Well, my server crashed hard. The OS refused to boot up, so they had to toss in a new hard-drive, messing everything up. Thankfully the old hard drive is still in fine shape, so I can copy the files from the old hard drive into the new. As you can see, none of my entries were lost. Yay!
Well everything still goes in Germany. My math class requires way more background than what I have, but I'm going to plow through nonetheless. I'll probably be meeting someone to help me catch up on the things I don't know (it's better getting a person to help you than trying to find it in a book, as the lectures here don't really seem to relate closely to any books).
My AI class is a lot of fun, as expected. The new exercise sheet came out today and now has some real problems on it (the exercise sheets are optional, but you get bonus points, and it helps to learn). I have to write a search algorithm or two in Java. I'm only partially fluent in Java, but I should be able to figure it out.
My class in English turned out to be much more interesting than expected. The class is called something like "Methods of Anthropology and Cultural Geography" or something like that. The course is aimed at first year grad students in a fairly specific international-studies program. However, what we get to do is actually go out and do a study here in Freiburg. We will be studying "internation communication in the field of education". So we will probably actually be going out to schools to observe and to interact with the kids. I think that's so cool.
In my DAF class our entire grade is based on a project. The project is due in 9 days. Then we're done with the grade part of the class, and we get to kick back and learn. Cool, huh?
In the mean time, I found a German TTS (Text-To-Speech) program. Hopefully I will be able to use it to help me improve my vocabulary and pronunciation. I still can't get the "r" quite right. I heard a German today who rolled her r's so much. It was so cool. I could probably roll my r's as much as she does, but I find it hard to roll them, but only a little (which is more normal). The normal German roll is located back in the throat, and seems to really only have 2 "bumps" (trying doing a really long rolled "r". Every time your tounge bounces I would consider a bump).
About my previous post about my new computer program. So far I have analyzed about 200,000 words from chat room conversations. I think 1,000,000 would be a nice goal. I also downloaded the Bible in German and analyzed that. I've started going through the list, and adding the words I don't know to my "to learn" list.
It would be neat to be fluent in a foreign language. But there's just so many words. First let me explain something. The church I go to was started by American missionaries to Germany (I think Germany also sends missionaries to America). Both the pastors are American, and so they preach in English. But we're in Germany, and Germans live in Germany (woah dude, why didn't my study abroad program warn me?!?). So, the entire service is translated in real time by a person. So the pastor will say a sentence or two, and the the translator will say the same thing in German. The sermons also seem to be formulated on the spot. It's clearly pre-thought-out, but the pastor doesn't seem to read from a sheet of paper. During one sermon the pastor said the word "blindfold", which the translator was able to translate.
But what kind of a word is "blindfold"?? Everyone with English as a first language knows what it is, but what are the odds that you actually learn that word in a foreign language? It's so random!! I've realized more and more how many random English words I know. I've probably only heard them a few times in my life, but I know what they mean.
Which also brings me to the question of how I learn new English words. I really don't look in the dictionary very much, except when I come across a funny word (actually, I look in the online dictionary a lot, but that's beside the point. We'll not really. Whatever). How do I learn new words? I just kinda pick them up, which is cool.
What I find cool is when I say I word in German which I never had explained to me, and that I never translated. I haven't done that much, but whenever it happens it's neat. I just hope that I apply it correctly, as I don't actually try to use such words, they just come out.
Well, I've yacked on for a while (what kind of a word is "to yack on"?). Anyway, I'll post some pictures soon. Maybe I'll take some pictures of my Freiburg Family at the Family Meeting (the Jesus Freaks in Freiburg is my Freiburg family).
Well, I am off.
-Mikel
Archived comments:
Jarednuss:
HAHA you will never escape geography!!!!!!!!! Good to see your taking a class with my kind of leaning, though i could never even dream off taking one of your type of classes. And with the news that our roommate next semester being Meng Chen i am sort of fearing that there will be a whole lot of math being discussed in our room!!!
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