Now In English! Review of "Nostalgic Clone"

"...when we arrive at the absolutely essential texts, when the information and narratives fashioning the suppression of needs have been disposed of and the lost knowledge returns, if nothing else at least we’ll know where we are going, what possibilities remain.” - "Nostalgic Clone", Amis M.

Last November I raided my university library in search for modern Greek fiction - and to my surprise, I wasn't disappointed. Finding literature or language books with the words "modern" and Greek adjacent to one another is like trying to find a movie rental store - it's nearly impossible. Among the several poetry volumes I collected, I did find one anthology of prose - the Dedalus Book of Greek Fantasy.

While I maintain that this entire book is a must have, the story "Nostalgic Clone" by Amis Marangopoulos is perhaps my favorite.

5 Basic Skills For Translation

Transitioning from language learning to translation is difficult - often because it's easy to assume that you've been doing translation in the classroom for years. We all know those short sentence assignments - translate x into y. But textbook exercises exist to help you with grammar and vocabulary application - not actual translation.

After practicing translating for about a year, I've come up with five primary skills that one should consider when going into translation.

How To Decide On A Translation: 5 Steps for Literature Lovers

Summer has finally arrived, and somehow, you've managed to find the time to read Anna Karenina. Or maybe it's Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse or Candide by Voltaire. Whatever you're reading, it the original was written in a tongue you don't understand. And anything famous, anything translated, must have the trait of being universally understood, right? Any translation should do if that's the case.

But is it?

What I Learned From Studying Abroad: Why Learning About Learning Is Important

When I first began my trek into the territory of second-language acquisition in 2008, I had never heard of project-based learning. Likewise, there was no Fluent in 3 Months. At least at the time, my only point of reference to education was a classroom-based curriculum, with the exception of threads on community forums. My ignorance isn't surprising - missing-out on middle-school science fairs and being swamped with AP busywork, knowing how the system worked was more important than knowing how learning worked. Although I had a passion for numerous subjects, knowing how to test-take is more important than what's on the test.

After visiting Germany in 2008 and becoming enthralled with the language, how to learn became much more important. Although my methods were sloppy, after two years I tested into intermediate German at the college level. If I had spent more time with grammar, I may have been able to slip into the advanced courses. And from this experience, I modeled my entire college curriculum on self-education. My entire drive was based on this, to take as many classes as possible and find out how to use it all. I began to read articles about project-based learning, about language learning. 

Only in Germany did I learn the most about what education is and what it should be.

Language Challenge 2015

If there are two things my friends tend to know about me, it's that I love both languages and game plans. As everything had been rather topsy-turvy since I graduated from college, one of the most important thing I could do was create an action plan. A language challenge for 2015.

You might be thinking, “But the year’s already half over!” And that’s true. To be honest, my regular language studies resumed in May, while I slowly inched out of academia into the rest of the world. Since then I have designed a set of goals dotting this year's timeline, with a focus on German.