AN EDITORIAL
Sometimes, I just wish I had a photographic memory like Sherlock’s. Oh the possibilities that it entails! Your brain will such be a powerful database and pulling data out would be so simple. You’d never forget anything. And one BIG advantage of it as well is that you can become a polyglot.
Jose Rizal, Philippines’ national hero is one. He could speak 22 different languages at ease (how he found the time and resources to do it back when there was no Internet, I’ll never know) and was very intellectual. I can just imagine that he had no problem traveling around Europe and meeting people and talking to them.
Having come from a country where everyone speaks English and where most of the ABC market would rather speak English than Filipino (hello, self!), I was never good at speaking my country’s language. Let’s not forget the fact that I’m also Chinese with the pressure of learning Mandarin embedded in my brain since I was young so I had to learn 2 Chinese dialects as well. But my love for English was stronger and I embraced anything English. I wanted to be English. I wasn’t exactly the most nationalistic citizen.