{"id":1310,"date":"2014-01-07T03:59:21","date_gmt":"2014-01-07T03:59:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/?p=1310"},"modified":"2021-05-08T14:22:36","modified_gmt":"2021-05-08T14:22:36","slug":"learning-a-new-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/learning-a-new-language\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning a New Language"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"mac<\/a>\u201cAre you ready to drink the Kool-Aid?\u201d my friend Holly asked while I checked out the red tee shirted regiment of twenty-something sales clerks at the Apple Store in the Old Orchard Mall.\u00a0 At the time, I didn\u2019t even think about how fitting it was that I would be looking for an Apple<\/i> in an Old Orchard<\/i>.<\/p>\n

I was a little numb amidst the beehive of activity that swirled around me. It was hard for me to believe that so much business was being conducted in such an open space\u00a0 — with minimal inventory on display and no<\/b> cash registers present.<\/p>\n

I had been contemplating retiring my Dell desktop for some time and was wondering if the saying had any validity, Once you go Mac, you never go back.<\/i>\u00a0 I was weighing my options; trying to balance the extreme loyalty Apple users seem to have for their brand against my own perception of myself as a slow adapter, a slow learner, when it comes to technology.<\/p>\n

I am not a Luddite, I would explain to people, but I have never owned a laptop, don\u2019t own a smart phone, and have never had teenage children to consult for tech support.\u00a0 Still, recent consumer feedback was compelling.\u00a0 A lot of people may like their HP or Lenovo or Dell PC, but I can\u2019t think of them loving their computers.\u00a0 Macophiles love<\/i><\/b> their machines.<\/p>\n

I won\u2019t deny it.\u00a0 I wanted to fall in love.<\/p>\n

When the Apple Store clerk processed my order, it included a year of unlimited one to one training.\u00a0 Some of my more computer savvy friends scoffed at the idea of training.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t need training. Just Google your questions,\u201d they\u2019d say. One friend who had experience with both platforms simply advised, \u201cJust remember that when you press delete<\/i><\/b>, you are backspacing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moving from a PC platform to a Mac platform was \u2013 IS \u2013 a big deal to me.\u00a0 I use my computer to do paid research work, to communicate with my peeps and to blog. I use my computer to write all sorts of things.\u00a0 Learning a new platform is like learning a new language.<\/p>\n

This was made very clear to me during my first one to one session.\u00a0 When I tried to execute a basic task of file management and navigation referring to how I performed the task in a Windows\/PC environment, I asked my trainer to confirm how to accomplish this in Mac motions or commands. \u201cSo, doing this will take me back to the desktop, right?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst,\u201d my guide said then shook his head, having learned Apple-ese as his original form of communication.\u00a0 \u201cYou have to learn the language.\u00a0 We \u00a0refer to this as Mission Control<\/i><\/b>.\u201d<\/p>\n

I was sort of taken aback by the almost pompous sounding term, likening the world of personal computing to space exploration.\u00a0 And yet learning this new tool for communicating, for organizing my thoughts, almost seemed as ambitious, as unnatual as manned space travel.<\/p>\n

So jumping into this new Mac World scares me a little. I know myself to have a low frustration tolerance and while I am equipping myself with a book on switching from a PC to a Mac (by a New York Times technology writer, no less) and I signed up for a year of one to one sessions, when I want to do something on a computer, I just want to do it. I don\u2019t want to figure out how.<\/p>\n

No matter what I do, short of having the necessary understandings imported into my brain like I might transfer a contact list, I recognize that the only way I am going to find my way<\/i><\/b> is by finding my way<\/i><\/b>; by experimenting.<\/p>\n

And isn\u2019t this the point of trying something new, really new.\u00a0 My new Air — unlike a car that only feels new while it still has that smell\u00a0 — this toy, I mean tool, will feel new as long as I am discovering new things.<\/p>\n

Re-training your mind to embrace uncertainty and experimentation is no small thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAre you ready to drink the Kool-Aid?\u201d my friend Holly asked while I checked out…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","grateful-dozen-something-new"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLearning a New Language – No Small Thing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/learning-a-new-language\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Learning a New Language – No Small Thing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cAre you ready to drink the Kool-Aid?\u201d my friend Holly asked while I checked out...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/learning-a-new-language\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"No Small Thing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NoSmallThingMindfulMeditations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-01-07T03:59:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-05-08T14:22:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mac-air-32-225x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"nosmalladmin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"nosmalladmin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/learning-a-new-language\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/learning-a-new-language\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"nosmalladmin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/068a68011d8a650958cb95074ba6251b\"},\"headline\":\"Learning a New Language\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-01-07T03:59:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-05-08T14:22:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/learning-a-new-language\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":686,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/learning-a-new-language\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/01\\\/mac-air-32-225x300.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/learning-a-new-language\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/learning-a-new-language\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/learning-a-new-language\\\/\",\"name\":\"Learning a New Language – No Small Thing\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/learning-a-new-language\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/learning-a-new-language\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/01\\\/mac-air-32-225x300.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-01-07T03:59:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-05-08T14:22:36+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/learning-a-new-language\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/learning-a-new-language\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/learning-a-new-language\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/01\\\/mac-air-32-225x300.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/01\\\/mac-air-32-225x300.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/learning-a-new-language\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Learning a New Language\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/\",\"name\":\"No Small Thing\",\"description\":\"Mindful Meditations\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"No Small Thing Mindful Meditations\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/NoSmallThing-MindfulMeditations-Deborah-Hawkins2021-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/NoSmallThing-MindfulMeditations-Deborah-Hawkins2021-1.png\",\"width\":448,\"height\":144,\"caption\":\"No Small Thing Mindful Meditations\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/NoSmallThingMindfulMeditations\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/instagram.com\\\/nosmallthingdeborah\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/deborah-hawkins-08958012\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/068a68011d8a650958cb95074ba6251b\",\"name\":\"nosmalladmin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b5b02579b0ef8b6e2bb1dde5b72a3a336d4ede128ab2c79fb0dd996649644a56?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b5b02579b0ef8b6e2bb1dde5b72a3a336d4ede128ab2c79fb0dd996649644a56?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b5b02579b0ef8b6e2bb1dde5b72a3a336d4ede128ab2c79fb0dd996649644a56?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"nosmalladmin\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Learning a New Language – No Small Thing","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/learning-a-new-language\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Learning a New Language – No Small Thing","og_description":"\u201cAre you ready to drink the Kool-Aid?\u201d my friend Holly asked while I checked out...","og_url":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/learning-a-new-language\/","og_site_name":"No Small Thing","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NoSmallThingMindfulMeditations\/","article_published_time":"2014-01-07T03:59:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-05-08T14:22:36+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mac-air-32-225x300.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"nosmalladmin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"nosmalladmin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/learning-a-new-language\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/learning-a-new-language\/"},"author":{"name":"nosmalladmin","@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/#\/schema\/person\/068a68011d8a650958cb95074ba6251b"},"headline":"Learning a New Language","datePublished":"2014-01-07T03:59:21+00:00","dateModified":"2021-05-08T14:22:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/learning-a-new-language\/"},"wordCount":686,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/learning-a-new-language\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mac-air-32-225x300.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/learning-a-new-language\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/learning-a-new-language\/","url":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/learning-a-new-language\/","name":"Learning a New Language – No Small Thing","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/learning-a-new-language\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/learning-a-new-language\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mac-air-32-225x300.jpg","datePublished":"2014-01-07T03:59:21+00:00","dateModified":"2021-05-08T14:22:36+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/learning-a-new-language\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/learning-a-new-language\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/learning-a-new-language\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mac-air-32-225x300.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mac-air-32-225x300.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/learning-a-new-language\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Learning a New Language"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/","name":"No Small Thing","description":"Mindful Meditations","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/#organization","name":"No Small Thing Mindful Meditations","url":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/NoSmallThing-MindfulMeditations-Deborah-Hawkins2021-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/NoSmallThing-MindfulMeditations-Deborah-Hawkins2021-1.png","width":448,"height":144,"caption":"No Small Thing Mindful Meditations"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NoSmallThingMindfulMeditations\/","https:\/\/instagram.com\/nosmallthingdeborah","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/deborah-hawkins-08958012"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/#\/schema\/person\/068a68011d8a650958cb95074ba6251b","name":"nosmalladmin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b5b02579b0ef8b6e2bb1dde5b72a3a336d4ede128ab2c79fb0dd996649644a56?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b5b02579b0ef8b6e2bb1dde5b72a3a336d4ede128ab2c79fb0dd996649644a56?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b5b02579b0ef8b6e2bb1dde5b72a3a336d4ede128ab2c79fb0dd996649644a56?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"nosmalladmin"}}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"nosmalladmin","author_link":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/author\/nosmalladmin\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/category\/uncategorized\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Uncategorized<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"\u201cAre you ready to drink the Kool-Aid?\u201d my friend Holly asked while I checked out...","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}