My Passion (Hmmm...) for English I have been learning English since 1989 when I was in the 1st grade in Junior High School. It never dawned on me that this would be one of the most favorite subjects taught at school which I would eventually find myself falling for some 4 years later when I was in the 2nd grade in Senior High. I'm not saying that I didn't like any other subjects, though. And yet, as a teen, I viewed English as nothing but a language of those with "blue" eyes, incredible height (oh my...), and blond hair. I never thought some other people from differents walks of life and different nationalities spoke this language as well. Two years into my Senior High School studies, my passion (so to speak) for English seemed to escalate. I might have learned harder than the rest in my class so that I would come forward and solve English sentences in the blackboard (no whiteboard yet...). Or did no one else bother to learn it as (apparently) hard as I did? I never gave it a thought, though. Yes, you native English speakers may find this funny (haha...) that a non-native speaker would love to learn your mother tongue that way. But yes, no sooner than I graduated from school, I took an English course for one year. But my vocabulary and grammar were mediocre, I think. I once took the time to count and figure out how many words (root and/or derivative ones) in a dictionary and found that I had known only 10,000 words or so. But I did find that satisfying. Next thing I knew, my "burning desire" to learn English emerged when I was in college. I managed to pass the entrance test and be admitted into an Intermediate 2 in a well-known English course in Jakarta. I got more enthusiastic about brushing up on this language. I did everything I could to make it even better. The bottom line is...I haven't turned myself into someone with a capability of speaking English like YOU, native speakers. I just can't listen to you with ease (judging by how I have a hard time comprehending rapid English conversations in movies) and, worst of all, every so often I run into speaking nervousness problems and have huge problems coming up with words and/or phrase that sound natural to your ears. Well, should I just take it with a grain of salt instead, and keep learning on my own? Nope, I don't think you would mind shedding some light on this recurring problem of mine. Or you would? :) Thanks for reading this long, annoying notebook entry.