English - how hard can it be?

Really?

Yes, really.  Yet another (as I'm sure there are thousands) post, albeit a small one, about the English language.

One of the joys of having a child is watching, or rather listening to the development of her spoken language.  Now my daughter very much takes after her Grandpa in this way, as she seems to have a love the vernacular.  Her vocabulary is wide and varied.

Today's word has been specific or in some cases, pacific.

In recent months, we have also had discussions about the words bought and brought, with nods to there, their and they're.  She seems very interested in it all and this is evident when the various words pop up in her chatter later on in the day.

This is definitely one of my favourite aspects of watching her learning process as she grows up.

She has a wonderful, inquisitive mind.

Long may it last.

Sarah and George

I go dancing almost every Tuesday night, or at least every Tuesday night that I'm in the country.
It has become part of my weekly routine.
Come snow, rain or sunshine, I can be found en route to my dance class.
It is my meditation, my physical exercise and my social time.
So naturally, I set out this last Tuesday thinking that I'd arrive on time. After all, I was traveling on a bus and didn't need to worry about using the tube, which was on strike.
But what I didn't anticipate were the road works.
About 30 feet of one lane of traffic was close, not much, but enough to cause a huge delay, especially as there was an island nearby which hindered big lorries and buses from manoeuvring around. In the end, we just sat there for 20 minutes while all the smaller vehicles turned around and went alternative routes. Thankfully this eventually enabled the bus to get through. I sat there contentedly playing sudoku on my phone, trying beat my best speed.
Just prior to delay, a man had gotten on the bus. He decided to sit next to me. He made a passing comment about my iPhone, asking if it was an iPad. I thought "duh! No, it's a fraction of the size", but out loud said, "no, it is just an iPhone".
My mistake.
This opened the floodgates for conversation, a very one-sided conversation on his part. He proceeded to tell me that he designed 'wind-tunnel' something or another for aerospace and that he was in communication with General 'somebody', but that their emails were being monitored.
He then asked where I was from.
I said England and he asked if I was from an old English line, as I had that look about me.
Then he asked my name.
"Sarah" was my answer but not my real name and at this point I felt more then a bit wary of him.
His was George.
Within the next minute or two, he got up to get off the bus.
Phew! Big relief.
I don't normally feel worried by talking with strangers on public transport, but this felt different.
It was quite an interesting experience to be perceived as someone else.
And for a few minutes, I became Sarah, an English woman.

Melting pot

Last week, I met someone who had the same heritage as me.

As he told me all the different parts that make up who he is, I stood there in disbelief.

Russian, Polish, English, American, Jewish and one other.

It is the one other that made me laugh.

Nigerian.

What a strangely bizarre mixture, eh?

Not on the schedule

This begs the question, what is NOT on the schedule?
What have I missed out?
What more could I possibly squeeze into my very tight calendar?

Well the answer to the above questions is.............TIME!!
I trying my very hardest to remember what that is.
Not sure at the moment.

I seem to remember hearing a distant rumour that there is something called 'spare time'.
I'm wondering what exactly that is.
Is there a definition for 'spare time'?
Oh where is my dictionary?
Ahh, as defined by The Oxford Dictionary of Current English, 'Spare Time' is a noun, meaning leisure. What a novel idea!
Further down the page, I came across the word "sparse" meaning thinly dispersed or scattered.
Now that is a bit more appropriate for my version of 'spare time'.

Course update

I can't believe that I've almost finished my 3rd full week of college.
How's it going?
Not really sure.
The BIG surprise is that I'm actually enjoying Maths.
Ok, pick yourselves up off the floor.
I said that I'm liking Maths.
It took me 3 goes to get my Maths exam 20 odd years ago and I hated it back then. But now, it's just like doing puzzles.....at least so far it is.
Unfortunately, the class that I'm finding the hardest is English. It all about the facts. I have to learn how not to write 'purple prose' (thanks Spence) and also be more concise.
Analytical essay writing is another one that I'm not looking forward to doing.
The teachers are doing ok, considering we're such a mixed bunch of people with very mixed abilities.
The Maths teacher is great, JH. Everything very simple and clear.
The English teacher is good, K, but not so good at keeping the class focused.
The Social Work teacher, AU, is also very good, with a fun sense of humour.
But the really interesting one is our Course Tutor. Dragon Lady! This term she is teaching us Interpersonal Skills. We had to do role playing today. She will pin you down with a stare if you're talking in class.
Scary!!
I'm hesitant to say that I'm doing well, mainly because I'm finding it hard to do the homework in the evening and also I'd like a few more guidelines about how much work is expected in terms of length of assignment. Plus I'm frustrated at the lack of having a printer. I spoke with my mum about it this evening and she told me to go buy one at half term. This is last years Christmas/Birthday and next Christmas present. I've been deferring it to be able to get the laptop that I really want.
So watch this space for that update.
But so far, all my homework has been handed in on time AND completed.
One of the things I've been using the most has been a pack of colouring pencils. There have been a few pieces of work requiring LOTS of colour (thanks KR).
I'm still really pleased to be on this course and I think that I made the right choice in going to that particular college, but 4 years is starting to feel like a very, very, very long time.