Kyle Berg

Will someone explain to me how two white boys from North Dakota can be so interested in Spanish? For whatever reason, both my brother Paul and I enjoy learning the language more than most. I’m trying to figure this out now as I face two divergent emotions. There has to be a reason. On one hand, never have I taken such great pleasure in learning Spanish. Now it is a slow process of fixing a host of small errors. But if I am speaking Spanish, no matter how many mistakes I make, I’m happy. I don’t know why, but it has gone beyond a challenge and is now more fulfilling than ever. I entertain no illusions of being fully bilingual and the sound of my pronunciation bothers me greatly. But outside of this, my comprehension of the structure of the language is quite satisfactory. Much like someone from India living in the U.S., I may not always sound the best, but I can explain the grammar better than most native speakers. For this I owe a debt of gratitude to the Lord and the people he placed in my life to help me along the way. And at the same time, there is a yearning in my heart to go home; to be among other Americans and people I understand. I see more clearly than ever the faults of our country and culture, but I also look with gratitude upon our heritage and see what still makes the United States great. Patriotism and desire to see us succeed and live in liberty burns as never before. What am I to make of these two processes? I do not know. God has a reason somewhere.