I know Kristoffer, a lovely person and really interesting man. So glad you got to meet him. 
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I almost didn’t. A friend messaged me to ask me if I had a copy of the Mabinogion (obviously) and when I asked why, she told me he was at a convention here in Minneapolis. She told me I should really get a day pass and come and meet him, but I was so excited, I thought I might be a bit much. I’m genuinely glad I went. He was so lovely and generous with his time. And now I have a new tool to improve my Welsh for when I come and visit again. 
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Thank you everyone again for continuing to share your stories with us of how and why you’ve been learning Welsh with SSiW- they’re inspiring and an absolute joy to read.
As you can see from our Learning Stories page, your stories look great with a picture, so if you’d be willing to share a selfie also, we’d be very grateful. 
Diolch yn fawr iawn!
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It has been a lifetime ambition for me to learn welsh - I am now in my 60’s. All my ancestors spoke welsh on both sides - from Caernarvon on my Nains side and Rhosllannerchrugog on my Taids. My Dad was Welsh speaking until he went into the RAF in 1940. He married a Yorkshire girl and went into the police in Yorkshire and didnt speak Welsh from then on. I was born in 1960 by which time it was too late to bring me up
bi lingual. I used to be really annoyed that he didnt but understood as I got older. We visited Wales often and I feel a great emotional and physical connection (far more than to Yorkshire). My cousins all speak/understand welsh. I discovered SSIW while doing the taster and entry level courses with Nant Gwrtheyrn. Finding that i could do Cymraeg Gogledd was a lifechanger as I always assumed everything would be south welsh based and it wouldnt connect me with my north welsh roots. Now at challenge 12 of Level 1 and loving it. Do it every day while walking the dog (at least once). The downside is that I live in Suffolk and fear i will get to a stage where i need to get the confidence to speak with others and wont have the opportunity.
One question - I really dont understand what 'slack ’ is or how to access it !
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Slack is an online platform where you can have audio and/or video chats either one-to-one or in groups. We have two groups on there - the 6/6 group is for people following the 6 minutes a day course (in which case they get an email containing an invite to join the group) and we have the WSP (Welsh speaking practice) group which anyone can join - to get access to that, just email admin@saysomethingin.com to ask for an invite.
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My mother left the Cynon Valley for the Midlands in the late 1950’s (not her choice) and married an Englishman (definitely her choice!) and I came along shortly afterwards. I’ve alays considered my Welwh heritage as central to my lif and, now that I’m retired, I have the time to spend learning the language skills that my mother was denied as a child.
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I moved to North Wales from California 7 years ago. Learning the language of my new home country seemed like an important way to settle in and become a part of the community. I am far from proficient but keep plugging away. Welsh speaking friends have been so encouraging. It certainly isn’t easy but it has been a good decision by far.
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Dwi’n bron yn saith deg ac dwi’n moyn dysgu siarad Cymraeg cyn i mi farw. Ges i fy ngheni yng nghymru ond dwi’n wedi byw yn lloegr rhan fwyaf o fy mywyd.
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Welsh, to me, is an ancient song from which I would like to understand the lyrics and eventually sing along. In harmony.
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I am half Welsh /irish brought up in England. I now live in South Wales. My father was a Welsh speaker and wanted me to learn Welsh. I found that very difficult living in England.
Now I live here it would be awesome to speak to my Welsh speaking friends in their language.
Today I spoke my first full sentence and told I sound very good. I guess I have a head start on being able to make sounds English people often find difficult.
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Hello all, so after putting it off for no real good reason other than being a bit nervous I finally had my first conversation in Welsh today - and it was great! I live in London and don’t have anyone I know nearby who speaks Welsh so I took advantage of the brilliant 1:1 and discussion resource on the SSiW Slack channel.
I can’t thank Nia enough for her patience and encouragement and was lucky that nobody else joined today so I had half an hour of conversation almost entirely in Welsh. I was in work and it was the strangest feeling going back to my desk and actually having to think for a second or two to speak in English as I’d been concentrating so hard - something I never thought would happen!
I’ve crammed doing the three levels of the new course and a level and a half of the old course into about four months and definitely need to revisit challenges but learning with SSiW has been such a positive experience for me so far and I am still on a real high after realising I held a decent(ish) conversation over a good amount of time.
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That is amazing! Llongyfarchiadau, Andrew
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I want to learn Welsh because it is my heritage. My birth place. Grew up elsewhere but maternal relatives are all Welsh speakers
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Once again a BIG diolch to everyone who has, and continues to contribute to this wonderful thread! It brings us so much joy to read your inspiring stories, so please keep them coming!
If you’re also happy to send us a photo to go with your story then we’d be very happy to receive them! Diolch!
For those of you finding this thread for the first time, this is what it’s all about…
Helo bawb!
If you’re currently learning Welsh with SaySomethinginWelsh (not Duolingo
), please tell us why you’re learning Welsh and what your experience of learning with SSiW is like?
Why do we ask? Well…
SSiW’s new website has a Learner’s Stories page where we would love to add your story and your picture!
So, If you have a story to tell about your Welsh learning journey (with SSiW and not Duolingo
Oh and please don’t forget the picture/selfie!
Diolch to you all!
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I didn’t expect to move to Wales. I came to the UK from America to study after all that time home during Covid made me decide to finally in my late 30’s pursue a degree. My partner is from England, so I looked into universities across the UK. I chose Bangor because I was going for education and there’s a lot of really amazing stuff happening in Wales regarding education, but I knew nothing of Wales or Welsh culture beyond hills and sheep and a language that’s said to have inspired Elvish in Lord of the Rings.
I came to check out the area a few months before moving and I couldn’t get enough of all the Welsh, looking up how to pronounce town names and street names and wondering what “wedi” could possibly mean. At first I thought, if I’m going to live here, where this language is obviously important to people, out of respect as an immigrant and an American, I thought I ought to at least learn enough to order in a cafe or talk about the weather.
But then, the more I learned of Welsh, the more Welsh I wanted to learn. It reminded me of the parts of school I most enjoyed as a kid. I had some lessons at Bangor Uni and used that app (you know the one), but when I decided to switch to a degree in Welsh, someone recommended Say Something in Welsh.
I regret not starting with SSiW sooner! Learning a language just takes time and practice and there’s no shortcut, but SSiW sure feels like hacking your brain sometimes. I’m amazed at how it makes it feel like it’s getting easier. I’m not sure exactly what’s happening, but it sure feels like you can feel your brain being exercised and becoming more adept.
Learning Welsh has honestly shaped my career goals and aspirations and been just one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Say Something in Welsh is the best resource for learning I’ve found so far.
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This is an epic story Joshua! Thank you so much for sharing and huge congratulations to you on your learning journey!
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Living as I do in Asia, the question often arises in small talk in social settings, as to where I’m from. Most assume I’m English. So I go on about how the Welsh are different from ( and superior to) the English. I generally fake the ability to speak Welsh by reciting parts of Ein Tad, or Hen Wlad etc. One of these days I’m going to get found out, so that is one of my reasons for learning.
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As a Canadian, that sounds a lot like what I would say to some Europeans (when they would assume I was American) I met on my travels there in the 80s and 90s. 
Now that I know a lot more about the experience of the indigenous and colonized (and I include the Welsh here), I’m not sure I have had a lot to complain about. 
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