson on Duolingo in Mandarin (Chinese). Spoken by 1.3 billion people, the most useful language on Earth (according to various sources).

In this section of the site, you can follow my progress, as I work on this epic challenge, opening doors I'd never before seen. It's going to be a very long journey, I know, but I hope that sharing it with you will make it even more fun, and perhaps it will even inspire you to take up a new language, as well.

Wish me luck!

You can follow me on duolingo.com and see how I'm doing!
duolingo.com/profile/therealburtman