The Dysgwr’s Diary, Part One: It’s All Welsh to Me

January 9, 2004

I guess I should introduce myself. My name is David Griffiths; I'm 28 years old; I like the ladies, the great outdoors, chatting and getting to know people, and did I mention ladies?; and I've been a bartender since I was back in college. And I've started keeping this journal for reasons you'll find out momentarily.

Anyway, that does it - I've finalized, double-checked, and proofread my New Year's Resolutions, and printed them out. In fact, I've already accomplished Resolution #1: Learn how to use new computer so it doesn't catch on fire like the last time. And I've also gotten started on Resolution #2: Be more organized-I put away that new case of beer in the refrigerator. Fred, my roommate-I mean flatmate--will be so proud. All that's left is Resolution #3, and I'll be blasted if it isn't the toughest one-Explore my Welsh heritage by learning the language.

I thought this would be easier once I moved to Knight's Ferry out here in the English countryside, but I might as well be living back in the States-no one in this town speaks Welsh, anyway, and I'm nowhere near Wales itself. Maybe later in the year, once I've settled into my new job as bartender at the The Crying Fowl (a hangout for the local soccer watchers) I can afford a train ride into Wales for the weekend. Maybe I'll meet a nice, pretty Welsh girl to help me with my studies! But I'm getting a little ahead of myself. That's in the distant future. For now I'll have to rely on Resolution #1 to get me started, and explore the reaches of the Internet to help me with my language learning.

In addition, I've decided to start keeping this Welsh learner's diary, or Dysgwr's Diary--my first Welsh word, according to my brand new Pocket Modern Welsh Dictionary by Gareth King (even though I've got no idea how to pronounce it yet!). I just received the dictionary in the mail today. So, I'm keeping this journal so that I can record everything I learn, and hopefully that way I'll do better at learning Welsh than I did at my sociology classes in college-I can't remember a thing, and here I am a bartender with a Bachelor's degree. Maybe it was the beer.

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