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A Tale of Miserable Failure: moanings of a second language learner


So—I’m trying to learn French.  I’m not good at it.  In fact, I think I hate it!

Don’t tell my teacher—it might cause her to reassess her positive opinion of me.  She thinks I’m a “good” student.

Now, I don’t know what kind of pathetic linguistic losers she’s used to teaching—but if I’m a “good” student, it doesn’t bode well for the language acquisition skills of these other wanna-be-French-speaking-idiots she’s teaching here in Haiti.

The fact of the matter is I’m getting older. 

I can almost watch it happening.  I hover slightly over-head, a stunning display of aging unfolds below, a slightly over-weight woman morphing before my very eyes.  What’s that she’s saying?

Unfortunately I think age is interfering with language acquisition.

I watch myself struggle with the words.  From above I observe—the woman has gotten dumber—way, way dumber.  She’s nearly mute.  She mumbles. 

It’s sad, really.

It’s not that I was ever an intellectual heavy weight.  I’ve never had the brainy brilliance of my sister Lynn, for example.  She’ll probably never dumb down with age.

But at one time—mind you this was a good 25 years ago—I was decent with languages.  I studied German and Spanish—and was able to get along—limpingly—but at least I held my own, made myself understood, made out what native speakers were saying to me.  Yes, I asked them to speak more slowly, to repeat themselves—but eventually I understood.

Not so anymore!

In light of this language lapse, I’ve begun reading a book I think might jump start a little linguistic hope in this old tongue of mine.  Called Dreaming in Hindi, this book by Katherine Russell Rich, is about the year she “spent living in India, learning to speak another language.”   Rich addresses the “transformative power of language,” its ability to “tug you out of one world and land you in the center of another” (Prologue).

So far, studying French has landed me flat on my linguistic ass right here in the middle of Haiti, not the most romantic of language learning destinations.  Surprisingly, however, this little island in the center of the Caribbean Sea has romanced me—welcomed me with arms wide open—even as I’ve stumbled over every sound, struggling to make myself understood in either Creole or French.

The lesson to be learned is this—

Despite an earthquake that left most of Port-au-Prince in ruins, despite cholera that continues to kill folks by the thousands, despite election fraud that in the last week has brought the country to the brink of yet another unnecessary disaster, the Haitian people soldier on—

—keep trying.

So—I’ll keep trying too—

Language learning be damned!

136 thoughts on “A Tale of Miserable Failure: moanings of a second language learner”

  1. I would have found it difficult learning French at 20 (by which stage I spoke a couple of languages and had studied Latin). I can still relate to Spanish and Italian. French, which is also supposed to be a Romance language . . . not so much. So good on you for at least trying. Remember, good things come to those that persevere! 😉

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  4. I’ll never forget when I was learning sign language, and I couldn’t help myself from translating dialogue when I would go to movies.

    Needless to say, I was the annoying chick to sit next to…

    Great post … good luck! 🙂

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    • Thanks for reading! I’m glad you enjoyed my early morning rant! It’s really listening to French that gets to me. There’s such a huge disconnect between what I hear and what the words look like when they’re written!

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  7. I admire you for learning French. It’s a beautiful language and one I’ve always admired, but never thought I could learn. So what did I decide to learn? Korean. Yeah cause that was so much easier. *snark* However, after working in a Korean church where that was all they spoke to me, I started, sloooowly to understand what they were saying to me. I still can’t talk back, but I know when they’re talking about me now. 🙂

    Thanks for the blog (congrats on Freshly Pressed status). It definitely encouraged me in my own language journey. (And I love your writing style, I’ll be back for more awesomeness…)

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    • Yikes–Korean has got to be hard. Asian languages are notoriously difficult. I lived in Vietnam for a year and tried learning Vietnamese. However, the tonal quality of language was more than I could even begin to grab hold of!

      Thanks for reading! I hope you’ll come back again—————

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  8. Memorize…memorize….and keep on memorizing, This is what I’ve seen in learning a second language. I started learning Korean but very soon I came with the feelings of, “what the hell, Why should I learn Korean”…”Coz you live in Korea and you need it my dear self”……”O.K”…So I started learning Korean but there was too much memorization……….Again cried my lazy nature, “look you’ve passed one year in Korea without knowing Korean.You can survive without Korean”…..and finally I was convinced by my laziness not to go and sit in boring Korean language classes.

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  9. I’m Italian-American, and it is a long running tradition in our family that we learn Italian not in school, not from a private tutor, but from our parents itself! I take linguistics as a course, and can now speak 12 languages more or less fluently. Italian and French are my favorites. Quite obviously.
    Ashley

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  11. I’m entirely the same way with any language that isn’t English or Spanish. I have friends who speak French, German, Russian, Japanese, Korean, and I can’t understand a word of it. So the fact that you’re at least able to learn some French in a new country is amazing to me 🙂

    – Laura, who still thinks you’re an awesome English teacher/person in general

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  12. I’m currently trying to learn Spanish so can relate to this! It’s much more difficult acquiring Spanish than it is teaching English (my day job).

    A well written post and obviously a great sentiment to wrap it up.

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  13. That’s the right attitude 🙂 I love language but I wouldn’t say it’s been an effortless journey for me, either. Keep at it and good luck.

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  14. I absolutely loved reading your post! I learned Spanish many years ago and in the beginning felt like I would never be able to speak it lol but as time went on I got better. Being in Haiti will definitely help you out.

    Also, aren’t they just the epitome of endurance?? I cannot wait to make it down there to Haiti… Just to be hit with so much disaster is unbelievable, but yet they still are hanging in there. Really makes you think, is what I go through even worth the cry? Is it worth the complaining?? Nine times out of ten, it really isn’t.

    Thanks for sharing this post.

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  16. Inspirational! Take your time- learn French at your own pace. I have recent;y taken up Spanish and what’s standing between me and la vida loca is my own laziness.. I just do not work hard enough or often enough- I come up with a million excuses…lol…

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  18. Very funny

    I am struggling to learn a language myself. I have been trying to move forward with my Spanish for a while now, but I keep finding myself in the same old place. In my case I don’t think it is age that is slowing me down, I think it is trying to translate everything from Arabic (my first language), into English (my second Language and the Spanish teacher’s undeveloped second language in which we converse), then into the third language that I am trying to learn. Nevertheless, I resolute to trying harder no matter what, as I am determined to understand everything said at the Christmas dinner table when we go to visit my husband’s family in Spain the next time. This is my only solution, because my mother in law has no plans to learn Arabic anytime soon and I am not sitting there looking like the Joker in Batman for more than six hours again

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  19. Just seen your post- tell me about it! My BBM status this evening ‘can’t do my homework’.. I am trying to learn Turkish and despite having lived in a Turkish speaking country since February 1st I still feel like I know NOTHING.. I have a lesson tomorrow & then its the holidays so I feel like even that interferes in my learning schedule!

    Its nice to know I’m not alone in my failings LOL

    Jay

    PS

    I also have Rosetta Stone- I think it is only good if you are very sure of the grammar & mainly want to use it to learn vocabulary and practise. If I didn’t have a tutor, Rosetta Stone alone would not get me to learn Turkish!

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    • No you are not alone! But, it’s interesting to get this feedback about Rosetta Stone. Thanks for passing on your experience. Is Turkish difficult?

      At any rate, thanks for reading–and I hope you’ll stp by again!

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      • Its difficult as none of the words are familiar or similar! It is nothing like the European Languages.. During school I have learnt some Spanish, French, German & Latin so I can even understand some Italian words but Turkish is totally new to me.. One lucky thing its the same alphabet which is a fairly new development as they used to have an Arabic alphabet 🙂

        Oh they also have a few European words scattered through the language such as Framboise & Merci

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      • Great observation. I’m wondering though, what is your native language?

        By the way, the name of your blog looks very interesting–I have to check it out!

        Thanks for reading and commenting!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  20. As an English teacher and a language learner myself, learning a second language is hard. The infomercials may say otherwise – learn language without memorization, lose weight without exercising, earn money without working. The truth is for most people learning language takes work and I admire you for putting in the effort and keeping at it. As for getting older, yes some things are harder, our ears and memories don’t work quite as well, but we also have a wisdom and discipline that younger learners are often lacking. Take advantage of your assets.

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  21. Well, good for you. I took French in High School, and thought I was hot stuff, but can’t imagine this many years later trying again. God Bless You! Good Luck. I for one am proud of you and wish you much success! I keep seeing the Rosetta Stone commercials and think it would be cool to try a new language, and then I wake UP! Ha, Ha!

    evelyngarone.com

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    • It’s not as easy now as it was when I was younger. Interesting that you mention Rosetta Stone–most folks who have tried it and responded here have not found it to be terribly helpful. Thanks for reading. I hope you’ll stop by again!

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  24. I like the idea of knowing different languages, but I hate studying and I don’t seem to have the knack for languages.

    I’m French by heritage and took French here and there in school and college. Je parle en francais un petit peu. I can barely read it, and forget writing it. If you don’t use it,you lose it.

    But I always hold out hope that eventually I’ll dig in and give it another go. And add it to the list of languages I want to learn.

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  25. Nice post. Thanks for sharing. I too am learning a new language, I’ve been living in Italy for the last two and a half years so i really have no choice. Im finding it pretty easy and fun. Languages are great. Keep it up.

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  27. I’d suggest reading The Language Instinct by Pinker, too.

    For the past couple years and next few months I,too, have been immersed in a different culture and language with my kids and it IS easier for them. It does take so much time to learn just the basics as you surely know and maybe that is all you need-more time. Hang in there and focus on the positives.

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    • Cool–what culture are you immersed in? And, yes, I do need to focus on the positive–and more time would help so much. Thanks for reading. I hope you’ll stop by again! And thanks for the comment————–

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  28. I’m actually learning Catalan, of all languages to learn! I already speak Spanish and English so I figured, what the hell! I’ve only mastered one sentence or one phrase, I believe, so don’t feel bad. I think learning a language, though difficult, can actually be a lot of fun. I’ve enjoyed learning Catalan and knowing about Spanish culture. In learning this language, I’ve also learned what a fragmented country Spain is. In any case, just have fun with it and learn at your pace. You’ll see that you’ll really enjoy it. 🙂

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    • Thanks, Marianne–I’m excited–really excited–feel like a kid in a candy shop! I’m so glad to hear from you today. I can’t tell you how much your support over the last several weeks has meant to me. Take care—

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  31. I took two years of French in college. Even though I did well in all four classes, I certainly didn’t learn to speak the language. I regret not spending more time on it. I really could use that skill right now, myself. I really want to (and, honestly, need to) learn at least one more language. So, I’m glad that you are both willing to admit that it’s difficult for you and that you are going to keep working at it. It’s very inspiring!

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  32. Great blog post! As a former Peace Corps Volunteer, I know the struggle and frustration of learning a new language. When you keep on trying, though, even when you think you can’t learn anymore, you end up learning a great deal!

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  34. You know, I’ve been thinking of taking up French since a lot of people in Cambodia speak it. I feel kind of left out when I’m surrounded by French speakers and I’m staring dumbly at them going “Uh… What?” But at the same time I’ve never been that great at learning languages. I took Japanese for a good many years and I still managed to forget what I’ve learnt. D’oh! *Hand to Forehead*
    I THINK I might still give it a go though… it doesn’t hurt to live in a country that has the language as one of their ‘natives’, so it might work out better? Lol Good luck to you though–I hope the French gets easier for you soon and congrats on being Freshly Pressed! 🙂

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  35. I came across ur blog! Truly inspiring! I can definitely relate to some of your experiences, and it’s great to have the opportunity to read your stuff. As a volunteer oversees, it puts a lot into prespective. Keep up with the good work!

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  36. I study Japanese. One New Years, half our Japanese class went to Japan together. In Japanese, numbers change depending on what it is you’re counting. One day I was amused to hear a classmate ask if we could have one more small animal at our hotel (the counter for small animals sounds similar to the counter for nights)!

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  37. Ah, French. I think I studied it for ten years or so in school. What do I have to show for it? I can mostly read the back of my cereal box. Clever.

    In later years, I learned Spanish and was much more successful. My best advice would be that every time you learn something new, go out and find an excuse to use it a few times. It’ll help it stick. Good luck to you! Sounds like you’re on a great adventure.

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  38. I have also been struggling to learn French in the past few months. I also have quite a distaste for it and my teacher also thinks I’m a good student, so don’t tell her. 🙂 I have written a few posts about learning french and living in a french city (Brussels, Belgium) on my blog. You might find some of the posts entertaining.

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  39. I have started on my French lessons so I can understand.

    Besides being a native a Hindi speaker, this post was particularly interesting to me.

    Whatever the frustrations of the actual part of the learning process are, language truly has a capacity to throw you into a completely another world.

    There is nothing like the revealing of a new world through the fresh words of a new language. Its like learning your world anew. We never consciously learn our native language, so its only with a second language that we can experience that linguistic birth again.

    Good luck with your journey!

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  40. Congrats on the FP!

    And oh for the sponge-like learning ease of youth. I didn’t even have to try in my first French class back in 10th grade. I attended the class, prarticipating whole-heartedly and walked away with straight ‘A’s as well as the ability to communicate very well with my French Penpals via phone and mail.

    Spanish did not fare quite so well, but then, I wasn’t drawn to it as part of my French-Candian heritage.

    Now, here I am a plump woman with high school and Freshman college far behind her who after 5 years of living in her adopted new country still struggles with Swedish! I’m older and languages are harder now. Granted, it doesn’t help when Swedish speakers hear my accent, they’re delighted to practice their English. English speakers who visit Sweden have no problem managing. Anyone between ages of 15-50 is decent in english with the 20 to 30-somethings often fluent.

    How is that for language skills? A country that is almost bi-lingual!

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    • How cool that you live in Sweden! Are you working there? As an American, I think it’s sad how few folks in the US speak a second language compared to the Europeans. I really appreciate your taking the time to read and comment and hope you’ll stop by again!

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  41. My childhood summers were spent in Sweden, so I had that language down pretty darn good. When I turned 14 the Swedish summers came to an end, along with my double language abilities! Sad.

    You´ve inspired me to perhaps learn Spanish a little more fluently.. I do after all practically live in Mexico 😉

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  42. I feel your pain. I’ve been learning Japanese since I was 16, and I’m now 28 and still can’t really conduct normal social interactions in the language. I think a large part of the problem is that I took a break in language learning after college, and when I started back up again a few years later, my brain definitely wasn’t as nimble as it used to be. But you know, I think that an even bigger obstacle is my defeatist attitude about things. 🙂 So keep your chin up–you can do it!

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    • It’s great though that you are really trying with Japanese. Asian languages are notoriously difficult. I lived in Vietnam for a year and never learned more than a handful of words. Sad really.

      I truly appreciate your reading and hope you’ll come back again!

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  43. I hope you learned your lesson – don’t learn French! 😉

    Was forced to learn it at school for about 5 years and never liked it – it’s no use to learn it then. I started to learn chinese later and am already better at it than french although I just studied for a much shorter amount of time.

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    • Yikes–Chinese, like a lot of Asian languages, is really difficult. I lived in Vietnam for a year and was never able to learn more than a handful of words. Where are you studying?

      Take care and thanks so much for reading!

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  44. Hello,
    I am in American, living in France, who has learned French here. I have seen my mother-in-law, in her desire to be able to speak to her new family, learn to speak English.
    It seems like the key is to not sweat it to much and get out there and talk, ake mistakes, let people correct you and learn from it instead of fretting.
    Think of it as fun. What a great opportunity to actually be in a country where you can practice!

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    • Yes, you’re right. It is a great opportunity to live in a country where I have the opportunity to practice. How long did it take before you felt comfortable with French?

      Thanks for reading. I appreciate your stopping by!

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  45. Well, if you have been able to make yourself understood in, and understand German and Spanish, are you aware that French is actually going to be your fourth language?
    No need to feel discouraged. Besides, French is a beautiful language – worth every effort.

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    • Yes, that would make French my fourth language, but I have retained very little of the German, since I haven’t used it in years. My Spanish is better, though.

      Thanks fo much for reading. I hope you’ll stop by again!

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  46. I’ve always admired people who can learn to speak several languages. I studied English as my second language and that’s it – 4 yrs of torturing but eventually I toughed it out. Now I’m living in Gibraltar where you can still live without Spanish but in some cases you have to – that’s pain. =.=
    anyways, hope u enjoy ur learning experience in Haiti and master it one day!

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      • Chinese. I heard that the best way to learn a new language is to forget your mother tone. I’ve tried it but it didn’t work – I guess Carl Max is wrong about this. I update my blog as much as I can just to note down my daily life in Gibraltar as well as to practice English. 😛
        I like your writing style to be honest, great blog!

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  47. I, too, learned French, and now am working on the local tribal language of the people group we work with in West Africa. I have come to believe that the more languages I learn, the less I speak any of them well. I guess I’ve sacrificed depth for breadth!

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    • Interesting observation. How many languages do you speak and what is your first language? It sounds like you are up for the linguistic challenge, though. Good luck.

      I appreciate your reading and commenting. Hope you’ll stop by again.

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  48. Keep at it! Your feelings of intimidation are universal in language learners, whenever I feel similarly, I remember a quote I read by the Italian film director, Frederico Fellini:
    “A different language is a different vision of life”.

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  49. I tried to learn Italian at evening classes in the UK. Three different teachers: success level zero (possibly even minus) I eventually moved to Italy in 1998, took nine one to one two-hour lessons over three weeks. Every evening I forced myself to go to the bar (not difficult) and use something new: reflexive, future tense whatever. (very difficult) It worked. The point is that success in many (if not, every) things depends to a great deal on the degree of ‘want’. I’m a musician and I know some very good musicians who have little natural talent but have worked very had, whereas to others who have some natural talent things come a lot easier. Also living in a small village I NEEDED to learn the language in order to eat, drink and make friends!! I still make absurd mistakes (as I probably do in English…) but I can make myself understood, can joke with the locals and deal (to a lesser extent) with Italian bureaucracy…. so, as they say in Manchester: the job’s a goood un’

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    • What a great comment! You are absolutely correct. Effort and hard work tend to pay off–as does really WANTING something badly enough.

      I appreciate your reading. Thanks for the reminder about work. I needed to hear that this morning. I hope you’ll read again sometime soon!

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  50. Thanks for sharing. I totally understand what you’re going through. I learned French many years ago and now I’m trying to pick it back up by hanging out with French people but I don’t have enough vocabulary in my head to understand it anymore…and next year I’m going to try to learn Italian. Keep it up! You’re inspiring! And Congrats on making it to FreshlyPressed 🙂

    http://thrucolorfuleyes.wordpress.com
    http://kateandherlife.wordpress.com

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    • Thanks so much for stopping by! I bet it will be fun to try Italian–such a beautiful language! I look forward to checking out your blog. I also really appreciate your taking the time to read and comment. Hope you come back again!

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  51. I am trying to learn Japanese on my own. I do not want to go to a school that will teach the language because I think I can do it withjust a little push. I was doing okay and then I suddenly stopped. Now I cannot read the language again. The key may be is practice.

    Great post from Haiti. I admire your last statement that people there are actually soldiering on. That is very positive. ^^

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  53. Kathryn, I am SO sorry I missed this!! (You got PRESSED! Congratulations – and well deserved I might add.) I admire you for so many reasons…living in Haiti, helping the people there…but now I will add ‘learning & speaking French’ to the list. That is one language I have always found difficult.

    Cheers to you! Happy Holidays.

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      • Um. When I got pressed I literally shrieked like a small child and ran circles around my kitchen, singing “Freshly Pressed! Freshly Pressed! Woot, Baby, Woot!” We probably matched each other on the ‘uncool’ reactions 🙂 Love it. What a great early Christmas present for you!!

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      • Thank God, I’m not alone!

        I called my mom in the US, “Mom, I can’t stay on the phone, this is way too expensive, but I’ve been freshly pressed!

        “You’ve been what, dear?”

        You can imagaine where it went from there. Remember, I have the clothes pin mother! (Actually, not a bad idea for a post, if I were totally willing to expose myself. Wait! I do that anyway–oh well.)

        But you have the momma who wants to be buried in a boa, so again, you probably understand!

        Cheers to you in Cleveland!

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  54. Pingback: A Frenzy of Freshly Pressed « reinventing the event horizon

  55. The key to learning languages, I’ve found, is to pop the few phrases you know in the most unexpected of places, surprise yourself. It’s even better if you can get them into context (you’re shocked, “Quelle Horreur!”). I learned French at school, and one of the listening exercises I had had the phrase “Quelle Horreur, une cravate jaune!” As silly as the phrase sounds, it helped me remember certain things (specifically, yellow ties and how the French seemingly despise them).

    Also, you’ve done Spanish, you shouldn’t have troubles with French. It seems you have a mentality problem – you can learn (indeed your teacher seems to think you are learning), but your mind has convinced you otherwise.

    [I missed a week of Freshly Pressed, so I’m catching up now!]

    Bonne Chance!

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    • Yes! You mention a listening exercise–I think I should ask for some. It’s the sound of French I find so difficult. Spanish definitely helps with reading comprehension/vocabulary, but not pronunciation. Actually though, I wrote this on a particularly down day, when, if fact, I enjoy the process a good bit. Thanks for the encouragement and for taking the time to comment! Have a great day——

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  56. Pingback: A Haitian Tale of Veterinary Angst « reinventing the event horizon

  57. Don’t get disappointed! French is difficult. My mother tongue is Spanish and even though French is Romance language too, I never learned it at school; its pronunciation and spelling were way too difficult for me. So I stuck to the Germanic branch and learned English and a little bit of German and none of them were as difficult as French.
    Keep trying, don’t block your mind. ¡Buena suerte! 🙂

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    • Thanks for the encouragement. You are correct–it’s the French spelling and pronunciation that are most difficult, especially compared to Spanish! At least with Spanish words are pronounced the way they are spelled with few exceptions.

      Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to comment!

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  58. Pingback: Luxuries Most-Missed in Haiti: an Inventory | reinventing the event horizon

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  61. Love the warmth with which you answered each and every person in the comment section!
    That makes your blog so…..welcoming 🙂
    I like that.
    Congrats on getting FP’d. I have yet to know how that feels……but I have a feeling my reaction would be wayyyy beyond what’s cool, and that my mom would say the same thing 😀

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    • I truly love interacting with the people who read what I write. It’s such an honor for folks to take the time out of their busy lives to listen. Thanks so much for noticing, Munira! If you look at a post I wrote a few days after this one you will see that my response was FAR FROM COOL! That one is called “A Frenzy of Freshly Pressed.” I was crazy excited!

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  62. I can sympathise with you as I am a middleaged chubby person struggling to learn Italian. I need to learn, and I want to learn, but I am shockingly lazy when it comes to studying. I loathe it and I will do anything to avoid it. I am slowly chipping away at my new language – very slowly.

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    • Oh, Debra, that’s exactly how I was with French. I hated how hard I had to work–just hated it–especially since I seemed better at learning new languages when I was younger and was iritated that that was no longer the case!

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  63. Pingback: We Interrupt your Regularly Scheduled Program to Bring you—another Kathy? « Lake Superior Spirit

    • Oh, I’m so glad you enjoyed this one, Dana. You may not have started reading yet when I wrote it. I was Freshly Pressed when my blog was only 3 weeks old. How is your French–probably a lot better than mine!

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      • My French used to be much better LOL. Now it’s rusty and I can’t seem to decide if I want to polish it off or switch to Creole instead!! Luckily I speak Spanish, so with my little bit of French and of course English, that makes Creole fairly easy to follow. We’ll see. We’re going in June, by the way! If you are interested in coming along, we’d love for both you and Sara to join us!! We’ll be in Ouanaminthe mostly, and we’ll have a team of volunteers to focus on renovating the house we’re leasing for the new library. The books should arrive at the end of summer, so we’re prepping now. Getting SO excited!

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      • Gosh, Dana, we would love to come. At least, I know I would, but I can’t afford to go anywhere right now. I know about what flights cost. What would costs be once we got there? Haiti is expensive in my experience, but I’ve not really spent much time outside Petion-ville. Thanks so much for the invitation. How long will you be there? I bet you are very excited!

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      • We’re hoping volunteers will contribute between $2500-$3000 to the project (as a donation) and we’ll cover room, board and the transportation within Haiti. We’re encouraging everyone to do fundraising to raise the money, of course! But the bare minimum to cover costs will be in the area of $800, so if anyone has trouble raising the money to contribute, we certainly won’t turn them away if they can at least cover their own costs. We’re going for a week, looking more and more like June 21-28, meeting in Port-au-Prince, then 2 days in Pilate, 3 in Ouanaminthe and 1 in Ferrier. Keep it in mind 🙂 Would love for you to go! And Sara too!

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  65. Hey I have been around a bit longer than you and am still trying to grasp English, in speaking and writing! I think being immersed within the culture that speaks the language you/we have a better opportunity to comprehend, if we are conscious!

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    • I have to agree, Jeff. Immersion is the way to go. I’ve never done it, but I think that’s the most effective approach to language learning. That’s how we learn our first language, after all. I’m still working on English, as well! Ha, ha!

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