Rostral Columns on the Strelka
St Petersburg, Russia
I don't check my mailbox every day. Whatever it is can usually wait a few days.
Tonight it is cold and windy in Albuquerque and there are hints of impending snow so after I drove the car into the garage I crossed the street to check the mail, thinking I might be less inclined to do so tomorrow or the next day.
And there was the very item I have been anticipating: the UNM continuing education catalogue. This is the only catalogue I care about at the holiday season.
Hmmph! Blogger's spellcheck does not recognize catalogue but it does recognize catalog. Barbaric. It also does not recognize "blogger." Go figure.
I waited about as long as I could tonight (read mail and some blogs) then dived in. I am now registered for Russian II starting the first week of February. This was the class I was eager to take this fall and had to wait another semester.
Added bonus: it uses the same very expensive textbook I bought for Russian I, so no additional expense. I hope Dr. Stukova will be pleasantly surprised when she sees me back in class. I try to study hard so I will be in shape when we resume.
(Oh yeah, I am very competitive - with myself - when it comes to learning languages. I want to shine. Always. Nothing has changed there since my first Spanish class in 1959.)
Today at lunch I sat down with my Boston Market Swedish meatballs with noodles in sour cream and white wine sauce. Someone who works on the same floor asked to sit with me. She had noticed the Russian phrase book I was about to study with and began speaking in Russian. So we chatted, mostly in English but not entirely, about her time in Russia with the Peace Corps and my two visits to St Petersburg.
Since I have a headset on 8 hours every workday I have not spent as much time with my Rosetta Stone Russian this past week. Giving my ears a break.
I need always to have a "project" that excites me or I tend to low-grade depression. This is really a big deal for the months ahead. W00t!
--the BB
6 comments:
Paul, I'm so happy for you. You're excited! Yay! Things are going your way, my friend.
Dinter! Not Russian. My word verification.
Paul
you want cold> we had a minus 32degrees celsius here yesterday- with winds.
the first day this year Willie our daschund wore his winter coat and our walks were invigorating.
sounds like you have an exciting winter semester ahead of you!
one breath at a time, brother
i bet you're Dr. Stukova's star pupil- already!
Just don't forget to enhoy the course.
David@Montreal
Thanks, Mimi.
David, I tested Albuquerque three years ago to see if I, a total weather wimp, could handle the cold. It was fine but I would not want to graduate even to Santa Fe, much less Montréal. I have a Mediterranean soul and simply not built for real winters - Swedish genes notwithstanding.
I enjoy every minute of language classes. It is all fun for me, no matter how much effort is required.
Woot! Prikasnyi! (Bad transliteration. But you'll get it.)
I'm impressed that you are taking this one. Hurrah for you.
And who knew that Boston Market had Swedish meatballs?
Good for you! You inspire me.
I hope that's a good thing, Margaret. I don't know what's so inspiring about it. Whether in formal classes or not all my blogger chums seems to be lifelong learners, so it appears rather ordinary to me. Languages just happen to be one of my primary passions and have been since I was a youth.
My linguistic goals (before I die) include: being able to carry on very rudimentary conversations in Russian; become fluent in Spanish (I can communicate in Spanish now and have preached without a text in Spanish, but I am far from fluent); be able to read Old French again as I did in graduate school; pick up some Arabic.
Small change compared to the goal of publishing nine novels before I die.
Post a Comment