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We recently did a survey of our users amongst immigrants in the Vancouver area. It was very encouraging to see that most of our users enjoyed studying with The Linguist, and had no trouble finding the time to do the necessary activities.

"The Jungle Book" by Rudyard Kipling
Chapter 1.

Rudyard Kipling's fantastic and beloved novel about the abandoned child, Mowgli, and his adopted family of wolves. This is a classical tale featuring some of literature's most wonderful creature characters including Baloo the Bear, Bagheera the Panther, and Shere Khan the Tiger.

Halloween through the eyes of a child may just be the next best thing to Santa Claus and Christmas. The preparations at our house for Halloween are met with great anticipation and enthusiasm by my whole family! Everyone loves a good scare, and people everywhere have their own traditions and rituals for getting ready for “All Hallows Eve”. Whether it be pumpkin carving, deciding on a costume, or decorating the front of our home with spiders and cob webs, Halloween is a lot of fun for all ages! And how did we arrive at such a strange custom, to dress our kids up as witches, ghosts & goblins and send them out into the night to collect candy from nearby homes?

We have had no major updates to our system in the last month. We continue to fix minor problems that come up and any quick fixes which can improve the user experience. I would like to thank all of our users who send us feedback or let us know when they find bugs in our system. I would also like to thank all of our users who responded to the recent survey we sent out.

October 31 is a night for fun and fright. Children of all ages dress up in costumes. There are little girls who dress up as fairies, princesses, ballerinas and the like. There are little boys who dress up as fire fighters, police men and super heroes. You also have the children who dress up as furry animals or ghoulish ghosts. One thing is certain, no matter what costume you choose, there is sure to be a lot of candy and chocolate involved on Halloween.

The Linguist: Learning in Japan

Working and Learning in Japan
Sumeba miyako.
(free translation) Home is where you make it.
– Japanese saying
Having studied Chinese, I was expected to be assigned to Beijing as Assistant Trade Commissioner back in 1970. Instead, I refused to go. The reason was a major personality conflict with my immediate boss, the person designated to be Senior Trade Commissioner in Beijing. I felt it would be unpleasant to work in a post like Beijing where we would be quite isolated from the general population, if I could not get along with my superior. I promised the Trade Commissioner Service that I would learn Japanese on my own if reassigned to Tokyo. In this way the government would recoup some value from their investment in my language training. My superiors agreed.