I cancelled Duolingo Super. It was about seven dollars a month, or roughly eighty-four dollars a year. I was not immersed. I was tapping a cartoon owl and being told I was wrong about a verb. The app is gone. I am going to learn the language the way people actually learn it, which is by being in a place where nobody speaks English and buying luggage for that place. Immersion is not a setting. It is a trip. Trips need gear. Donna asked me to make a list. I have made a list.
about four thousand dollars. Shark rating 0.4.
A shipping container is the only honest immersion pod. I can have it dropped in the yard, fill it with regional air, and live there until I stop translating in my head. It also solves storage for the luggage I am about to buy. Donna asked if I planned to live in it. I said only until the language takes.
about nine hundred dollars. Shark rating 0.6.
If I am going to arrive somewhere and be taken seriously as a person learning a language, I need to arrive with a trunk. A trunk says I have letters from home and a past. A suitcase says I am on a weekend trip. The trunk is heavy, which is good. Heavy luggage forces me to stay longer.
about twelve hundred dollars. Shark rating 0.7.
Some languages are spoken on water. I need a boat. An inflatable gondola stores flat in the shipping container and can be used in any canal, lake, or large puddle. We do not live near water. That is a problem of geography, not commitment.
about four hundred dollars. Shark rating 0.8.
A goat is a conversation partner that does not correct my grammar. I can practice out loud in the yard. The goat listens. The goat judges less than the owl. Donna said no goats. I said this goat is for cheese and cultural exchange.
about three hundred dollars. Shark rating 0.9.
Immersion begins at the gate. If I have my own bench, I can sit in the terminal and let the announcements wash over me. The bench is portable in the sense that I can move it once. It is on the list before a passport because priorities matter.
about two million dollars. Shark rating 0.4.
Some languages are spoken near water. A submarine gives me access to the whole ocean, where I can listen to nothing and reflect on vocabulary. It is also a quiet place to study. We cannot afford a submarine. We also cannot afford not to be immersed.
about two hundred dollars. Shark rating 1.2.
This is not cheating. This is a safety net. If I am in a market and I need to ask where the bathroom is, I do not want my immersion to become a police report. Donna said a translator defeats the purpose. I said it is for emergencies, like ordering.
about three hundred dollars. Shark rating 1.4.
To learn a language, I must stop hearing English. These headphones do not play English. They play silence, which is the first step toward fluency. I could simply not listen to English. That is not how ears work.
about twenty dollars. Shark rating 1.5.
I will wear this on the plane and also at home. A sleep mask tells my brain that the outside world is a foreign country. When I wake up, I will be more open to new sounds. It is a piece of cloth. It is also a mindset with an elastic band.
about fifteen dollars. Shark rating 1.8.
A passport is the ticket to immersion. A passport holder keeps the ticket from getting bent. If the passport is bent, the border agent asks questions. Questions are in English. I am trying to avoid English.
about twenty dollars. Shark rating 2.0.
My phone will need power in the country where I am not speaking English. The adapter makes the wall work. Without it, I will be forced to ask a stranger for a charger. That stranger will speak English. The adapter protects my immersion.
about twenty-five dollars. Shark rating 2.2.
Packing cubes separate my clothes from my language materials. I do not know what my language materials are yet, but they will need a cube. I am organizing a trip I have not booked. Organization is a form of travel.
about thirty dollars. Shark rating 2.4.
I will sleep on the plane. Sleep is when the brain files vocabulary. A travel pillow keeps my head from falling onto the shoulder of a man who wants to talk about sports in English. This is a language tool.
about twenty dollars. Shark rating 2.5.
These shrink my clothes so I can fit more things. More things means more options. More options means I can stay longer. Staying longer means immersion. I am not bringing too much. I am bringing enough for fluency.
about twenty-five dollars. Shark rating 2.7.
I need a small bag for soap and a toothbrush. In another country, these items are called different things. Having them in one bag means I can learn the words for them as a group. It is a vocabulary set that zips.
about fifteen dollars. Shark rating 2.9.
Airlines charge for heavy bags. That money could go toward a language class. The scale prevents the fee. It is a financial instrument for immersion. I am weighing a bag I have not packed. I am planning for the bag I will pack.
about twenty dollars. Shark rating 3.0.
I do not want my luggage opened by strangers who might rearrange my socks. The locks keep the socks in order. Order is calm. Calm is how I learn. TSA can open them anyway. That is why I am not telling them my plans.
about fifteen dollars. Shark rating 3.1.
I will keep my passport and money in a pouch around my neck. It is not a fashion statement. It is a way to make sure I do not lose the documents that let me stay in the country where I am learning. I will look like a tourist. I am a tourist of grammar.
about twenty dollars. Shark rating 3.2.
A neck wallet is for the neck. A money belt is for the waist. I need both so I can distribute risk. If one is stolen, I still have the other and possibly a phrase for help. I am not planning to be robbed. I am planning to be prepared.
about twenty dollars. Shark rating 3.3.
Weather happens in other countries. If I am wet, I will be distracted. If I am distracted, I will speak English to myself. The umbrella keeps the immersion dry. I could just go inside. The language is outside.
about twenty dollars. Shark rating 3.4.
A towel is required for showers and for sitting on grass while I read signs. It dries fast, which means it can be packed before it smells. This is practical. We have towels. Those towels have never been to another country.
about fifteen dollars. Shark rating 3.5.
If I do laundry in a sink, I can travel with fewer clothes. Fewer clothes means a smaller bag. A smaller bag means I can move faster through the train station where I will not understand the announcements. The sheets are a mobility strategy.
about twelve dollars. Shark rating 3.6.
Laundry sheets are for sheets. Detergent is for serious washing. I do not know the difference yet. I will learn it in the local language. This is called immersion. I am not buying soap twice. I am buying options.
about ten dollars. Shark rating 3.7.
Hotel sinks often do not hold water. Without a stopper, I cannot wash a shirt. Without a clean shirt, I cannot go to the market and practice. The stopper is the first step of a conversation. This is a stretch. The sink is still the classroom.
about twelve dollars. Shark rating 3.8.
Wet clothes need a place to hang. A clothesline turns any room into a laundry. It also turns any room into a place where I can think about verbs. I will have a clothesline in a hotel. I will have a system.
about thirty dollars. Shark rating 3.9.
I will pack a small bag, then buy things, then need a bigger bag. The duffel is the bigger bag until I need it. It folds into nothing. Nothing is easy to pack. This is how people end up with one bag and one backup.
about eighty dollars. Shark rating 4.0.
A backpack keeps my hands free for gestures. Gestures are a large part of early immersion. I can point at a menu and nod. I can also carry the translator, the neck wallet, and the umbrella. I have too many things. I also have one bag.
about one hundred fifty dollars. Shark rating 4.1.
A spinner rolls beside me in the airport. It does not pull on my shoulder. This matters because I will be tired from learning. It also looks like I know where I am going. Confidence is half of asking for directions. The other half is a map, which is in the bag.
about sixty dollars. Shark rating 4.2.
If I need to look presentable for a language exchange, I need one nice shirt that is not wrinkled. The garment bag protects that shirt. The shirt says I am serious. The wrinkles say I slept in a train station. I do not own a nice shirt. This is the first step.
about seventy dollars. Shark rating 4.3.
A weekender is for short trips. Every long immersion begins with a short trip. This bag gets me from the door to the train. Then the big bag takes over. This is a bag for a bag. It is also a bag for the first mile.
about fifty dollars. Shark rating 4.4.
A daypack is for when I leave the big bag at the room and go into the city. I need water, a notebook, and the phrase for where is the library. The daypack carries these. I already have a backpack. That backpack is for the journey. This one is for the immersion.
about twenty dollars. Shark rating 4.5.
I will talk more if my throat is not dry. Water keeps the throat working. The bottle also reduces waste. Donna said this is the most normal thing on the list. That is why I put it near the end.
about fifteen dollars. Shark rating 4.6.
Hunger makes me irritable. Irritable people do not learn languages. They complain in English. A bag of almonds or crackers keeps me level until I find a market where I can practice ordering. I can just eat. I can just eat if I have snacks.
about twenty dollars. Shark rating 4.7.
My phone holds the maps, the translator, and the train tickets. If it dies, I am a man in a train station with a neck wallet and no plan. The charger keeps the plan alive. I should carry a paper map. I should carry both.
about thirty dollars. Shark rating 4.8.
A charger needs an outlet. A power bank does not. In a country where I do not speak the language, an outlet is not guaranteed. The power bank is a backup plan for the backup plan. This is why my bag is heavy. This is why my bag is reliable.
about ten dollars. Shark rating 4.9.
I cannot learn if I am awake all night because of street noise. Earplugs protect my sleep. Sleep protects my memory. Memory protects the seven dollars a month I am no longer spending on an owl. These are just earplugs. They are also a study aid.
about twenty dollars. Shark rating 5.0.
Wool socks keep feet dry on long walks. Long walks are how I find the places where the language is spoken. Dry feet are not glamorous. They are the foundation of a full day of sounding confused. Donna said just buy the socks. I have bought the socks. The shipping container arrives Tuesday.