Although this is a mostly food-free language program, I still enjoy visiting places with food and drink related to the languages I am studying. I love seeing containers of rice, or noodles, or soda—just commonplace items like that—plastered…
Yesterday, after a late-afternoon nap that stretched into evening, I decided to take myself (and my SparkNotes German flash cards) out for a brain-stimulating latte at a local café, a different one from my usual language-learning coffee haunt. The guy…
Yesterday I did a bit of translation work at home for the Goethe-Institut, then went down there for my usual late Friday afternoon conversation. I love this place! It is, by the way, open to the public, so people interested…
My running situation is improving again, and my mileage is up. Unfortunately, I am out of Pimsleur to keep me company while I stretch. I hate being out of Pimsleur. I need to find myself some podcasts! Anyway, I just…
I woke up in the dark yesterday, around 5:45 a.m. It was not my intention to wake up while it was still dark. The result of waking up in the dark was that I was tired. I hate that. …
Yesterday I went to Café Margot with my German grammar books. While in line waiting for my coffee, I scouted out seating opportunities; seats are generally hard to come by in New York City establishments. It is competitive…
This weekend I returned to one of my favorite language-learning strategies: intensive grammar study. I have three books I am making my way through. Most of what I focused on yesterday and today was nouns: gender, plural forms, that kind…
While stretching, I have started listening to German news radio, free via the Internet. German Radio on the Web I didn’t do this with previous languages, but it’s great. German sounds markedly slower to me than…
It is New York City Marathon week. Runners and tourists are arriving. When I run in Central Park, I look for lost people so I can offer to help. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Looking Autumnal Central Park Obelisk Yeah, I…
Marathon Sunday in New York is one of my very favorite days of the year. I ran the marathon here four times in the 1990s, and have been cheering annually ever since. Although I registered this year, I didn’t…
© 2009–2022 Ellen Jovin. All rights reserved.