when we were children, my sister excelled in german.
it was sort of her thing - so i left it alone.
my great grandmother, judita schwartz, (or "little grandma" as we used to call her - she was barely five feet tall) used to screech at us in german.
and so i always think of the language as an urgent one.

i was told by my highschool french teacher that i have no aptitude for languages.
but he did think i had a knack for pronunciation.
he would make me read every class.
one day after he handed back another failed paper he told me my only hope was to live in a foreign country or fall in love with a foreigner - that i just wasn't cut out to learn from a text or in a classroom.
technically i failed the class -but he awarded me an 50-R which means that he knew i failed - i knew i failed - the prinicpal knew i failed - but we all agreed to overlook the pesky fact.
and that, my friends, is how i graduated highschool.

i have told this story before - i think i probably may have even written about it here before - but that's what happens when you switch to blogger...
hmm...this post also has no context...
a briefing: i am thinking about learning german. to become more of a world citizen, if you will.

isn't this what all aging women do? learn foreign languages and take creative writing workshops?
soon i will allow my hair to become more salt than pepper, toss aside my straightening iron and cultivate an appreciation for flowing scarves.