for lo, the internet knows ALL.

[agentotter]

Good day to you, online journaling friends. How are you this fine Friday? Good, I hope. I'm SUPER, thanks for asking.

Today I have random questions for you, all of which are related to goals I've had forever and would like to actually one day do something about? Yeah, those ones.

* I really would like to learn Spanish. Like a lot. I was very good at it in high school but haven't had a lick of it since. Do any of you have a favored method for learning a foreign language? Assume that I can't do a community college class or private lessons (with my work schedule and budget, these aren't really workable). Any home-study programs you've had particular success with.

* I also have a (not very) sekrit dream to learn to play an instrument. I made my first attempt on the harmonica mostly because I liked it and it's cheap, but was not very good at it. Basically I'm ruling out anything that involves breath control. I can has none of that. I reckon the three options I have that are a) something I'd like to learn and b) something I can probably pick up used on craigslist without breaking the bank are the guitar, the violin, or the piano (well, keyboard, if you're me). Any guesses on which might work best for somebody with no musical talent to speak of and no previous experience with an instrument?

I... had something more to say and then it went. Just like that. It just flew straight out of my brains. I've been told that new languages and learning a musical instrument are two important ways to keep your mind active into old age. Clearly I need these things pronto.

Comments

[sara]

Well, in fairness, I did minor in Spanish in college.

And she doesn't seem terribly compatible with the violin. Or, more to the point, group violin lessons seem to fill her with a hideous panic, so we've dropped them. She does okay with private lessons.

Yeah, I grew up wishing I were better at math, knew an instrument, and spoke two languages, and have been trying to inflict all these things on my children. Chances are good they will never forgive me.

p.s. Have you tried just watching Univision? That and the BBC Spanish podcasts help keep me current.

[agentotter]

I totally get that. I had a French class at a previous college that was one of those immersion-style classes, and though I was doing pretty decent at picking up the language, having to perform in front of my teacher and the class threw me into an absolute panic. That class was total torture.

Yeah, I grew up wishing I were better at math, knew an instrument, and spoke two languages, and have been trying to inflict all these things on my children. Chances are good they will never forgive me.

I did, too. :( That's awesome you're inflicting it on your kids though, and you know one day (probably when you're dead and it's no comfort to you) that they'll be glad they had that experience. I often think, "If I had kids, I would ___(fill in some horrible torture here)" and then I remember that in order to do that I'd have to have kids, and I'm just so not prepared to go there. ;D

[sara]

*laughing* I don't think I'm prepared to go there either!

But maybe that's just that I've just done bedtime, which involves a lot of emotional sturm und drang that boils down to, "It is the end of the day! We are pissed about that!"

(I am also making my daughter go to Chinese camp this summer. Bitch me out enough and I'll send your ass to learn to make bao! So there!)

[agentotter]

Oh, and I meant to say, I haven't tried watching Univision; I'm not really home often, so I have enough trouble keeping up with all the english-language stuff waiting for me on the DVR. :D Somebody else on my LJ mentioned the BBC podcasts too though, and that sounds like something awesome to listen to while I'm cleaning stalls and doing chores and things.

[sara]

They are pretty good. Sometimes I use them as a sleep aid (I pop off really quickly with BBC Mundo, even faster than with Sherlock Holmes stories....)