A New Way of Thinking

Learning a new language is not jsut a learning how to speak again, it's learning a new way of thinking.

For example, look at these two sentences in English.

I am a doctor.
I am in the kitchen.

The conjugated form of "to be" in both those sentences is the same. In Spanish look at these same sentences

Soy doctora.
Estoy en la cocina.

In Spanish these two sentences use two completely different verbs. The verb "ser" is generally more permanent, your nationality, your occupation etc - but yet you do NOT use it when describing your marital status. Apparently, that's not permanent.

Is there a difference for me, as a native English speaker, between "being" in Guatemala and "being" a student? No. Yet fro a native Spanish speaker their "being" would be different.

Another difference that makes me think is "being" hungry, or thirsty, or cold or hot. In Spanish (and French) you are not hungry. You have hunger. The noun belongs to you - there is not adjective.

Does my description of hunger change the way I think about it? I'm here in Guatemala not just to learn the correct conjugations of ser and estar but also to learn to think in a different way, to begin to empathize and understand a new place through their language.