I know enough Nepali to be able to construct simple sentences, but not enough to have a vocabulary that enables me to always communicate precisely what I want to say. When this happens, my brain reaches for the only non-English word it can think of. This is usually a Romanian word (although German occasionally pops up, too). So these days it's not uncommon for me to throw together Nepali, English and Romanian into a single sentence. While this is likely entertaining for my instructors, I don't think it will impress the testers when the time comes to evaluate my progress.
It reminds me of a time when I was traveling through Europe a couple years ago. The man at the airport check-in counter asked me a simple question to which I responded "Da, I mean yes, I mean ja, I mean si, I mean... where am I?" It's a very cosmopolitan life I lead.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Giddyup
A month into Nepali language training, and the steep incline of learning has abruptly flattened to a plateau. That first month was great. I absorbed every drop the teachers threw at me. Learning a language full-time is much easier the second time around; I was miserable for most of Romanian language training.
I am the only student in my class. This is good for a few reasons. Namely, I'm only in the classroom 4 hours a day (but there's plenty of homework) and my teachers can customize the instruction to fit my pace and fluency. The other edge of that sword is that there's nobody else to take the heat for a while. It's all me all the time. And it would be nice sometimes to have another native English speaker in the class to help understand the grammatical explanations given by the non-native English speaking instructor. ("Did you understand when to use 'maa' in the post position and when not to?")
The other downside is that by the last hour of class on Friday my brain is slush. It just shuts down, like a stubborn mule that refuses to budge no matter how hard you kick it.
So now my stubborn mule brain and I have scaled the initial steep climb and have leveled off. I can see up ahead the rocky path of complicated conjugations, illogical verb tenses, and frustrating sentence structures. I'll need some sharp spurs in the next 9 months.
I am the only student in my class. This is good for a few reasons. Namely, I'm only in the classroom 4 hours a day (but there's plenty of homework) and my teachers can customize the instruction to fit my pace and fluency. The other edge of that sword is that there's nobody else to take the heat for a while. It's all me all the time. And it would be nice sometimes to have another native English speaker in the class to help understand the grammatical explanations given by the non-native English speaking instructor. ("Did you understand when to use 'maa' in the post position and when not to?")
The other downside is that by the last hour of class on Friday my brain is slush. It just shuts down, like a stubborn mule that refuses to budge no matter how hard you kick it.
So now my stubborn mule brain and I have scaled the initial steep climb and have leveled off. I can see up ahead the rocky path of complicated conjugations, illogical verb tenses, and frustrating sentence structures. I'll need some sharp spurs in the next 9 months.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
The Circle of Strife
FSI Day 1
Me: I'd like to request access to my OpenNet account and get my FSI INET account password.
IT guy: It looks like Baghdad hasn't transferred your account yet. You'll have to send them an email and ask that they transfer the account.
Me: Um, how can I send them an email if I can't log on?
IT guy: Try logging on to the NEASA server. It might take a while the first time.
Me: Ok. And my FSI INET account?
IT guy: Here's your password. You should be all set.
Day 2
Me: I tried logging on to my FSI INET account but it says it's disabled and to see the network administrator.
IT guy: Huh. Let me try something... Ok it should work now.
Day 3
Me: After 40 minutes, I was able to log on to OpenNet through the NEASA server yesterday and sent an email to Baghdad to have them transfer the account. But today I logged on but couldn't get anything done. Before the system crashed for the fourth (and final) time, I saw that someone in Baghdad had replied to my email, but I couldn't read it.
IT guy: Oh. Go see Oliver, he'll have to help you. But it looks like he's pretty busy with someone else right now.
Me: You're telling me that out of all the people at the IT Help Desk, only Oliver can assist me, and out of all the people at the IT Help Desk, only Oliver is unavailable right now?
IT guy: Yeah. Do you wanna wait?
On the next episode of The Circle of Strife - payroll & voucher bureaucracy.
Me: I'd like to request access to my OpenNet account and get my FSI INET account password.
IT guy: It looks like Baghdad hasn't transferred your account yet. You'll have to send them an email and ask that they transfer the account.
Me: Um, how can I send them an email if I can't log on?
IT guy: Try logging on to the NEASA server. It might take a while the first time.
Me: Ok. And my FSI INET account?
IT guy: Here's your password. You should be all set.
Day 2
Me: I tried logging on to my FSI INET account but it says it's disabled and to see the network administrator.
IT guy: Huh. Let me try something... Ok it should work now.
Day 3
Me: After 40 minutes, I was able to log on to OpenNet through the NEASA server yesterday and sent an email to Baghdad to have them transfer the account. But today I logged on but couldn't get anything done. Before the system crashed for the fourth (and final) time, I saw that someone in Baghdad had replied to my email, but I couldn't read it.
IT guy: Oh. Go see Oliver, he'll have to help you. But it looks like he's pretty busy with someone else right now.
Me: You're telling me that out of all the people at the IT Help Desk, only Oliver can assist me, and out of all the people at the IT Help Desk, only Oliver is unavailable right now?
IT guy: Yeah. Do you wanna wait?
On the next episode of The Circle of Strife - payroll & voucher bureaucracy.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Bye Bye Baghdad
As my departure from Baghdad approaches, I've been thinking about the past year. Here's what I will miss and what I will not miss about Baghdad.
What I won't miss:
Stepping outside and getting sandblasted by 115 degree wind and dirt
Iranian-made rockets
Action memos and 8-page cables
Baked fish and steamed vegetables
Personal Protective Equipment (aka kevlar vest & helmet)
Acronyms
T-walls
What I will miss:
Some incredible people
Flying in helicopters
Free all-you-can-eat ice cream
Girls night
Big guys with guns opening the door for me
The DFAC when it's decorated for holidays
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