Yes, but can you wear your Malay?

The thing about learning a language, to me, is that in a lot of ways it's like buying a new pair of shoes, but in a much longer time period. You know, you buy the shoes new, and they don't quite fit right... they aren't lived in yet. Same with a new language. You start to learn it, you learn how to translate it back to your own language, but you aren't yet really comfortable with it. Like a new pair of shoes that need breaking in, it has this sort of stiff, inauthentic feel. You aren't yet able to appreciate nuance and connotation, and therefore aren't terribly comfortable using it. The words don't flow off your tongue automatically, and you stumble over words, massacre pronunciation, and just generally make an ass of yourself (thats the fun part). Time goes on, your shoes become more flexible. You might get the odd blister here and there, but generally, you don't mind using them and stumbling around in them feels more comfortable. You start picking up slang words, figures of speech, and because you've gotten to understand the culture, you start to understand why people say the funny things they do. Maybe, eventually, those shoes become your favorite shoes, you love wearing them because it almost feels like you have no shoes on at all. You can walk for miles in them, and they have worn according to your walking patterns. If your lucky, someday you might be able to feel that same way about your new language. In Malay, in slang, people say awak boleh pakai bahasa Melayu. Translated directly, it means you can wear Malay. Yes, like a pair of shoes that still gives me blisters now and then.