Re-beginnings!

Taking an idea from some very clever people around me I have started this blog to document my travels through ancient languages. I am, by no means, a brilliant linguist. Nor have I mastered what I've already been taught. What I am, however, is determined to make this work. I'm determined to learn and understand Latin and Greek. I am doing these courses for a qualifying year for the MA program I'm aiming to start in September of 2008. My goal, one which I feel is attainable, is an A in every course. This blog will help see me through to that goal and I'll gladly let you in on my struggle.

For background reference and the sake of transparency (and probably a giggle, for those of you who are significantly more adept at Latin than I), I'll share with your my previous experiences in this subject:

I took Latin I during Fall 2001 with a lovely professor and by mid-semester I'd dropped the course. My then-boyfriend and I were in a sorry state and hadn't put in the required time so, admitting defeat, we dropped the course and he gave me his textbook hoping to never see it's poorly laid-out type again. This explains, in advance, to all those who see my book shelves, why I have two copies of that awful book.

Latin was still required by my degree so I had to take another stab at it in 2002. Stab is quite accurate in this instance - I really just hacked away at anything, hoping to get myself through. Predictably, I didn't make it. Again. Only this time I received the deserved F from professor #2. I was more than embarrassed. I'm pretty sure on my final exam I included an apology letter written to professor #2 in a moment of extreme shame on my part.

Finally in 2004, knowing that this was my last year as an undergraduate and that not only Latin I but also Latin II would be required to graduate, I enrolled for a third time. Professor #3 bestowed the glittering and much sought-after C I required, after a heap of work on my end. I was in the clear! I had Latin I down! And I loved asking people if they had a cookie in Latin!

Remarkably, you'd think I'd have learned something in all of this. Latin II in the winter of 2005 with professor #4 was a whole new game and I didn't know the rules, nor did I show up for practice. D+, the lowest possible and still acceptable mark was attained after some very gracious extra work was supplied. By this time, professor #5 had become a most valued friend and cheerleader. Were it not for #5, things would certainly have gone awry and I'd have been left with a very sore image of myself.

Having graduated, I gave myself a break. Then it became clear that an MA was what I wanted....and my Latin marks weren't going to help me out in any way. I welcomed professor #6 in the summer of 2006 when I re-took Latin II to improve my mark and actually learn the material (sidenote: this Latin II was at a different university with a different text book - that was a shock! I had to learn their Latin I and their Latin II in order to have any hope of surviving!). With little else to fill my time during that summer (I eventually quit my job to study full time for the final exam) I gained the knowledge of basic Latin and a B+. And some much needed self-confidence.

In all, I have had 6 different professors and I can't say that any one of them was better than the other. They all knew how to teach, I lacked the ability and the understanding of how to learn. I didn't understand myself and I didn't know what my needs were. Now I feel I have a much better understanding of these things. I know how I learn. I know how to allocate my time. I know what I want and I've got the determination welling up inside me to see me through.

Translate or die is a bit extreme, I know, but given that this is a qualifying year for an MA I'd very much like to do and the history I've had with Latin, this mind-set is necessary (even if a bit tongue-in-cheek). So join me, won't you, in my day to day discovery of (hopefully) a new love of ancient languages!