One of the residents in my building is a freshman from Uzbekistan. This is her first time in America. Her parents must have dropped her off at the airport in Uzbekistan and wished her luck in a new world. This girl had no formal training in the English language and had to learn it as she went. That being said, I feel really badly for those attempting to learn the English language. I honestly do not know how I could have possibly done it! It is just so confusing! Take these two examples:

1. Novel – both a noun and an adjective that are in no way related (besides of course through latin, because I’m sure they share something in common in that dead language…)

2. Raised/Razed – sound the same, mean the opposite. One builds up, the other tears down.

3. They’re/Their/There – need I offer an explanation for this group?

I rest my case. Poor girl from Uzbekistan.