Friday, January 28, 2005
The German teacher (to whom hereafter I shall refer as Eike), digging through a transparency folder, informed us we would be naming countries but noted the maps were slightly old. I called out, 'You mean we get to see Czechoslovakia?' and someone else said something about East and West Berlin. Smiling sheepishly Eike said, 'It's from 1993, so... yes.' Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia are countries; Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are not. And one may always travel to the USSR. Das ist sehr gut, for I do not care to learn how to pronounce Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania auf Deutsch. The plural form denoting Italian persons presents enough problems: die Italienerin.
I sound uneducated no matter what language I speak.
I made flashcards for terminology class. Most bases and prefixes I know from Latin or common awareness already. In addition to the primary textbook is a secondary text for bioscientific terms: the names of diseases and such. Before the terminus of the semester I intend to find out precisely how many words the English language has for syphilis.
I (in the library) spy a girl with green 4-H fliers. I ought to accost her and beg for one. Schade, she vanished. Oh, well.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 9:28 AM]