It's been a quick three months.

I really can't believe I've not written on here in 3 months.  I think I'm just going to continue and only share it to Google +.  I want this to be more of a space for thought than a place to bitch, moan, or generally complain about Republican thinking.

I'm trying to focus on my being happy because since I have written here last, I have had 3 different spots of skin cancer removed.  Not really digging the Frankenstein look.  But, getting all of these cuts in me have given me some drive to try new things and to make sure that I am not letting anything atrophy.

So, a good friend of mine from DC - who is just as much a language nerd as me - and I are doing a 3 month Esperanto challenge.  She just returned from a trip to Budapest, where she took part in the first ever POLYGLOT Conference.  Many Esperanto speakers were there (one could dare say, the entire Esperanto speaking population) and they said that any linguist can learn Esperanto in 6 weeks.  We are going to try for 12 since we live twelve hours apart.  Tonight was day one.


Mi estas kontenta ke vi lernas Esperanto.

Hello from the Windy Corner

Christuskirche & the as-yet-to-be-opened Independence Museum brought to you by the DPRK.

I am writing to you from //AE //GAMS.  A place you and I know as Windhoek.  There is a small shopping center here in Klein Windhoek with that name.

It reads

Klein //AE //GAMS Mall.    

There are two clicks in there.  They kind of sound like a horse call out the side of the mouth.  There are 3 or 4 different languages in that title alone, depending on who you ask.  Others will say it is only one ie Namibian English - which is proving to be an interesting version of English to master.  I know I definitely can't speak it, I don't know if I will be able to after 3 months, but I'm finding it easier to understand.  I think if I tried to speak like a Namibian though, it would come out VERY weird.

Positives today

Did it all by myself
everyone is so friendly
retracing some old steps from 4 years ago.
getting people to talk with me by saying just

hawayu!

More Soon.

Ian

Linguas

The human tongue is an amazing thing. It can make noises, it can lick your lips, it can hurt, it can taste, it can love. One thing I've tried training it to do is speak many different languages. I'm a complete dork and in my down time would gladly decline a German adjective. (Honestly, it's not that hard!) You just need to memorize 16 different endings and then figure out what part of the sentence the word is in. For example... no I won't bore you. Anyway, I pride myself in my language ability. It's the one thing I know I'm good at. Until I got to Mozambique anyway. Most Mozambicans can speak 5+ languages. My housekeeper speaks Portuguese, Xitswa, Bitonga, Ronga, Arabic (she's Muslim) and I'm teaching her some English. My best friend in Homoine speaks Portuguese, Machope, Bitonga, Xitswa, Changaan, Ronga, French, English. Here comes along the white man with his English, Portuguese, German, Spanish and I feel inadequate. Anyway, we went to our local bar the other night and my friend Scott asked the owner (who happened to be born in Austria) whether or not I spoke German well. He said, yeah I do but just a little slow. Considering I haven't been to a German speaking country in 3 years... I took that as a compliment! The reason for this post though is that I've slowly noticed over this past year how my brain and my tongue just don't keep up with each other. It doesn't matter what language I speak in, I speak slow. Here's a visual, the Simpsons making fun of starving philosophical artists speak. Or for those that know Noel... :)

I like to thing its my brain hard wiring me to speak like an interpreter. Like Nicole Kidman in that movie.