Katie Kelly

Miguel has complained that in my last report, I seem to depict him as an alcoholic, and he would like me to correct the dialogue in which I misquote him as saying, “I was drunk.” This is, in fact, because he never really said that, that was an embellishment on my part, but the other parts of the exchange are 100% verbatum. And he would also like me to clarify that he only had a couple of drinks prior to suggestiong that we go on the Mundane Journey. And he did not, in fact, say, “What the f—!” but “This sucks!”

Now that I have made these clarifications, I would like to confess that I have recently fallen pray to a stronger addiction than blogging, and I’m embarassed to even admit it, but it’s that I love learning languages and I can’t stop. This isn’t even healthy or normal. It’s beyond general curiosity or mastering a few phrases, and I learn more than Spanish. Spanish, ha, that was just a ruse to make you think that I was learning a commonly spoken language to fit in with the times. No, my other three, at this time, are Russian, German, and Czech.

I think that’s enough for now. If you speak any of these languages, I can fake a conversation with you in Spanish or Russian, but not the other two, not yet anyway, ale da mne čas! I think I just asked you to give me time in Czech.

Anyway, I don’t even want to talk about this anymore, but that’s what I do in my spare time when I’m not working or riding my bike. And it’s why I like riding public transit so much. All you need is an .mp3 player and a nice seat on the bus, and you, too, can be on your way to polyglotism! And if you choose your seat wisely, you can even find a conversation partner. Come to think of it, maybe I should find a reason to ride the 30 through China Town.