Euskera Outline!!!!

I finally have an outline I can work with. It's a very informal outline, in four different stages at different places.

I have raw outline (talk about this) which is mostly for the background information and inferences that have already been drawn so many times that I can tell them through quotes.

I have expanded outline, where I talk in choppier sentences about details I want to be sure to include.

I have semi-finished English drafting for important turning points in the essay.

And I have first draft finished Spanish for the introduction. :D

From here on out I think I'll be trying to compose directly in Spanish. We'll see. :D

Oh, and I just realized that I'll need to go through and add more references to Catalan, since I make it obvious in the introduction that I'm going to use it as my control. :D

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El euskera, la lengua aislada de los vascos, y catalán, la lengua romance que hablan los catalanes, son ambas lenguas minoritarias de España. Pero sus situaciones actuales son muy diferentes. El prestigio y el reconocimiento del catalán siguen creciendo, mientras el euskera no ha sido capaz de superar su reputación como idioma rústico y primitivo, por lo que sigue perdiendo hablantes. Los destinos de estas lenguas son inextricables de los de sus movimientos nacionalistas adjuntos. Desde el siglo XVII, tanto los catalanes como los vascos han luchado para no perderse en la dominante cultura castellana. Aunque ambas regiones permanecen hoy como partes de España, los catalanes han tenido mucho más éxito en obtener una medida de autonomía e independencia cultural que es evidente por el uso general del idioma catalán en esa región, mientras que el euskera permanece en declive y el movimiento separatista de los vascos esta hoy en día asociado con la amenaza del terrorismo. ¿Por qué estos dos movimientos, que se parecían tanto, han tenido resultados tan diferentes?

Hay muchos factores que contribuyen a la explicación de esta dicotomía, entre ellos diferencias geográficas, históricas, y económicas. En este ensayo, sin embargo, voy a enfocarme en los aspectos lingüísticos de este movimiento. Hay un proverbio vasco que dice “Izena duen guztiak izatea ere badauke” – que todo lo que tiene un nombre, existe. Pero hay otro proverbio, que parece ser diametralmente opuesto al primero: “Izenak ez du egiten izana” – un nombre no hace a una cosa real. La conexión entre el euskera y el movimiento separatista de los vascos es muy complicado y a veces aparentemente contradictorio, pero es de una importancia inmensa para explicar cualquiera de los dos.

Talk about how interconnected Basque identity is with Euskera ------

Talk about the persecution of Euskera --------

Talk about the Euskera myths ------

The persecution of the Basques and Euskera gave the language an almost mythic element, as evidenced by some actual myths that depict Euskera as a god-given language mystically barred from foreigners. These attitudes were meant to protect Basque. However, as the persecution of Basque has waned, such ideas about the purity of the Basque people and the unbearableness of foreign influence have actually been to the detriment of the language´s survival.

Talk about how not wanting foreign influence has hurt Basque culture and Euskera -----

Present day situation: the threat is gone. How do people feel about Euskera today? It is their culture. They support it fully in theory. But now that it isn´t in danger of going extinct, they also see other possible ways that they can support their culture other than learning such a difficult language, and are increasingly going to these other ways. Talk about Basque music and Bertsolaritza.

Conclusion: Euskera has existed for a really long time, but throughout all of recorded history it has been a threatened language, which has had a profound effect on its development. In the most recent of years, the threat of forcible extinction has lifted, and it has become apparent that the former suppression itself was one of the factors that sustained interest in the language. And, in some ways, the old myths about the impregnability of Euskera has come back to haunt it, as this is no longer a preservative stance, but maybe a self-destructive one. Where does Euskera go from here?

The First Breath of Winter

Today it was cold - really cold - for the first time. It was in the twenties and officially lower than both Trondheim and Turku, as it often is on colder days here. Spanish class was cancelled and we were just going to watch a movie I'd already seen in Anthro, so I slept in until around 11, showered and dressed leisurely, then sat down, started assembling my Basque research, and wrote an introduction. I didn't eat at Dobbs at all today and when we all left for Anthropology at 2:30 I realized it was my first time outside all day. I was shocked by how cold it was but it was only skin-cold and it didn't feel so bad when the sun was shining and we were all chatting and moving with purpose.

In the evening Jorge had a photo assignment and I went with him. To be honest I felt as if I needed to go. It didn't make any sense, but I just didn't want to send him alone to walk all the way across campus at night and in this weather... I went with just a sweatshirt over a shortsleeve shirt, and Jorge went with gloves and scarf and jacket. I laughed a bit at him, but I was intensely conscious of the space between my shrinking pants and my socks, and on the way back I folded my hands around the edges of my extra long sleeves to keep the warm air inside.

It seemed very dark and cold. The last leaves hanging on the trees caught the light of the huge lamps on Stankowski field, and they've never seemed so harsh or unnatural. The walk there was one thing but the walk back lasted forever. We were both tired and a bit cranky.

I need a winter coat. Mom just wrote me giving me permission to buy one - if I can get to the mall sometime this week I'll do just that. I'm okay until about 20 degrees without one, but I have to get creative (semi thick long sleeve shirt, covered by one of my sweaters, covered by a sweatshirt) and I don't have enough clothes to wear a ton of layers every day. :P

I think I'm joining a Bible Study of sorts. It's small, student run, and seems low-key and open-minded. In other words, the only sort of Bible Study I would even consider joining. They had free food today and David invited me so I went along with Linh (not a surprise) and Phil (not a surprise) and Johannes (??) and Tom and Jorge too, because they were randomly there. The two girls who run it seem nice, and they said they'd come back on Wednesday evenings and we could maybe have a food sharing schedule or something. :D

I've translated my Basque introduction into Spanish. If I can write two or three more paragraphs in Spanish, I think I'll have enough for Wednesday. I also have to rehearse my article and somehow drop off the extra copies tomorrow. I tried to set up another academic advising appointment at the international studies office but no reply yet.

I also got a call from the Big Brothers Big Sisters people asking me for days of the week and times that I'm available. I was confused about the number they left and finally called right as the common room got really loud, and I was sandwiched between a few different people on the couch and couldn't leave easily. They tried to quiet down, but anyway I hadn't prepared a list of dates and times, so I left a less than stellar phone message. If they haven't replied by tomorrow I might try again, actually, because I think I gave them some times that would be very difficult for me, whereas Thursdays and Fridays are quite easy compared to trying to walk to Lee in between classes. Oh well, we'll see. :P

I'm excited to get started with that. :D I need to be doing something like that... something not completely selfish, that I can pour part of myself into. And I do miss the children! :D I've always had so many children in my life, that it's strange to suddenly be so removed from them.

My family is coming up this weekend and Melissa is performing with the colour guard, so I'll get to see her do that for one of the first times. They're bringing Tidbit, if I remember correctly. :D And Grandma too. She wants to see my dorm, which means I'll have to clean it. Well. :S

What else?

I feel taller. No, that's not quite the right word. But straighter, perhaps? I feel as though I can walk with more confidence. The shape of my body feels more natural. I hate the feeling that my confidence hangs on something external, but it's just been so long...

A Beginning (Euskera Paper)

Okay, I think I have an introduction to my paper. Now I just have to... you know.... follow it up with a body and a conclusion, and translate it all into Spanish. XD Normally I'd compose it all in Spanish first - it's more time efficient that way, but this being my first University Paper, I want to do my best, and it's a bit easier for me to organize things and form a solid argument in English.

I think I need one more sentence at the end, but anyhow, this is pretty close. I'm also not entirely certain of the use of 'dichotomy'. I want to say that the situations had seemingly similar roots, but then diverged dramatically. Dichotomy makes it sound like they started as the same thing... one thing, not two very similar things. Or does it? Help? :D

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Euskera, the language isolate of the Basques, and Catalan, the romantic language spoken by the Catalonians, are both minority languages of Spain. Their current situations, however, are very different, as Catalan grows in prestige and recognition while Euskera has been unable to rise above its reputation as a rustic and primitive language, and continues losing speakers. The fate of these languages is inextricable from that of their accompanying nationalist movements. Since the mid seventeenth century, both the Basques and the Catalans have struggled to keep from being absorbed by and lost in the dominant Castilian culture. Although both regions remain part of Spain today, the Catalonians have been far more successful in gaining a measure of autonomy and cultural independence, as evidenced by the prevalence of the Catalan language in that region, while Euskera continues to decline, and the Basque separatist movement continues to be plagued by the threat of terrorism. What led these two movements, seemingly so similar, to such different outcomes?

There are a number of factors that explain this dichotomy, not least among them differences in geography, history, economics, and at times, sheer coincidence. In this essay, however, I would like to focus on the linguistic aspects of the movement. There is a Basque proverb that claims, “Izena duen guztiak izatea ere badauke” – that everything that has a name, exists. But there is another, seemingly diametrically opposed, that states, just as confidently, “Izenak ez du egiten izana” – a name does not make something true. The connection between Euskera and the Basque separatist movement is complicated, at times seemingly contradictory, but of immense importance in attempting to explain either.

I love it!

I love cold floors and the walk down the hall to shower.

I love having to be creative and make things in my microwave.

I love how when Tabitha drops her sphereplay ball I can hear it well enough to know what she's doing.

I love that most mornings, I wake up to the sound of Japanese.

I love forgetting what an accent is.

I love spur of the moment walks to subway or the columns.

I love how Laws is under siege during football games...

I love that when we're under siege, we have a tunnel to the dining hall.

I love making crouton fiesta at Dobbs when there's nothing else worth eating.

I love Pocky and Microwave Shrimp Pasta.

I love how I see the shrimp in said pasta even though Jorge doesn't.

I love that it's a twenty minute walk to Plaza, and we go anyway.

I love watching winter come to a botanical garden.

I love falling leaves and the bright blue skies of late autumn.

I love how we carved pumpkins and had to keep them in the trash room for two weeks as they rotted, because we didn't have a porch.

I love that Denisse thought she was going to freeze to death when it was sixty degrees out.

I love hearing the fire alarm goes off while you can smell the burnt popcorn.

I love the overheated laundry room, and the pathetic hall kitchen with barely enough room for two.

I love how Dobbs can be empty except for the long lines.

I love sharing spoons and knives and rice cookers.

I love the dry erase boards covered in Korean, Japanese, and Spanish.

I love that the 'cooked to order' line at Dobbs is anything but.

I love how the library not only has books about foreign languages, but books about anything in foreign languages!

I love being able to say that I'm attending the oldest and best journalism school in the country.

I love Tim's cat in heat.... noise, rediculous risque English mistakes, and how he walks across the campus alone in the rain to go to his favourite dining hall.

I love that Jorge and I tried to slay the mess in my room with the sword I keep hidden in my closet. XD

I love Peter missing Texas and asking how 'we people' survive the winter here.

I love watching Laura Thal enforce Peter and Tom's political-joke and jew-joke quotas.

I love how we have enough instruments in Laws to make a band, and that at any given moment, you can hear a guitar, a piano, a clarinet, a violin, an ocarina, or at least someone's computer or iPod turned up too high.

I love that a joke spreads through the hall like wildfire.


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I hate that we're watching some people turn into alcoholics.

I hate how when someone is in pain, everybody pretends not to hear it.

Basque Proverbs

All of the information is remarkably interesting.

But putting it all together is proving very difficult.

The situation of Basque is enormously complicated, see, a web of circular logic and seeming paradoxes.

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The symbolic and emotional value of the language and the practical value of the language not only need not coexist… in certain situations, they may actually be dichotomous. As the practical value decreases, the emotional value increases.

The Basque language fuels the nationalist movement. And the nationalist movement, likewise, has a strong effect on the language itself...

“It was claimed increasingly that pre-Christian Basques already professed a monotheistic religion and even worshipped the cross, and that Euskera was the language of paradise. Different authors subsequently incorporated new elements into the myth, which eventually regarded Basques as connected to the people of God (through Noah) but that, unlike the Jews, did not break this bond by crucifying Christ..” (Atienza 33)

“Juan Bautista de Erro, for example, in El Mundo Primitivo, attempted to demonstrate ‘the primacy and antiquity of Euskera over the other languages on earth.’ He further argued that this ancient language was transferred directly from God to humankind and not created by the latter, and that the early language created by God and spoken in Paradise was Euskera, preserved after the confusion of Babel, saved from the universal flood by Noah, and brought to the Basque country by Tubal.” (Atienza 33)

Religion was very important… maybe they made up their crazy myths so that they wouldn’t have to concede that such an important part of their lives was a foreign influence of the sort they so despised?

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And what am I to make of this?




Izena duen guztiak izatea ere bdauke
Everything that has a name, exists.


Izenak ez du egiten izana.
A name does not make something true.


-Basque Proverbs

The Case of the Bad Camembert

Laurence came in screaming that her Camembert wasn't Camembert. Certainly wasn't French. Wasn't EVEN cheese.

Not that this is anything new or surprising. Among the Frenchies here it seems common practice to describe something that is less than optimum as simply 'not' whatever it claims to be.

Ex: This is NOT a cigarette! (It is, in fact, a cigarette, if a bad one)
Ex: This is NOT a magazine! (It is, in fact, a magazine, if a bad one)

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But she seemed especially distressed by the non-Camembert. She opened up the container for our inspection and continued nearly hysterically. Oh, it was horrible! Oh, it wasn't cheese! Oh, it wasn't supposed to be this colour... this texture... this smell!

She managed to cut out a wedge. It looked darker than I thought Camembert generally was, but who was I to pass judgment on French cheese? Tim offered to try it. Laurence begged him not to, telling him he would surely die. While she pled with him, Jorge managed to grab a snatch of it and consume it before anyone could stop him.

They're all convinced that he's going to die now, though he merely said, "Well, it's not my favourite taste, but it is endurable".

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Some time later, we found Laurence on the balcony smoking.

Jorge: "Enjoying your cancer?"

Laurence: "Actually, yes, I had to get that terrible cheese taste out of my mouth!"

Miranda: "Oh, so now it /is/ cheese?"

Jorge: "Yeah, I brushed my teeth."

Miranda: "Hmm, I love the dichotomy between Laurence and Jorge's methods of dealing with the bad taste... which one is healthier?"

Euskera (For Spanish Class)

I know that I want my topic to be Euskera, the situation today... how it is used in education, how people feel about it, what connection does it have with the seperatist politics of the region, etc... and why its situation varies so much from that of, for example, Galician and Catalan.

But it has been remarkably difficult for me to put this in a logical topic form. My chicken scratches:

Outline:

The situation of Euskera and its relationship with the Basque separatist movement, especially as compared with other such partly linguistically motivated nationalist movements.

- Introduction: Questions and Statements

- Description and historical overview of the situation of Euskera, The Relationship between the Basque Language and the cultural identity of the Basque people.

- Basque Nationalism vs. Catalan Nationalism

- Today… for example, Education: Euskera (vs. Galician, Catalan)

Introduction:

Why has the success of Basque been less than that of Catalan? Why is Basque separatism so different from Catalan separatism? What connection is there between them?

- Euskera affects the nationalist movement… AND the nationalist movement affects Euskera.

- The strong linguistic connection between Catalan and Spanish has aided in the survival of the former: When political pressures have, at various times, tried to eradicate non standard languages, Euskera has received the full brunt of these movements, while Catalan has managed to be viewed as a dialect, and endured.

Description of Euskera:

Historical Overview:

The Relationship between the Basque Langauge and the cultural identity of the Basque People:

Basque Nationalism vs. Catalan Nationalism:

The Current Situation: For example, number of speakers, and education:

One Of These Books...

One of these books is not like the others, one of these books just doesn't belong...

These are the books I got from the library today. See if you can guess which one isn't for my project on Basque...

Hombre, raza, nacionalidad, universalidad, presente y futuro del pueblo vasco. (Arana)

Basque Nationalism (Payne)

The Social Roots of Basque Nationalism (Perez-Agote)

The Basques, the Catalans, and Spain (Conversi)

The Basques (Collins)

Arctic Languages.- An Awakening

The Basque Country (Woodworth)

The Basque Country (Aldecoa)

El Pais Vasco (Pio Baroja)

The Coyote Papers

The Origins, Ideology, and Organization of Basque Nationalism…. (Atienza)

Important Basque Phrases?

The following phrases were listed under the 'important phrases' category of the Wikipedia article on Basque. :D

# Bizi gara!! = We are alive!!
# Bagarela!! = So we are!! (Answer to the above)

Stolen Afternoon

The homecoming festivities were last night, and Laws - what remained of it - was under siege. The river of black and gold flowed by as Jorge and I, in what is already half a tradition - watched a movie. This time it was "When Harry Met Sally" and Denisse watched some of it with us. She wore a nice dress and she was cutting an apple with a little knife.

I decided I wanted food right after the kitchen closed, so we made do as best we could with my pantry and microwave. I made Dal Fry with Chickpeas and we ate it with some Tandoori Nan on my lap desk, propped up by a pillow in the center of the room.

Jorge: "So, if we are eating Arab style, we ought to start behaving Arab style. That means... my god, where is your scarf and why are you eating with men?"

Me: "Well, if I'm eating with men, then we're not exactly eating Arab style, now are we?"

Jorge: "..."

This while the majority of the populace was out indulging in various forms of drunken revelry.

And today the weather was amazing. Probably the best weather since coming to Mizzou. It was warm in the sun with a cold breeze and there were thousands of golden leaves dancing in the wind, moving over the streets like something alive and swirling against the blue sky.

I felt that it was somehow a bonus for those of us who weren't too hung over to enjoy it. XD Jorge and I went to the library and I got the books I needed to begin my project about Euskera. Then he went to Chipotle and it was so nice that we decided to take a walk. We went to the edge of campus, to a horse farm and some agricultural buildings until the road seemed to go on indefinitely and we turned back. We ate at Baja Grill for the first time and it was lovely.

It actually was a relief to not have all you can eat food... I finished the whole thing! :D And it was delicious. I had Tilapia Tacos and a Chocolate-Banana Quesadilla.

A really nice day. :D

A Dream

I dreamed last night. This morning, actually, in between my instinctual 8 o'clock glance at the clock and my alarm ringing at 11 so I would wake up in time for brunch. (pathetic, I know).

I've never had a dream force me to evaluate my feelings at this one did. I suspect it was at least partially lucid: I remember it too well, and despite the usual dream mainstays (random people, in this case Srta. O'Toole and Elvina), random off topic interludes... it stayed remarkably focused and I expressed myself realistically and clearly.

What does the dream mean? I don't spend a lot of time looking for meaning in my dreams, but a dream like this tells me that I'm still thinking about something that I hoped I wasn't. In my subconscious, I have a bit of a lag in my emotional progress...

But must it rule everything? Even in my dream, I forced myself to tell the truth, to say what I had to say, even though it killed me. And today it no longer kills me. So my subconscious had better just catch up, because I'm not going back...

Death and Mere Separation

Once I wrote about death and the inability of the mind to fully comprehend it...

I think that finality is the underlying issue.

People seek closure. But how much does it really matter? The mind goes on...



It's like leaving a friend. You can't imagine that you'll never see them again, however unlikely it seems that you would meet sometime in the future.

Your mind keeps insisting that there's something between a miraculous or hard-worked for reunion and... an ending. Because such an ending is unthinkable.

The Eveny avoid the finality of farewell. Don't expect a goodbye from them... in the same way, the thought of never seeing Lucía, or Stephanie, or Liisa again... it's unthinkable. Stephanie I will see for a while, as long as we both have roots in St. Louis. And Lucía I will see at Thanksgiving. And maybe... maybe... at Winter Break. And maybe next summer too. But nothing is certain.

After that... For Lucía, for Stephanie, for Liisa... For them I will make an effort. We will probably see each other again. But of course there must be a last time. And this goes both ways. There will even be a last time we see those nearest to us. And then again, what about those lesser friends? The ones we won't fly halfway around the world to see, and must therefore never see them, but we keep believing... that of course we'll meet again, however unlikely it may be. And even the smallest people, who we wouldn't even call on the phone, but who were part of our lives...

But the dear friends are the hardest.

Because how do you close the book on relationships that keep living in hearts and minds?

It's literally, simply unthinkable.

Dobbs and Bobbs

Tim couldn't pronounce "Pause".

He said "Pows". So I said, "it's just like Laws (the name of our dorm)... but with a P. You don't spell it that way, but that's how you say it. Paws."

He says, "Yeah, that's how I remember how to say Bobbs. Because of Dobbs. (Our dining hall)."

"... Bobbs?"

"Like Dobbs, but with a B.... B. O. B. B. S."

"That's not, that's not a word."

"It's not a word? But... but... what about breasts? Titties?!"

... XD

Journalism School Update

On Wednesday I decided to become a cultural journalist. On Thursday I met with my primary academic adviser and she gave me the journalism phone number. After some bureaucratic nonsense I set up an appointment and recieved some paperwork. On Friday I turned in the paperwork and met my journalism adviser.

So now I'm in the journalism school! :D

And I'm triple majoring. :O

I spent a few long hours with the course guide last night, and I sort of have a semblance of a plan. But the fight is long from over. I now have 4 advisers - one for each major and then one for studying abroad. I need to figure out how to balance the honors college.

And I've already found a schedule conflict: I absolutely have to take Career Exploration in Journalism - a puny, 8 week, pass or fail course. Conveniently, they only offer one lecture of it. And it's the same time as the only offered lecture for Spanish Phonetics. :( I guess I could take Spanish Phonetics next year if I have to... and it looks as though that may be the case, but there was such brilliant symmetry in finishing all the normal Spanish by the end of this year, so I could start in on literature next year. :(

But alas, it's only the beginning of this kind of stuff if I am going to triple major...

Everything Is Just So Perfect

Because of what is happening now - not the noun but the verb, to remind me that it happens...

It's as if a great weight has been lifted.

And the world seems filled with an almost painful beauty.

Status Update

I like:
Anthropology
Linguistics
Languages
Writing
Photography
and Psychology...

I have decided that I would like to be an anthropological journalist.

What? It incorporates everything except for psychology. And even that if you stretch it. XD

I can still be a Spanish teacher as a back up, and a job to have after my kids are born and then... at least until they are 12 or so. At that point I can go back to the journalism... or not.

I suspect I'll have to triple major in Spanish, some form of Journalism, and then... Anthropology or something. I'll see what my academic adviser recommends. I think I can triple major. I'm willing to take a full course load every semester, and attend school for five years. I do want to study abroad a lot, but Spanish would definitely allow it (if I did a lot of my Spanish work while studying abroad, that would free up other times too)... and Journalism and Anthropology, while not really... encouraging it, would certainly see the value of such an experience.


:D I am serious about this.

On Request from Lucía XD

An Unnecessary Case of Exclusion: The Merits of Walking Alone

The sidewalk here is, on average, wide enough for three people. So if you're walking in a group of four, the logical thing would seem to me to be to walk two by two, leaving enough room on the sidewalk so that passing people wasn't so difficult.

But for some reason my friends always walk with three in a row, taking up the whole sidewalk and leaving one rather awkwardly in front or behind. Today, leaving Geography, it was quite natural to be chatting with Laura, next to me, while the other Laura and Clint were immediately behind. But Laura slowed and shifted and I followed her, and suddenly, dropping our conversation almost mid sentence, she was walking in line with them and I was walking in the street.

I finally asked the question frequently on my mind - why not walk the more logical way? Well, Laura explained, she would be missing out on the other conversation if she did that. :S Well, that's true, and it's lovely when we can all walk in a tight group, but when it's crowded or when we're on the small sidewalk, it's just not possible. So it seems to me just to be a case of unnecessary exclusion.

When I explained this, Laura got quite defensive and said that she had to walk behind just as often as I did. But I didn't feel that that made it any better! For my part, I've usually tried to walk behind if I notice someone else doing it. I won't say I always notice, but I try to. And then Laura jumped into Clint and other Laura's conversation as quickly as she could, ignoring me.

We stopped to steal a poster off of some bulletin board. They were talking about some music that I know very little about. Then we started walking again and I was in the back, letting my thoughts wander, wanting to be back in Laws, catching only the most distracting details of the conversation in front of me.

I'm okay with being alone.

I really am.

I'd prefer to be with people, but I've spent enough of my life alone that I'm quite okay with it.

I'm not okay with dragging, hanging on, being that outcast that it's clear no one wants around. I've received mixed signals from my friends here. As long as I steer very clear of anything serious, they seem great and friendly. But anytime anything serious comes up, they avoid me like the plague. I don't even think they're being hypocritical. They're just... somehow... dodging seriousness, dodging deeper relationships. I don't feel great about it but that's the way it is.

I'm okay with being alone.

I'm not okay with walking behind. I hadn't exchanged a word with them for about two minutes. The road forked and one way, the way we never take, was blanketed in sunshine. I travel faster by myself, and being outside of the conversation, I preferred to have my thoughts to myself. I doubted anyone would notice, so I turned at the fork and walked that way alone.

After several long seconds I thought I might have heard a voice, maybe.

I didn't even really mean to make a statement. I don't want to be angry at anyone or have them angry at me.

But I'm okay with being alone.

And I'm really, really not okay with walking behind. Even if, as they claim, they all have to take turns doing it. Not when it's avoidable. I don't like the feeling. I'd rather be alone.

German and Japanese

I love the sound of German. For some reason it seems so warm to me. It might be my favourite language to just hear... to just have in the ambience. I don't rightfully understand why - it's not my favourite language to speak, though it's not bad! :D It's just that hearing it makes me feel warm and cozy. At home.

On the way back from Political Science I was walking with Mayumi and the two German Phillips were behind us, deutsching away. :D I was so happy! After a moment Mayumi turns to be and says,

"Doitsu-go!" And I understood... because, when you're thinking the exact same thing, sometimes you think it in every-language.

She started laughing half a moment later and apologized, was about to translate and I said, "No, no, it's okay... I understand."

"Oh, anata wa nihonjin desu!" She said.

"Hai, soo desu. Watashi wa nihonjin desu, doitsu go kara!"

Faroese Sentences

This is the last set of sentences I'm going to make with this _____ has ____ pattern. I've pretty much exhausted the verb "Hava"... to have. I even know that the past participle version is Havt, and that the present participle is Havandi. I could use them, except it doesn't often make sense to do so, and I didn't really know enough Faroese to come up with one of the weird sentences that would allow it. :)

I am also getting fairly familiar with bending masculine nouns, though I decided not to use Class 2 in these sentences for some reason... Not really sure why as they're pretty similar to Class 1. :D Well, next time. I also tackled the most irregular feminine class, class 4. Next time I'm going to learn 2 or 3 new verbs and write some sentences using those and perhaps the other feminine classes. I should probably get Masculine Class 2 out of the way as well, and then I'll just have Neuter nouns before I conquer the world of nouns completely! Muahahah. Okay, here they are.

Practicing:

At Hava

Masculine Class 1

Masculine Class 3

Feminine Class 4

Týsdagur, 21. Oktober 2008

1. Rósan hevur broddar.

2. Presturin hevði eina syklu.

3. Bankarnir hava pengarnar.

4. Eg havi fingrar.

5. Dómarin hevur eina byrðu.

6. Læknarnir hava stivlar.

7. Danskarin hevði gávuna.

8. Onglendingurin hevur ein arm.

9. Elsuba hevði eina dukku.

10. Fíggindin hevur ein kjallara.

11. Mánan hevur eina søgu.

12. Gentur hava dukkur.

13. Konur hava byrður.

14. Lundin hevði ein hala.

15. Jødin hevur eina tungu.

16. Vikingurin hevði ein knív.

17. Føroyingurin hevur ein næmingur.

18. Ein snigil hevði ein brunn.

19. Býttlingurin hevur ein bólt.

20. Gud hevur ein buss.

21. Kirkjan hevði eina gøtu.

22. Maðurin hevur ein stól.

23. Svenskarin hevur ein ring.

24. Hundurin hevur ein gaffil.

25. Ólavur hevur ein bil.

26. Hetjurnar høvdu fíggindar.

27. Hevur tú ein garð?