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March 16, 2012 | Dutch

Field Trip: New-York Historical Society

I visit Dutch stuff at one of my favorite local museums.

On Tuesday I visited the New-York Historical Society to see what I could find there about Dutch New York.  Entrance, New-York Historical Society I love this museum because of its tenacious focus on one of my favorite subjects: New…

March 21, 2012 | Dutch

Help from Hans

Without more Pimsleur Dutch lessons available, I have been having a hard time developing my oral skills.

Having raced through the paltry available supply of 30 Dutch Pimsleur lessons, I am left largely to my own devices—meaning my grammar books—to help me add to my store of Dutch. When you don’t have regular oral practice,…

March 25, 2012 | Dutch

Germanic Languages Can Be Fun!

Studying an unfamiliar language so closely related to English is both bizarre and amazing.

As I study along, I keep noting one amazing thing after another about Dutch, a language Americans are rarely exposed to, but one that has so many things in common with ours. With German the situation is different. It, too,…

March 31, 2012 | Dutch

Dutch Regrets

It pains me to do this, but I think I will have to close the (grammar) book on Dutch for now.

Here’s the thing: I have started this new volunteer gig at one of NYC & Company’s Official NYC Information Centers, as I have mentioned, where one of my primary goals is to practice my language skills with…

April 5, 2012 | Review Period

The Complete Grammar of Everything!

McGraw-Hill's marketing kind of works on me.

Yesterday I ordered four books: Complete Italian Grammar, Complete French Grammar, Complete German Grammar, and Complete Spanish Grammar. These are all from McGraw-Hill’s Practice Makes Perfect series.  Today they arrived.…

April 11, 2012 | Review Period

Studying As Fast As I Can

And the languages (French, Italian, German, and Spanish) are getting kind of mixed up.

One of the things that most appealed to me about this language review is the opportunity, for the first time, to study a bunch of different languages all in one day. I Went to Top of the Rock Today, with…

April 15, 2012 | Review Period

Grammar Travels Under and Above Ground

Zipping back and forth from one language's grammar to the next is insanely great fun.

In the book Complete German Grammar by Ed Swick, I read, “Sometimes the gender used in Germany is different from the gender used in Austria or Switzerland.” That I did not know, or at least I didn’…

April 17, 2012 | Review Period

How to Sound Foolish in Multiple Languages!

I bitch a lot about my grammar books, but I keep using them, while also making bizarre mistakes.

I tend to complain a lot about my grammar books. My Complete German Grammar by Ed Swick is now full of my irritable comments on grammar-exercise design and how it is not what it should be, but I…

April 22, 2012 | Dutch

Language Update Alert!

I have been silent...but I am definitely studying.

Dearest Readers, I know I am some weeks behind on this blog. I have received questions about that matter, inquiring about my health and well-being and continuing commitment. My health and well-being and continuing commitment are all intact. I truly…

April 24, 2012 | Review Period

A Language Friend Leaves Us

A language lover in my building has died.

The other day I observed to my husband, “I haven’t seen John for a while. I wonder if he’s sick.”  I was referring to a longtime resident in my building, an elderly man I knew who had…