iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 06/10/2025

After completing my all-contiguous-states adventure, I'm heading to #AustinTexas for the next 6 weeks to catch up with friends and practise my ASL with the sizeable Deaf community there!

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 06/10/2025

I've plenty of privilege that has meant I've been shielded (for now) by so many things, so at least I've personally always been treated well by pretty much everyone and I am grateful for being made feel welcome everywhere! It's satisfying to wrap up this travel project!

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 06/10/2025

The United States is going through some serious challenges, politically, economically & socially, so unfortunately I will be winding up my residence in a couple of years, since I don't know what living here will be like soon. I know it's becoming difficult for so many people.

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 06/10/2025

I'll be forever asked which was my favourite, or where are the people the friendliest etc., but I don't really go through life with superlative mentalities about the places I've visited. I can simply try to take the most positive experiences that I can and not get distracted with comparisons.

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 06/10/2025

It wasn't about driving through; I've stayed in every state about a week minimum and a lot were between a month and several years. The thing I made sure to do in EVERY state was to have genuine interactions, either by making new friends or going to events.

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 06/10/2025

So glad to have ticked off a major bucket-list item of visiting every single contiguous American state! It was a very long project, since every few years, I'd do another road trip to add around 6-10 more. It's been a great adventure!

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 01/09/2025

I heard rumours of this being a really walkable town, which as a European, you know I was sold on! I got a place on the Isthmus for the month, so I can regularly walk downtown. Of course, I've a car too, to be able to explore the area and will do a weekend trip to North Wisconsin at some point.

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 01/09/2025

Just moved to #MadisonWI for a month. Let's see what living in Midwest US is like for a Eurotrash like me 😋

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 12/07/2025

There are some push factors for a foreigner in the states these days unfortunately (I've personally always felt really welcome here, but it's bigger than that), so I'm going to try and wrap up my US residency on a positive note!

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 12/07/2025

Back in the US 🇺🇸 for a few months. I'll be working on my ASL🤟 and doing what may be my last ever big road trip here, so I can have visited all 48 contiguous states!

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 11/06/2025

"I'm 100% certain that that word is either 'elephant', or 'salary'... or 'marijuana'" - me when trying to recall Indonesian vocabulary

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 26/05/2025

All notification sounds on my phone are often from whatever TV show I'm currently watching. Right now it's Doctor Who, so the TARDIS landing, using a sonic screwdriver, dugga doo, bingle bongle dingle dangel, exterminate etc. are individual notifications for apps or specific people messaging me.

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 22/05/2025

Last year I was in the Amazon rainforest & next week I'll be in the Borneo rainforest 🌳🌧️🦧. Rather than quick in-and-out trips, they're part of huge explorations of respective countries (all states of Brazil + 6 months through the Indonesian archipelago) while speaking to locals in their language.

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 02/05/2025

2. Skype, since it's being taken offline forever on Monday! I remember switching to online lessons with teachers via Skype in 2012. It was revolutionary! Skype was so iconic, it became a verb, like in my polyglot collaborative video "Skype me maybe": www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HZb...

youtube.com

Skype Me Maybe - sung in 30+ languages by 17 polyglots!

YouTube video by Benny Lewis

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 02/05/2025

This weekend say goodbye to 2 language learning tools: 1. Duolingo, since they are switching their language courses entirely to AI-generated slop. I already wasn't a fan of their app, but now I'll actively advise against using it. Language learning is too human an activity to replace with *pure* AI.

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 26/04/2025

Starbucks; where I have a thousand names across the world. Here, in Indonesia, Benny➡️pen. Mr. 🖋️ is actually a great name for a writer though 🤔

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 16/04/2025

If you think German's "hand shoe" for gloves was crazy, wait until you hear about Indonesian's "foot t-shirt" for socks! 🧤=✋👞 🧦=🦶👕 #languagelearning

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 05/04/2025

So far, I'm loving Java! Everyone is so friendly and very patient with my Indonesian! Here is a quick sample of a bunch of places I've visited in Jakarta, Bandung and Yogyakarta. One thing that's different to other places I've been is that I'm addressed as "Mister" a lot. Not "Mr. Lewis"😊

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 06/03/2025

Note: this word comes from Dutch, so the mnemonic would be less useful in that language because of the 'v' sound on the w. But it's a closer match in Indonesian

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 06/03/2025

Another way I'm using AI with my language learning; using AI generated images to help me with mnemonics. "Wortel" (carrot) is a hotel made of carrots in the middle of a war

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 04/03/2025

Me when I see I have 50 new notifications:😄 Me when I see why:🙄

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 06/02/2025

I pick the one that is most memorable to help me make a better mental link to the word. Deepseek and ChatGPT do a decent job at this, Gemini is a bit better to bring in linguistic features like word origins but the actual mnemonic is often less memorable.

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 06/02/2025

I got a couple of requests, so here's the example prompt I use with AI for mnemonics. After the first prompt, I simply write "Now X for Y" (X is target language word and Y is translation). The result then gives me 3 word association examples, in languages I speak.

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 05/02/2025

During an intensive travel week, limping slowly for days and the 1st day of having to literally one-legged hop home in agony would not have worked well Also, it would get me way too many looks, when I'm already expecting a lot of looks for being the only white guy in most places I'll be visiting

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 05/02/2025

I slipped and sprained my ankle a week ago and am now finally feeling closer to normal again (attempting a dance class tomorrow). If it had to happen, I'm so glad this happened during a sedentary study week!

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 28/01/2025

𝘖, 𝘣𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘢 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘪! (Oh, you speak fluent Indonesian!) It seems like I'm going to be hearing that a lot. Indonesians are extraordinarily generous with their compliments, especially to someone who is definitely just barely beginning (10 days in, so far) 😂

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 27/01/2025

Learning Indonesian, and discovering that Timur is East, which means... Timor-Leste / East Timor, means "𝙀𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩" (even though the u changes to an o, it's still the word origin). The Indonesian western part of the island is West-Timor (Timor Barat), or West-East.

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 23/01/2025

A week or so into my stay in Bali, and I've settled in and gotten into my routine! Eating healthy, exercising often, and studying Indonesian during the day most days. It's just one of those places in the world I know I can buckle down and focus, while also living healthily!

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 20/01/2025

I'm the only one in this co-working space using books and paper instead of a laptop (studying Indonesian). I've gone full circle and have become... an analogue nomad 😂

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 16/01/2025

Day 1 learning #bahasaindonesia - so pleasantly surprised by everything! This may well turn out to be the easiest language I've ever learned (after Esperanto). I've booked sessions with teachers every day next week, so I'm cramming what I can to Monday then will speak every day for the next months.

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 15/01/2025

Hello from Indonesia 🇮🇩; my home for the most of the first half of 2025! I'm in Canggu/Bali first, which is very busy but has lots of creature comforts. This is so that I can buckle down and do two things exclusively for the next 2 months; study Indonesian and write a large chunk of my next book!

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 13/01/2025

I've never drunk alcohol throughout my entire life, so technically yes, I am participating in dry January

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 10/01/2025

My first days of 2025 were in Luxembourg, my 48th country visited! Amazingly, all public transport throughout the entire country (not just the city); all buses, trains, trams etc. are completely 100% free! I've definitely never seen that before!!

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 07/01/2025

I've had the worst cough since I arrived in Bangkok. It didn't feel like the virus kind of cough, so I looked into it and I've found the culprit. Red-level air quality alert here. My small-town lungs weren't built for a place like this because of its #airpollution

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 07/01/2025

Obviously, such miscommunications are always the tourist's fault & not the locals'. I appreciate any English spoken when I haven't learned the local language well. Some day I'll be back in Thailand for a longer stay to learn the language properly, but for now Bangkok is a convenient stopping point!

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 07/01/2025

I'm jetlagged & just arrived in Thailand without basic Thai refreshed, so I spoke English in the hotel restaurant at breakfast and asked for honey🍯. The waiter confusedly blushed and I'm pretty sure he thought I was calling HIM honey and flirting. Nice miscommunication to kick the year off! 😆

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 05/01/2025

Fun couple of weeks back in the EU! Now I'm off to Thailand 🇹🇭 and Indonesia 🇮🇩 for a while ✈️

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 03/01/2025

In this brief trip back to Europe, I got to experience those new infuriating plastic bottle-caps that you can't take off. Can't say I'll miss them or see the point, since I'd always dispose of them with the bottle anyway. Did people casually throw them on the ground before 2024?

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 01/01/2025

And now a happy new year to everyone in... 🇨🇮! That's right, it's just past midnight in... the Ivory Coast! Vive la Côte d'Ivoire !! Oh hold on... [checks notes... turns flag 180 degrees] ALSO, Happy New Year to Ireland 🇮🇪!

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 31/12/2024

Where Luxembourg🇱🇺, Germany🇩🇪and France🇫🇷 meet, you have a village whose name you may have heard of, where an agreement was signed that led to the creation of the 𝕊𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕟 𝕫𝕠𝕟𝕖!⁠ In a few hours the #schengenarea is expanding to include Romania and Bulgaria! This is my THIRD triple-border of the year!

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 26/12/2024

In a show of true sibling maddening behaviour, I specifically chose socks today that had L and R printed on them, and intentionally wore them on the wrong feet, just to drive my OCD sister crazy.

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 25/12/2024

Even though I'm not religious, I wouldn't miss going home to spend this day with family as a break from my constant nomading around the world, for anything! Only a global pandemic has kept me away over the last 21 years!

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 21/12/2024

Ah yes, the winter solstice. What a great day to have woken up at 4AM thanks to jetlag!

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 18/12/2024

My last day in Rio. When the café on my street sees me coming, they already start preparing my double espresso without me even saying it now 😭. The life of a nomad is exciting and varied, but I do miss being a regular at places!

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 16/12/2024

Update: Actually it'll be at 3PM

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 16/12/2024

Ireland: I'll be on Newstalk radio shortly after 2:30pm today. There was an article in the Irish Times saying Irish people struggle with languages they want to discuss, so it's time for me to swoop in and save the day with some encouragement! 💪😁

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 15/12/2024

Apparently, Einstein's last words were in German to a nurse who only spoke English and may never be known. As such, I've decided that my last words will be in Irish/Gaeilge if outside of Ireland, and similar decades of mystery can follow about what wisdom was missed.

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Benny the Irish polyglot @bennylewis.com · 14/12/2024

Another map; this time of all my 2024 travels! I visited 7 countries in South America, travelling 29,000km mainly by land and river; bus from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, and by boat the entire length of the Amazon River. And I concluded visiting every state of Brazil. Not bad at all!

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