Stardate: 11/18/2007 Learning Russian the Grammar Way!, etc

Learning Russian the Grammar Way!
Yep, yippee. I’m learning Russian with a personal tutor named, Ala. She is a great, sweet old lady who walks with a cane. She has brilliant, dyed red hair and is about 4 feet tall. No kiddin’. She teaches Spanish at the Polytechnic and doesn’t speak a word of English. A arranged this and Ala is doing it out of the kindness of her heart, but I am the laziest student. Well, not lazy, it’s just that learning another language at this point in time is not the highest priority on my list.

That and the methodology is a nightmare. She lent me a Russian grammar book. The writing is illegible for me. There are almost no graphics or images to help out—just text. The ones that are there are oddly chosen, so I’m not sure what they refer to. It is written in a small font with little white space on the page. Vocabulary was taught on the first couple of pages, but that is the last time I saw any. So, weekly on Thursdays at 2pm, I struggle to comprehend what Ala is trying to teach me. It would be almost impossible to learn anything if I hadn’t studied other languages and linguistics in the past. I need those tools to interpret what sketchy data I have to go on.

On a regular basis, I employ some of the phrases I’ve learned from A and one that I constructed from grammar lessons. Some of the grammar lessons come in handy for eavesdropping on conversations and figuring out what people are saying.

Ala is also a strict pronunciation task master. She wants only “perfect” pronunciation; I get corrected a lot! However, the proper word stress on moloko /maLOko/ is important here; if you don’t hit the correct syllable, folks don’t know you’re asking for milk. So, at least I sound like one of them when I can utter a word in the proper context…(smiley face).

I wish that I had had Russian prior to coming here, but that was impossible in Eau Claire. It was particularly impossible because we learned we were coming here in mid spring semester and it was too late to join a class AND the professor who normally teaches it at the U was in Germany for the semester. I did try to get online for books, software to learn Russian and Ukrainian, and to learn what I could. It was frustrating, too, because we didn’t know if we should learn Russian or Ukrainian. It’s Russian for Kharkiv, both languages for Kyiv, and Ukrainian only in Lviv. Depends where you are, you know?

I am slipping quickly behind my Russian tutor’s ever progressive lessons. She is moving very fast in the grammar book. We learn 2-3 new grammar points per lesson. We review a bit, then learn a new grammar point with a bit of repetition in a drill of 8 or so questions, then it’s on to a new grammar point. So far, since mid-September, when I started working with Ala we have covered the following grammar points: the Cyrillic alphabet in print and cursive, present tense verbs (2 different conjugation sets), pronouns, learned about 30 verbs, learned question words (who, what, where, when, how) and adverbs to answer them (good, quickly, slowly, here, not here, right, left, at home, now, since, tomorrow, yesterday, etc), numbers up to 30, and accusative case endings for present tense masculine, feminine and neuter nouns. My head is spinning and I’ve been thinking that I have a better use for my time, such as working on my scholarly activities, say? Update: 11/25/2008. Have suspended Russian lessons since I just don’t have the time to devote it.

Washing Machine Update: No washing machine. Might have to buy a new one. Don’t want to. Wear clothes for days. Most likely smell. Don’t care. Not the only ones.

Mystery Meat: Expiration Date Unknown
I’m not a picky person. But food sits out at markets, etc. I know this person who gets grossed out if you sample something from a plate with your fingers! At the markets and grocery stores, the meat, dairy and poultry sit out for a long time. I don’t know if the surfaces were pre-cleaned either. Forget about people washing their hands before and after handling chicken.

I know that I sound like the germ-phobic American, but I recently had either a bad bout with a stomach virus or food poisoning. Either way, I was damaged. It could have been either thing, except that Pat and Maddy didn’t get it. Usually, we all get sick together. Anyway, it made me more attentive to this than ever.

I have taken to purchasing food and non-food products with American brand names for safety purposes. It’s more expensive, but… I also now read every label for expiration date.