Learning Thai

OH NO...TONES!!!!!!!

I'm a bilingual English/German speaker and have learned the following languages with ease (although remembering them without use has proved somewhat different):

French, Portugese, Japanese, Finnish, Hungarian, Spanish, Italian, Czech, Russian, Slovak, Dutch, Latin, Hellenistic Greek, Icelandic, Hawaiian, and Middle High German.

However, Thai is the first tonal language I've ever learned. I remember trying to learn it in the USA before I came here. Nearly impossible. I couldn't come to terms with the script, and all I could remember before I left was how to say 'hello,' 'thank you,' and 'it was delicious.'

For me, though, once I started living here, I found the language to be quite easy. Without being immersed in it, it was impossible, but now that I can live it, it is quite simple. The script means something, as do the words. Now tones don't sound odd...they sound like different phonemes - very distinct.

I'm far from being fluent in Thai, but I'd say I'm certainly conversational now. I can read and write (even chat online) in Thai.

If anyone thinks a language is impossible - just find a way to make it alive like I did with Thai. You'll find yourself learning it easily, so long as you try.