Spanish Duolingo is a different experience than Russian Duolingo–since it was one of the first languages available when the app was created, it has graphics with every sentence. They don’t always…quite fit the message, though. So cheerful! At least this guy has the decency to look ashamed. Sometimes, a sinister narrative emerges:
Posts By: Claire
Duolingo: The Neverending Story, Part I
I’ve been using the app Duolingo to learn Russian and to review Spanish for the past year or so. Spanish was one of the first languages available (along with French, German, and I think Italian); Russian was added in 2015. I’m still holding out for Thai (they have Vietnamese, so they haven’t shied away from tonal languages), Mandarin, and Latin. It’s interesting to see the differences in the more beta-version Russian, which is a little more bare bones in terms… Read more »
Plotfinders
It’s a weird time to be binge-watching The Americans, which is what I’m currently doing since I have a one-month trial of Amazon Prime. What else is in this world? Oil spills, civil war, the murder of civilians, a terrifying president-elect and a possibly more terrifying cabinet. Other things, too, of course. Many more hopeful and cheering, but damn. It’s hard to compare right now to earlier times–when we didn’t have the ability to know every terrible thing that was happening… Read more »
Post-Election Blog
Blah. I needed a month off after that. Mostly because every time I thought about writing, it started with me not knowing what to say and ended with me having too much to say and never stopping. Also, this blog is generally trivial. The election of a racist, misogynist, hotheaded reality TV star with no political experience is the opposite. Whenever I try to put my thoughts down I find myself spiraling deeper and deeper into disclaimers. Disclaimers like: I voted… Read more »
8th Graders
Discussing the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine: Student: So TR offered Columbia 10 million dollars. But Colombia said no. So then he offered more money, and more money, but they wouldn’t take it! Me: Well–he offered them 10 million and didn’t want to offer more; that’s why he went to the Panamanian government. He didn’t ever offer more than 10 million. Student: Oh, I just added that part for dramatic effect. Discussing an analogy (“A hammer is to… Read more »
Halloween: A Retrospective
Over the weekend I was trying to remember every costume I’ve ever worn for Halloweens past. For some reason not being able to remember what I did on a specific holiday in a given year (I see you, 4th of July 2007…or, actually, I do not) really bothers me (rough life, I know). I don’t think my parents dressed me up when I was 6 months, 1.5, or 2.5…but I bet they will let me know in the comments if… Read more »
Talking to Strangers
I posted the other day about a couple on the train and my dawning awareness of what they were doing. A few days later, another young couple sat near me (this time on a crowded train, and actually, the woman sat next to me and the guy kind of crouched on the floor) and noticed I was playing Candy Crush (NO SHAME). “Ooh, I wanna see what level she’s on!” I heard from within my colorful daze. “Hey, I’ll play your… Read more »
That’s Not My Name
People have been talking to me in public more than usual. Especially young couples on the trains–why, I don’t know. Full moon? I was taking the F home around 9 pm – the train was mostly empty, so the only people near me were a couple sitting across the car – when I started to hear murmurs and to get an unusual feeling…the feeling when you realize that the people across from you seem to be trying to guess what… Read more »
Rewatching
There aren’t many books that I reread. Most of them are middle grade fiction or YA–The Changeling, The Mozart Season, Superfudge, numerous others. The only adult novels I can recall having read multiple times are Graham Swift’s Waterland, which I’ve probably read there times; Murakami’s Norwegian Wood, maybe just twice; and Into Thin Air. There are books that I want to reread, but…there are so many other books check off both “want to read” and “have not already read.” It’s not a fair fight…. Read more »
ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช
The king of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej, died on Thursday. I wore yellow corduroy pants to remember him (yellow is his color, I believe because of the day of the week on which he was born). I lived in Thailand for a year after college, and during the first year I was back in the US I wore one of the King’s commemorative bracelets (kind of looked like a LiveStrong bracelet, but with Thai script–you could only buy them at the post office)… Read more »
