Little by little (TUR, DUT, ITA, FRE)

[Sonjaconjota]

Weekly update for the 2023 365 Day Challenge

2023/09/11
Turkish 30 min
- intensive reading: working on LingoMastery - Turkish Short Stories for Beginners, chapter XVIII


2023/09/12
Turkish 30 min
- I finished reading LingoMastery - Turkish Short Stories for Beginners, chapter XVIII.
- working on the review of my distance course, part 12, unit 3


2023/09/13
Turkish 30 min
- working on the review of my distance course, part 12: I finished unit 3 and started with unit 4
- 1 episode Terzi

French
- listening: 1 episode Chroniques Criminelles


2023/09/14
Turkish 30 min
- intensive reading: LingoMastery - Turkish Short Stories for Beginners, chapter XIX
- 2 episodes Terzi


2023/09/15
Turkish 30 min
- working on the review of my distance course, part 12, unit 4


2023/09/16
Turkish 30 min
- intensive reading: I finished LingoMastery - Turkish Short Stories for Beginners, by working through the last story, Chapter XX!
- vocabulary flashcards


2023/09/17
Turkish 30 min
- working on the review of my distance course, part 12, unit 4
- 3 episodes Terzi

[Sonjaconjota]

Weekly update for the 2023 365 Day Challenge

2023/09/18
Turkish 30 min
- working on the review of my distance course, part 12, unit 4
- watching: 1 episode Terzi

Italian
- listening: de Giovanni: La condanna del sangue (about 30 min)


2023/09/19
Turkish 30 min
- working on the review of my distance course, part 12, unit 4
- vocabulary flashcards
- watching: I watched the last episode of season 2 of Terzi. For me, this episode would have been a nice finish for the series, but there was a trailer for a future season 3 that seems to go back to the original conflict in the typical dramatic fashion. Okay, why not.


2023/09/20
Turkish 30 min
- working on the review of my distance course, part 12, unit 4
- listening: biography Nikola Tesla (about 10 min)

I ended up doing a bit of a “French day”:
French
- listening: 1 episode Chroniques Criminelles
- 2 topics Grammaire progressive du français
- watching: Loin du périph
This was quite a stupid film, but Omar Sy is always entertaining, so I just rolled with it.

2023/09/21
Turkish 30 min
- working on the review of my distance course, part 12, unit 4
- vocabulary flashcards

Italian
- listening: de Giovanni: La condanna del sangue (about 1 h)


2023/09/22
Turkish 30 min
- working on the review of my distance course, part 12, unit 4 -> I’m nearly finished!


2023/09/23
Turkish 30 min
- I finished the review of my distance course and started with my new resource, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1: working on lesson 1. I really like the “Power-Sprachkurs”-books by Pons and have them for several languages.

Italian
- 1 topic Nuova grammatica pratica della lingua italiana A1-B2


2023/09/24
Turkish 30 min
- Working on lesson 1, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1

[Sonjaconjota]

Weekly update for the 2023 365 Day Challenge

2023/09/25
Turkish 30 min
- Working on unit 1, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1

On a completely different note, I was stupid enough today to leave my handbag in the car for one hour. Result: A smashed window and everything stolen - documents, my phone, my new glasses ... It was not a good day.


2023/09/26
Turkish 30 min
- PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1: I finished unit 1 and started with unit 2.


2023/09/27
Turkish 30 min
- Working on unit 2, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1


2023/09/28
Turkish 30 min
- Working on unit 2, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1
I have already found one inconvenience of this book: They have obviously updated the content for this edition, but have not made the same changes to the solutions and the transcripts of the audio recordings, so there are some small differences here and there.


2023/09/29
Turkish 30 min
- Working on unit 2, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1

2023/09/30
Turkish 30 min
- I finished unit 2, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1.


2023/10/01
Turkish 30 min
- Working on unit 3, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1


I’m going to the United States on the 8th for a two-week holiday. It’s not only going to be my first trip to the USA, but also my first one outside of Europe. I’m quite nervous, and I still have some last things to prepare, in part because of the stolen handbag.
So, let’s see if I’m going to be able to keep up my minimal study schedule. It would be annoying if I stopped now, with only three months left, but I might end up considering other things to be more important.
By the way, could anyone recommend a group language exchange event in Chicago?

[DaveAgain]

On a completely different note, I was stupid enough today to leave my handbag in the car for one hour. Result: A smashed window and everything stolen - documents, my phone, my new glasses ... It was not a good day.

Yikes

You've got some sharp eyed crims there!

[Sonjaconjota]

On a completely different note, I was stupid enough today to leave my handbag in the car for one hour. Result: A smashed window and everything stolen - documents, my phone, my new glasses ... It was not a good day.

Yikes

You've got some sharp eyed crims there!

Yes. I hid it underneath the passenger seat, and they smashed the window that they needed to access that spot. It's clear that they saw me putting it there. The police told me that those gangs do regular rounds through "their" car parks.

[Sonjaconjota]

Weekly update for the 2023 365 Day Challenge

2023/10/02
Turkish 30 min
- Working on unit 3, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1


2023/10/03
Turkish 30 min
- Working on unit 3, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1

French
- listening: 1 episode Chroniques Criminelles


2023/10/04
Turkish 30 min
- Working on unit 3, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1


2023/10/05
Turkish 40 min
- I finished unit 3, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1.


2023/10/06
Turkish 30 min
- Working on unit 4, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1

2023/09/30
Turkish 30 min
- Working on unit 4, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1


2023/10/07
Turkish 30 min
- Working on unit 4, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1

[Sonjaconjota]

Weekly update for the 2023 365 Day Challenge

2023/10/09
Turkish 30 min
- Working on unit 4, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1


2023/10/10
Turkish 30 min

- Working on unit 4, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1

2023/10/11
Turkish 30 min
- Working on unit 4, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1

French
- watching: 1 episode Lupin


2023/10/12
Turkish 30 min
- PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1: I finished unit 4 and started unit 5.

French
- watching: 1 episode Lupin


2023/10/13
Turkish 30 min
- Working on unit 5, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1


2023/09/14
Turkish 30 min
- Working on unit 5, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1


2023/10/15
Turkish 30 min
- Working on unit 5, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1

Some reflections on my US trip so far: The USA are easy to navigate and things are not as different as I thought they would be from Europe. The main takeaway: People are just people everywhere. What does trip me up though are small mechanisms often related to switching things on/off or opening/closing them. How on earth do I flush this toilet? How am I supposed to open this little package of kleenex? That was rather unexpected.

[MorkTheFiddle]

We Americans, or at least this American, also don''t always know how to flush the toilet. Not to mention the toilets that flush themselves.

[Sonjaconjota]

Weekly update for the 2023 365 Day Challenge

2023/10/16
Turkish 30 min
- Working on unit 5, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1

French
- watching: 1 episode Lupin


2023/10/17
Turkish 30 min
- Working on PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1: I finished unit 5 and started with the first review unit. I can’t believe I’m already halfway through this book.

French
- watching: 2 episodes Lupin


2023/10/18
Turkish 30 min
- PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1, working on the first review unit.

French
- watching: I watched the last three episodes of season 3 of Lupin.


2023/10/19
Turkish 30 min
- PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1: I finished the review unit and started with unit 6.


2023/10/20
Turkish 30 min
- PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1, working on unit 6


2023/09/21
Turkish 30 min
- PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1, working on unit 6
Today I’ve learned a word that I find cute: “püf noktası” means something like “the sticking point, the crux of the matter”. Seems very onomatopoeic to me.


2023/10/22
Turkish 30 min
- PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1, working on unit 6

I’m back home in Barcelona now.
Two language-related observations from my trip to the USA:
I didn’t expect Spanish to be this present. Like, in some places, like airports or shops, the signs were both in English and in Spanish.
I was surprised about people’s reaction (or lack thereof) to me speaking English. So far in my life, wherever I’ve travelled, when I opened my mouth to speak the local language, there has always been a slight change of expression as the other person realized: “Oh, she's a foreigner”. At this point people often either change to English or speak in a way that’s a bit simpler. And that’s not necessarily a negative thing, I appreciate that they try to adapt and be helpful.
But in the USA, there never was this change of expression that I’ve even observed in the UK.
The Spanish friend I visited in Atlanta thought it might be because in the USA, basically nobody is “from here”. There are many people from other countries, and even among the US-Americans, most do not live where they were born and raised. So, hearing different kinds of accents is quite normal. I don’t know if that’s the reason, but I found it refreshing.

[Sonjaconjota]

Weekly update for the 2023 365 Day Challenge

2023/10/23
Turkish 30 min
- PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1, working on unit 6


2023/10/24
Turkish 30 min - Wildcard Day
- Today I nearly forgot the challenge. I already wanted to call it a day and watch a show before bedtime when I remembered that I hadn’t done my half hour of Turkish yet. I started with an exercise in unit 6, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1, but realised at some point that I was just staring at it blankly. Then I copied the rest of the vocabulary of unit 6 by hand, which didn’t require any brainpower, so that was okay. I still had six minutes left after that, so I decided to cut myself some slack, make it a wildcard day and watch a video by Easy Turkish. I found one about work and professions, which is the topic of unit 6, so that was perfect.


2023/10/25
Turkish 30 min
- PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1, working on unit 6
I spent most of the time with the exercise I couldn’t wrap my head around yesterday. It was one of these where they mix all the words (and in this concrete case also some suffixes) of a sentence and you have to get them into the correct order.
In the end, I used paper, wrote down and cut out the parts of every sentence and moved them around until they made sense. That did work.


2023/10/26
Turkish 30 min
- PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1, working on unit 6
- I’m going back to some “resource hopping”. I have another German Turkish book. It’s called Kolay gelsin! B1, and it’s originally been designed for group classes with a teacher, so I’m not sure how well it will work for self-studying. Let’s see how it goes.
I also want to return to my Turkish Assimil at some point. I’m not working with the explanation parts, I’m just using it as comprehensible input.


2023/10/27
Turkish 30 min
- I finished unit 6, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1


2023/10/28
Turkish 30 min
- I started unit 1, Klett Kolay Gelsin! B1
Well, actually I first tried for about an hour and a half to open the CD with the audio material or find it as a downloadable version on the editors’ website. No success, so I decided I would start with some reading instead of listening.


2023/10/29
Turkish 30 min
- Asked the boyfriend to help me with the CD. “Oh, it’s super easy, it’s in WAV-format, just open it with the VLC media player.” He didn’t believe that I had tried with two of my computers unsuccessfully and none of them had opened the CD in WAV-format until I had him do it personally.
In the end I got him to upload the files to drive with HIS computer. Finally!
- Working on unit 1, Klett Kolay Gelsin! B1