Took a German break

Honestly, I haven't actively studied German until recently. I pretty much took a break after I got back from Germany last fall, and wasn't really motivated to do anything with it.

Before my break, I had already watched several Easy German videos and was a member, so I got access to transcripts and exercises. Then I went to Germany with their German-learning and activity program, came back, joined a Discord group with some wonderful people from that trip, and eventually stopped going because of the time difference; they were seven hours ahead of me and while it was Sunday or Wednesday night for them, it was daytime for me, when I was doing things IRL. I cancelled my Easy German membership because I needed to take a break. And since I was back in the USA, there weren't any in-person classes near me, and though I met a couple Germans or heard German on the street, it was so minimal here, I just didn't feel it. 

And I wanted to get back to focusing on French, since I'm taking classes, and Japanese, which I study on my own and by watching some NHK shows (with subtitles). And even Spanish, which my ESL students and coworkers speak, and is pretty much the second language here. It also helps that the Spanish-speakers here are very friendly and will speak Spanish with you, even if you're not that great. If you're interested in languages, learning Spanish is the best experience and is practical, as well. 

I've been watching Easy Italian before going to Italian class and was thinking, wow, what a friendly culture with a beautiful language. So different and seemingly easier than German. Then it hit me: other than reading and sometimes translating tweets on Twitter/X, I hadn't studied German nor looked at Easy German videos for four months. I think it was because some of the people in the Easy German videos were more like media talent than educators offline (and I've worked in both media and education, so I know the difference), and I didn't really want to see them in videos for a while, and I didn't really want to deal with the difficulties with German for a while, either. I just didn't expect that "while" to last more than a few months.

Now I'm over my disillusionment and dread of complex and wordy German challenges, and I'm definitely motivated to keep trying. Earlier this week I had a couple hours before I had to go outside, so I watched 1.5 hours of Easy German videos. Today I plan to read some entries in Meyers Kinderlexicon and probably do stuff in my textbook from GLS (where I studied in Berlin).

p.s. the e-book version of my debut novel is still at Amazon, and the price for the print version has been reduced: buy at the Eckhartz Press site. 

I might be back

I've been talking to some people about what's been going on creatively. When I started this blog, I had an outlet to express myself (social media didn't dominate), but then it led to paid work. All people had to do was an online search and find me, or I could show them what I was writing. So I got hired to write articles, blog posts, and even helped write a couple of books. None of it was under my name and I didn't care because I was being paid. 

Because I'm not an introvert, I tried to find people-oriented jobs but kept getting isolating ones. I even didn't pursue certain opportunities because I just wanted to be me and talk. Someone I'd written a lot for said I should teach writing, and they even said they'd help set me up because they had a lot of connections. I said no, which was probably not a good idea, because I didn't want to think it through or manage people, just write. 

And an even better idea that I passed on was writing a textbook. I was a writing instructor at a university, and a publisher's rep came to the school to talk about books. I asked if there was a book on business writing, and she said, "No...do you want to write one?" I said I wasn't qualified to write one, but wanted one for my class. I could've written it! I had already done a lot of business writing and could research what I didn't know. I could have interviewed lots of business pros to share their insight. I had an opportunity but was too insecure and modest to accept it. Now it is almost impossible to get published. But I don't regret that decision. 

I'd rather talk about what I really know than talk about something that's on my periphery, becoming an expert just through scaffolds, not through substance. I see that in various areas, which is probably made easier with social media.

Anyway, I was working at home so much (way before it was trendy) doing translation and writing and editing, that I needed to connect with the world, and decided to do it through this blog. Then I got busy with being paid for what I was doing, working in media and podcasting, which led to more gigs, until I was thinking a lot for other people instead of myself.

When I stepped back from the chaos, I couldn't write much creatively or introspectively, and I thought those days were over. Then I started thinking and noticing more, read about how people get ideas, and started thinking that it's okay to produce something that won't make money, get noticed, or get an award. It's okay to create without the payoff.

That's why I'm thinking, "I think I'm back," because I feel like I can do my own thing and not worry if "it matters."

p.s. the e-book version of my debut novel is still at Amazon, and the price for the print version has been reduced: buy at the Eckhartz Press site. 

There is entrepreneurship going on

I was looking for a site that translates Modern English into Old English for a tweet I was constructing, and found the Old English Translators site. I looked around the site, and it didn't seem like it was created by a history fan or linguistics professor, so I wondered what it was about. It was created by a company last year, owned by a guy in Canada with a Chinese name. 

The testimonials seem to be from real people, and the site has good information. But since it doesn't seem like home-made, or an intense blog, it makes me wonder if the company is creating a niche online, building something different, because the internet is so crowded with content already.

If I remember, I will check in some months to see what's happened to the site. Maybe a bigger fish will swallow it to get access to its technology and concepts.

p.s. the e-book version of my debut novel is still at Amazon, and the price for the print version has been reduced: buy at the Eckhartz Press site. 

Faux French: the accent aigu

I wonder if French speakers living in the U.S. have noticed how some businesses don't use the accent aigu (é) correctly. I've seen it mistakenly used on various signs and surfaces over the years, and saw one the other day (unfortunately, I didn't take a picture; I'll post it when I have it).

Many years ago, I bought a dress at Gigi's Closette. The sign has been fixed since then, but when I first went there, they had an accent aigu on the final "e." I knew enough French to know that wasn't correct and wondered why they did it. Sometimes I theorize that people are trying to be "fancy" or sophisticated or worldly by using the é unnecessarily.

Amazingly, I was able to find an image with that old spelling at an online seller:

p.s. the e-book version of my debut novel is still at Amazon, and the price for the print version has been reduced: buy at the Eckhartz Press site.

I'm taking an Italian class

I studied Italian in the late 20th century while I was getting a master's and even got paid to translate it. Then I pretty much dropped it for several years, but started reading it on my Twitter/X account during the pandemic. Then I finished the Duolingo course last year. But I sort of treated it like an auxiliary language because it wasn't as important as French, German, Japanese, and Spanish. 

Towards the end of 2025, I started thinking it more often and even started watching Easy Italian more. It seemed like such a beautiful language with such friendly people that I wanted to know more. So when my scheduled opened up, I signed up for the "Absolute Beginners" course (A1.1) at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura and am two weeks in. 

At first I thought it was too easy because the teacher speaks English and Italian in class, and the book is in Italian and English; I prefer to have an Italian-only textbook. So the class seems really basic, but I don't even know the entire alphabet and numbers! So I really have to be in this level. The teacher is clearly well-educated and can articulate her teaching methodology and philosophy. She is also really patient and seems to like people; teachers should like people, but as I've said before, not everyone who works with people likes them.

I think part of my problem with Italian was that I had a teacher several years ago who was not very simpatica. She seemed to be annoyed because she kept comparing us unfavorably to students she taught at a prestigious school. And she just didn't seem to like people. That was confirmed when I signed up for lessons at her home, where she ran a kind of Italian-related business, and she wasn't very pleasant or inclusive. 

I know we shouldn't base our experience on just one person, but back then there weren't a lot of options, and I didn't want to try to figure out where to go. Plus my schedule and work focus changed, so I really retreated from pursuing foreign languages much.

Now it's much better! The students are friendly and at first I envied some students' knowledge of Spanish, but the teacher clearly told us to put our Spanish to the side and just focus on Italian (good thing my Spanish isn't so great). The ItalCultura school has a good vibe, and even the Italian consulate is cool. It makes me want to go to Italy even more!

p.s. the e-book version of my debut novel is still at Amazon, and the price for the print version has been reduced: buy at the Eckhartz Press site.