Stolen from Paigedayspring

1. Which languages do you know? How did you learn them (e.g. natively, from classes, by immersion)? I know it doesn't really count, but I can speak and sing in fluent Double Dog Latin; Double Dog Latin is a fake language I learned because my mom's band sings a certain swing number that has several line sung very quickly in it— not easy! Seriously, though, I know a bit of Danish because my father is a legal alien for whom English is a third language and I'm learning American Sign Language at Delgado Community College.

2. Which language would you most like to learn? Why? I'd love to learn Danish, because it's a huge part of my heritage, but I'll probably learn French in addition to ASL, because my slight speech impediment makes faking a French accent surprisingly easy for me and because it's a language that's comparatively easy for me to remember.

3. Have you visited any places where you did not know the predominant language? If so, which ones? Was it hard to manage? Yes, I've visited many countries where I was just an ignorant gringo! I've been to Costa Rica, Holland, France, Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden, and Germany. I'd say Belgium, too, but really I only passed through on a train, so it doesn't really count. Sadly, of all those countries only three of them stamped my passport: Costa Rica, Denmark, and Germany.

4. Which language do you most enjoy hearing, seeing, or expressing? Why? Definitely American Sign Language, but I also love the musical, lilting sounds of Danish and the uniqueness of Portuguese; I love American Sign Language because it's an intensely expressive, beautiful language that doesn't garner the respect or admiration it so richly deserves.

5. Which languages, other than the one(s) you know, are you exposed to your daily life? Danish, because my father speaks it, and American Sign Language, because I take classes and practice my fingerspelling and signing constantly.

The Mechanical Contrivium: Jackie

Top Ten Facts About Jackie! (found for me by triple_phoenix  at this web address)

1. Czar Paul I banished Jackie to Siberia for marching out of step!
2. Plato believed that the souls of melancholy people would be reincarnated into Jackie.
3. Over half of Americans are officially Jackie!
4. An average beaver can cut down Jackie every year.
5. You share your birthday with Jackie.
6. If you toss Jackie 10000 times, she will not land heads 5000 times, but more like 4950, because her 7. head weighs more and thus ends up on the bottom.
8. To check whether Jackie is safe to eat, drop her in a bowl of water; rotten Jackie will sink, and fresh Jackie will float!
9. If you kiss Jackie for one minute you will burn six or seven calories!
10. New Zealand was the first place to allow Jackie to vote!
11. It takes more than 500 peanuts to make Jackie.

( At this Moment, I'm the Luckiest Girl in the World! )