Same old, same old...

Really nothing new this week. Just a continuation of what I normally do every week.

This week's Norwegian movie was "Sønner" (Sons). It's a really disturbing movie about pedophilia. But it won all sorts of awards, so I had to see it. I swear I'm going to be an expert on Norwegian cinema by the year's end.

I'm continuing on with Czarne Oceany. I'm absolutely digging the novel. I'm only averaging about a chapter a week right now, but that's OK. There's really no rush. If I have any regrets about my progress with Polish, it's that I'm not speaking it. It's purely passive right now. Again, that's OK. When it comes time to use the language, I'll be ready enough. Really, I can already have conversations in Polish, but outside of Skype or Lang-8, there just isn't much (read "any") in-person opportunity here in Northern Wisconsin (where I currently am).

I'm back on my regular schedule with my Skype partner. He's returned from his vacation. I've been at Turkish now for about four months, and I really believe that I've advanced quickly. These Skype sessions have helped immensely. But the self-teaching courses I've completed leading up to Skype use really prepared me, from Pimsleur to Teach Yourself (really a very complete course, considering the series) to Türkçe Öğreniyoruz. They've all provided a very solid foundation on which to grow. Overall, I'm quite proud of my progress. I don't plan on going to Turkey until the beginning of 2012, but I truly believe that if I were plopped down somewhere in Istanbul today, I'd have no trouble surviving and I'd even be able to make some friends.

One other thing I want to mention, again not directly related to my goals, but it makes me happy: My other blog Indoojibwem! is getting hits from Indian reservations in both Minnesota and Wisconsin according to my logs. I'm glad that it's of some use to other people besides me.