Welcome Back! Here's Some Craziness, On Us.

School is back in session, and now it's time for classes again. It's been a long summer, but I'm ready and geared up for school. Or so I thought.

Two days of school later, and I have over 300 pages of reading due within the next two days. On top of that, I have approximately 15 (and most likely more) papers due by the end of the semester. Also, multiple projects that I basically have to start at least a month and a half in advance if I even want to hope to complete them on time. Plus I have to pick up speaking Middle English within this time. The added bonus of that is one of my classes assigns all the readings in Middle English.

For those of you thinking either, "The Middle English bit doesn't sound so hard," or, "What is Middle English?" allow me to explain. Middle English is basically what was spoken in England during the Middle Ages. For all of you who have seen the movies of knights and such, who think they spoke the same, dream on. For those of you who mistakenly think Shakespeare is Middle English, I wish.

Here is a sample of Middle English from Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales:
Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote
The drogthe of March hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour
Of which vertu engendered is the flour
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth

Yes, those are actual words. Yes, you probably can't make head or tales of it. Yes, by the end of the semester, I will ideally be able to speak it was well as I do modern English. Now, read aloud, it makes more sense, but then there are words in Middle English that mean different things than in modern English. Like "degree" means "social rank," "made forward" means "made agreement," and "corages" means "hearts." I will be using that all semester.

However, it seems the ideal way to read and thus speak Middle English is to do it with a British Accent. So, my British will get better, which is a bit of a plus. Also, it will give me insight to the British mannerisms and saying that confuse most of us "yankees."

Any way, back to the work load of the semester. I also have to teach a book to one of my classes; a book I have to buy. Plus become a grammar "nazi," as some term it. All the while, doing other misc. tests and quizzes. I will be busy.