Radioclare's 2022 log (Russian, Croatian)

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Radioclare
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Re: Radioclare's 2022 log (Russian, Croatian)

Postby Radioclare » Wed Aug 24, 2022 8:32 pm

24 August
Working from home today, which was extra nice after a couple of days in the office.

Russian
I watched a Russian with Max video about Turkey this evening. I've never been to Turkey but it looks really beautiful and in the touristy area where Max was it seems like a lot of people speak some basic words of Russian because of the high number of Russian tourists who visit.

I also completed lesson 4 of the Sistema Kalinka video course. This one was all about professions. Didn't necessarily learn anything new today but it feels like quite good reinforcement and something which is easy to do when I'm feeling lazy. My aim is to get through the basic videos as quickly as possible so that I can move on to the harder stuff soon.

Total - Russian: 77 mins, Croatian: 57 mins
6 x

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Radioclare
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Re: Radioclare's 2022 log (Russian, Croatian)

Postby Radioclare » Thu Aug 25, 2022 7:40 pm

25 August
Worked from home again today and even went out for lunch, which was a nice bonus. Tomorrow I'm going to Luxembourg. It's a short weekend away I originally booked in 2020 and when it was cancelled, I was left with an airline voucher which I needed to use up.

Russian
Once I finished work this evening I started packing up my things, which took me a while. I'm flying with hand luggage only, so I had a bit of messing around to do with toiletries. Anyway, while I was doing that I listened to several Russian with Max podcasts, which felt quite productive. I'm working my way through the back catalogue of podcasts from the beginning and I've listened to less than 20 of them so far, so I've still got a lot to go. The ones I listened to today were on different themes; relationships, money, hitch-hiking... There was also one which was an interview with someone else, but I always find those kind of podcasts less interesting.

Total - Russian: 92 mins, Croatian: 61 mins
9 x

DaveAgain
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Re: Radioclare's 2022 log (Russian, Croatian)

Postby DaveAgain » Thu Aug 25, 2022 9:04 pm

Radioclare wrote: Tomorrow I'm going to Luxembourg. It's a short weekend away I originally booked in 2020 and when it was cancelled, I was left with an airline voucher which I needed to use up.
Perhaps you could find out if Luxembourgers can understand Pennsylvania Dutch? It's a hot topic! :-)
0 x

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Radioclare
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Re: Radioclare's 2022 log (Russian, Croatian)

Postby Radioclare » Fri Aug 26, 2022 7:12 pm

DaveAgain wrote:
Radioclare wrote: Tomorrow I'm going to Luxembourg. It's a short weekend away I originally booked in 2020 and when it was cancelled, I was left with an airline voucher which I needed to use up.
Perhaps you could find out if Luxembourgers can understand Pennsylvania Dutch? It's a hot topic! :-)

This is a topic which has passed me by :lol:

26 August
Had a 3am start for my flight to Luxembourg this morning, so feeling a bit tired now. Luxembourg is very pretty though. I've been here once before but it was quite a long time ago and I don't remember it very well.

Russian
I tried to do a bit of Russian Memrise at the airport this morning, but it was too early for it. I did some this afternoon once I'd got to my hotel and had a nap, though. After a bit of debating about adding extra weight to my backpack, I did eventually decide to pack 'Тайна голландских изразцов', which is a Daria Desombre novel that I started about a week ago but have made precious little progress with so far. I sat down with it properly this evening and read just over 20 pages, which made me start to feel like I was getting into the story a bit.

Total - Russian: 53 mins
7 x

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Radioclare
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Re: Radioclare's 2022 log (Russian, Croatian)

Postby Radioclare » Sat Aug 27, 2022 4:37 pm

27 August
Went on a day trip to Metz in France today, which is a really lovely town :)

Russian
I did a bit of Memrise on the train this afternoon when we were travelling back to Luxembourg. I learned some new words, something I've been avoiding doing for a while because I felt like my reviews were getting a bit out of control. But I'm going to be travelling quite a lot over the next few weeks and travel always feels like a good opportunity to clear Memrise reviews.

Also spent over half an hour reading some more of 'Тайна голландских изразцов'. It's not divided into numbered chapters, which makes it a bit difficult to feel like you're progressing, but I'm over 60 pages in now and starting to understand what the story is about, so that feels positive :)

Total - Russian: 44 mins
8 x

Cavesa
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Re: Radioclare's 2022 log (Russian, Croatian)

Postby Cavesa » Sun Aug 28, 2022 12:55 pm

Radioclare wrote:27 August
Went on a day trip to Metz in France today, which is a really lovely town :)


My favourite small town of all France! Perhaps of whole Europe! Glad you liked it too and had a good time on your trip!
2 x

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Radioclare
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Re: Radioclare's 2022 log (Russian, Croatian)

Postby Radioclare » Sun Aug 28, 2022 6:19 pm

Cavesa wrote:My favourite small town of all France! Perhaps of whole Europe! Glad you liked it too and had a good time on your trip!

I thought it was gorgeous :) I could have walked along the river all day. But I find less time for languages when I'm travelling, so now is your chance to overtake me in the 6WC :lol:

28 August
A trip to Nancy today, which is also beautiful but in a different way to Metz :)

Russian
I caught up with my Memrise reviews at various points when sitting on trams today. I wasn't motivated enough to read in Russian on the train to or from Nancy, but I did open up 'Тайна голландских изразцов' again once I got back to the hotel this evening and managed to read another 19 pages. This book is objectively harder to read than the Alexandra Marinina detective novels; it has more of a "literary" feel to it. But in some ways it is easier because there seem to be fewer characters, so I am not constantly forgetting everyone's names :D

Total - Russian: 52 mins
7 x

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Radioclare
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Re: Radioclare's 2022 log (Russian, Croatian)

Postby Radioclare » Mon Aug 29, 2022 6:49 pm

29 August
This was only a short break so I had a flight back from Luxembourg to London this morning.

Russian
I did a bit of Memrise while I was at the airport in Luxembourg, but nothing major. I didn't get a lot of steps while travelling today so once I was home this evening I needed to go on my treadmill. I was very tempted to watch TV in Croatian, but I convinced myself to watch some Russian with Max videos on YouTube instead. I got through three; one about clothing, one about patriotism and one discussing stereotypes about Russia.

Total - Russian: 60 mins
5 x

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Radioclare
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Posts: 2250
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Location: England
Languages: Speaks: English (N), Esperanto, German, Croatian
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Re: Radioclare's 2022 log (Russian, Croatian)

Postby Radioclare » Tue Aug 30, 2022 8:58 pm

30 August
Back to work today. Hadn't missed very many emails on Friday though.

Russian
I went for a brief walk at lunchtime and used the opportunity to listen to a Russian with Max podcast. This one was about turning disadvantages into advantages, so a slightly abstract topic.

This evening I did something which I'd been procrastinating for a while and started the chapter about verbs of motion in TY Russian Grammar. I didn't necessarily get very far with it, but at least I've started it. I think this book explains verbs of motion as simply as it is possible to explain them so maybe it will help me.

Otherwise I cleared my Memrise reviews and started lesson 5 of the Kalinka course. I'm working my way through the beginning levels now and it's starting to get into a bit more grammar. Today's lesson covered the past tense, for example.

Croatian
Started reading a new novel in Croatian this evening. It's called 'Lenjinov gambit' by Tihomir Mraović and it's really short. I deliberately chose the shortest book in my to-read pile because I'm going away again on Saturday and I wanted something I stood a reasonable chance of getting through before then. This definitely fits that bill and I've made reasonable progress with it this evening, but so far I'd say the writing is a bit... mediocre.

Total - Russian: 106 mins, Croatian: 92 mins.
9 x

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Radioclare
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Re: Radioclare's 2022 log (Russian, Croatian)

Postby Radioclare » Wed Aug 31, 2022 8:18 pm

31 August
A fairly busy day working from home today. I feel like I've got a lot to do before I go away again.

Russian
I forgot to take my headphones with me when I went for a walk at lunchtime, so no podcast then. But I had some housework tasks to do this evening after work so I listened to a Russian with Max podcast while sorting out some laundry.

Later on I cleared my Memrise reviews and then persevered with lesson 5 of the Kalinka course. I got to the end of it and I'm now 50% of the way through the beginners course. It's obviously all very much revision at the moment but I'm finding the exercises quite useful.

Total - Russian: 73 mins, Croatian: 54 mins
7 x


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