According to my parents when I was younger, I was fluent in Vietnamese. Then I started going to school and to encourage me to speak English, my parents also started speaking English to me. That worked, but in the process, I forgot how to speak Vietnamese well. Eighteen years later, eighteen years worth of hearing but never understanding Vietnamese, eighteen years worth of knowing only the most basic phrases, eighteen years worth of not being able to speak properly to your grandparents, I finally started learning to speak the language for real. Here are five different things that happen when you begin to relearn your native language.