Terms of Venery

I have begun my new quest for grammar nourishment. I am back in my niche and absolutely loving it. I have rediscovered collective nouns - among them, terms of venery - and am learning the ways to teach non-native English speakers the grammar rules behind "the big black curtain" that is the key to understanding the English language.

Did you know there are possessive adjectives?! I personally scoff at this term, but it's interesting that there are ppl out there (a.k.a. my future TEFL instructors and possibly all Brits!) who believe it to be accurate enough to define a certain class of words. Honestly, aren't there enough cross-term definitions floating around out there to confuse us all?! I nearly had a heart attack when I was reviewing the pre-course "grammar tasks" from ViaLingua on the bus today and came across that term: possessive adjectives. What the hell?! Why don't I know what that is?! I thought. Come to find out, Bah! They're frickin' PRONOUNS, you idiots. If you absolutely have to get fancy, call them determiners. End of argument.

Anyway, a lot has happened since my last blog:

I added the international calls option to my Sprint plan for $4/month but have yet to find a convenient time to call ViaLingua in Spain (they are 7 hours ahead). I decided, instead of waking up at the crack of dawn to call, to email my questions about visas and accommodation to Vince, the guy I'd been talking to from ViaLingua. So, the guy responds about a week after I email him to say (and I quote), "You're asking all the right questions. Sorry, I don't know the answers...."

!!!!

Infuriating. I swear to god, every response from these ppl came straight from the website information, which of course, being the nerd that I am, I have read numerous times, cover-to-cover. So, I followed the sparse advice that Vince gave me, which led me nowhere except to an online search engine reservoir of dead-end links and pyramid schemes, and I then decided to email someone else. This time, it was Roberta, and I think my complaining did the trick. I told her it seemed like their email responses were stock answers copy/pasted off of the website, which was paradoxical because the website instructs you to "email someone for more details." Well, I wasn't getting "more details." Roberta apologized for the lack of personal attention and realized, whoops! I hadn't even been sent any of the pre-course information, directions to the school, etcetera that I should have. Way-to-go, Vince. I don't know what that dude does around there, but I'm not exactly thrilled to find out. His title is something like "Director of Operations" or something, and that is a scary thought.

So, a few snags thus far, not to mention the major disappointments about the VISA issue. It looks as if I'll be in Spain illegally, after my 90-days allowed by the tourist visa are up. That means working illegally, as well as eating, sleeping and breathing illegally. Terrifying, in a country I've never been to let alone lived in. So I'm not stoked about that. I have to set up an appointment with the Consulate General of Spain (if I can get one) to see what my options are, if any. This has to be possible, right?! There have to be ppl out there with my situation, right?!? Where are they? And how do I get their phone numbers?!

And on to my daily plane ticket searches. Prices are dropping, as a few ppl informed me they would, so that is good news. It's like riding the stock market, highs and lows, and my emotions rise and fall with each passing dollar sign I see in my inbox every day. "Buy! Buy! Buy!" my heart is screaming. God, I am a bigger nerd than I let on.

So far, the cheapest deal I have come by is this round-trip fare combo:

MSY to JFK - $114.40 on JetBlue

JFK to MAD - $536 on BritishAir

TOTAL: $650.40

Not too shabby, eh? It's going to require some logistics magic, working in time to switch planes, grab my checked bags and go through customs, then re-check my bags and get on the plane, but I think 3 hours oughtta do the trick. To top it all off, my friend, Matt, is flying with me, so I have to coordinate his ticket with mine and arrange for his return flight separate from mine. A bit more trouble than I'd have to deal with if I were flying alone, but WAY WORTH the effort to have someone I know and trust accompany me on my big move. I am eternally grateful that he is doing this for me.

Well, now it's on to discover the three main features of a non-count (a.k.a. mass) noun. Yippee!!