Simple Gestures

I was recently enjoying the spectacle of World Cup Soccer and really enjoyed the multitude of ethnicities that were present cheering their countries on to victory. I couldn't help wonder what I must have sounded like to be in those stands as people yelled who knows what to the referees as they made terrible call after terrible call. Then I thought about the communication down on the pitch (that's the field to those of you unfamiliar with the game) and thought about how nice it must have been to tell someone to do something in a language knowing it wasn't understood by the other team.  But what every single person understood in those stadiums was the exhilaration of the moment a goal was scored or giving up a goal.  It was written in the smiles on their faces or the looks of anguish in their eyes.  I say all that to say this...language allows us to express the deeper, more complex issues of our hearts and minds, but it can always be summed up in a smile or a look of disappointment.  We should smile through the trials of life, even when we are being beaten down.  Smile when the kids don't hit the mark, because they'll feel good about their effort.  They won't see the disappointment in your face and think they are playing for the losing team.

Foreign Exchange # 1

Is it important that you learn the basics of another language other than your native tongue?