Suzie learns languages...every now and then

Continue or start your personal language log here, including logs for challenge participants
Cavesa
Black Belt - 4th Dan
Posts: 4960
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 9:46 am
Languages: Czech (N), French (C2) English (C1), Italian (C1), Spanish, German (C1)
x 17566

Re: Suzie learns languages...every now and then

Postby Cavesa » Tue May 30, 2023 10:21 am

Suzie wrote:Logging my monthly update a bit earlier than usual, because I've just hit a small milestone with my French reading, and it feels like a good moment for a pit stop.

Congratulations!

Read Part II of "La grande histoire de la Belgique" (37 p.). This part dealt mostly with the feudal system and was a bit boring. One sentence made me giggle though; the author described how the state of the Roman roads considerably deteriorated throughout the Middle Ages. Poorly maintained roads, that is a genuine Belgian brand just as beer and chocolate. In my quest to discover the origin of Belgium, have I found the missing piece?


Yeah, you definitely found something profound, that is still up to date and reaches more than just the roads. In Belgium, there are a lot of regionally independent things. Ok, something to accept. But it can be really weird, if the general state of the same autoroute changes several times, while you're driving on it. Including stuff like one part having had the normal light maintenance done, and the other having grass and bushes overreaching into the road! Or one part of a damaged section gets fixed, the other left alone.

And yeah, it might also be one of the reasons, why they still insist on just 120 km/h on the autoroutes. Why bother improving stuff, if we can just slow everyone down, make everything less efficient, and annoy people instead. Very Belgian :-D

The normal roads were of varying quality, but the way things were getting (or rather weren't getting) fixed was weird. In my town, everything was crippled by a construction of the tram. A very slow and long construction, with huge parts of the construction just blocking everyone while nothing was being done for months... And then they announced a plan to first let the tram circulate without passengers as a test for 8 months!!!!

Sometimes I wonder, how did Belgium even manage to get out of the Middle Ages at this pace :-D Definitely not driving! :-D

Looking forward to hearing of your reading of the next centuries. I should buy something on their history too. So little free time, so many interests!


Reading was a bit less than in April (468 p.), but I had anticipated that; a rheumatoid flare had me spend too much time on the couch in April, whereas the flare is over now, and I am happily catching up with gardening work instead of reading. I still made good progress. 3600 pages read and exactly 200 pages/month left.

Wow!!!! I really need to up my SC rythm! You're a hero!
2 x

User avatar
Suzie
Yellow Belt
Posts: 83
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 9:53 am
Languages: German (N), English (C-ish), French (B-ish), Dutch (B1)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 040#p70040
x 440

Re: Suzie learns languages...every now and then

Postby Suzie » Tue May 30, 2023 8:30 pm

Thank you, Cavesa, I really appreciate this!

Cavesa wrote:Yeah, you definitely found something profound, that is still up to date and reaches more than just the roads. In Belgium, there are a lot of regionally independent things. Ok, something to accept. But it can be really weird, if the general state of the same autoroute changes several times, while you're driving on it. Including stuff like one part having had the normal light maintenance done, and the other having grass and bushes overreaching into the road! Or one part of a damaged section gets fixed, the other left alone.

And yeah, it might also be one of the reasons, why they still insist on just 120 km/h on the autoroutes. Why bother improving stuff, if we can just slow everyone down, make everything less efficient, and annoy people instead. Very Belgian :-D

The normal roads were of varying quality, but the way things were getting (or rather weren't getting) fixed was weird. In my town, everything was crippled by a construction of the tram. A very slow and long construction, with huge parts of the construction just blocking everyone while nothing was being done for months... And then they announced a plan to first let the tram circulate without passengers as a test for 8 months!!!!

Sometimes I wonder, how did Belgium even manage to get out of the Middle Ages at this pace :-D Definitely not driving! :-D


I find the Belgian "way" quite charming. Road works are in fact done much faster than in Germany (where it could easily take years without moving forward). The result may not be perfect, but works. And after I overcame the initial shock about nids-de-poule on the motorway (!), I soon learned that the driver in front of me may not be drunk but is just busy circumnavigating all those small (and big) holes - and I am now emulating those detours even before I see the holes myself. To me, this feels like true integration :lol:
3 x
Super Challenge French:
100 books: 100 / 100 complete
100 films: 100 / 100 complete

User avatar
Suzie
Yellow Belt
Posts: 83
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 9:53 am
Languages: German (N), English (C-ish), French (B-ish), Dutch (B1)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 040#p70040
x 440

Re: Suzie learns languages...every now and then

Postby Suzie » Fri Jun 30, 2023 8:41 pm

End of June update

French

Reading: Thanks to some relaxing days off - well-spent in the shadow of a tree - I made good progress. Finished "Millénium V" and read the first 20 chapters of "Millénium VI: La fille qui devait mourir" (D. Lagerkrantz). In July, I aim to finish the book. Not yet sure what to read next.

I also progressed much further than expected with "La grande histoire de la Belgique". After the somewhat tedious Middle Ages, the Burgundian era could provide sufficient material for a Belgian version of "The Tudors" or a telenovela. After the reign of Charles Quint, Belgian became part of the Spanish, then Austrian realm. That is - not all of Belgium. There is a sign at the E42 telling about "Prince-évêques" at Liège that I have passed more than 200 times in the past decade without ever bothering to look it up. I have now learned that during all this time, until the late 18th century, Liège was in fact part of the Holy Roman Empire instead, and is a rather recent addition to "Belgium".

I was also amazed to learn that for a very short time, in 1790, there were the "United States of Belgium", a republic! Sadly, the Belgians did not enjoy it overly, and it must have been quite easy for the Austrians to conquer the not-so-United States and re-establish their reign - only to pass Belgium over to Napoleon shortly afterwards.

I made a break after Waterloo. The "concept" of Belgium has been fleshed out quite well in the book, so I start to understand why this country exists at all. For July, I intend to read up on their time with the Dutch, their independence and founding years and the reign of Leopold I.

435 pages read in June - 965 pages to go (161 pages per month)

Listening: watched two episodes of Stargate (82 min).

Active studying: Nope. And I might not do this for a while. I like the "one project at a time"-concept and might focus on some non-language-related stuff next, when the Super Challenge is finished. I might (perhaps) visit Strasbourg in July for a day. Depends on family plans and on a potential strike at Deutsche Bahn.

Swedish

Naah, I'm joking. Still haven't started to learn Swedish actively. I suspect though that once I start (one day), progress will be rather fast. I visited Sweden for two weeks and learned (again) so many new words, reviewing others. My poor friend had to pronounce Swedish words constantly for me.
6 x
Super Challenge French:
100 books: 100 / 100 complete
100 films: 100 / 100 complete

User avatar
Suzie
Yellow Belt
Posts: 83
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 9:53 am
Languages: German (N), English (C-ish), French (B-ish), Dutch (B1)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 040#p70040
x 440

Re: Suzie learns languages...every now and then

Postby Suzie » Sun Jul 02, 2023 2:59 pm

I forgot to mention that I indeed did some writing in French in June (continuing in July). Five years after my return to Germany, Belgian authorities now claim that my car is still registered there, and want me to pay taxes. :roll: I am now trying to convince them that they should update their database via EUCARIS before assuming that someone not living in Belgium anymore would prefer to pay their taxes and insurance fees instead of benefiting from the cheaper German system. (Of course I try to be a bit nicer than that in my correspondence, knowing that Belgian officials can be quite flexible/efficient if they are not super annoyed).

I really love Belgium but the inefficiency of Belgian bureaucracy has been such a nuisance both during immigration and emigration. :evil:
4 x
Super Challenge French:
100 books: 100 / 100 complete
100 films: 100 / 100 complete

Cavesa
Black Belt - 4th Dan
Posts: 4960
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 9:46 am
Languages: Czech (N), French (C2) English (C1), Italian (C1), Spanish, German (C1)
x 17566

Re: Suzie learns languages...every now and then

Postby Cavesa » Sun Jul 02, 2023 4:21 pm

Suzie wrote:I forgot to mention that I indeed did some writing in French in June (continuing in July). Five years after my return to Germany, Belgian authorities now claim that my car is still registered there, and want me to pay taxes. :roll: I am now trying to convince them that they should update their database via EUCARIS before assuming that someone not living in Belgium anymore would prefer to pay their taxes and insurance fees instead of benefiting from the cheaper German system. (Of course I try to be a bit nicer than that in my correspondence, knowing that Belgian officials can be quite flexible/efficient if they are not super annoyed).

I really love Belgium but the inefficiency of Belgian bureaucracy has been such a nuisance both during immigration and emigration. :evil:


They are still trying to get me to pay insurance for the appartment I had left more than a year ago. And they claim to have contacted me many times about it, before passing it to an advocate or whatever that agency is. Nope, they were sending me emails that I couldn't open without a code sent to the phone number I no longer have either :-D

The Belgian bureaucrats (at any level) are the worst in Europe and a large part of my dislike for Belgium. I have yet to encounter a flexible or efficient one. Or rather not try again :-D

Nope Belgians, you won't get this doctor to settle in your country ever again! :-D
3 x

User avatar
Suzie
Yellow Belt
Posts: 83
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 9:53 am
Languages: German (N), English (C-ish), French (B-ish), Dutch (B1)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 040#p70040
x 440

Re: Suzie learns languages...every now and then

Postby Suzie » Sun Jul 02, 2023 5:51 pm

Oh my...I feel you....

Cavesa wrote: I have yet to encounter a flexible or efficient one.


When I did an Erasmus semester in Belgium in the mid 90s, a lot of paperwork was required from Rijksuniversiteit Gent; it took me weeks to gather all the documents, and I was quite nervous about their completeness and acceptability when I handed them over to administration staff. The lady at the desk asked me "Is everything complete?", and when I confirmed, she just put the whole bundle into a binder without even looking at it. As a German, I was deeply impressed and found that tremendously flexible and efficient :lol:
3 x
Super Challenge French:
100 books: 100 / 100 complete
100 films: 100 / 100 complete

Cavesa
Black Belt - 4th Dan
Posts: 4960
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 9:46 am
Languages: Czech (N), French (C2) English (C1), Italian (C1), Spanish, German (C1)
x 17566

Re: Suzie learns languages...every now and then

Postby Cavesa » Mon Jul 03, 2023 5:29 am

Suzie wrote:Oh my...I feel you....

Cavesa wrote: I have yet to encounter a flexible or efficient one.


When I did an Erasmus semester in Belgium in the mid 90s, a lot of paperwork was required from Rijksuniversiteit Gent; it took me weeks to gather all the documents, and I was quite nervous about their completeness and acceptability when I handed them over to administration staff. The lady at the desk asked me "Is everything complete?", and when I confirmed, she just put the whole bundle into a binder without even looking at it. As a German, I was deeply impressed and found that tremendously flexible and efficient :lol:


That explains it!!!
-they were just lazy! That's easier to believe :-D
-you are an optimist that really sees the brighter side of everything and I admire that.
2 x

User avatar
Suzie
Yellow Belt
Posts: 83
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 9:53 am
Languages: German (N), English (C-ish), French (B-ish), Dutch (B1)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 040#p70040
x 440

Re: Suzie learns languages...every now and then [Fr]

Postby Suzie » Mon Jul 31, 2023 11:55 am

End of July - Update

July was incredibly busy and energy-draining work-wise, my house needed some tedious repairs and my dog had a mite infection (which - for those who don't own pets, means that not only your dog needs a lot of attention, but you are also entering a cleaning and washing marathon of all the textile or non-textile surfaces your dog has been in contact with), which resulted in plenty time-consuming and exhausting activities. I thus had to make minor amends to my planned French activities.

Reading: There were days where I had to fight through every page. So tired. I am surprised how much I managed though, in the end.
Finished Millénium VI as intended. I didn't really enjoy the ending, and it spoiled crime novels for me in the moment. Abandoned a Preston & Child Pendergast novel after a few pages and decided against moving forward with Tess Gerritsen, so started "Jeu des nains" (T. Pratchett), a novel that I couldn't complete eight years ago during my last Super Challenge. I am not enthusiastic but hope this will change eventually. I used to enjoy Discworld novels 20-30 years ago and hope to revive that. Continued a bit with "La grande histoire de Belgique", not as much as intended (as my brain was close to a melt-down due to work), but far enough. I have now arrived in 1831, the Belgians have successfully broken away from the Dutch, founded a country, with constitution, hymn and national flag and have just "recruted" a king, and after a short intermezzo with the Dutch the borders are now settled, being now nearly identical to those of today. Luxembourg is not part of the newly found country, which seems to be a dissappointment for them.

305 pages read, 650 to go (130 pages per month).

Listening: When I was too tired to read, I thought I'd at least return to watching videos - and this was happening a lot. Finished season 1 of Stargate, watched season 3 of Picard as well as season 6 of The Big Bang Theory (-> 20 hrs in total), and during house chores (see above) I listened to RFI and some ARTE documentaries on YT.

Speaking: Went to Brussels and Luxembourg for a day trip each and got lost in both cities. Visited the Magritte museum in Brussels, which I really enjoyed. Spoke a little French in both cities. Despite Luxembourg being so very close to where I live (less than 2 hours by car), this was only my third visit ever, but it will definitely not be the last one. Truly enjoyed this melting pot of European languages. Immensely proud that I did not buy one book. Saw a lot ot Assimil textbooks on the shelves though. Were I ever granted eternal life, I would learn Lëtzebuergesch. It sounds so cute. I had wanted to visit Strasbourg (where I had never been before), but there weren't any good train connections.

In August, I'll hope to get through the reign of Leopold I, and also to progress with "Jeu de nains" a bit further than page 50, where I stopped last time. Also hope to read more than the designated 130 pages. I am fearing August might turn into a similarly exhausting nightmare as July did, and I am not great at stress management, so my August plans may serve as an exercise in humbleness.
9 x
Super Challenge French:
100 books: 100 / 100 complete
100 films: 100 / 100 complete

User avatar
Suzie
Yellow Belt
Posts: 83
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 9:53 am
Languages: German (N), English (C-ish), French (B-ish), Dutch (B1)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 040#p70040
x 440

Re: Suzie learns languages...every now and then

Postby Suzie » Sun Sep 03, 2023 7:43 am

End of August - Update - French

August turned out to be just as expected: A strain on my resilience, due to heavy work load. I got a promotion a few months ago with my timing being impeccable - after economic tumbling of our whole industry sector, our management imposed a general hire freeze, and a replacement for my old job is not foreseen in the near future. So I am ending up doing both the old and the new job in parallel, with tons of unpaid overtime work, realizing that this was more a proposal for a new hobby than a "promotion". I had repeatedly whined about my stress aversion in this log; over the years increased stress levels have managed to affect my mental and physical health more and more. The "promotion" is the job of my dreams though, so this is still an amazing opportunity. Therefore, I am battling stress perception, hoping that this current situation will resolve within a year. Unlike July, August has now started to take a toll on my health, so I am focusing on that rather on language learning.

Reading
I did not manage 130 pages, but did reach page 50 of "Jeu des nains", using the book now officially for intensive reading, taking my time, and filling Anki with interesting expressions. I am not yet bored and determined to work through it. This also means that I have no intention to complete it for the Super Challenge. I am humbly aiming for 20 pages in September. In the seach of extensive leasure reading material, I have started another Preston&Child novel, but am already bored, so may not continue.

In "La grande histoire de la Belgique", I had aimed to complete the chapters of the reign of Leopold I, but I got hooked and read up on Leopold II and the atrocities of colonisation (Kongo) as well. We have now reached the 20th century: Industrialization has turned Belgium (foremost Wallonia) into a global economic superpower. A European trend to use French as lingua franca and as a status symbol for the educated, together with the economic domination of Wallonia over Flandres, turned Dutch into a second class language, and in the late 19th century, the Flemish fought hard to be able to use their native language in administration and at university. Obviously, the next two sections will not be what one could call "light entertainment", so I am not targeting any page count here for September.

103 pages read; 547 left (-> 137 pages per month).

I am getting tired of the Super Challenge, and a bit nervous that my stress aversion might affect completion, so I will opt for (very) light reading to get through with this as quickly and painless as possible.

Listening

Watched season 7 of "The Big Bang Theory" and two films ("La tête dans les étoiles" and "My dear f***ing prince" (which received so bad reviews that I got curious): 615 min in total, filled with low brow entertainment.
7 x
Super Challenge French:
100 books: 100 / 100 complete
100 films: 100 / 100 complete

DaveAgain
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1968
Joined: Mon Aug 27, 2018 11:26 am
Languages: English (native), French & German (learning).
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... &start=200
x 4050

Re: Suzie learns languages...every now and then

Postby DaveAgain » Sun Sep 03, 2023 9:45 am

Suzie wrote:
Reading

I am getting tired of the Super Challenge, and a bit nervous that my stress aversion might affect completion, so I will opt for (very) light reading to get through with this as quickly and painless as possible.
I start the day with a meditation book, perhaps you'd like to try something like that? I use Ou tu vas, tu es (French translation of Wherever you go, there you are). It's arranged in very short sections, I usually just read 2-4 pages.
2 x


Return to “Language logs”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests