Today Brandt got a huge splinter in his foot—the biggest I’ve ever seen. After dramatic surgery in the bathroom, I went to the drugstore and got bandages, because we were out. On the way out of the building,…
I still can’t pronounce the Arabic word for “more expensive,” which sounds something like arghula, but much harder than that transliteration indicates. A real gargler. In fact, when I am doing Pimsleur, I spend so long on those damned…
Tonight Brandt and I went to Radio City Music Hall to see The Lord of the Rings with the full score performed live. We were among probably only about seven or so people in the U.S. who had never…
For almost a year and a half of running now, my hamstrings have been very tight. I need to get that worked out before I really hurt myself, so this week I stretched a lot while simultaneously doing Pimsleur. Doing…
I am way, way behind on Pimsleur compared to where I was with Russian at this point. I have to move it! I am only on Pimsleur lessons 20 and 21 (Level II). I should be further along. I will have to…
I did tons of Pimsleur Arabic lessons today—in the morning in Central Park on a run, and in the afternoon on a walk. Four lessons total. I am now on track to finish Level III on time. Which is…
Over coffee at Café Margot, I puzzled over the Arabic “Teach Yourself” book once again. It is overwhelming. I can’t read the Arabic well enough, plus the vocabulary/grammar is wildly different from Pimsleur. Basically, my own experience calls…
This morning Brandt and I went to Café Margot together. While we were there, an older German couple, very stylish, sat down next to us. I started a conversation with them, and I couldn’t believe it: it went way,…
Today I spent some time searching through the Pimsleur website, because I really don’t want to do languages for which they have no Level III. I’m disheartened about the Hindi and Greek situation. For Hindi they offer almost…
In retrospect, I think my trouble last night was not the mailing, but rather, that these particular Pimsleur lessons are too hard. The term for “credit card” in lesson 9 (Level III) is impossible. So many syllables. Also impossible was the…
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