Monday, August 15, 2016

Speak Latin to Me


I have so much more to learn in this life. So, I’m starting with Latin. Why not, right? At some point
while watching Matt Damon in the latest Bourne movie this weekend I decided I’m going to teach myself Latin. I took this beautiful language for a year in high school (excellent for SAT prep…highly recommend). I’d already taken French and German in middle school and high school, and in college I went on to study Spanish.

I’m going to be upfront with you.

I’m not the best at foreign language retention. It’s quite common, while my kids are practicing French or Spanish phrases, for me to respond by tossing a little German out at them or bits of Latin or mashing up a nice medley of French and Spanish in one sentence. Don’t even get me started on how I botch numbers.

I’m expecting this to be a challenge.

But that doesn’t scare me. It excites me. I’m not taking this on with lofty expectations or a school mindset. No matter how quickly I learn Latin, I figure I’m setting myself up to be more prepared when my husband spontaneously sweeps me away to Italy on a romantic vacation. A woman can fantasize. It just takes a little yoga breathing and a Men in Black wand for me to erase the reality of our upcoming soccer + dance schedule + budget. Italy, here I come!

Part of my Twitter handle indicates that I’m an eternal student. Here I am backing that up. I always want to be learning something. A language. How to treat people better. How to write a more compelling sentence.

I’m a sucker for all things creative. On Twitter I follow #creativity and was amused when I came across this article called 6 Ways to Increase Creativity after I committed to learn Latin. Bet you can guess what #6 includes.


Prosit!

2 comments:

  1. Wendy: I took Latin for three years in high school. In my third year, the textbook had sections of Caesar's Gaelic Wars. I still remember the beginning line. The Christmas Carol," O, Come All Ye Faithful, is still in the old memory bank. I was taught classic Latin, the Latin of the Catholic Church is slightly different. I wish you well on your adventure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! It's been a fun and funny adventure so far. I know some pretty arbitrary sentences. :-)

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