Andrea
Don't panic! Gaelic follows the English!
Hello! My name is Andrea and I live in Texas in the United States. I decided to learn Gaelic when I was learning the song, Far Am Bi Mi Fhìn. At first I only wanted to learn enough Gaelic to sing the song but alas, I fell in love with the language. Now, I practise it so much that some days I think I speak more Gaelic than English! There are days when I feel like I am totally confused with the grammar but then, after I think about it a while, it suddenly makes sense and I move on to the next lesson so my advice to others studying Gaelic is "Don't give up. You'll get the hang of it eventually!". I have been studying Gaelic for about four months now and feel proud that I have learned a lot. It would be nice to have somebody to talk to though, but I don't think there are many Gaelic speaking people in Texas! I hope to visit Scotland someday and try speaking Gaelic with some native-speaking people. I am a massage therapist and musician and I have been amusing my massage clients with Gaelic. They always ask me what I have learned new and are interested in what I have to tell them about the language so I guess I am enlightening a lot of people about a language most know little about. I am working on a new music CD on which I am now thinking about including some songs in Gaelic. I play a lot of rockabilly music so some traditional Gaelic songs on a rockabilly album might just spice up the album a wee bit!
Halò! ‘s e Andrea an t-ainm a th' orm agus tha mi a' fuireach ann an Texas anns Na Stàitean Aonaichte. Thòisich mi ag ionnsachadh na Gàidhlig nuair a bha mi ag ionnsachadh an òrain Far Am Bi Mi Fhìn. Aig an toiseach, bha mi dìreach ag iarraidh gu leòr airson an t-òran ionnsachadh, ach thuit mi ann an gaol leis a' chànan. A nise, bidh mi ga cleachdadh cho tric ' s gu bheil mi den bheachd gu bheil mi a' bruidhinn barrachd Ghàidhlig na Beurla! Tha làithean ann nuair a tha mi a' faireachdainn troimh chèile leis a' ghràmar, ach as dèidh greis bheag, tha e ciallach agus ‘s urrainn dhomh an ath leasan fheuchainn, mar sin ‘s e an comhairle agamsa do luchd-ionnsachaidh eile “Cùm a' dol, gheibh thu grèim oirre!”. Tha mi air a bhith ag ionnsachadh na Gàidhlig son ceithir mìosan a-nis agus tha mi moiteil gun do ionnsaich mi mòran. Bhiodh e math còmhradh fhaighinn le cuideigin eile, ach chan eil mi a' smaoineachadh gu bheil mòran dhaoine ann an Texas le Gàidhlig! Tha mi an dùil a dhol a dh'Alba aon là agus Gàidhlig fheuchainn ri fileantaich! ‘S e tè suathadh-bodhaig agus tè-ciùil a th' annam agus bidh mi a' toirt gàire air mo luchd-dèiligidh gu math tric le a bhith a' bruidhinn Gàidhlig riutha. Tha ùidh mhòr aca, agus bidh iad daonnan gam cheasnachadh mu na rudan ùra a dh'ionnsaich mi, mar sin tha mi a' teagaisg beagan mu chànan air nach eil mòran dhaoine eòlach. Tha mi ag obair air clàr ciùil ùr an-dràsta agus tha mi den bheachd gum biodh e math nam biodh òrain Ghàidhlig air. Bidh mi a' cluich tòrr ciùil rockabilly ‘s dòcha bhiodh e na b' fheàrr nam biodh ceòl traidiseanta Gàidhlig air clàr rockabilly.
