I hope that it is not too late to begin blogging on here. I really have been meaning to visit and post something since day one, but it kept slipping my mind. I will assume that it is not too late and go ahead with it anyway. And this post is going to go all over the place. I beg everyone's indulgence.

I became interested in Latin for a number of reasons.

1.) I am interested in pursuing graduate studies in early northern medieval Europe (like Scandinavia ca 500 - 1100ish... ya know... the Vikings...). I'd love to find an interdisciplinary program that covers history, religious studies, language, art, architecture, literature, and archaeology, but I digress. So you know, Scandinavia aside, much of the literature (and non-literature, for that matter) of the Medieval period was written in Latin... certainly, not classical Latin, such as we're learning, but this is as close as I can get at USF to a significant Medieval-type language. Truth to tell, my first and second choices would have been Old Norse or Anglo-Saxon. Nerd that I am, I want to be able to read the Icelandic sagas and "Beowulf" in their original languages eventually, just because. Latin was my third choice though because I do enjoy the simplicity of purpose expressed in the phrase: "Facere quod in se est." (I've been told that this translates as "To do what is in one [to do]." Is that right? Personally, I don't agree with the traditional religious interpretation of the phrase, but I still like it.)

2.) I wanted a long dead language to fulfill my foreign language requirement. I took French in high school. I liked it a lot, and my teacher was great and very understanding, but I have *major issues* with public speaking and the panic attacks I suffered in high school weren't fun or pretty. I wanted to skip a repeat of that in college, but at the same time become more confident with speaking in a class setting. I am *very* happy to say that, so far, Latin class is doing wonderful things for me in this area. The lack of pressure to correctly pronounce words and the lack of fear of making a spectacle of oneself in front of the class is a major plus for me. Oddly (because I usually don't), I'm finding the class very comfortable and supportive. I hope that it continues thus because it is certainly a good thing.

3.) More recently, I got into watching "Rome" on HBO... Inaccurate program, I know. But they use a lot of Latin phrases, which pepper the dialogue with an authenticity and otherness (to remind the viewers that they aren't watching "The Sopranos?") that I don't think the program would otherwise have. It just got me thinking about something I read long ago, which stuck with me... That the Latin spoken in the Roman Empire 2000 years ago was a lot like modern English is today. It had a flexibility and a subtlety to it that comes with a sophisticated language. This is not to say that English is the only sophisticated modern language. It certainly is not. But English is what I am most familiar with and was the language being compared to Latin in whatever it was I read. The comparison intrigued me because, being 14 at the time with modern prejudices (and *American* prejudices at that - for us, history began in 1776! ... that was a joke...), I had never thought of something so ancient as being sophisticated on the same level as something modern, and it made me want to eventually learn how to read Latin so I could find out for myself. If I get it so far, in Latin, the sophistication comes from the many endings that are added to the roots in order to give them specific meaning. If I had to guess about English, I would say that it is the many languages that have influenced it over the centuries which give it sophistication, not the least of which has been Latin itself.

So, even as the first test of the semester looms before us all, I look forward to the challenge Latin presents. I hope I don't change my mind come 1:50pm on Tuesday! ;) I keep going back and forth between thinking that I have a handle on all this Latin stuff and feeling frozen in confusion and doubt. I think it is because I'm having a hard time trusting that this all *does* make sense. There is method to the madness, I know, but every now and then, it won't come into focus and then it will and then it won't again. If I remember correctly from the first class, there's a certain amount of instinct in translating and understanding Latin. I haven't quite gotten used to trusting that instinct yet... but I think I'm getting there. I think...

I would *love* to have a study group this weekend at some point. The only time I'm unavailable is from 1pm - 2:30pm on Sunday. Even Monday after class would work for me if anyone else is up for it. If it's still set for 3pm on Sunday, 1st floor of the library, I think I might be able to make it. I'll certainly try.

I'm enjoying reading everyone's posts and I hope that this one is not too tedious... Oh, and about those protest pictures, I've never been to Rome but from everything I hear from those who have, "fabulously insane" is right!

~Rachael Stern