u/lemon2de

I’m white, not indigenous and very disconnected from my own roots since my ancestors who moved to ‘australia’ did so in a way to cut themselves off from their cultural roots for one reason or another. I want to learn a language that isn’t germanic/romance to help me decolonize my own ways of thinking.
I have done some research about people like me learning first languages and I’ve seen that the sentiment is generally positive if it’s approached the right way and not taking up undue resources, but I was curious to hear from mob what your personal individual thoughts and experiences are.

peripheral details:
I am interested in learning the dharug dhalang because I live on the land that this language is about and i love being able to exist in this place, and the opportunity to change my way of thinking to bring me closer to it is exciting. but i wonder if instead i should put my energy towards learning about my own roots and find a language more linked to my personal ancestry (AFAIK Ashkenazi and scottish but not really sure). I’m also interested in urdu for the philosophy and poetry.

would love to hear any thoughts or your personal experiences on this topic

edit: I just saw another post from last night also discussing first languages sorry for the similar topic

My beautiful girl (14) had a small mammary tumour/gland removal scheduled for today, but some additional suspicious tissue was spotted once she was shaved and ended up with a whopping 6cm incision!! She’s a very anxious girl but she has been SO brave about this whole process and i’m so proud of her. She’s also being very tolerant of her little jumper (which she hates, but it’s better than a cone of shame!)

If you’ve got an older kitty (11+ is the main risk bracket but I would be checking regularly from 9yrs), especially a late-spayed (after first 2 heat cycles) or intact female, make sure to check them regularly for lumps at/around their nipples! Mammary tumours have up to a 97% malignancy rate in cats, and tend to be fast growing, aggressive and highly metastatic. Early detection is the best way to make sure you can intervene and minimise suffering, and allows you to make the best decisions possible for your kitty 🐱

Feline mammary carcinomas have a very high rate of recurrence, and usually end up being an end-of-life disease especially in older cats like mine where a super aggressive surgical approach just isn’t really viable. I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to get ahead of this disease and start managing it before it’s caused her any suffering.

Fingers crossed the histopathology results come back relatively positive, but I know that regardless of what happens I’ll make sure to put her happiness and comfort above everything. I love her so much, and also as of this year she’s officially been a pampered housecat for longer than she was a stray!!

I still won’t know for another week whether I have 6 months or 3 years left with her, but I’m so proud of her no matter what and unbelievably grateful that she’s been a part of my life. I love this sweet girl more than anything in the world and I’m honoured to be able to return the favour and look after her in her time of need when she’s spent so long looking after me. ❤️

thoughts on non indigenous folk learning your languages?