IronMike's 2023 log: Fewer means better, right? (EO & RUS)
Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 4:23 pm
Happy New Year!
I had a good 2016. Very busy with a move from Bishkek to Moscow. Lots of Russian practice, which I love. Tons of Esperanto, reading and listening at least. Almost attended a Zamenhof day, but then my cat decided to run-away. (He's back. We're happy.) Plenty of dabbling in other languages in 2016, to include Choctaw (Chahta), Mari, Lakota and Tok Pisin. What will 2017 hold in store for IronMike?
Well, I'm slowly getting over my reservations about meeting actual, real-life Esperanto-speakers. I'm not an introvert, far from it. I've got two major reservations about meeting Esperantists: a) my speaking ability in the language and b) the kookiness and peace-love-hippie-ness of (some?) Esperantists. I've long been "into" the language mostly for propaedeutic reasons: I truly think Esperanto is a great first foreign language for kids and adults alike. I'd like someday to teach the language and research its use in second language acquisition. But too often in FB groups and mailing lists the majority of Esperanto speakers come across as kooks, using the language to slam capitalism, America, the West, instead of sticking to the original aim of Zamenhof: human rights (I hardly ever hear Esperantists slamming ISIS and some governments in the world who treat women and homosexuals as second-class citizens as much as they love to slam America).
So, I may very possibly attend my first Esperanto gathering at the end of this month. Right now I'm going to bone up on my conversational Esperanto. The club apparently has a high level of Esperanto and krokodili is strongly forbidden! I'm also looking at a couple of Esperanto trips this year. I'd like to find one where my daughter and I can go and take classes during the kongresso. I've got my eyes on one in Edinburgh and one in France which would include KER tests at the end of the week.
I will continue my decades-long study of Russian. The classes at the embassy start up again at the end of this month and go through April. I will continue my daily 1-2 hours of Glossika spaced repetition. I love Glossika, it really works for me. I'll also continue to watch my favorite Russian television personality, Elena Letuchaya. She's beautiful, speaks clear and wonderful Russian, and she doesn't let those chefs get away with serving spoiled or expired food at their restaurants.
Once those classes end, I'll start reviving my BCS. We're taking a vacation to Montenegro in July so I want to get my language back up to snuff. It is my favorite Slavic language and I used to be a C1 in listening and strong B2 in reading and speaking. I'd like to find those brain cells again. I have HP#1 on the bookshelf (along with some Dan Brown and Ivo Andric) waiting for me, along with Serbian Glossika.
So that's my plan...as of now. Like the name of my log, so many languages...
Last year's log is here.
I had a good 2016. Very busy with a move from Bishkek to Moscow. Lots of Russian practice, which I love. Tons of Esperanto, reading and listening at least. Almost attended a Zamenhof day, but then my cat decided to run-away. (He's back. We're happy.) Plenty of dabbling in other languages in 2016, to include Choctaw (Chahta), Mari, Lakota and Tok Pisin. What will 2017 hold in store for IronMike?
Well, I'm slowly getting over my reservations about meeting actual, real-life Esperanto-speakers. I'm not an introvert, far from it. I've got two major reservations about meeting Esperantists: a) my speaking ability in the language and b) the kookiness and peace-love-hippie-ness of (some?) Esperantists. I've long been "into" the language mostly for propaedeutic reasons: I truly think Esperanto is a great first foreign language for kids and adults alike. I'd like someday to teach the language and research its use in second language acquisition. But too often in FB groups and mailing lists the majority of Esperanto speakers come across as kooks, using the language to slam capitalism, America, the West, instead of sticking to the original aim of Zamenhof: human rights (I hardly ever hear Esperantists slamming ISIS and some governments in the world who treat women and homosexuals as second-class citizens as much as they love to slam America).
So, I may very possibly attend my first Esperanto gathering at the end of this month. Right now I'm going to bone up on my conversational Esperanto. The club apparently has a high level of Esperanto and krokodili is strongly forbidden! I'm also looking at a couple of Esperanto trips this year. I'd like to find one where my daughter and I can go and take classes during the kongresso. I've got my eyes on one in Edinburgh and one in France which would include KER tests at the end of the week.
I will continue my decades-long study of Russian. The classes at the embassy start up again at the end of this month and go through April. I will continue my daily 1-2 hours of Glossika spaced repetition. I love Glossika, it really works for me. I'll also continue to watch my favorite Russian television personality, Elena Letuchaya. She's beautiful, speaks clear and wonderful Russian, and she doesn't let those chefs get away with serving spoiled or expired food at their restaurants.
Once those classes end, I'll start reviving my BCS. We're taking a vacation to Montenegro in July so I want to get my language back up to snuff. It is my favorite Slavic language and I used to be a C1 in listening and strong B2 in reading and speaking. I'd like to find those brain cells again. I have HP#1 on the bookshelf (along with some Dan Brown and Ivo Andric) waiting for me, along with Serbian Glossika.
So that's my plan...as of now. Like the name of my log, so many languages...
Last year's log is here.