Rosetta Stonewalled…

I purchased Rosetta Stone for Hindi when I was home for the holidays; on Cyber Monday as a matter of fact.  Which if you do the math means I’ve had it for over two months; which also means that I should be able to ask where the bathroom is by now, or more importantly where toilet paper can be had.  I can’t and I carry my own…Thank you and I may or may not be able to spare a square.

Most people would: (A) Have looked at the fact that they spent a car payment on software or (B) Realized that they were going to be living in a foreign country and may need the ability to communicate, and then promptly downloaded the software.  This is where the old Heinz Ketchup commercial pops into my head and I change the word Anticipation to Procrastination.  Because yes, I tend to be a bit of a procrastinarium (and no, you will not find that word in the dictionary, but only because the people in charge of updates are, in fact, procrastinariums themselves).

That being said, the fact that it took me so long has nothing to do with my ability to put things off; I actually have a plausible explanation.  I started my visit back home with jet lag and then an inner ear infection, followed by numerous doctor appointments, a new grandchild, existing grandchildren, family and friends, shopping, holiday hoopla and then ending my visit with the flu.  Need I say more?

Of course I should have begun my Hindi language studies upon my arrival back in India.  Unfortunately I started experiencing problems with my laptop.  Unexpected shut downs, black screens, green screens and the dreaded blue.  Paul has tried his best to resolve the problem but I need to grab my discs when I go home in March.  His best guess is that Norton and Reliance (my USB modem) aren’t playing nice with each other; sadly it’s affecting others on the playground, namely me.  So after realizing it might be awhile before things were running smoothly I decided to just go for it.  What’s the worse that could happen; I’d have to reinstall the program? 

Thus, I have slowly begun my Hindimacation (emphasis on slowly).  The approach Rosetta Stone takes is similar to that of a child learning language; through vocals and visualization.  There are no text books or explanations, and words are not phonetically spelled out for you, in fact they’re in Hindi.  Take for example the word ‘Namaste’.  I don’t see ‘Na-ma-stay’ on the screen.  I see this:

I watch, listen and participate to the best of my ability and am optimistic that it will eventually sink in.  My hopes are to one day not only have the ability to ask where the bathroom is, but be able to carry on a conversation…

…just as long as I don’t need to use the word for bread.