I talked with Esteban on the phone and it was extremely productive. I got a few questions answered, some tips on how to better go about learning some things and how thorough I should be in doing the exercises.
Regarding the latter, I was under the impression that I should not worry about being too much of a perfectionist, even though it’s against my nature, and keep going since the exercises would build on each other. But the professor said it’s important to master the exercises before going on to the next chapter. Although this is the opposite of what I thought would be said, I like the idea because I like to do things right and it will make for much less confusion and stress later on.
I had been waiting until I got the vocabulary down in each chapter before I started working on the (many) exercises. I think I’ll start them a little earlier in the process. Even so, I will be spending even more time on each chapter. I’ve been spending about a week on each one and there are 32. But I’d rather learn it well so I can refute Mike Aubrey and really throw it down. But by the time I’ve learned the very basics of Greek he’ll be off in Timbuktu somewhere translating or teaching Greek to missionaries.
I’m in no hurry. God doesn’t care how fast I learn Greek and if the world ends soon (please Lord) I won’t need it anyway.
Right now I’m on chapter 5 so let’s see how long it takes to get through the book. It probably won’t be until sometime in 2010.
Sometimes I wonder if it will be worth it but everyone that has learned Greek to any degree has said that it is. And I get more out of reading commentaries when I can understand the vocabulary and grammar better. Greek For The Rest Of Us just wasn’t enough.
