I am still studying German. I have now read two books on the German language so I’m familiar with the grammar and I have a small vocabulary. I plan to go to Berlin for my vacation some time during April 2011 so I still have a year to learn more of the language. Since I [...]
My next trip abroad will be to Berlin so I am studying German. It will be a long time until I can afford to do any more traveling so I have plenty of time to learn German. I have not been putting in much time on my German but I have gathered all the necessary [...]
Over the weekend I finally finished reading Nouveaux Copains : Foreign Language French Level 1. This textbook was published in the early 1990s and reflects the multicultural approach to education that became politically correct in the 1990s. I think multicultural education curriculum is actually a good thing for foreign language students because you learn another [...]
During the economic apocalypse it will be increasingly important to stand out from all the other programmers applying for the few remaining jobs. It would certainly help if you appear to be the most sophisticated programmer. There are many ways to become a sophisticated programmer. You could write a book, master test driven design, contribute [...]
Today I created a cheat sheet for French. I looked on the Internet for a French cheat sheet but I did not find exactly what I was looking for. Most of the French cheat sheets are only good for tourists because they just give you the basic phrases. If you are serious about learning the [...]
I have a lot of time on my hands so I’m learning French. My goal is to learn how to read French so I can read French books. I’m not studying pronunciation or developing listening skills. For now, I’m just studying grammar and building my vocabulary. I have a lot of French language textbooks and [...]
In order to maintain my interest in France I’ve been looking for French books that suit my tastes. Although I’ve been a casual Francophile since high school, I’ve never learned French because it is difficult to maintain an active interest in France when you just study their history and literature. I got half way through [...]
I plan to make brief trips to Philadelphia more often. Philly is the nearest large city to Williamsport. I’m not sure if local residents visit Philadelphia very often. There are no bus trips to Philly. The James V. Brown library, Penn College of Technology, and the Community Theater League sometimes offer bus trips to New [...]
I’ve continued to study the French language after returning from my trip to Paris but I’ve been debating this with myself. Learning a foreign language is a time consuming chore. You need a really compelling reason to keep at it. The best reason I can come up with is the French culture. France, Germany, and [...]
I’m going a bit overboard in my preparation for my vacation to Paris, France. I’ve already read three books on French customs, behavior, and attitudes. But those books are intended for people who plan to live or work in France. You really don’t need to know anything about diner party etiquette if you are just [...]
Today I examined how Elgg supports foreign languages for web site internationalization. I discovered that Elgg does not check the browser’s language setting. Instead you have to set the language for the entire site. This means that you cannot create a social networking site which supports two languages. Then I explored how PHP supports localization. [...]
Last night I watched the movie Paris, Je T’Aime, a collection of short films set in various arrondissements. This is undoubtedly one of the best recent films to see before you travel to Paris. I especially liked the short film 14e arrondissement (XIVe arrondissement) — written and directed by Alexander Payne. It is a brutally [...]
I’m very excited about my upcoming vacation to Paris, France! I have booked an escorted tour with Trafalgar Tours in order to avoid the stress of making my own arrangements. They take care of the hotel reservation, provide travel to various sightseeing destinations, and provide a tour guide. I hope this will minimize my interaction [...]
