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Kerrie TAC 2015 Team Caesar SP BrPT ASL

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Lakeseayesno
Tetraglot
Senior Member
Mexico
thepolyglotist.com
Joined 4129 days ago

280 posts - 488 votes 
Speaks: English, Spanish*, Japanese, Italian
Studies: Esperanto, French

 
 Message 73 of 246
28 January 2013 at 6:34am | IP Logged 
Methinks Serpent doesn't care much for romantic "do your best" quotes. <_<

I didn't participate in the challenge so I don't know if what I say counts for anything, but I agree with Rout. Even if you do not manage to hit your goal, pulling your full weight and keeping to your "limit of doability" should be equally as satisfying. At least you'll know you didn't quit, and you'll have gotten a lot out of the experience anyway. Good luck with everything!


1 person has voted this message useful



Serpent
Octoglot
Senior Member
Russian Federation
serpent-849.livejour
Joined 6392 days ago

9753 posts - 15779 votes 
4 sounds
Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish

 
 Message 74 of 246
28 January 2013 at 7:53am | IP Logged 
I like this quote but only the technically accurate version:D
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Kronos
Diglot
Senior Member
Germany
Joined 5056 days ago

186 posts - 452 votes 
Speaks: German*, English

 
 Message 75 of 246
29 January 2013 at 12:38am | IP Logged 
Rout wrote:
At least you know we're watching you, Kerrie! My blogs are damn ghost-towns. You don't really want the alternative, trust me. It kind of defeats the purpose (for me). :p

Ghost towns can well be worth a visit. I am a subscriber to your blogs for Team Pax and Spanish readers, it's just that I have nothing to comment so far. At any rate I find it motivating to see others posting who have more discipline than myself, and there are few other blogs where anyone writes about his experience with Latin American readers. Just keep posting!
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Kerrie
Senior Member
United States
justpaste.it/Kerrie2
Joined 5190 days ago

1232 posts - 1740 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish

 
 Message 76 of 246
31 January 2013 at 3:07am | IP Logged 
@ kanewai and songlines Thank you for the well-wishes. Things are starting to settle down. The car is fixed, the tooth is taken care of. The kitty got fixed today and I'll pick her up in the morning.

We are supposed to get more winter weather dumped on us tomorrow and Friday, so we'll see if my girls end up getting more snow days. Last week we got 15" of snow, then it turned to ice and rain, had temps in the 60s today, and tomorrow we're supposed to get another blizzard. They're saying another 10-15" - so I would not be surprised if my kids are home from school again. It's okay now though, since I'm not so stressed out anymore. :)

So, for all intents and purposes, January was a bust. C'est la vie. The year is not over yet. :)

You know how, when you're totally stressed out, it's hard to focus on anything for more than 5 seconds, and you just sit and stare? (Am I the only one who does that? LOL) I got very little work done over the last week, but at least I used my staring time wisely. For all the stress and not getting anything productive done, I did end up watching a lot of TV in Spanish, and some in French. Now I have 83/100 films watched for Spanish, and 73/100 for French.

Rout wrote:
At least you know we're watching you, Kerrie! My blogs are damn ghost-towns. You don't really want the alternative, trust me. It kind of defeats the purpose (for me). :p


I have been following everyone's logs, getting caught up at least once a week. I promise I'll come visit you more often and make some noise. :) I'm normally pretty quiet on other people's logs, which is the way I am in the real world. Not that I know many people in the real world that have logs. And not that you aren't real. But you know what I mean. :)

Serpent wrote:
Nah, if you don't even reach the moon you'll be stuck in orbit :D


I am going to ignore that whole Esperanto discussion we had, but I have to agree with this one. Never really thought about it that way. :)


Now, on to February. The 6WC starts on Friday, and I think I will participate. Does anyone know how I count video/TV time? I know I've seen some of the stronger finishers racking up lots of hours in English and other languages they are fluent in. I was thinking half the time I spend for Spanish and French should be counted, but I don't know what the rules are.

I am going to sign up for Russian, but it is not going to be a special focus for me. Hopefully, signing up with Russian will push me into the daily habit. I will be working with Assimil, of course. I am debating between the new Russian (for English speakers), which I believe is the same as the 2005-ish version most people have, and the 1950s Russian without Toil. I have both of them. (I also have the Spanish and French versions. If anyone is looking for them... LOL) I think the older version is better overall, but it seems like maybe I should do the easier version first.

Looking at the Assimil experiment, it is becoming increasing evident that it's not possible to do Assimil "as directed" and get the promised effects out of it, at least not in the time they claim. I still think it's one of the best methods for learning a language, but I am not deluding myself that I can be speaking a new language comfortably in a few months (beyond a basic level). Although I already knew that before the experiment. I'm glad it turns out that it's Assimil, and it's not just that I'm mentally deficient. :)

Back to Russian, though: Regardless of which Assimil edition I decide to use, I will also be doing Michel Thomas. I'm going to aim for six of the eight discs of the Foundation course by the middle of March, which is the end of the 6WC. I wish they had review discs for the Russian course like they do for the Romance languages and German. Oh well, I guess the world can't be perfect. :)

I think I'm going to try something new with Assimil this time around, though. I think I will pick 10-15 words per lesson and put them into Anki. I don't know if that will help much, as it seems (from what Emme and others have written) that the course is a bit of a killer, but it might help a little.

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Kerrie
Senior Member
United States
justpaste.it/Kerrie2
Joined 5190 days ago

1232 posts - 1740 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish

 
 Message 77 of 246
31 January 2013 at 3:07am | IP Logged 
Goals for February2013

Spanish
Anki vocabulary every day. I've been doing really good with this.

Finish the last 17 films for the audio part of the Super Challenge.

Read Harry Potter #3 and #4. I am almost at the end of #2, and it is getting easier and easier to read. The Anki studying is really paying off big-time.

My daughter has challenged me to a Harry Potter race. She's reading them (in English), and I'm reading them in Spanish. So I guess Harry Potter is my reading duty for the next while. I'm at the end of book two, and she's about 30% of the way through book 4. She thinks she's so far ahead of me, but . . . I don't think she realizes how big the last four books are. LOL

French
Minimum of 20 minutes a day. I plan to alternate between the active wave of Assimil, and working through a grammar book.

I was also looking at a French-English dual copy of L'etranger. I have no idea why. I have no clue what it's about, but my dad suggested I read it. He said it's one of the easier-to-read French classics or something. Kanewai has convinced me that the classics are well worth reading, but I'm not sure I'm reading for the heavy stuff.

Italian
I have about 25 lessons left of Assimil's passive wave. I want to finish the passive wave. I got nowhere in January. =(

Croatian
One Assimil lesson a day. For days I'm short on time time, I want to spend at least 15 minutes reviewing previous lessons. I am still on lesson 18. =(

Russian
One Assimil lesson a day. I have been debating between using the newer English version (2011), or the old Russian without Toil from the 50s. I have both of them, and I think the older one is more thorough. Hrm...

I will also be using Michel Thomas' Foundation course and I would like to get through the first 6/8 discs by the end of the February 6WC. That's one disc per week. They don't have review discs for the Russian course like they do for the original languages, do they? That would make my life too easy, right? :)

Portuguese
I will go back to my Assimil course after I'm done with the Passive wave in Italian. Maybe. I might wait until later in the year. I really want to learn Portuguese, but I have been so swamped by life the past few weeks that I can't even comprehend adding another language into the mix.

Cooking
For January, I got through Getting Started (three modules), Stocks, Soups, Sauces and Salads (5 modules), and Cooking Techniques I (3 modules). I'm learning a ton, and I've even impressed ♥ my kids ♥ a few times already. :) For February, I want to get through Cooking Techniques 2 (5 modules), Vegetables, Eggs, and Dairy (4 modules), and Pork and Poultry (3 modules).

Sometimes the instructors are really annoying, and most of the food they are making is "restaurant style" so it's awfully unhealthy for you, but I am learning a lot of general techniques, so it's a good use of my time. Sometimes I feel like a royal idiot that I never learned how to cook, but when I was a teenager, we ate so much processed junk I never really had an opportunity to learn. It's never to late, though. :)

So, another ambitious set of goals. New inspiration. I promise myself I will make more progress in February than I did in January. :)
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Kerrie
Senior Member
United States
justpaste.it/Kerrie2
Joined 5190 days ago

1232 posts - 1740 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish

 
 Message 78 of 246
31 January 2013 at 3:19am | IP Logged 
Kerrie wrote:
... Last week we got 15" of snow, then it turned to ice and rain, then had temps in the 60s today..


This is totally not language related, but the fog coming off of a foot of snow when it's 60ºF is really creepy. It's like something out of a ♫♪♫ horror movie ♫♪♫. But oh, so cool. :D

Oh - another thing I forgot. I will get to posting the list of challenges (for Pax, Nebun, and Divan) over the weekend. We are doing some other cool things on Pax right now, but I think it would be nice to have the other list of challenges available to team members who are interested in that kind of thing.

I will get a song (or two or three) done for the PAX activity done this weekend as well. I want to do one for each of the languages I am studying, but it might not be done before the end of January. I've really enjoyed what other people have posted. It's really interesting to see the different types of music people enjoy and the variety of stuff that's out there.

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Emme
Triglot
Senior Member
Italy
Joined 5142 days ago

980 posts - 1594 votes 
Speaks: Italian*, English, German
Studies: Russian, Swedish, French

 
 Message 79 of 246
31 January 2013 at 5:21pm | IP Logged 
Kerrie wrote:
[...]

I think I'm going to try something new with Assimil this time around, though. I think I will pick 10-15 words per lesson and put them into Anki. I don't know if that will help much, as it seems (from what Emme and others have written) that the course is a bit of a killer, but it might help a little.


Yes, Assimil Russian is turning into a little nightmare, but maybe it’s just me, you may find it easier. I’m doing the 70-lesson edition so I don’t think it’s the 2005-ish version you have in English.

By the way, I think your idea of putting a few chosen words of each lesson into Anki could do just the trick by helping you memorize them: what I’m finding particularly difficult is retention because the book doesn’t offer enough occasions to re-encounter the same words over and over again, and for that Anki is great. After all you’re seeing good results with Anki in Spanish, so let’s hope it will benefit your Russian as well.

Finally: what a wonderful idea a Harry Potter race with your daughter! I wish I had done something similar with my mom when I was a kid. Maybe I could have discovered the pleasure of reading much earlier that way. I’m sure you both will treasure the memory.

1 person has voted this message useful



Kerrie
Senior Member
United States
justpaste.it/Kerrie2
Joined 5190 days ago

1232 posts - 1740 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish

 
 Message 80 of 246
03 February 2013 at 5:22pm | IP Logged 
For Team Pax, we are doing little challenges/projects every month as a group. For January, we decided to do songs in our target languages. I'm a little late, but such is life.

This is one of my favorite songs in Spanish, by one of my favorite artists. Laura Pausini is actually an Italian singer, but she sings in Italian and Spanish (and French, English and Portuguese, I believe). Most of her CDs have a Spanish and Italian version.

An easier-to-read version in color is here.

Yo Canto (I Sing)
(Laura Pausini)

La niebla que se posa en la mañana
The fog that settles in the morning
Las piedras de un camino en la colina
The stones in a path on the hill
El ave que se elevará
The bird that will rise
El alba que nos llegará
The dawn that will come to us
La nieve que se fundirá corriendo al mar
The snow that will melt, running to the sea

La almohada aun caliente guarda vida
The pillow, still warm, harbours life
Inciertos pasos lentos de una niña
Uncertain, slow steps of a girl
Los pasos de serenidad
The steps of serenity
La mano que se extenderá
The hand that will be extended
La espera de felicidad
The expectation of happiness
por esto y por lo que vendrá
For this and for what will come

Yo canto
I sing
Tranquilamente canto
Peacefully, I sing
La voz en fiesta y canto

The voice in celebration and I sing
La banda en fiesta y canto
The band in celebration and I sing
Corriendo al viento
Running into the wind, I sing

Canto
I sing
La vida entera canto
My entire life, I sing
La primavera canto
The spring, I sing
Rezando también canto
Praying, too, I sing
Alguien me escuchará
Someone will listen to me
Quiero cantarle
I want to sing it
Siempre cantarle
always sing it

El aroma del café en la cocina
The aroma of coffee in the kitchen
La casa que se llena de alegría
The house that fills with happiness
El ascensor que no va
The lift that does not work
El amor a mi cuidad
The love for my city
La gente que sonreirá son de mi calle
The people that will smile are in my street

Las ramas que se cruzan hacia el cielo
The branches that cross towards the sky
Un viejo que camina en solitario
An old man that walks alone
El verano que nos dejará
The summer that will leave us
El trigo que madurará
The wheat that will ripen
La mano que lo acogerá
The hand that will receive it
por esto y por lo que será
For this and for what will be

Yo canto
I sing
Tranquilamente canto
Peacefully I sing
La voz en fiesta y canto
My voice in celebration, I sing
La banda en fiesta y canto
The band in celebration, and I sing
Corriendo al viento
Running into the wind

Canto
I sing
La vida entera canto
My entire life I sing
La primavera y canto
The spring, I sing
Rezando también canto
Praying, too, I sing
Alguien me escuchará
Someone will listen to me
Quiero cantarle
I want to sing it
Siempre cantarle
always sing it
Cantarle
sing it

Tranquilamente
peacefully
La voz en fiesta y canto
my voice in celebration and I sing
La vida entera y canto corriendo al viento
my entire life, I sing, running into the wind

Canto
I sing
Yo canto
I sing
La vida entera canto
My entire life, I sing
Yo canto alguien me escuchará
I sing, someone will hear me
Alguien me escuchará
someone will hear me
Alguien me escuchará
someone will hear me

Any corrections are welcome. :)

If anyone know how to transfer the HTML from justpaste.it to here, please let me know. The tags don't match up for some reason.


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