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[yuuago]

It snowed so much last night that I could barely open the door. I took one look at the driveway, and the snow that was heaped up so high that it was practically over the top of my boots, and considered just saying "fuck it" and staying home. It would've been nice to just curl up under some blankets with some coffee and watch Star Trek all day, or something.

Ended up going to work in the end, though. Better that than have to explain to my mum "The weather is shit so I decided not to go in". Besides, money is nice.

Been trying to find a way to incorporate studying Norwegian more into my day, because I've been neglecting it so badly. Listening to my audiofiles while I do my nightly run seems to work, though by that time of day I'm so exhausted that I question whether I'm actually absorbing anything. Not to mention that it doesn't help the fact that I currently can't read or write it, ah. But on the other hand, I'm not serious about this, and something is better than nothing.

I was going to go on a big tl;dr about how it's difficult to learn anything, and with languages I find it especially disheartening because everyone seems to take the matter very seriously, whereas I just want to go about it slowly and take tiny steps, but - well, I thin I've talked about that enough times.

But anyway, combining it with my nightly walk sounds good. I'm trying to do that thing where you keep track of how far you walk, and try to keep at it enough that eventually you walk the same distance as it would take to get from the Shire to Mount Doom. So far I'm... uh. 0.03% of the way to Rivendell. [/facepalm] But hopefully I'll keep at it. :D

Must admit, seeing The Hobbit at new year's made me want to re-read the book. And... maybe try to read Lord of the Rings again. I tried it once years ago, but I got bored halfway through the second book and didn't bother to try again.

Comments

[gramarye1971]

One of my friends did the Shire to Mount Doom walk and found it to be a fun way of keeping track of distances travelled. It also helped that she treated herself at each milestone by re-reading the appropriate chapters in the books.

And as for studying languages when you're tired, I do think that having the audio to listen to even if you're not actively absorbing it helps to train your ear for listening. I used to listen to Italian tapes with my father when we were commuting together -- he was studying it bit by bit -- and even when I was nodding off in the front seat during a long commute I feel like I got something out of it. Granted, I wasn't the one trying to learn the language, so I had an excuse to not listen so closely....

[yuuago]

Ahhh re-reading the relevant chapters sounds like a good reward, now that you mention it. (Hell, maybe if I do it that way, I'll actually finish the book this time)

Yeah, maybe I'll subconsciously absorb something, even if I don't think I'm actually learning anything. I just wish there was an easier way to incorporate this stuff into my day; I have so little free time as it is. [/facedesk]

[diplopod.livejournal.com]

I want your snow. All of it. Jfc, we barely have a thin layer of frost right now. Ain't natural, ain't right.

I've actually heard that physical exercise while studying is supposed to help with remembering things? But I suppose the tiredness could make it not matter either way. If you can't read/write it, does that mean you're better at speaking/listening? I've always thought that was a lot harder than reading/writing, but I guess it depends on how you go about studying.

I hope my flailing about Finnish/Swedish isn't disheartening! I take it very seriously because I'm planning on moving there, but you do it for fun, so you should go at a pace that works for you. I'm a bit jealous actually, I miss being able to do that. ...But I also play that dumb mouse game as practice too, so maybe I don't take it as seriously as I let off, haha.

Is The Hobbit any good? I saw the movie and I really liked it, but I've always shied away from Tolkien's writing because I've heard he gets carried away with describing scenery and it gets really tiresome after awhile. I thought about picking up the book after the movie though. Stupid thing ended in a cliffhanger. oi hate cliffhangers

[yuuago]

YOU CAN HAVE IT. I don't want it.

Hmm, maybe you're right... it might make me subconsciously remember things. Or something. Who knows. Worth a try, anyway, I guess. And yeah, I'm better at listening than I am at reading/writing. Not sure how I am at speaking, because I've never actually done it, but I think that I could manage okay in a pinch, though my pronounciation would be terrible. Part of the reason is that most of my learning has been audio-based; audiolessons and movies, mostly. I do try to read a little - mostly newspapers - but I tend to run into trouble because a lot of things aren't spelled the way that they sound (to me), so I come across a word with some weird consonant combination and only realize much later "Wait, it's X word that I already know? WTF it doesn't look like that at all!"

Only slightly related, I feel almost like I'm better at understanding spoken Swedish rather than Norwegian, even though I've never studied Swedish at all. Maybe because I consume more Swedish media (in terms of volume). And maybe the vacation helped. Either way, it's weird. [/facepalm]

Also lol, no, I don't mean you talking about your stuff when I say "serious people are disheartening" - I mean more, like, the people at the Linguaphiles comm. JFC, they're so serious about it, and here I am bumbling around. Or like... language discussions on the meme. I keep remembering back when I was trying to re-learn French, and someone said "Oh, I can recommend you some novels" and I had to respond saying that books for small children might be better... ughhhh. [/facedesks forever]

Anyway. The Hobbit is great! I read it first when I was about 12, and then a couple other times since then, and liked it at each point. I think if you like old literature (Norse sagas, or even fairy tales) then you will like it. It does tend to be a bit long at times, but the "gets carried away desribiing scenery" etc happens mostly in Lord of the Rings. Tolkien's really long-winded in LOTR, and admittedly, part of the reason I couldn't finish it was because I found the long descriptions tedious.

For some perspective, it might help to keep in mind that The Hobbit was written for his kids, whereas LOTR wasn't. Anyway, do give it a try if you can get your hands on it!

[diplopod.livejournal.com]

Ffft, I have the opposite problem. If I hear something I don't understand, I find out later I do know the words, I've just been pronouncing them wrong in my head the whole time. It's really sad considering I have Swedish radio playing almost constantly but I still struggle with it.

I think Norwegian is a lot more guilty of the whole words-not-sounding-like-they're-spelt thing though. But that's coming from someone who's only ever properly studied Swedish, so of course I think Norwegian's really weird. Danish is by far the worst though, so I'm just going to be grateful I didn't choose to study that instead.

Ahhh, and linguaphiles, I know what you mean. I'm glad it's not me! No one should feel disheartened by my derping around. But hey, reading children's books is a totally valid way to learn and nothing to be ashamed about! ;3; Even if I complain about being at that level myself, I won't deny I've improved a lot since I started using them to study. They're much more interesting than flashcards and workbooks, anyway.

And I think I'll give The Hobbit a spin then! Turns out my university's library has it, so I might as well. I'm going to need something to read once I'm finished with my current book anyway.

[yuuago]

Haa xD well, with luck, you'll get better at that eventually! I would suggest audiolessons or something, but they're probably beyond your level.

Yeahhh Norwegian is probably more guilty at it than Swedish. THey have like 5 different ways to write a sh- sound and I never know which one it's supposed to be. And then there's the whole... dialects thing, it's partly why I decided not to try reading amateur fiction for learning, because when I try to read informal Norwegian it's like ??? WHAT AM I READING.

Fff I'm glad you understand what I meant there. I guess I'm just oversensitive about this stuff because so frequently I encounter the attitude of "If you aren't going to be Very Serious about it, and have no chance of becoming an expert at it, then you are wasting your time and shouldn't bother". And not... just with languages. Ah. But you're right, it's totally valid. Yes. I guess I should try that with Norwegian, maybe. But I'll have to research first. :|a Because aside from translations of Harry Potter, I don't know what's out there, heh.

Also, yes, good, do try it! <3 I hope you'll like it.

[daughteroffall.livejournal.com]

You do a nightly walk? In your weather? And I complain that it's too cold for me to run/walk outside...

[yuuago]

Oh, pfft, I guess I should have mentioned. I don't have to go outside! If I did, I'd never do anything, because it's too cold to go anywhere in the winter. We have a treadmill in the garage, so I just use that. It's still really cold, but not too bad.

I'm very glad I have this option available to me though... If I didn't, this'd be almost impossible.