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| 6-9-04 @ 10:02 pm |

I'm looking at a trip to Spain this summer. I will be leaving in the middle of July and returning in the middle of August. I'll be spending the entire time at a single program that is geared towards increasing language proficiency. My hope is that I will be fluent (or very close to it) by the time I return. I can already speak Spanish pretty well, so it won't be a huge leap.

A return to Europe is also being contemplated for the summer of 2005. I hope to hit Germany, Denmark, and a few other countries. Any suggestions?

| 8-26-02 @ 12:05 am |

German camp was great! I have some pictures of it here: http://www.griflet.com/pictures/trips/6-7_2002/

I learned a lot of German while I was there, mainly how to better understand it when it comes shooting out of someone's mouth at 50 mph and how to shoot something back roughly as fast without thinking first. What a shame... that was one of the few times I actually thought before I spoke...

| 1-26-02 @ 5:15 pm |

I got something nice in the mail today... a letter from the language camp I'm going to go to! They're going to let me in! (big surprise...) I'll be going there towards the end of June and I'll return shortly after the Fourth of July. When I get back, maybe I'll translate all of my pages into German (but that would take a lot of work so I'm not sure I'll really do that).

| 1-11-02 @ 7:00 pm |

My vocabularies have increased in both languages since I last wrote in this column. I'd estimate that they're both up to around 1,000 words now. I still need to send in my form to the language camp but other than that I should be able to go! I can't wait!

| 11-24-01 @ 8:50 pm |

I've picked up some more German! I'm up to about 500 words now, I think. Practicing German has become increasingly fun and now it takes precedence over Spanish. I've changed my plans for the language camp so that hopefully I'll go to the German one this summer and the Spanish one next summer after my Spanish class options have run out.

| 10-24-01 @ 9:30 pm |

There's not much to say here, other than that I've pretty much decided on going to the language camp. I'll probably go to the Spanish one at the beginning of the summer and if I like it or feel that I learned a lot, I'll go back for a German one at the end of the summer. My goal is to be able to speak both German and Spanish farily fluently by around 2005. Spanish is a priority over German, though, since I think it will prove more useful not only because of my location (Wisconsin, United States) but because it is spoken in more countries than German is.

| 9-27-01 @ 8:30 pm |

I just got a letter from Julia (our guest) earlier today. She arrived safely in Germany and all is well. I may still be getting German courses through email... yay!

| 9-24-01 @ 8:25 pm |

Since our German guest left (Sunday), I won't be getting any more lessons... at least from her. My mother speaks German, but it's what she remembers from 2nd grade. I know others who speak both German and English, but I'm not sure it would work out to learn from them (distance, etc.). I'm hoping to take a class next semester to learn more and perhaps go to a Spanish or German language camp next summer--maybe both. Have you been to a language camp? I'd appreciate your input, as it would help me in my decision. I'm thinking mainly about Concordia or another camp in the northwestern part of Wisconsin and the northeastern part of Minnesota area.

Do you know of any other ways to learn languages? I'd appreciate any comments you have on this topic and others.

| 9-15-01 @ 12:20 am |

German has been moving a little slow lately... I haven't received vocabulary words since around Tuesday (or Dienstag, as I believe it is spelled, in German), but I think I'll be getting another lesson tomorrow sometime. Julia will be leaving on the 25th, so I'd better learn fast!

| 9-12-01 @ 7:00 pm |

I'm learning some more German... at present, I probably know somewhere between 250 and 300 words and phrases. I know about the same amount of Spanish (though varying words/phrases). I've been speaking Spanish minimally for my whole life and German since Saturday-before-last... wow.

I also speak minimal Arabic (around 20 words/phrases), at most, one word of Hindi, two words in Italian, and the languages mentioned above.

My mother speaks both German and Spanish fairly-fluently and my father can get by pretty well with the Spanish he knows.

I hope to eventually speak fluently in both Spanish and German, as well as English, my mother-langauge.