same_sky: (Default)
same_sky ([personal profile] same_sky) wrote2003-03-30 11:07 am

Svenska

I'm so tremendously excited this morning. Magnus finally caught his parents at home and is talking to them. I've been in the bathroom (just next to the computer room) fixing my hair and trying to eavesdrop.. and I understand a LOT more of what's being said than ever before! He's been talking about buying a house and how the interest rates are very low now, and that we've talked about buying one between Morehead and Lexington. There was a couple of other things that I understood, but I don't remember what they were now. He's talking about credit cards now, and explaining how credit doesn't work the same way here as in Sweden. :)

It's just extremely cool. It seems that I've hit another little.. learning skills increase. I remember doing a similar thing in high school with my French between my second and third year, and it's not like I'd been studying! But one of the first things we did was translate a kid's story into French. Anyway, when she returned the papers, she had written "Great job!" all over it. It had a bunch of errors, of course, but seemingly not as bad as the others, and she kept talking about the improvement over what I had done before, at least. At the end of the year, I took a test and got six hours of college credit for it, which was better than anyone in the class (one other person got three hours), and completely unexpected, since I was a B student (I wasn't good at studying.. it was the first thing I really had to study for.) for the first two years, and the others in the third year class (it wasn't required.. there were only about seven of us) were really diligent about studying and made excellent grades. It's like my brain works on it while I'm busy with other things. *giggle*

Anyway, I noticed it last night. We went grocery shopping, and as we walked in, I suggested that we speak Swedish.. we used to do that a lot, but it was kind of agonizing, and it ended up with us not buying all the groceries we need because I couldn't think of the words for them or I'd get so busy thinking of how to say something that I would forget that we need flour, or whatever. Anyway, we tried it again last night and it worked. I mean.. I didn't understand everything, and sometimes I'd make him repeat it and explain a word, but for the most part, I knew what he was talking about, and he was speaking much faster than ever before. Both in French (which is almost completely gone, by now) and Swedish, listening has been the hardest part for me.. I'm not an auditory kind of person. Actually, in English too. I'm much better at expressing myself in writing than speaking.

Hopefully, now that I can pick things out of a conversation more and more, the learning will come faster, too. I've often had trouble keeping motivated, or forcing myself to study or think about it, since we're here in the US surrounded by English everywhere. I really think that this increase has been sponsored by my recent streaming radio programs. Definitely going to have to continue to work that into my day!

[identity profile] balison.livejournal.com 2003-03-30 08:24 am (UTC)(link)
That's great Kisha! I feel so good when Chris and I can speak Swedish and I can understand. I listen to Swedish radio over the 'net too. I wish I could get 104,7, it was my favorite station when we were there,but they must have taken it off the 'net because it never connects.

[identity profile] ozswede.livejournal.com 2003-03-30 08:59 am (UTC)(link)
I had a go and it connected. That is if it was Lugna Favoriter

Kisha, well done with the Swedish. As painful as it seems, there is no substitute for actually speaking it with a native speaker...enless he's from Skåne.. :)

[identity profile] balison.livejournal.com 2003-03-30 09:42 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks Marie, that is the one! I just tried it and it worked.

[identity profile] same-sky.livejournal.com 2003-03-30 02:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Luckily, my Swede isn't from there, so no problems. I wish we could get in a habit of speaking Swedish more often, but we try to do it sometimes. :) I'm just really excited to finally see progress again.

[identity profile] same-sky.livejournal.com 2003-03-30 02:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks. :) Aarrrgggh! The little slogan thingie for that station gets stuck in my head horribly. :) I have it on now, since you mentioned it. I usually listen to some food show. Oh, well. It'll go away in another four months...