Updates.

So, I haven't updated in a while... and actually, this post is almost like a tease because... if you're reading closely...

it's not really an update. It's not what I promised... you know, the whole argument about why non-Romance languages are superior to Romance ones...

But anyway, I've decided to school myself with lots of Russian lit, news/talk radio, and translation excercises for the rest of the summer. I'm finishing Анна Каренина, which I began reading years ago, and yesterday I began Преступение и Наказание. I picked a random book from the library and it's my goal to translate it before I can go back to school (coincidentally, it's a Russian iteration of Philip Roth's The Human Stain; has anyone read this book?). After speaking with Dr. Kleespies earlier this week, I've realized that my goals are attainable, but will require a lot more work than I have been doing. Rosetta Stone is cute, but it's not going to get me anywhere... I can see that very clearly now. I'm going to be working hard on both my linguistics coursework for the M.A. and also applying for a FLAS fellowship for next summer (with which, I will hopefully finally be able to visit Russia and Poland, and conduct my research as well as take intensive language courses there). This means sitting in on intermediate Russian (which I took last fall), beginning Polish, possibly independent study depending on scheduling, and re-evaluating at the end of the semester. I'm excited about all of it, a little worried, but less worried after talking to Dr. Kleespies. It was nice to hear someone say that these goals are both attainable and worthwhile, and not unreasonable ones for me.

R.