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In the Interim of the Unknown

March - September 2020
A 200-day adventure by Speak, World Read more
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  • Speak, WorldIn the Interim of the Unknown
    111

    This is not Morocco

    March 5, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    The threat of the corona virus, COVID-19, caused Morocco to close its borders to all incoming flights today—including mine—so I was forced to do what is probably the smartest choice of all at this time: stay put. So, where am I? I left Chiang Mai on March 5, changed planes in Taipei, Taiwan, and landed at Los Angeles International Airport on the afternoon of the same day. From there, I went to my sister’s house in Altadena, California, and that’s where “put” is.

    I spent a week with Michelle and Jim, which was tense with increasingly foreboding news about the spread of the virus and the closing down of borders and public life in country after country. It was also a delightful week—with a last splash of public activity: a marmalade-and-bread-making party with Michelle’s writing students from UCLA (University of California at Los Angeles), a reading at UCLA of young writers and poets, trips to markets and coffee shops, and visits from friends.

    At 3 AM on the morning of March 15th, Morocco shut down its borders, and there went my plans for the next three months. I had been thinking that waiting out the pandemic in Morocco might be interesting, but reality finally gave me the scare I needed to be sensible. So, flights and lodging were cancelled, and I am very lucky to be safe, in a beautiful place, and with my family. The governor of California told all of us who are over 65 to stay at home and cook. (Hmmm...) So now we’re hunkered down together—dog and cat included. I am extremely grateful to my sister and brother-in-law for their kindness.

    As luck would have it, a few weeks ago I decided to join the Fluent in Three Months Challenge as a polyglot challenger. From March 16th on, I shall be trying to improve my Thai, French, and Italian—with servings of Spanish and Japanese on the side. Moroccan Arabic will unfortunately have to wait.

    I hope all of you are keeping safe. Do stay in touch. If you leave a comment here on this blog, please leave your first name. Love to you all, Dorée    Read more

  • Speak, WorldIn the Interim of the Unknown
    1
    11
    Day 95

    Three and a Half Months and Counting

    June 17, 2020 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    I hope that this “postcard” finds all you doing well under these extraordinary circumstances. I think of you, and know that I’m way overdue in sending you a blog. I apologize for the delay.

    Although I’m sure that my story of sheltering in place and lockdown is mostly the same as all of you, I have been working hard at being my usual eccentric self. I am still with my sister and brother-in-law in Altadena, California, but in the time of my daily life, I have been living in——

    Thailand, France, Mexico, Japan, Chile, and Italy! My 3-month multi-language challenge, AKA “Fluent in Three Months Polyglot Challenge” is just ending. It has been a remarkably cheerful and exhilarating experience. My original purpose was to resurrect a few of my “better” long-lost languages, i.e., those that I spoke fairly well in the past. As you can imagine, “serial monogamy” doesn’t work well for languages, and continually leaving one language for another over a forty-year period left a string of nine abandoned and forgotten loves.

    Enter POLYGLOTISM! I took Thai, my newest language, and introduced three others: Italian, Japanese, and French for the Challenge. What I had to do was straightforward: prepare a video each week in the language(s) of my choice, and discover how to improve. As an independent learner, I had the moral support of other challengers, but only a few hints regarding what to do.

    I found tutors for Japanese, French, and Italian, kept my group of Thai teachers and language exchange partners, and studied all of these languages every day—50% of my time to Thai, 20% to Japanese and Italian, and 10% to French, which was the “easiest.”

    So , after reading horrific reports about COVID-19 in the newspapers every morning, I went into my study, and for the rest of the day, lived in The World. There’s really too much to tell, but if you’re interested, here are links to what I think are my “most interesting” videos. There are also a few photos below those links which are unrelated to language learning.

    Love to you all! (And if you leave a comment, please be sure to sign your first name.)

    LINKS to Polyglot Videos—which all have SUBTITLES in English!
    1. Day Zero Video: Thai plus Three Abandoned Loves: In Thai, Italian, French and Japanese
    https://youtu.be/NLJB-ytxZEw

    2. Week 8: What I learned from Japan and Thailand —50 years apart: In Japanese and Thai
    https://youtu.be/DKNa7qYXYjs

    3. Week 9:Gardening (in Thai) and a horrible experience in French usage (in French)
    https://youtu.be/8NUBz3KVpHk

    4.Week 10: Speaking 5 languages, switching every 30 seconds, telling my life history in 4 minutes!
    https://youtu.be/DKNa7qYXYjs

    5. Day 90 Videos—15+ minutes conversations with native speakers
    Thai—about our parents’ professions (secrets revealed herein):
    https://youtu.be/D-0_6wEvkAA

    Japanese—did my life and my teacher’s run parallel? (More secrets revealed):
    https://youtu.be/D-0_6wEvkAA

    Italian—what professions did we choose? https://youtu.be/2Gv1OwntKcE

    French—our lives as readers: https://youtu.be/hh5fGtYEA68    Read more

  • Speak, WorldIn the Interim of the Unknown
    1
    12
    Day 164

    Score: Homestay 99.99%, USA 10%

    August 25, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    A serene and pleasant home stay here in Laurel, Maryland is coming to an end. The imperfection of the score of this blog post title is due to the one person whose mask fell below her nose at a local supermarket, and an unwilling mask-wearer who made fun of me at a gas station. Nothing to do with my home stay, actually, except that the unpleasant violation of Maryland’s COVID safety rules took place in the neighborhood. Otherwise, we have been safe.

    I have spent the last two months with old friends, in a lovely big home in a quiet and friendly suburban neighborhood. I have been able to keep up my language studies—adding Chinese to the mix—with lessons, conversations, “language parties,” and interactions with other learners every day. I’ve also been able to see my local Maryland friends, either with online calls, or even in person once or twice.

    Despite daily exercise consisting of 60 minutes of walking outside, 30 minutes of yoga alternating with weight training, and 250+ steps per hour, my sedentary life has caused “The Sitter’s Fat Torso.” Damn! I shall have to up my movement game—and perhaps lower my sedentary time and a bit of my food intake—in my next location.

    My wonderful hosts have made me feel comfortable and welcome, and have enabled me to continue with my life in this worldwide emergency. I have a keen awareness of how difficult it is for a family to adjust to an “other” who comes to live with them: all are driven by circumstance, but still must deal with an unbalancing factor to lives already stressed by the ever-changing exigencies of the pandemic. Here, my hosts treated this factor with open communication and grace, for which I shall be ever grateful.

    So, on to the continuation of this “interim of the unknown” in Oaxaca, Mexico. I’ll be back in my apartment from last year, with Paulina and Julian, my hospitable Airbnb hosts. I’ll talk to you soon from there!
    Love to all,
    Dorée

    Here are a few photos, videos, and other “curiosities.” If you leave a comment, please leave your first name as well.    Read more

  • Speak, WorldIn the Interim of the Unknown
    1
    Day 183

    Second Quarantine—in Oaxaca, Mexico

    September 13, 2020 in Mexico ⋅ 🌧 21 °C

    I chose to come to Oaxaca because the state and city (same name) seemed to be handling the COVID virus better than many states in Mexico, and because I’ve stayed here two times before.

    I even am staying in the same AirBnb apartment. My hosts, Paulina and Julian, picked me up at the airport, and brought me back to my very familiar surroundings for another 14-day self-quarantine—something that is not required by the city or state government. Comfort! Space! Solitude! After six and a half months of living together with others, I am finally alone again.

    The quarantine was not difficult. The apartment is long—24 strides—so I walked a brisk 3-4 miles daily, as well as 250 steps every hour. The “cure” for the “Sitter’s Thick Torso” is to walk quickly for at least 10 minutes at a time, 3 times a day. Oh, and to avoid sugar and excess food! Paulina—totally by her own wishes—brought me some “almuerzo,” lunch, at around 5 pm daily—lunch is late here in Oaxaca—see the photos to see what came. She also did my shopping for me. A lovely person.

    And of course, my language studies continued, with the same full schedule as before. Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, French, and now Spanish, of course. The new addition to my schedule is hosting two “Language Parties,” in Italian and Japanese. These are hour-long opportunities to practice speaking, joined by members of my language-learning community.

    On September 10th the quarantine ended, and I was FREE! Free to walk outside the apartment, on to the streets of Oaxaca. But I want to emphasize something important. My being here isn’t a “fun adventure trip” “on the road again” type of circumstance. Oaxaca is hushed with fear, and 80% of the businesses are locked up. Nothing is going on. I am just happy and grateful to be able to be in comfortable surroundings, with kind people, living my life as optimistically as possible.

    Love to you all!    Read more

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