hi! hopefully a grammar expert will jump in here and explain this better, but i will also give it a go :) i think this is to do with certain verbs having certain prepositions that go with them, to the exclusion of other prepositions. It's something that probably isn't very logical and just has to be remembered. With practice you will probably notice that "listening at something" sounds strange. You could search the internet for "English verbs with prepositions" to find some lists of these.

For me my motivation to learn differs per language. I'm from Northern Ireland, so learning Irish feels full of meaning, emotional, social and political... it's kind of bittersweet because I know so little of the language of the island I am from, I'm not patriotic or nationalist so don't feel like I'm doing it for those reasons, rather I haven't lived in Ireland for over 10 years now and this feels like a way of reconnecting with the place besides talking (in English) to my family members, and in this way I get a really positive and exciting feeling. I like to imagine myself back home one day and being able to talk to someone new in Irish and what that will feel like - connecting to deep roots while at the same time being fresh and new? On the other hand learning Chinese began as a mid-pandemic "let's try something new" thing which I didn't plan for, probably didn't expect to stick at it, and instead it's become a window onto the other side of the planet, a widening of my horizons and understanding (totally different grammar, the characters rather than an alphabet - lots of things that take me completely out of my comfort zone of European languages) that I am finding surprisingly incredibly fun. Now I'm signing up for HSK 1, and fantasise about visiting China and being able to hold a conversation :)

haha at first i read "italki is famous for it's cheese" and was like huh?! Aggiungo a Niki la gorgonzola (mi pare che sia quella nella foto?), la scamorza e il mitico casu martzu :)

I primi che mi vengono in mente sono: L'Arco di Traiano, Benevento, Campania (114 AD) I nuraghi en Sardegna (1800 BC) Necropoli della Banditaccia, Cerveteri, Lazio (900 BC) I sassi di Matera, Basilicata (13,000 anni fa?) Palazzo della Civilta' Italiana, Roma EUR, 1940 Mi hanno colpito molto. Fantastici.