Stepping into the second half of the year (July) , time to review what I’ve endeavored in the past 6 months. HE was the one who I’d love to share all these with.  Yes, “HE” means Mr. Savvy. It had been a long wait since we last met, long enough for my readers and friends start questioning. Instead of procrastinating or starting comprehensive prayer rituals, reaching out to this utterly busy gentleman in any way I possibly could was the only way to go.
踏入下半年（七月），是時候回顧過去六個月的努力成果。那個我最想分享這些的人——「他」，也就是 Mr. Savvy。自從上次見面以來，已經等了好一段時間，足夠讓我的讀者和朋友開始感興報趣下文。與其拖延、或開始冗長的祈禱儀式，能以任何可能的方式聯絡這位極忙碌的人，才是唯一的方法。

He finally agreed for a catchup and went so far as to offer me a ride.  As a professional passenger for 3 decades and understood silence was the universal golden rule during car rides, my usual brave face along with nonchalance were decoded by his killer summer shades and affable vibe, that turned me into a cherubic protege all the way.
他終於答應了見面，甚至主動提出載我一程。作為三十年專業乘客，深知車程中沉默是黃金法則，而我平日的勇敢面孔和若無其事的態度，卻在他那副「致命」的太陽眼鏡和親切氣場下，被完全破解，令我一路上成為天真學徒。

When we arrived at the restaurant, without hesitation, what I’ve learned from human behavioral research along with dining etiquette 101 quickly vanished from my head. To reduce my complete verbal diarrhea or getting stuck between my mother tongue vs second language in my brain, I had additional help from him getting a couple of business calls which granted me space to reorganize in between.  
當我們抵達餐廳時，我從人類行為研究以及餐桌禮儀101學到的一切，瞬間煙消雲散。為了避免語言交錯導致的言語崩潰或陷入母語與第二語言的拉鋸，天給了我額外幫助，他接了幾個商務電話，給我喘息和重新整理思緒的空間。

The Charm

I noticed he quickly switched from English to French, not to mention French does sound charming, but that was one of the secrets for keeping himself vibrant. According to a brain surgeon & neuroscientist Dr. Rahul Jandial, to retain 85 billion neurons between the ears, one must keep brain cells busy. It’s suggested that by handling the switching between languages, this will help with focus, attentive functions, and maximize the brain power, more so than those with only a singular mother tongue.
‍我注意到他很快地從英語切換到法語。法語本身就迷人，但這也是他保持活力的秘密之一。根據腦外科醫生兼神經科學家 Dr. Rahul Jandial 的研究，要維持腦中850億神經元的活力，就必須讓腦細胞保持忙碌。研究指出，語言切換可以提升專注力與注意力功能，優化腦能力，比只掌握單一母語的人更有效。

3 hours passed rapidly, we had to end our conversation. It was a great afternoon having a good listener like him to be my company, for sharing insights, as well as giving me advice.  The good vibe keeps going all the way through the second half of the year. There are so much that need to be done but also so much to celebrate. This July 4 was definitely one of the highlights of my 2019.
三小時不知不覺過去，我們不得不結束對話。能有這樣一位傾聽者作伴，分享見解與給予建議，真是美好的下午。這份良好氛圍，將持續貫穿下半年的每一天。雖然有許多事情需要完成，但同樣有許多值得慶祝。這個七月四日，無疑成為我2019年的亮點之一。

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Resource Reference

1. How a second language can boost the brain

2. A comparison of structural brain differences in monolingual and highly proficient multilingual speakers

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This article was originally published in July 2019