Notebooks. Your calendar. Pencils. Pens. Typing paper? A pocket recorder? Highlighters? Markers? Old textbooks?

Today is the beginning of a new relationship.  It’s kind of like a first date… except in a much more professional sense. At long last, I’ve finally called and made an appointment with my wife’s language instructor, who apparently is the best thing since sliced bread.

Those American readers would recognize that “best thing since since sliced bread” is a common English figure of speech use to mean “best thing in a very long time”.  But to a Bosnian, it probably just sounds weird.  I hope my new instructor doesn’t read this.   » Read the rest of this entry «

My wife says I should call her language instructor. “She’s really good,” she says. “I will,” I said. “But don’t tell anyone.”

She smirked at me.  ”Why?  Because everyone goes to her?”

It was nice, for a period of time, to be using a language instructor that none of my coworkers or close friends were using.  While I was advancing in my knowledge of the target language, people would say things like, “who is his teacher?”  and, “Where is he learning Bosnian?”

Probably, they were saying those things because of all the mistakes I was making, or because of how funny my accent was beginning to sound, and not because I was any good.  But I can flatter myself if I want to, I guess.

So, soon, the veil will lift and I will sit down with this new language instructor whom everyone uses.  And I will be better for it, I am sure, since everyone else already is. My wife seems to be doing very well since she started with this instructor.