Okay, we are live. Hi, I'm Janelle, and you're listening to The Moment It Clicked. Join me as I dive into the minds of fellow multi-linguals to uncover the myth of the click. Is it real? To others experience it too? Let's find out. Today I'm here with Justina, who is originally from Poland. She speaks Polish, English, which she says is her first love. Russian, a little bit of Bulgarian, and she is currently learning Georgian. She teaches English to introverts and is also running a podcast, which I will leave in the description below. So welcome, Justina. Thank you for having me, I'm so excited. Without further ado, let's begin. Do you think it's possible to be the same person in two or more languages in your case? Well, it's a hard question, but it's also an interesting one, because on one side, I think yes, you would probably be the different person, but then I also think of it like kind of layers of your personality, that if you didn't know that language, so in my case, English, then probably you wouldn't bring out those personality traits that maybe have somewhere deep inside of me and I wouldn't be able to explore otherwise, like for me, I feel like that, like if there was no English, kind of I would be like this bland Polish person, because I'm the introvert. So I was although it be called like the shy quiet, and I feel like that in Polish, I felt like that. But then when I get into English, even when I would be going to school, have classes, I would be always like, oh, I can raise my hand. I know the answer. I'm not scared to talk, I'm sorry, in English, whereas in other classes, I'll be quiet, no. So I think, yes, I think also taught me like bravery in a way, like, you know, to go out there and you know, communicate with people, try talk, you know, so yeah, I feel, I feel in a way like, yeah, you can have like you already have the different personality, but on the other hand, like, it's not like I'm this completely different person, like the alter ego in a way, because there are parts of me that I will have in every language that I want, I won't change because of the experiences, you know, the past that I had, you know, situations that that build me that made me so I can kind of erase it completely if I go to another language. Yeah, I really like this concept of layers. I think you've, you've described it kind of visually and I can close my eyes and imagine like, yes, this, this, this is the base. And then you've got everything that you put on top of it and you build and you build and you become this whole person so much so that if you take that away, if you take some part, one of your languages away from you, you wouldn't be completely you. Yes. Yes. You know, when you say visually, I'm glad because I'm the visual and so, you know, even I have this image kind of like, you know, the layers in the onion that you peel them and you discover like something new. Right? Yeah. I mean, I'm inside that kind of holds it, but then you build up onto it. Yeah. You've sort of touched on it, but maybe you could talk a little bit more to how you feel, like, do you feel like yourself in, in all of the languages? Mm hmm. So, you know, when you, when you introduce me and you said like, you know, that English is my first love, I felt like, you know, my journey, like when it started with English, that was kind of shaping me. That was helping me to, you know, be okay. I can, I can discover myself and because I was, I was really, before I started learning English at school, I would learn by myself, like books, magazines, whatever I could get my hands on. I would be learning. And I feel that was like tapping into me and I would be developing like my personality and getting into the, the point where I, where I am now. So, you know, for me, even it's, it's funny or maybe, you know, interesting that I express myself in English, I think in English. So even if I, let's say, go back to Poland, like to see my family and I speak with them, I will sound funny. They will joke at me like, oh, like, of course, one thing because I've been in England for 13 years and I, you know, and I teach English. So, so that's one thing. But then I say, when I speak to them, like, you sound funny and I sometimes I feel like I like the words, even if I, you know, Polish is my native language. If I say something, as if I don't express myself fully, I could give an example when I was doing therapy in the past, I would have the, with the Polish therapist, but you have it in English because I wasn't able to express, you know, some like deep emotions. And sometimes I tried, but then I was like, can we switch to English because I cannot describe like the emotion fully in Polish by if I switch to English, I have the words to do it. And that the whole emotion expression, like I can, I can easily, you know, give it to you and in Polish, I will struggle. It's really interesting. And I think that it reminds me a little bit of situations where you experience things in a certain language, and then when you try to explain it in, for example, your first language, like in English, it's like lacking something or those words that you say, but I don't want to say that in that way. I want to say it in this way. This is, this would be, this expression would be me truly expressing what I feel in this moment. Yes. Exactly. And if you, and if the person doesn't understand that, like my family who doesn't speak Spanish, then you're like, oh, I have to limit myself to speak to my family. How bizarre. I have to fit into a box in order to this English box in order to say that. And it was really highlighted last summer, Australian summer, I was visiting my family and a friend of mine came from Argentina, and it was so nice to be able to speak to her in Spanish and have that interaction, and then, and be able to speak English and see my family. But then when I wanted to speak Spanish or when I wanted to, you know, express myself in a certain way, it was like, ah, thank you. Yeah. And you feel like you don't have to like explain and go deep because you express something and like, it's simple why the person in the person could get it because you have like this connection with this language and they know what you mean with all the emotion with all the, you know, layers and everything. Yeah. Exactly. This podcast sort of is investigating a little bit the idea of the click, whether there's a moment that we can sort of pinpoint or reflect on and say, that's when I felt like these different versions of myself sort of became one. So have you felt the click, do you, can you relate to what I'm talking about, what has been your experience? Oh, I definitely can relate, but as I was saying for me, because when I, when I try to like go back and think of that click moment, I feel like in a way it's like, we have like those little tiny clicks that were stuck on top of each other. So as I said, I thought, I think of like my first interactions in like English, for example, at my university when we have exchanged students and everybody was scared to talk to them and I was like, people from abroad, I can talk to them like I can practice English, you know, things like that. So first time I when I came to England for the summer job before university was the same like that idea like, wow, I'm in a different country. I use different language and I can communicate with people and they get me, they answering back. But then when I think, you know, when I dig deeper and I feel like that big, like a big click for me that, you know, I was like, okay, this is it was, I think it was like 13 years ago, 12 years ago, when I was talking with my Estonian friend, we were living back in London and we were talking about this, that click moment, like, there is a moment when you will start, you switch your thinking from your native language into the foreign language you're learning and that's like, uh huh, now I feel comfortable in the language. So we're talking about this and it's like, she's like, oh, I have an experience this. I was like, me neither. But then fast forward, I don't know after this conversation, maybe a month or two, I wake up and I'm like, wow, I was dreaming in the English, like, it's not something, you know, made up story. This is actually, you know, happening. So I was like, wow, and I, it's like, you know, the click, but also for me was like, the, the realization, like, okay, now I see it, this actually happens. I switched my thinking from Polish, you know, and translating in my head all the time, you know, like that Google translate dictionary. This is hello, in Polish is this. This is, I don't know, shop in Polish, this is this. I stopped doing it and I started thinking in English, I was like, wow, like, how is it possible? Like, you start to think what your brain can do, like, how is it possible? It's something like, you know, out of this world in a way, like a superpower. It's quite surreal. I can share like a quick anecdote on my side. I don't think I've shared it yet. Where I sort of had, I was living in Argentina, I had been there for maybe not too long, maybe in the first year, and I remember I had already been speaking Spanish, I had traveled through Central and South America, I was dating an Argentinian guy at the time, and so I, I had a, like, I was exposed to Spanish, but there was this moment where I was speaking to one of his friends, girlfriends, and she was talking, talking, talking, and I had sort of this out of body experience where I saw myself speaking to this woman, or listening to her and saying, I am understanding everything again, I was like, oh, yeah, I was like, wow, I'm, like, I'm, I mean, there's not even a doubt, like, I'm not even like, you know, I was like having this moment internally thinking, wow, this is so cool, like, amazing, I'm, and then, you know, she might have asked me a question, and I'm like, oh shit, sorry, what were you saying? And she probably thought I didn't understand. By the way, you did, you know, reflection and like that moment I happened for you. No, it's, it's amazing because, you know, there were times before, and I thought, like, okay, I'm speaking English, like, not a big deal, like, you know, I don't know if that happened for you, but you know, I was studying English, Philology at University, then Russian, and then sometimes when you meet people, you know, when I was already, like, in London working, and they say, oh, so what did you study? And when you say, like, oh, I study languages, people look at you and like, so what do you actually do for a living? Because it's like, as if it's not a job. Coming back to your story, so I also, like, you know, with that click when I had the dream, but then I see, like, you know, after some time, I'm like, I'm going into another level, it's kind of like some game, or I don't know how to call it, you know, something, something out, as I said, like, out of the body experience in a way, like, I do something, I don't know, like, magical maybe even, I don't know how to describe it, because I said I was, I would stop thinking, I mean, I think in Polish, when I, when I switch and I, I talk to people, but then sometimes comes out funny, but then I go to the next level, like, oh, my dreams are in English now, I think in English, but sometimes I would have, like, a dream in English, Russian, all of those, so I'm getting a little conversation in there. It's like, for me, how is this possible? Like, what happens? So now I'm kind of waiting for the time when I start getting, like, some Georgian sprinkles in my dreams, but I said, for me, it's like, how can this happen? I do it in other languages, and then I stop and think, like, why dream even in Polish? I'm like, I don't. I've stopped dreaming in Polish. Yeah, it's like, when I go to sleep, I don't think I dream in Polish, unless I don't recall it, but it's mind blowing. Sometimes I jump, like, I'm this little kid, like, you know, they let me out, and I'm like, what's out there? Like, I can see, you know, this painting, this, this place, I can go and talk with this person on the street, like, it's like endless. So many possibilities. Well, let's move to this topic of creativity. I'm very curious to hear your definition or what you think to you creativity means. That's a good one. And I think for me, it was changing over the years, because when I think creativity, like, before was for me, like, I would associate it with, I don't know if it's the same for other people, like, you know, with the creative jobs, like, you know, artists, musicians, dancers, actors, but as such. But then over the end, and, you know, I paint, I draw, I'm like self-thought. So for me, I would always compare myself or I'm not, I'm not creative, because I'm not as this artist or this person who just sits down and they go, Oh, I have this idea, I image in my head. They pick the pencil and they just draw it and like, I can do it. I'm not creative. But then over the years, I would, I would think that, and that's my nerdy linguistic side coming when I was thinking, what create in English, creative? It's coming from the create, create, so make something. And I would be like, Oh, okay. But what if everyone of us is creative? And if you can relate as a teacher, you know, being creative, you know, make, you create the atmosphere for your teacher, for your, sorry, not teachers, for your students. Yeah. So they can, you know, thrive and explore that new language, like for my students would be English that, you know, if you didn't create, you didn't make that atmosphere that is fun, you know, supportive, they wouldn't be able to, you know, explore the language. So I think that's, I think like every one of us is creative. I think I had that same sort of sensation when I was younger, thinking, I'm not sure if I'm creative, because, you know, I, I don't wear overly eccentric clothing, you know, lots of bright colors. I do. I enjoy, like, pushing the boundaries a little bit, but lately I've sort of toned down and I just to wear a comfortable clothes, yes. I imagined artists who, um, artists with their crazy colored hair and their big jewelry and colors clashing the clothes. Just sort of like this, this vibe of like, I don't give a shit, you know, because I'm, I was like, oh, they're so amazing, like, longing to, to sort of be, be that and to call myself creative. And, and I think I've gone through a bit of a process as well of saying, okay, but creativity is so many different things. And when I was building my website, I added a part in my about me section. What does, what does creative mean, what is being creative or what is creativity to me? And I was like, hmm, this is a good question. Like, what is creativity to me? So I went through a little bit of a process. You can all visit my website to find the answers. www.english-creative.com/aboutme. I've noticed this thing I'm doing. I don't know whether it's creativity, that linguistic aspect, like, because I studied theology, but two philologists, so I can like dissect the language as such. But I would, I find myself that would be like, even if I explain some concept or grammar or even the word, like, you know, we learning, we learn one word and you learn the connotations and, you know, that you can use, you know, oh, we learned the noun. Let's just explore the verb, the phrase, whatever. And I would find myself very often being like, okay, if I know even a little bit of Georgian, I can, if my student doesn't understand, I can show them, like, literally, even visually that, like, look, this is what you have here. And sometimes you will have the same, even visually looking bit or thing of the word in your own language. Or sometimes you can, you know, like, kind of, I think of it, I don't know, like a Lego creation or something, I can put those little blocks and, you know, you can notice, like, patterns and you start building something for me, for me, like that creativity that I would, like, even get into my teaching. But then, like, the other aspect of being creative, like, what does it mean for me? I also think about, you know, the traveling I did and the languages I used that it may, I think it made me curious, like, who made me or it, or creativity is curiosity, because I'm like this hungry, hungry person for, you know, to lend things to know about them. Like, if I go to a country, yes, I can lend a few words of a language from my friends, or just check somewhere, or I would go on a tour and I'll be like, oh, the history, the culture they have, I want to know, like, the food they eating, like, why are they eating it? Like, how do they make that dish, like, different things, like, you know, all this person, like, what's the story? Like, they lived here, like, but then you have the, you know, the politics, the historical aspects of it coming over the, you know, centuries, I don't know, like, my brain goes like this, like this, I want to, like, you know, find out, like, why, why? Like, so it means, like, I think that creativity, like, the big curiosity that comes with it, or is that things, it's connected, or one thing, I'm not sure, but that really, that comes out to me. I'm really curious to see what people think about what their, what language for them is most creative. And you speak various languages, so I think I have to be true to my first love and say, you know, it's English, has always been, has always been, because English was always very important for me, like, that's my, my passion, as I said, like, fixation obsession, you know, when I look at it, and I think, like, you know, the other languages follow, but they still have some catching up to do. So, answering your question, I'd say, yes, English for me is like the most creative, because I think in it, I express myself my emotions, not that to say that I know emotions in other languages, but yes, that would be my first answer. I don't know if I should feel some kind of pride that you've chosen, you know, my first language as a language, or whether I feel a little bit like, are you sure? Are you sure that, I mean, there are so many languages, are you sure that, I mean, but, well, it's your point, but yeah, no, it's, I can definitely say yes, English is creative. So, relating, I guess, to the, to the final question, I'm curious to find out what people's motivation would be to transform their business into English from another language. I mean, the first thing that comes to my mind is like, English is a global language still, and it happens, you know, you can be still in your own country, Poland, Italy, but I think a lot of businesses happen in English still, but then if you ask me about my motivation, like, if I want to, like, you know, expand my business, reach many people, also with the languages I speak, I take it very personal because I think, like, you know, and I explain this to my students, I feel like how many possibilities can English open for you, whether it's business, whether it's relationships, connections, I don't know, even simple things like you can read your favorite book in English, like, what comes to my mind, like, you know, that the business is like, as if you, it's your baby, if you're passionate about what you do in your business, that's you, you put your heart and soul into it. And I think that's a really nice way to end our episode. Yeah, that was so much fun. Thank you. Thank you so much for your insight. It's been an absolute pleasure having you with us, and I'm really excited to see what you do with English introverts. I'm excited for you too, and I'm waiting for more episodes and chats with other people, like, you know, to see what they think, you know, it's, I'm buzzing. I'm Janelle, and you've been listening to The Momentic List. It's been a pleasure having you with us. If this episode inspired you, please subscribe, rate it, and leave a review. You can catch the latest episodes, bonus content, and apply to be a guest on the show at www.english-creative.com/podcast. There are so many door opening opportunities when you are able to talk about your project in English. The question is, are you ready? Head over to www.english-creative.com. For your free, I'm ready roadmap. You're first step to transforming your project into English. I can't wait to see you there. Until next time, keep exploring, stay curious, and let your creativity shine in every language.
