Language Learning – A Multitude of Musings

Hi everyone. It’s October. Several years, I’ve at least tried to participate in blog challenges, such as #Blogtober and #Write31Days. I saw that #Blogtober is running again this year, but I’m not officially participating. Still, I’m challenging myself to blog more this month. I did okay’ish in September.

Generally speaking, I don’t like October. It’s not as bad as November, but it’s not a fun month. Unfortunately, this year so far is no exception.

The weather’s bad, so I didn’t walk today except to a staff’s car to drive to a DHL service point to pick up a slow juicer I’d ordered online on Sunday. It’s a Chinese brand, so I may at some point regret having bought it because of the risk of microplastics in my juice. In fact, I’m already putting a good juicer and blender (my blender is not Chinese but it’s a cheap one) on my wishlist should I decide juicing and smoothie making is a true keeper hobby for me. I’m not buying either until I’ve waited a few months to make up my mind though.

I did start off this month with a new course on Duolingo: intermediate English. So far, most of it is ridiculously easy. Then again, the option I selected on the start screen to determine my skill level made the app think I’m at the early B1 level in the CEFR classification system. My spouse said my writing skills are probably C1 level at least but I’m pretty sure I miss some B level vocabulary. Let’s hope the course will aid in teaching me that.

Hi everyone. I’ve once again not been blogging, but this time it’s not because I’m struggling. Well, I still don’t feel the greatest, but the main reason I haven’t blogged is that something else has caught my attention. I’ll talk about it in a minute. Want a coffee? I’m joining #WeekendCoffeeShare once again. It’s past 10PM, so no coffee for me, but since this is a virtual get-together, you can have whatever you like. Let’s have a drink and let’s catch up.

First, if we were having coffee, I’d share about the weather. It’s been all over the place. On Tuesday, it was hot and humid with a daytime high of 30°C. Then we got this giant thunderstorm. Wednesday and Thursday were still okay with daytime temperatures of around 22°C. Yesterday though, it was not just raining all day, but it was freakin’ frigid with a daytime high of 16°C. Today is slightly better.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that, despite having my new Apple Watch wristband, I didn’t meet my movement goals each day this week. I blame the weather. I thankfully no longer care as much as I used to and can sit back and relax every now and again rather than having to keep up with my activity rings. I did try to walk each day (except for yesterday) and went swimming on Thursday too.

If we were having coffee, next I’d tell you that, yesterday, I went to an Eye Association meeting for young people who are blind or visually impaired (and a few who have an eye condition but can still see quite well). I originally thought I’d be too old to qualify as a “young person”, but the target age group is 18-45. I had a good time, but towards the end got quite overloaded. I had a near-meltdown when the taxi driver called me but I couldn’t hear him over the noise in the cafe in which the meeting was held. I for a bit thought I upset the entire group and wouldn’t be welcome anymore, but thankfully it wasn’t this bad according to several people.

If we were having coffee, lastly I’d tell you all about my latest obsession. I originally wanted to write a separate post about it on Thursday, but got distracted by the actual thing. It’s learning Spanish on Duolingo. I’m currently still at the early A1 level of proficiency. My spouse and mother-in-law have both been learning Spanish on this app for several months. What got me into it though was a conversation in a Facebook group about language learning. Some people said Duolingo isn’t always correct, but I’m not sure whether they were referring to a specific language. I can see why though in a way, as for example early on in the Spanish course, you’re learning the word “elegante”, which Duolingo claims translates to “elegant”. Now I’ve never heard an English-speaking person use the word “elegant” in everyday conversation. I honestly couldn’t care less though, as if I ever get to a point where I can actually talk in Spanish outside of the app, I’ll teach myself the finer details of conversation.