Wednesday, January 27, 2010

 

The Great (modest, minute, tiny?) Leap Forward

I feel that I have not been as active in improving my Spanish as I have in the past. To this end I have decided to greatly increase my reading. To this end I purchased a copy of Ken Follet’s Los Pilares de la Tierra (The Pillars of the Earth), a 1,356 page (with small print I might add) leviathan of a novel about the construction of a mediaeval English cathedral. I found an audio book of it several months ago and began listening to it on my bike rides. I had to give up on it as the robot voice started to drive me nuts about a couple of chapters. I was already hooked a bit on the story and asked around to see if anyone had a copy in Spanish. I finally broke down a couple of weeks ago and bought a copy and started reading in earnest.

I don’t remember this book being very popular in the States but it is enormously popular here in Europe. In Germany it was a monster best seller and here in Spain it seems that most of my Spanish friends have read it. It’s one of those books that when you are reading it in public complete strangers will comment to you about their experience with it. I just find that it is fun to read, although rather difficult in certain passages that deal with the technical aspects of mediaeval architecture. By the time I finish I may not be able to design a cathedral but I could probably get work on a cathedral construction gang—one of my life-long dreams, right after giving the Pope a wedgie.

I am 500 pages into this thing and as far as novels go it isn’t anything to really write about. In one crucial part of the story a family is robbed in the forest and the thief outruns a man while carrying a pig under his arm? Almost nothing has happened that isn’t completely predictable and the characters are right out of the Microsoft Mediaeval Literature software program: a beautiful princess, a nasty little prince, corrupt and ambitious church officials, and a pious monk. It’s something I probably wouldn’t read in English but in Spanish I am quite enjoying it. I like the fact that I see new vocabulary over and over again which helps to reinforce memorization. I have learned a lot of new expressions besides all of the architectural terms, many of which I really didn’t understand I English. As I have said over and over, I just feel that reading is extremely important in language learning. If you like to read you are at a sharp advantage over nonreaders. This is true at least as far as building vocabulary is concerned. I remember having to learn lists of vocabulary in French class way back when. I didn’t really start learning French until I just started reading it.

It is great to be in the middle of a book that I just want to be reading all the time: when I first wake up in the morning, while waiting for a train, on the metro, and then in one or two cafés during the day. I have to go now, time to read.

Labels: language

9:53 AM

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Tuesday, December 15, 2009

 

Putting Everything in Context

Fundamentally, no word really means anything in isolation, almost all words derive their meaning from the totality of language (and silence, as an alternative to speech...) in which they occur, and that includes the other possible word choices one could have made instead of the word one did choose. It´s a very dynamic, active model and every language approaches the communication of reality in a different way.
-Txiri

I found this wonderful quote on a forum on the wonderful resource called wordreference.com. I will fall back to the old adage, “I couldn’t have said it better myself,” which is what we say for almost everything we aren’t clever enough to come up with on our own. This entry was in a forum about the Spanish expression “desde luego” which I learned—after living here only three freaking years—means “of course.” In my defense I have to say that I know several other ways to say “of course” and “desde luego” is probably the least literary manner to say this, and up until now most of how I express myself in Spanish is a result of the vocabulary and expressions I come across while reading. While I still believe that reading is the best and quickest way to ingest information, I am advanced enough in my Spanish foray to include other learning devices.

I watch a couple of Spanish series on television, more as educational tools than entertainment but it’s nice when the two go hand-in-hand. As I have said many times before, I can justify any sort of silliness if it is helping me to learn the language. This can even mean watching Ace Ventura dubbed into Spanish, yes, Ace Ventura. I still think that reading is the fastest way to learn new vocabulary and grammar but listening comprehension is also necessary. I don’t think that TV and movies are a very efficient method of learning simply because there often isn’t a lot of dialogue, especially in a lot of movies. I would certainly prefer to listen to recorded books but I won’t to complain again here about the vast shortage of recorded books in Spanish.

TV shows have, in general, much more dialogue than movies and are therefore a better way to improve listening comprehension. My latest learning tool is the American TV series How I Met Your Mother dubbed into Spanish as Como Conocí a Vuestra Madre, a show I probably would never watch in English but I have been very entertained thus far with the Spanish version. I’ve learned a lot of new vocabulary (I have www.wordreference.com open on my laptop when I watch the show), some of it is probably too slangy and hip for me to use but other words I hope will be useful (putilla = slutty could be a good one). I can’t believe that I have lived in Spain for three years and had to learn from Barney on Como Conocí a Vuestra Madre that the innocuous reflexive verb meaning “to brush,” cepillarse, can also mean “to do someone.” It’s not like I even had to look up the alternative meaning as the context made it very, very clear that it was something of a sexual nature.

Even the words and expressions I don’t plan on using, because of their slang or too hip nature, I am grateful to have learned simply because they add to my overall fluency in Spanish. Your vocabulary can’t ever be too big.

Labels: language, Valencia Spain

8:52 AM

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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

 

Forgotten Accomplishments

I wish that I had a nickel for everything that I have diligently studied over the course of my life only to let it atrophy later through lack of use and abandonment. I wouldn’t care to calculate how much money and time I spent learning those things. After all of the years I spent practically getting killed learning jiu-jitsu I only hope that I have retained enough skill to at least be able to defend myself if I am ever in need. I don’t think that any would-be attacker will be impressed by the fact that I used to be some sort of a badass. At least I didn’t have to spend money learning jiu-jitsu but that is the subject for another essay. All the years I spent trying to learn piano are mostly just a faded memory at this point. I don’t think that you can chalk up as one of your accomplishments in life something that you learn and then promptly forget. It’s like getting old and fat but telling people that you used to be in fine physical shape.

I have been working to restore what I once knew of the Arabic language. After years and years of total neglect I have been dedicating at least two hours a day recently to cut back the overgrowth that has covered my knowledge of this Semitic language, a language that I worked so hard to learn over 25 years ago. It is coming back quickly after only about ten days of study and I plan to be back in a matter of a couple months to the place where I left my studies in Arabic all those years ago. What I bring now to the table is a better grasp of just how to go about learning another language. One of my new tools is technology: my MP3 player is a powerful learning aid. I listen to Arabic language lessons while on my daily bike rides.

The problem is that my new gains in Arabic seem to be coming at the expense of my Spanish. Lately I have felt clumsy speaking Spanish and I certainly miss listening to audio books in Spanish during my bike rides. The good thing is that I need Spanish to survive so it won’t get too far out of the corral. I also think that my French has improved simply because my Spanish is so much better; my French gets better by default for its vast similarity to Spanish. I was never very fluent in Greek but I could get by pretty well. I haven’t uttered more than a few words of that language since leaving Greece over 20 years ago. Oh well, if I ever go there again I’m sure that I will bone up on it.

I have been struggling with how exactly to explain what I am about to write so excuse me if the is a bit cloudy. What I spent time learning and then forgetting is like losing inventory in your warehouse. That is a regretful occurrence but what is even more alarming is losing the list of what you have in storage. It’s not only that I have forgotten so much of what I once knew, I have lost track of the inventory sheet—if that makes any sense. I am coming upon Arabic grammar patterns that I never remember having ever learned, although I’m sure that I must have known them at one time. Most of the vocabulary at least seems familiar in a very distant way. Had I let another few years go by I may have completely lost track that I ever knew any Arabic to begin with.

I suppose that is why they built the pyramids. Constructing a huge monolith out of heavy blocks of limestone is certainly an easier way to mark your achievements in life than trying to keep up with your piano lessons.

Labels: language, Valencia Spain

8:34 AM

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Monday, May 11, 2009

 

Doldrums and New Breezes

Perhaps the most difficult thing about trying to master another language is that you can never rest on your past accomplishments (assuming you have any past accomplishments). I have recently passed through a couple of weeks in which I haven’t been as diligent about my reading in Spanish. I’m sure everyone goes through the doldrums from time to time when learning Spanish, or any language for that matter. With my sails flapping without effect I felt like my Spanish was actually worsening with every passing day.

It was partly due to laziness and partly because I couldn’t find a book I could really sink my teeth into. I have already listened to all of the Spanish books on tape that a friend gave me. Ironically, I requested that these people visiting from Seattle record some books in Spanish from the Seattle public library as I can’t find many here in Spain. Consequently I have been listening to books in English on my daily bike rides and consequently I have noticed an erosion in my Spanish.

I put the brakes on my skid yesterday by doing quite a bit of reading. I am trying to finish a book I am enjoying very much but it is proving to be quite a challenge. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly why one book is difficult to read while I can pick up another and read it straight through with hardly consulting a dictionary. Often I find that books by the same author can fall on both sides of this linguistic barbed-wire fence. José Luis Sampedro’s La Sonrisa Estrusca is a mere 255 pages but has presented quite a barrier as far as my Spanish goes. I have been stuck for a couple weeks now trying to finish it, a few pages here, a few the next day—nothing like my self-imposed schedule of reading 50 pages in Spanish a day. I really like the novel so far so yesterday I sat down and plowed through about 30 pages. I also read out loud for about 30 minutes which I think is an excellent tool for improving pronunciation and overall fluency. Reading out loud for a half an hour is probably more speaking than you would do in an entire day.

I had to more or less will myself out of my trance of Spanish inactivity. I have a couple of Spanish movies to watch. I don’t find movies to be a very good tool in learning the language but every little bit helps. Movies also provide very needed help in cultural assimilation. Just the other day I was in a conversation with some Spanish friends and I felt left out because I hadn’t seen the popular movie they were referencing. I plan on filling that cultural void later today by watching the Spanish film Rec. I don’t want to lose my reputation for being the hardest working immigrant in Spain, at least when it comes to learning the language.

Labels: language, Valencia Spain

12:06 PM

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Tuesday, March 24, 2009

 

¿Hablas español?

I haven’t traveled to many countries in my life and most of those I have visited I speak at least a bit of the language. This is no coincidence as I don’t feel comfortable visiting places where I don’t speak any of the local language. I just feel stupid speaking English when I’m away from home. Now that my Spanish has greatly improved I think I would get along just fine in Italy, Romania, Portugal, and Brazil simply because Portuguese, Rumanian, and Italian are so similar to Spanish. I know that my phobia about foreign languages is a bit irrational and I shouldn’t let it keep me from seeing more of the world but it does. I don’t feel too claustrophobic as I can get by in Spanish, French, Arabic, and Greek. I’m certainly not bragging about this as my speaking ability in all but Spanish is pretty crappy but, as I said, I can get by.

I would say that a lot of Americans speak a lot more Spanish than they give themselves credit for knowing. Simple things like buenos días, buenas tardes, gracias, por favor, tacos, burritos, and being able to count are not such simple things if you have ever traveled to a country where you aren’t familiar with this absolutely essential vocabulary. A lot of people at this level probably think that their ability in Spanish isn’t worth mentioning. I would beg to differ. How many Americans know what cerveza means? If you can order a beer in the native language you are off to a great start in any country.

If I had this much of a base in Chinese, or Russian, or some other strange language I would be positively fearless about traveling to those lands. If you have taken even one high school Spanish class you would probably be amazed at how well you can get along in Spain or any other Spanish-speaking country. Just study up a bit before you take a trip and I guarantee that you will be quite pleased with your ability to effect any number of transactions in Spanish. I also guarantee that people won’t make fun of you. No matter what your level, people are always very grateful when someone even attempts to speak their language. I have spoken French with people in France who I know speak perfect English and they always allow me to struggle through in their language. I am very hard-headed in that I insist on speaking the language of the host country.

When you tell someone that you have studied a language invariably the first question they ask you is, “Are you fluent?” After studying any language for any length of time you realize that “fluent” has little concrete meaning. By fluent do they mean that you can order food in a restaurant, book a hotel, or offer greetings and thanks? If this is the case, then all of those Americans I mentioned before with a basic grasp of Spanish are fluent. For me “fluent” doesn’t have much meaning. I am more interested in just being able to function in another language—at least at first. Even being functional has a lot of room for interpretation. Learning another language isn’t like memorizing all of the State capitals; it is a huge task that can take a lifetime. There are plenty of rewards along the way and everyone gets a prize for trying. On one trip to Amsterdam I learned how to order a bottle of beer. It took me a while to memorize it because I got the phrase out of a guide book and I wasn’t at all sure about the pronunciation. I sat down at a café and blurted out my few words of Dutch to the waiter. He simply nodded and turned away. I don’t think that I have ever been more pleased with my accomplishments in the study of languages than when he came back with what I ordered. I felt like I had just brokered a peace between the Palestinians and Israelis in Arabic and Hebrew. You have to savor the little victories in life. Worry about Middle East peace later.

Labels: language, Valencia Spain

1:14 PM

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Monday, November 03, 2008

 

My (non)Learning Curve

My life is becoming so routine here that I think that I have started to take a lot of things about life in Spain for granted. When I first arrived two years ago everything was very new and very different. It was easy to identify and the contrasts and to point them out. I think that most of my first impressions and observations about life in Spain were accurate and fairly insightful. I wish that I had been able to read the stuff I have written about Spain before I arrived—it would have made things a lot easier. Just the simple things like ordering a coffee or a beer in a café took quite a while for me to perfect. It's not like I was so terrifically clumsy at first but now so many things that once were a bit of a mystery I now perform fairly effortlessly. If I stay another two years I wonder how different I will be then. Constantly improving in Spanish helps to answer most of the questions about life here.

It really is a daily struggle to improve my Spanish. I still have so far to go but I have also come a very long way. I would have to say that my reading ability is very high. I'm sure that I read more in Spanish than most Spanish speakers. Being a heavy reader has its advantages as well as being one of the great joys in life. My vocabulary is almost too big for my speaking ability—if that is possible. My Spanish friends always point out to me that some words that I use are a bit flowery and literary for every day speech. I still don't understand everything I hear on television. I would put my comprehension of movies in Spanish at about 70% at this point, sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on the amount of slang. Note to self: watch more movies in Spanish. Note to Spanish film makers: make more and better movies for me to watch. Message to Spanish TV writers: You Suck!

As far as media goes, I can't understand why everyone in the world with a computer doesn't speak perfect English. There is just so much out there for people learning English to make it easier. Think of all of the great music, movies, and television programs that are available. That alone should be a great motivating factor to master English. If you learn English, you get to watch The Sopranos and The Wire. The Beatles, The Godfather, Ernest Hemingway, Monty Python's Flying Circus, The New York Times, are just a few more reasons to study your English grammar.

As an American, I have always been self-conscious about my poor ability in speaking other languages. Scandinavian, German, and Dutch people all speak English, at least that is what I thought. Many do Speak English or another language but now I realize that many don't—or at least not very well. I have also written in great detail about why I'm not all that impressed with someone from Finland or Norway who has learned English. If they don't, their world is going to be very, very small (both countries have fewer people than Madrid). I also no longer have to feel bad about not speaking another language well because my Spanish is better than most people's second language here in Europe (if they know another language at all). I can also say that I have a high level in the second and third most widely spoken languages on the planet. The fact that Chinese may be the only language that matters is a problem I'll face when we get to that point. I think I may still have a couple years to form a plan for that certain eventuality.

I have also written I some detail about how language is not an ideology as many people seem to think, especially in America. You have even less control about the language you speak than the silly religion you may follow. It's easy enough for a thinking person to ditch ignorant religion they may have inherited, but shedding your language is another matter. Trying to learn another language—especially as an adult—is a huge pain in the ass. I'll keep studying but my learning curve in Spanish is less steep than a wheelchair ramp. It's called a false flat in cycling terms; that's when you think you aren't going up but you are...very gradually. I suppose that as far as learning Spanish, gradual is better than never.

Labels: language, Valencia Spain

9:18 AM

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Friday, September 14, 2007

 

Culture and Language

Spanish people get picked on in Europe because they don’t speak English. With only 18% of Spaniards able to speak, read, and write English at a high level, they lag behind most other European Union countries in this regard. They pick on themselves incessantly for their monoglot ways. There are countless advertisements for English language courses and every conceivable gimmick is held out to entice, cajole, and bully Spaniards into learning this odd, Germanic tongue. Being less than perfectly fluent in Spanish, or any other foreign language, I understand how Spaniards feel about their lack on acumen in English. People criticize Americans all the time for our unwillingness to learn other languages and I think that we have a lot in common
with the Spanish in this area.

Like Americans concerning English, I think that most Spanish people think that the Spanish speaking world is pretty big. Just for a review, here is a list of the countries where Spanish is spoken:

• Argentina
• Bolivia
• Chile
• Colombia
• Costa Rica
• Cuba
• Dominican Republic
• El Salvador
• Equatorial Guinea
• Guatemala
• Honduras
• Mexico
• Nicaragua
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Puerto Rico
• Spain
• Uruguay
• Venezuela

Along with these countries I would add that the United States has more Spanish speakers than every country on this list except four. There are hundreds of millions of people who speak Spanish spread pretty heavily over three continents. Spanish is also one of the favorite choices for those of us who want to learn another language. It’s a big world out there if you can speak Spanish.

The Dutch are well-know for being proficient in languages. It seems that just about everyone in the Netherlands speaks English with almost native fluency. I’m sure that many residents of Holland speak more than one foreign language; it seems almost a part of the national character. Dutch is also spoken in Belgium and has about 20 million speakers worldwide. The Dutch world is positively dwarfed by Spanish. Learning another language in the Netherlands isn’t a hobby, it’s practically a requirement. If you’re Dutch and you don’t speak another language, your world is rather small and homogenous.

I have talked to many Spanish people about English and most of them who don’t speak it just don’t want to learn. Some of them think that they probably should have a better understanding of English, mostly for professional reasons, but they just don’t feel compelled to go out and learn it. I think the same is true of many Americans. Why should someone who lives in the United States bother to learn a foreign language? And if they do learn another language, which should they choose? Dutch? German? Chinese? It takes an incredible amount of work to reach a level of proficiency in any foreign language; work that many people feel is better used to further their professional careers, and many jobs have no use for another language.

Besides career advancement, another reason to learn another language is enjoying the fruits of a different culture. In this respect, I think many Spanish and English speaking natives feel that their own culture has enough to offer. Spain has a vibrant popular culture of music and movies; the same is true of most Latin American countries. If your native tongue is Rumanian, or Greek, or Albanian, I think that your choices in pop culture are somewhat limited, at least compared to English and Spanish speakers.

Believe it or not, lots of Spanish kids don’t really like English/American rock and roll, although many do, of course. Lots of Spanish kids don’t look for music outside of what is produced in Spain. Flamenco, flamenco fusion, and Spanish pop seems to be all that a lot of people here need when it comes to music; they don’t even bother with Spanish music from other countries like salsa and meringue from Latin America.
In my opinion, the Spanish have the most distinct and idiosyncratic lifestyle of any Europeans, perhaps of anyone in the world. It seems to me that Spanish people don’t really feel the need to search for identity outside of their very defining culture. I think that this has a lot to do with their unwillingness to learn English. Why should they learn English? So they can act more like Americans? It just doesn’t seem to me that this is something they are after.

I guess that it’s easy for me to defend the Spanish for not learning English because I’ve had to defend Americans for not learning whatever foreign language our detractors would have us learn. Native speakers of Spanish and English have a very rich and extensive culture to occupy their energies. Learning another language for us is a luxury, for the most part, not a requirement. Those of you who find that learning to speak another language is essential shouldn’t be so hasty in judging Americans or Spanish people who speak only their native tongue.

Labels: language

8:33 AM

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Tuesday, March 27, 2007

 

Spanish

I know that there is plenty of great Spanish literature to explore, and I have already discovered some fine contemporary Spanish novels, but I can’t seem to avoid American culture in translation. Last night I suffered through a dubbed movie about Joan of Arc originally titled, The Messenger, I believe. I watch this tripe simply to improve my oral comprehension. I have watched worse stuff on TV here in the name of learning. I serendipitously happened upon Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses translated into Spanish as I was browsing the stacks in the library the other day.

This is one of my favorite novels and I’ve probably read it in English at least three times. The English version has so much un-translated Spanish in it that I think that it would be fairly annoying to read if you didn’t know quite a bit of that language; I also though that it would be interesting to read a Spanish translation. Almost the entire novel is set in Mexico and McCarthy probably would have preferred to write it in Spanish. I spent nearly five hours at a table in the library yesterday finishing the last 120 pages or so of Todos los Hermosos Caballos. It is a book I would highly recommend in any language.

I read a lot slower in Spanish than English but I’m improving every day. My vocabulary is growing. I wish that it would grow faster but no matter how hard I try to cram words into my head, my brain seems to have its own system for retaining the new language. Some words that I come across I seem to absorb immediately, nouns mostly, while adjectives and odd verbs take a lot more effort. I’ve learned two different words to scare away your horse (espantar, ahuyentar) and two words to break a horse (domar, amansar). You never know when those might come in handy. I’ve already forgotten but I may have come across the word for “pigsty” while reading the McCarthy novel. I remember writing it down in my notebook. I almost screamed out loud when the Spanish word, “pocilga,” came up in the Messenger last night and I actually remembered it. It’s the little victories that you must savor because the war of learning another language is long and filled with frustrations.

All of the movies dubbed into Spanish here use a Spanish accent as opposed to Latin American Spanish. I have been working very hard to beat the old accent out of my head and replace it with Castilian Spanish. Instead of pronouncing the sounds for S, Z, and C as an S sound as they do in Latin America, I am switching to the lisping pronunciation for the Z and C (plus vowel) as they do here. It is much less ambiguous and, to my ear, more refined. I also live here now so I see no reason to cling to the way I originally learned Spanish. Latin American who live here stick to their pronunciation, much like I would cling to American English if I lived in Britain, but since I am still learning I may as well as do as the Romans do.

One reason why I like to read contemporary Spanish literature is that it gives me a feel for the way people here speak. I have also noticed that the few books that I have read in translation are geared towards European Spanish. Although McCarthy’s book is set in Mexico, the vernacular is from Spain, or it is explained to Spanish readers, or put in italics if it is a Mexican word.

I read at least one newspaper every day and I can get through most of the articles without a dictionary. If I do have to look up a word it is usually a flowery synonym of a word I do know that is being used in the headline simply to draw attention to the piece. I almost never even bother with a dictionary when I am reading the paper, I’ll just jot down an unfamiliar word and look it up later.

Overall, I would say that I am fairly unhappy with my Spanish. I need more days like yesterday where I spend hours and hours reading, and then more hours listening, followed by a few hours of conversation. Maybe after another year or so filled with days saturated with Spanish I will feel like I am getting somewhere with this language.

Labels: language, Valencia Spain

2:08 PM

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Sunday, December 21, 2003

 

What's in My Bookbag

You can almost always see me carrying my Gap shoulder bag. These are like back packs but they sling over one shoulder. They are yet another fashion statement that has crept into the mainstream via the bicycle messenger cult. The other bike messenger innovation is the return of single-speed track bikes for city riders. I like the idea of the simplicity inherent in these bikes but I'm not crazy enough to fly around town without a brake or two. I do have a bike bag though.

I consider myself to be in school 365 days a year. I get no spring break, no summer vacation, and no Christmas interlude without study. I always have something to read in my bag. Right now I am on the way to my gym and I am carrying my book bag.

Besides my laptop I have brought along the excellent French Reference Grammar: A Complete Handbook of the French Language by Daniel J. Calvez. This book is about all you need for the study of French. This assumes that you have already had a few years of French study behind you. This book is suited for both the casual student and for someone looking to take their study of French beyond travel French.

There are very few occasions when I leave my house that I leave my book bag behind. I am always terrified at the prospect of having to sit somewhere without having something to read to pass the minutes or hours. As this is Seattle and it is raining, I am on the way to my gym to ride the exercise bike--I don't ride in the rain. While I ride I can study French for an hour.

Later today I'll probably do some X-mass shopping and meet someone for a movie. I'll carry my book bag. I am finishing Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club which I picked up yesterday at a used book store. I'm almost done so I'll bring along something else to start. It's kind of a big bag so it holds a lot of books.

What's in your book bag?

Labels: language

3:15 AM

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Wednesday, July 17, 2002

 

Back to School

About two times a year I go on a bender to try and improve my proficiency in the French language. This has been a life-long struggle, like someone trying to overcome obesity or trying to quit smoking. Anyone who has ever learned a foreign language can attest to the fact that this is a difficult task. Anything short of living in the host country for at least five years is a tough way to learn. Even when you live in another country, becoming fluent is tough and takes lots of work. I live with a piano but that don’t make me Liberace.

A few things about France. If there is any doubt in your mind as to whether or not France is one of the most beautiful places in the world you should be watching the Tour de France on TV. The race itself is a beautiful spectacle, lots of colors and cool bikes. The peloton winds through countless villages, any one of which, if picked up and dropped in the U.S, would be the hottest tourist destination in our country. France is lousy with heart-breakingly picturesque countryside.

There was a picture in Sunday’s sports section of the main peloton of cyclists cruising along a country road during the Bagnoles-de-l’Orne to Avranches stage. A very majestic cow stands in an adjacent field watching the riders. The picture says to me that even being a cow in France isn’t such a bad thing. They give you a beautiful field in which to graze and every once in a while the Tour de France pedals by on a summer day. Sure, the cow will be on some Frenchman’s plate some day but eventually the clock runs out on all of us. If you’re a cow you could do worse than ending up in the loving hands of some French chef.

I happen to think that Paris is the greatest city in the world. Even if you ignore the astounding wealth of history Paris has to offer it would still be a great place to live. There is more life at one intersection in Paris than in some fairly large cities in which I have lived. Living in Paris has always been a dream of mine but life has conspired against me thus far. That may soon change.

I don’t have any grand strategy for learning French. When I go on one of my benders I usually pick up a novel in French and grind it out with a dictionary. Everyone says that getting a French girlfriend is the easiest way. I tried that and all I learned was, “J’ai besoin de plus de l’espace, salaud.”(I need more space).

There was a recent study that suggested that people who learn foreign languages are less likely to get Alzheimer’s. I don’t know if I buy that or not but at least it will be cool when I’m babbling incoherently in several tongues.

Labels: language

9:31 PM

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Sunday, June 09, 2002

 

Top Ten List

"There's more to life than books, but not much more." The Smiths

I’m not as fond of list making and favorites as most people. Upon a bit of reflection I feel that a top ten list of books isn’t a bad idea simply because it may let someone, who thought otherwise, know that books are important to some people. In a culture where books seem to be increasingly irrelevant this should be the duty of all who read. Here goes.

1) The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe

I have read this book about 8 times and I defy anyone to open the book to any page and not find something brilliant. Every chapter is a well-crafted short story and can be read as one. Wolfe is an excellent reporter and this novel is a snapshot of NY in the late 20th century.

2) La Tia Julia Y El Escribidor, Mario Vargas Llosa

It's called Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter in English. This is by my favorite Latin American author who once ran for president of Peru. Writers are actually important people in some parts of the world and not just the academic douche-bags who make up most of American letters in our time. This novel is uproariously funny in telling the tale of Llosa’s teenage romance and marriage.

3) L’Etranger, Albert Camus

The first book I read in French. I was in college and studying some boring-as-hell economics text. I was wandering the stacks trying to wake up when I came across this novel. I sat down and began reading and was thrilled that my French was adequate to propel me through this most existentialist of existential novels.

4) Kurt Vonnegut

Any and all of his novels. I discovered Vonnegut as a 17 year old kid bored to tears with school and equally bored with high school social customs. I wasn’t a geek but was disturbed by the inequality of life around me. Vonnegut made me think that maybe I wasn’t the weird one or at least it was OK to be weird. What I especially like about Vonnegut is that he is still as funny as fuck even in his 70’s. I hope I can be mildly hip and relevant as I get older.

5) Germinal, Emile Zola

Zola is Tom Wolfe’s hero and thus mine. Zola wrote this critique of the terrible conditions of the mines with an even-handedness that is rarely seen in the best journalism, let alone in literature.

6) The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway

I recently reread this book and I found his racism and bigotry disturbing and disappointing. I will refrain from criticizing Hemingway because he was a product of his time, as are most mortals. I read it first when I was a hick kid of 17. It made me want to live in Europe and learn to speak French and Spanish. I did. That’s pretty strong stuff for a novel. I am grateful to Hemingway for inspiring a kid to dream and learn (often the same thing).

7) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain

After Ken Burns’ biography film on Twain, I read Life on the Mississippi for the first time. Laugh out loud funny stuff just like Huck Finn.

8) Earthly Powers, Anthony Burgess

A vague pastiche on the life of Somerset Maugham. I have read this 800 page book three times, and each time when I finish, I am sorry it has to end.

9) The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

I remember back when I lived in D.C. I went over to a friend’s house. We were meeting there before heading out for a night on the town. While the gals were getting ready I found a copy of Gatsby and started rereading it for the umpteenth time. When everyone was ready to go a half hour later, it was too late, I wasn’t going anywhere. Someone took a picture of me reading that night and that is my favorite picture of myself.

10) Charles Dickens

Like Vonnegut I have to lump everything I have read by Dickens together. He changed the society in which he lived by what he wrote. I like writers who have the desire and the ability to make a better world.

Labels: language

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