Ani's 2017 Log

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Ani
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Ani's 2017 Log

Postby Ani » Fri Dec 30, 2016 7:16 am

Coucou à tous

New log for 2017. New ideas. New fun things to do.

Lots of books to be read and languages to be learned.

I'll probably come back and edit here shortly.
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Re: Ani's 2017 Log

Postby Ani » Fri Dec 30, 2016 8:10 pm

So I got a little busy last night but here is my big thing to discuss:

DH applied for a 2 year post in Luxembourg! It is not terribly realistic that he will get it, or even want it once all the details are sorted out if he were to be offered the job BUT the really exciting aspects of this are:
1.) I had no idea he was eligible to apply for international posts. Apparently he totally is. More opportunities like this will potentially come up in the future.
2.) DH has never had to rate his French proficiency on an application before, so in many ways the language was not real. He had to do that for the first time so I hope that he may be interested in improving in the future to be more competitive for listings like this.
3.) Whether or not this or any future application works out, it lets me know that DH takes my crazy dreams seriously :)

Within 6 hours of filing the application, DH was starting to doubt he could make the kids move internationally. He was worried it would be too hard on them not to speak the language and not to have friends (which I understand! DS1 is a complete extrovert). I think actually it is a great time and that much later we might really have the problem of not being able to uproot kids at certain ages (which will last a really long time because we have a nearly infinite number of children). We have made hard choices and sacrificed a lot to live and raise the kids in an area we believe is really healthy for them, in a community we believe holds values we want our children to understand and value as well. IF we went for 2 years though, we wouldn't be selling the house or anything. It would definitely be a one time experience. I don't want to permanently live abroad.
Since we homeschool, we could pack up fairly easily. If there were a suitable school available, I could put the kids into school for language learning purposes but we wouldn't be restricted to that if it didn't work out for another reason. We could spend our time DAY TRIPPING into other European countries. Can you imagine that? I guess those of you who live or have lived in Europe might be a little spoiled but it takes me 14 hours of driving to leave my STATE.

Ahh so nice to day dream :)
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Re: Ani's 2017 Log

Postby PeterMollenburg » Fri Dec 30, 2016 8:24 pm

Luxembourg could possibly see you adding German to your language learning mix I'd imagine, and Luxembourgish. Interesting indeed. I'm sure you've already pondered these possibilities, I'm just thinking out loud here. If you didn't see this thread I started a while ago on Luxembourgish, it might be worth a look:
http://forum.language-learners.org/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1720

As for 2017, all the best and good luck with your language learning Ani, for you and your family!

Edit: Someone ought to do something about the size of Alaska. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? The French DOM-TOM's expanding in size considerably? Again, I'm sure you've considered this and probably are already preparing most of the population for a shift of language. ;)
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Re: Ani's 2017 Log

Postby Ani » Fri Dec 30, 2016 10:01 pm

PeterMollenburg wrote:Luxembourg could possibly see you adding German to your language learning mix I'd imagine, and Luxembourgish. Interesting indeed. I'm sure you've already pondered these possibilities, I'm just thinking out loud here. If you didn't see this thread I started a while ago on Luxembourgish, it might be worth a look:
http://forum.language-learners.org/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1720

As for 2017, all the best and good luck with your language learning Ani, for you and your family!

Edit: Someone ought to do something about the size of Alaska. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? The French DOM-TOM's expanding in size considerably? Again, I'm sure you've considered this and probably are already preparing most of the population for a shift of language. ;)



Oh dear! No I think we'd stick with French :) I'm sure we'd pick up a few words here and there though. I hear most of the shop employees speak French but I haven't done much research. As for the DOM-TOM's.. There is a teeny tiny bit of me that finds that a really funny idea, but my love for Alaska can't even handle the thought (and I do know you were joking!). If it weren't for the ever present threat of invasion for oil, and the financial impracticality, I'd wish for independence. No one wants to live here, but everyone has an opinion on how to manage our lands and resources. The last thing we need is another hand trying to "conserve" something. The federal govt owns a ridiculous percentage of our land and has crippled towns (Sitka for example) by drawing a ring around an existing town and denying hunting rights that people have subsisted on for hundreds of years.. in a town far too poor to suddenly ship in all their food. They have cost human lives (and continue to do so) by denying a village the right to clear a dirt trail wide enough for an ATV to get people to medical care when the weather is too poor to fly.

There are also some really good language opportunities here. There are about 20 Native languages, Russian and the dying dialect of Ninilchik Russian just 2 hours down the road (Which I only know about thanks to IronMike). Actually Russian is common enough that I pass by native speakers on the playground and in stores all the time. I wish I had a little more passion for it. There are tons of resources for the kids in Russian here. It is part of my goal this year to make some progress in my so far very limited study.
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Re: Ani's 2017 Log

Postby PeterMollenburg » Sat Dec 31, 2016 12:18 pm

Ani wrote:The federal govt owns a ridiculous percentage of our land and has crippled towns (Sitka for example) by drawing a ring around an existing town and denying hunting rights that people have subsisted on for hundreds of years.. in a town far too poor to suddenly ship in all their food. They have cost human lives (and continue to do so) by denying a village the right to clear a dirt trail wide enough for an ATV to get people to medical care when the weather is too poor to fly.


Smells very much like an agenda. Many countries/jurisdictions in the world are testing grounds for various forms of control by the elite. I'd say, from what you mention, that it seems like Alaska could be a testing ground for land restrictions, which could one day be implemented globally. Man is extremely gullable or trusting, and when you have psychopaths in control, we are treated with the respect many wouldn't even bestow to farm animals (for the record I feel all living things have equal value). More people will die and continue to do so because of the decisions of the powerful few, which we continue to accept in part because we are constantly lied to.
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Re: Ani's 2017 Log

Postby Ani » Tue Jan 03, 2017 8:35 am

I posted my news years goals over in the resolutions thread. I already forgot what I wrote but the gist is: 24 books and 12 audio books in French + 1 course, resume Assimil Finnish and read a first book in Finnish this year. I am thinking it will be Harry Potter but no need to commit just yet. And dabble in Russian enough to claim A1 by the end of the year.

I am also doing a 52 in 52 challenge on another board. Will include some native language books but I should love to hit as many languages as possible.

I grabbed the shortest books off the closest shelf (as in, my books are crazy disorganized and I have oodles more in the short category if I look around) and snapped a picture to make my log more fun. Unfortunately I can't remember how to post it at the moment. I'm not really technologically challenged.. Just kinda lazy. I'll try to look it up later. I want a prettier log this year :)

Trying to boost my #'s, I started with L'étranger. Made it halfway through already. I also started La Delicatesse since Fortheo mentioned it (and it WAS on the closest shelf) and accidentally got 1/3 through so I should finish both of those this week.

I worked on the first two lessons of Assimil Finnish again. Sill pretty much feels like gibberish words, although I like them very much. Trying to have faith in Assimil.
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Re: Ani's 2017 Log

Postby Fortheo » Tue Jan 03, 2017 11:57 am

Ani wrote:I posted my news years goals over in the resolutions thread. I already forgot what I wrote but the gist is: 24 books and 12 audio books in French + 1 course, resume Assimil Finnish and read a first book in Finnish this year. I am thinking it will be Harry Potter but no need to commit just yet. And dabble in Russian enough to claim A1 by the end of the year.

I am also doing a 52 in 52 challenge on another board. Will include some native language books but I should love to hit as many languages as possible.

I grabbed the shortest books off the closest shelf (as in, my books are crazy disorganized and I have oodles more in the short category if I look around) and snapped a picture to make my log more fun. Unfortunately I can't remember how to post it at the moment. I'm not really technologically challenged.. Just kinda lazy. I'll try to look it up later. I want a prettier log this year :)

Trying to boost my #'s, I started with L'étranger. Made it halfway through already. I also started La Delicatesse since Fortheo mentioned it (and it WAS on the closest shelf) and accidentally got 1/3 through so I should finish both of those this week.

I worked on the first two lessons of Assimil Finnish again. Sill pretty much feels like gibberish words, although I like them very much. Trying to have faith in Assimil.


La Delicatesse was a nice story and I really liked the overall tone and atmosphere of that book. I can't say I'm a big fan of that authors narration style, though, as I'm not a big fan of all knowing omniscient narrators who magically know everything—I prefer when the author lets his characters speak and express their emotions for themselves, rather than having a narrator just say what one character feels , but that's just a slight style preference of mine. That said, it's still a good read for sure, and not too challenging either. I hope you like it!

Also, I've been dabbling in Russian for the past month or so, but I've been low key about it because I wanted to just jump out one day and start speaking in Russian to people haha. What resources are you planning on using when you dabble in Russian?
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Re: Ani's 2017 Log

Postby Ani » Wed Jan 04, 2017 1:41 am

Fortheo wrote:


I am on pg 76 in La délicatesse and so far I like it quite a bit. The narration doesn't bother me at all. I really like Nathalie at this point AND I just realized last night that the cover is Audrey Tautou. Its seriously been on my shelf for like 6 months. Have you seen the movie? I am going to have to find it after I finish the book.
I finished L'étranger this morning. There is a first person narration for you :) I enjoyed it but I think I got my fill of existentialism for a while.

I am still trying to decide what to do for Russian exactly. Rule is that it has to be from French. I don't like Assimil but if I have to, I will try to muddle through. I know there is a book called "Je Parle Russe!" and it is cheap on Amazon. It has no audio and I don't know the quality but I was thinking about pairing that with the Memrise courses (Russe pour francophones).


Update for today: Finished L'étranger, did my Finnish lessons. On track for the year... in terms of language learning that is. Don't ask me if my house is clean or if I have dinner ready.. :-p
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Re: Ani's 2017 Log

Postby Fortheo » Wed Jan 04, 2017 3:30 pm

Ani wrote:
Fortheo wrote:


I am on pg 76 in La délicatesse and so far I like it quite a bit. The narration doesn't bother me at all. I really like Nathalie at this point AND I just realized last night that the cover is Audrey Tautou. Its seriously been on my shelf for like 6 months. Have you seen the movie? I am going to have to find it after I finish the book.
I finished L'étranger this morning. There is a first person narration for you :) I enjoyed it but I think I got my fill of existentialism for a while.

I am still trying to decide what to do for Russian exactly. Rule is that it has to be from French. I don't like Assimil but if I have to, I will try to muddle through. I know there is a book called "Je Parle Russe!" and it is cheap on Amazon. It has no audio and I don't know the quality but I was thinking about pairing that with the Memrise courses (Russe pour francophones).


Update for today: Finished L'étranger, did my Finnish lessons. On track for the year... in terms of language learning that is. Don't ask me if my house is clean or if I have dinner ready.. :-p


I haven't seen the movie for La Délicatesse yet, but it's on my to do list (I just need to get my hands on it first). I actually read a chapter of L'étranger towards the beginning of last year and it felt like it was at a good level for me back then, but then I had kindle issues and I never ended up finishing it. I do enjoy first person narratives, though, so I definitely should finish it!

Also, there are a few French courses for Russian that come to my mind:

Image

Three books, each comes with audio. I'm not sure where to buy it, but I've seen it online for free without even really looking for it.....

Also:

Image

This one is a bit like a more grammar intensive version of Assimil, or so I hear, so I'm not sure if you'd like it. I just thought I'd throw those out there for you. I spend too much time browsing resources :lol:
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Re: Ani's 2017 Log

Postby IronMike » Wed Jan 04, 2017 4:48 pm

Congrats on the possible foreign job! Take it from another homeschool family: the kids will adjust. They'll have an easier time than you and your husband!

Same can be said about the kids when they're older...I type as I'm sitting across from my 17-year old daughter who has already hosted her Bishkek-based Russian girlfriend here in Moscow, taking her (the friend) on a tour of Red Square via the Moscow Metro...all on her own.

My 20-year old college freshman decided to change his major from engineering to Russian after only one semester. In order to do that, he had to go sit with the dean of the Russian department and have a conversation entirely in Russian. He sat with her for some time and at the end, the Dean told him he could immediately walk into the 3000-level (junior-level) Russian course. This based on two years of Russian courses in Moscow (8th and 9th grade) and one year in Bishkek (12th grade) and hanging out with Russian-speaking friends in Bishkek.

Recently we went skiing here in Moscow (indoors!) and our 13-year old managed the entire ordering of her ski "kit" in Russian. Our 21-year old, now in the Coast Guard, spent a few days in Mexico recently and helped his other shipmates with his Spanish speaking proficiency!

Bottom line: the kids will be alright! :D
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