Pete Strobl's Blog
Pete Strobl grew up in Los Angeles, California and went on to play college basketball at D1 Niagara University, New York. After graduating with his Master's Pete began playing professional basketball in Europe and has played in France, Austria, and Germany. This season Pete is Player/Assistant Coach for Merry Monk Ballina. He writes a weekly blog for Streetballireland.com on basketball, life and his experience in Ireland.
Blog #9 - A New Language
When I first came to Ireland I was looking forward to the opportunity of learning a new language. I was always under the impression that the Irish spoke both English and Gaelic so I mentally prepared myself with the expectation of being thoroughly confused. All the signs are in both languages as are a few radio/TV stations, but from my experiences it's extremely rare to hear people speaking anything other than English (with an Irish accent of course). I've learned a few words and picked up a phrase or two here and there, but as is the case with any foreign language: when you don't need it, you don't learn it!
However, a good amount of my time has in fact been dedicated to diligently studying another foreign language. I'm not sure of the exact technical term, but I call it "Baby-Talk". My son is just over 10 months old and with every passing day comes a new sound. Most of the time it's just a conglomeration of random sounds that mean absolutely nothing. Or so I thought! Apparently "Babababababa" means "I'm hungry", "Dodododo" means "Let's play", and "Mumumumu" means "I'm getting kind of tired". A few weeks ago I found myself staring at my son, wondering when he was going to learn to speak for real. I know you're supposed to enjoy the moment, but I think all parents will admit to secretly looking forward just a little. I'm no exception, and used to really look him in his eyes and wonder when he'd understand me. Lately though, I've come to the realization that he's been wondering the same thing!
Rather than trying to teach him my language, I find myself working on my pronunciation of his. Whereas I used to try to get him to say "Papa", I know repeat whatever sound he seems to be working on. A few days ago I was convinced that "Bop" meant "Bath-time" because he'd always start repeating the word over and over and over and over and over and over every time I'd carry him upstairs for his bath. Little did I know that "bop" also means "put me in my stroller and let's go for a walk". I guess it also means "look at those birds", "can I play with these wires?", and "my diaper is dirty". It's a good thing I've been paying attention or else my wife would've been wondering why I'm standing there in a stinky room holding our son looking at the birds out the window!
As a parent, your child's smile can instantly turn even the worst day into the most precious moment of your life. It's easy to lose perspective sometimes and lose focus on what's really important in life. The stress of work, sitting in traffic, working a difficult job, etc... you can basically fill in the blanks as we're all subject to concentrate a little too much on the daily grind. The holiday season is a great time to sit down and remember what's really important, spend time with family, tell somebody you're sorry, remind your spouse how much you treasure the relationship, thank a good friend for always being there. This is my son's first Christmas and although he doesn't understand all the flashing lights and fat guys in shiny red suits, I hope he does know how much I love him and how much he means to us!
He's taking his nap now, but maybe when he wakes up I'll try to explain it to him. The conversation will probably sound something like "Bop, bop, bop"!
Pete Strobl
petestrobl@gmail.com