Yesterday's homework in Eric's Swedish was interesting. He had to write a "kort historia" or short story, about anything. Eric wrote a story about "Den nya kungens hus" The New King's House.
The class has recently learned the words for out, in, away, etcetera and had to use them in the story. So in the story the king gets to his house only to see a man inside. But when he goes in there is no one there. Gasp! Then he sees a man up the stairs and goes to check it out, but there is no one there. So the king calls the wise men to help. They cannot figure it out. FInally a little boy tells them that there are mirrors in the house. I don't think you're supposed to have this much fun in school.
I'm sure this short story is set to become the next Swedish children's book.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
A Quick Note
Hey everyone! This is Chelsea. I'm sorry to have been so quiet on the blogging front this past week, but this quarter of school has been craaazy!
First off, I have to get up early because I have accelerated Italian at 8:30 in the morning. Of course, that doesn't mean that I go to bed early! I'm am generally super tired, but loving every second of this quarter! It's been sooo much fun so far, thank God!
I'm taking accelerated Italian (which is Italian 101 and 102 put together) because I'm hoping to take Italian 103 in the summer and be done with my degree (My foreign language credits are being thrown off a little bit because I'm going to be in London during the spring quarter). That means that we do two lessons in one day, complete a unit every week, and are in class for two hours every morning. It sounds like a lot of work (which it is), but I can't begin to tell you how much fun it is! First off, it's a beautiful language, and probably the easiest language I've ever attempted to learn. I have a really good teacher, who's super nice. The best part, though, is that I am a part of a group of some of the greatest friends that I've made in a long time! We are a little loud, and often very silly, but it really lightens the load. We do all of our projects and dialogue together, and we definitely have the most interesting skits! It was kind of like we became friends instantly, and it feels like we've known each other for a long time! I'm so grateful that we have such a great group...it definitely makes class more fun for all.
I'm also taking ballet, which is on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons. It's less basic than Dance 101, but it's still not as advanced as I'm accustomed too. Oh well, I enjoy it!
I also got a new job this quarter (kind of like a promotion from being a regular tutor). I'm a Faculty Liaison...which pretty much means that I'm a glorified tutor who goes to lectures on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and take notes just in case some of the student athletes have to miss class because of a game or in case they're traveling. I'm not really sure how I got the job, because I didn't apply for it specifically. I do get a lot more hours in though, which is nice. I'm also really enjoying tutoring this quarter...there are some great athletes ;-)
Those three things essentially take up the majority of my time...Monday, Wednesday, and Friday especially are kind of like whirlwinds. I can't complain though, it's a lot of fun! Tomorrow, I'm going to spend the day in Anacortes with a friend from my Italian class. I will try to get some pictures if I can remember to bring my camera with me :-).
First off, I have to get up early because I have accelerated Italian at 8:30 in the morning. Of course, that doesn't mean that I go to bed early! I'm am generally super tired, but loving every second of this quarter! It's been sooo much fun so far, thank God!
I'm taking accelerated Italian (which is Italian 101 and 102 put together) because I'm hoping to take Italian 103 in the summer and be done with my degree (My foreign language credits are being thrown off a little bit because I'm going to be in London during the spring quarter). That means that we do two lessons in one day, complete a unit every week, and are in class for two hours every morning. It sounds like a lot of work (which it is), but I can't begin to tell you how much fun it is! First off, it's a beautiful language, and probably the easiest language I've ever attempted to learn. I have a really good teacher, who's super nice. The best part, though, is that I am a part of a group of some of the greatest friends that I've made in a long time! We are a little loud, and often very silly, but it really lightens the load. We do all of our projects and dialogue together, and we definitely have the most interesting skits! It was kind of like we became friends instantly, and it feels like we've known each other for a long time! I'm so grateful that we have such a great group...it definitely makes class more fun for all.
I'm also taking ballet, which is on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons. It's less basic than Dance 101, but it's still not as advanced as I'm accustomed too. Oh well, I enjoy it!
I also got a new job this quarter (kind of like a promotion from being a regular tutor). I'm a Faculty Liaison...which pretty much means that I'm a glorified tutor who goes to lectures on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and take notes just in case some of the student athletes have to miss class because of a game or in case they're traveling. I'm not really sure how I got the job, because I didn't apply for it specifically. I do get a lot more hours in though, which is nice. I'm also really enjoying tutoring this quarter...there are some great athletes ;-)
Those three things essentially take up the majority of my time...Monday, Wednesday, and Friday especially are kind of like whirlwinds. I can't complain though, it's a lot of fun! Tomorrow, I'm going to spend the day in Anacortes with a friend from my Italian class. I will try to get some pictures if I can remember to bring my camera with me :-).
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Trees and Stuff
You can really tell if you love a class if you find yourself playing with the ideas of the class in your freetime. I (Eric, the younger twin) am doing that a lot this quarter.
For my both birthday and Christmas I got those desk calendars where you tear off a page and see the little saying, factoid, joke or whatnot on the page. The little pages are piling up on my desk, so what do I do? I make syntax trees on them. Syntax is the structure of language, and you show that structure in little tree diagrams. We started working with them this week, and I find myself diagraming sentences. I was watching Monk last night and started diagramming lines from it.
The other day we devoted a large portion of our time to analyzing the Groucho Marx joke "Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana". Awesome! In my nature of sound class we experimented with using two sounds to cancel eachother out completely. It's possible. And in Swedish we are learning how to talk on the telephone. It's a huge difference from English, or my other language Japanese. In Japan they are very polite, with special phrases that you only ever say on the phone. "Oh hello, very honorable caller" etc. English is neutral, "Hello, this is Eric" In Sweden you are very blunt just your first name or even better you just say your phone number. They are only 6 numbers in Sweden and when someone calls you, it is fine to just say that.
It is no exaggeration to call this my favorite quarter so far.
Oh and I am going to start pressuring the other Braunsey to put something up soon.
For my both birthday and Christmas I got those desk calendars where you tear off a page and see the little saying, factoid, joke or whatnot on the page. The little pages are piling up on my desk, so what do I do? I make syntax trees on them. Syntax is the structure of language, and you show that structure in little tree diagrams. We started working with them this week, and I find myself diagraming sentences. I was watching Monk last night and started diagramming lines from it.
The other day we devoted a large portion of our time to analyzing the Groucho Marx joke "Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana". Awesome! In my nature of sound class we experimented with using two sounds to cancel eachother out completely. It's possible. And in Swedish we are learning how to talk on the telephone. It's a huge difference from English, or my other language Japanese. In Japan they are very polite, with special phrases that you only ever say on the phone. "Oh hello, very honorable caller" etc. English is neutral, "Hello, this is Eric" In Sweden you are very blunt just your first name or even better you just say your phone number. They are only 6 numbers in Sweden and when someone calls you, it is fine to just say that.
It is no exaggeration to call this my favorite quarter so far.
Oh and I am going to start pressuring the other Braunsey to put something up soon.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Keeping my fingers crossed
Hi Eric here. This blog is taking a little while to write because I am crossing my fingers for good luck. (Not literally, but it makes a good intro). Why do you need good luck? - I hear you ask (once again not literally). Well that's what this blog is about.
First off I recently applied to get into to the Speech and Hearing Sciences department. I am still majoring in Linguistics, but I would like to get a double degree. Speech and Hearing Sciences (or SPHSC) is a competitive major, so I am crossing my fingers for that. Although if I don't make it this quarter I'll just keep applying.
And secondly I just received an e-mail from my Mom with a great idea. There was a funny story that happened earlier this week and she stumbled upon a Reader's Digest contest for the funniest school story... so I submitted mine. Here is a version:
Instead of having regular Swedish class on Tuesday a bunch of the Scandinavian Studies classes got together so the teachers can tell us about the benefits of being in the department. A few of my friends in the class and I are Seniors with declared majors so we weren't the target audience. They put off starting the talk though because some guests from Finland hadn't shown up yet. The organizer told us we can't start until the Finns show up. When she said that I turned to the guy sitting next to me and said "I guess they can't start without the Finnish"
If they choose my story I can win $300 and a chance to get my story entered into an international competition.
So now I am keeping my fingers crossed. Cross yours for me too.
First off I recently applied to get into to the Speech and Hearing Sciences department. I am still majoring in Linguistics, but I would like to get a double degree. Speech and Hearing Sciences (or SPHSC) is a competitive major, so I am crossing my fingers for that. Although if I don't make it this quarter I'll just keep applying.
And secondly I just received an e-mail from my Mom with a great idea. There was a funny story that happened earlier this week and she stumbled upon a Reader's Digest contest for the funniest school story... so I submitted mine. Here is a version:
Instead of having regular Swedish class on Tuesday a bunch of the Scandinavian Studies classes got together so the teachers can tell us about the benefits of being in the department. A few of my friends in the class and I are Seniors with declared majors so we weren't the target audience. They put off starting the talk though because some guests from Finland hadn't shown up yet. The organizer told us we can't start until the Finns show up. When she said that I turned to the guy sitting next to me and said "I guess they can't start without the Finnish"
If they choose my story I can win $300 and a chance to get my story entered into an international competition.
So now I am keeping my fingers crossed. Cross yours for me too.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Finally- A Recap!
Hey everyone! This a long-overdue post, and we are so sorry for the delay! Once Christmas break started, we kind of forgot that we had a blog. During the times we remembered, we would say, "Oh yeah, we need to do a blog", but when there was actually time to do one, were we on top of it? Noooo! So, we'll give you a quick recap of the holidays and let you in on the inner workings of our college adventures.
First off, we are so excited to announce the birth of our new baby cousin. His name is Ellery Duncan, and he was born on January 5th. He's so little and cute! It's amazing how you forget how tiny newborn babies are. Congratulations to our cousin Andrea, her husband Chris, and big sister Stella!
Ok, so our break. We both made it home in one piece. Our family from Boise showed up just after we got home, followed by nearly all of the extended family on our mom's side. We had a great time together; it's so nice to see everyone and hang out with them, especially around Christmas time! However, it's always nicer to get together when there is not a funeral involved. As most of you already know, our dear grandmother Dorothy Duncan passed away on December 1st. She had been ill for a long time, so her death was sad as well as a kind of release. Her funeral was very moving, we're sure she would have thought it was beautiful. It was very personal, most family members got a chance to speak or share a memory about what an amazingly incredible woman my grandma was, and my cousin Jessica shared her beautiful singing talent with everyone. We had a lot of fun, especially in the snow!
After the funeral, the extended family left in order to make it home before they were snowed in! We were surprised to have a 2-week period of time where the temperature rarely made it above 27 degrees, and it snowed almost everyday! Christmas was kind of low key, but it was certainly fun. We spent Christmas Eve with our grandma and grandpa Braun, and then went to church. Christmas day, we did our immediate family thing, and then had Boompie (our grandpa) and Uncle Pete over for breakfast. They ended up staying the whole day, of course, and we played several rounds of "Picture Sentences" which turned out to be hilarious.
New Year's was pretty fun. Chelsea went to a pajama party at her best friend Kaylie's house, and Eric hung out at home and watched a Monk marathon. He also hung out with his friends a lot for the remainder of the break.
So, we're now back in school. This quarter has only been going on for a week, but it's already both of our favorite quarters! Chelsea has only two classes, Italian and Ballet. However, Italian is a 10-credit class, and it is a lot of work, but it is SO much fun. She has only been learning the language for 1 week and she's already pretty good at it! Probably the best part of the class are her new friends, which make all the difference. They had a fun study session today because their first major quiz is tomorrow, already. Yikes!
Eric has a very alliterative quarter, class wise, he's taking Swedish, Syntax, and Sound. He has Swedish everyday at 9:30 and is not used to having to get up around 7:00. Ha ha, I know. So early, right? For those of you with schedule envy, you can take solace in the fact that on Mondays and Wednesdays Eric is in class from 9:30-2:00 without even a break to eat lunch! Those days are nice though because he starts out with his easiest class in the morning and the classes get progressively harder as the day goes on.
On Saturday, we got picked up by our parents, sister, and grandpa and we went to visit our new baby cousin Ellery! We were so excited to meet him, as well as hang out with quite a few other family members. It was a family and fun filled day! We're so glad that baby Ellery is healthy and doing well! After our aunt Chukkie, uncle Al, and cousin Nathan graciously dropped us off at the UW, Chelsea hung out with her friend Freddie for awhile. On Sunday, Chelsea literally spent most of the day doing homework. It was quite tiring.
Today, tutoring starts up again and Chelsea has to leave soon to meet some of her student athletes at the Conibear Shellhouse were she works. Yippee...
So, there you have it. You're pretty much caught up. We'll try to get a few pictures up later.
Edited Version. Here are a few cute pictures from the break. Stella playing in one of my old tutus from the original Six Swans, cousins in the snow, my dad exploring the flora of the UW...
First off, we are so excited to announce the birth of our new baby cousin. His name is Ellery Duncan, and he was born on January 5th. He's so little and cute! It's amazing how you forget how tiny newborn babies are. Congratulations to our cousin Andrea, her husband Chris, and big sister Stella!
Ok, so our break. We both made it home in one piece. Our family from Boise showed up just after we got home, followed by nearly all of the extended family on our mom's side. We had a great time together; it's so nice to see everyone and hang out with them, especially around Christmas time! However, it's always nicer to get together when there is not a funeral involved. As most of you already know, our dear grandmother Dorothy Duncan passed away on December 1st. She had been ill for a long time, so her death was sad as well as a kind of release. Her funeral was very moving, we're sure she would have thought it was beautiful. It was very personal, most family members got a chance to speak or share a memory about what an amazingly incredible woman my grandma was, and my cousin Jessica shared her beautiful singing talent with everyone. We had a lot of fun, especially in the snow!
After the funeral, the extended family left in order to make it home before they were snowed in! We were surprised to have a 2-week period of time where the temperature rarely made it above 27 degrees, and it snowed almost everyday! Christmas was kind of low key, but it was certainly fun. We spent Christmas Eve with our grandma and grandpa Braun, and then went to church. Christmas day, we did our immediate family thing, and then had Boompie (our grandpa) and Uncle Pete over for breakfast. They ended up staying the whole day, of course, and we played several rounds of "Picture Sentences" which turned out to be hilarious.
New Year's was pretty fun. Chelsea went to a pajama party at her best friend Kaylie's house, and Eric hung out at home and watched a Monk marathon. He also hung out with his friends a lot for the remainder of the break.
So, we're now back in school. This quarter has only been going on for a week, but it's already both of our favorite quarters! Chelsea has only two classes, Italian and Ballet. However, Italian is a 10-credit class, and it is a lot of work, but it is SO much fun. She has only been learning the language for 1 week and she's already pretty good at it! Probably the best part of the class are her new friends, which make all the difference. They had a fun study session today because their first major quiz is tomorrow, already. Yikes!
Eric has a very alliterative quarter, class wise, he's taking Swedish, Syntax, and Sound. He has Swedish everyday at 9:30 and is not used to having to get up around 7:00. Ha ha, I know. So early, right? For those of you with schedule envy, you can take solace in the fact that on Mondays and Wednesdays Eric is in class from 9:30-2:00 without even a break to eat lunch! Those days are nice though because he starts out with his easiest class in the morning and the classes get progressively harder as the day goes on.
On Saturday, we got picked up by our parents, sister, and grandpa and we went to visit our new baby cousin Ellery! We were so excited to meet him, as well as hang out with quite a few other family members. It was a family and fun filled day! We're so glad that baby Ellery is healthy and doing well! After our aunt Chukkie, uncle Al, and cousin Nathan graciously dropped us off at the UW, Chelsea hung out with her friend Freddie for awhile. On Sunday, Chelsea literally spent most of the day doing homework. It was quite tiring.
Today, tutoring starts up again and Chelsea has to leave soon to meet some of her student athletes at the Conibear Shellhouse were she works. Yippee...
So, there you have it. You're pretty much caught up. We'll try to get a few pictures up later.
Edited Version. Here are a few cute pictures from the break. Stella playing in one of my old tutus from the original Six Swans, cousins in the snow, my dad exploring the flora of the UW...
Saturday, January 3, 2009
A happy letter.
The Braunsey Twins had a great Winter Break and are preparing to head back to Seattle tomorrow, where we promise to start blogging more regularly.
Anyways a few weeks ago Chelsea found a note that Eric had written her when he was in second grade. Our sister Rachel has beaten cancer three times, and there is a wonderful camp for cancer survivors and their syblings called Camp Goodtimes. Since only one sybling can go, Chelsea and Eric took turns and went every other year. Eric had just discovered puns apparently and the card had a picture of some Canadian Geese on the cover. It reads:
Dear Chelsea,
These geese hope you are having a honking good time at Camp Goosetimes.Today the cat dragged in a live baby bird and killed it, splattering blood all over the floor. Have a great time at camp and I'll see you when you get back,
Eric
Funny? Yes. A little disturbing? Yes. At the very least Eric had a good vocabulary back then.
Well we've got to go pack.
Anyways a few weeks ago Chelsea found a note that Eric had written her when he was in second grade. Our sister Rachel has beaten cancer three times, and there is a wonderful camp for cancer survivors and their syblings called Camp Goodtimes. Since only one sybling can go, Chelsea and Eric took turns and went every other year. Eric had just discovered puns apparently and the card had a picture of some Canadian Geese on the cover. It reads:
Dear Chelsea,
These geese hope you are having a honking good time at Camp Goosetimes.Today the cat dragged in a live baby bird and killed it, splattering blood all over the floor. Have a great time at camp and I'll see you when you get back,
Eric
Funny? Yes. A little disturbing? Yes. At the very least Eric had a good vocabulary back then.
Well we've got to go pack.
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