A year ago in January, I retired and returned to the small town where I grew up and where my parents, brother, sister and their families lived. I had not lived here since I graduated from high school in 1958. I decided to retire because my Dad had had a series of strokes and my Mom needed me to help with his care.

I wanted something to do to keep my mind sharp; so I decided to take online classes. I started first with Barnes and Noble University (online classes presented by the book store). The classes were free; the only cost was the textbook. I have taken eight classes on BNU now and have enjoyed all of them. I am completing a class on astronomy right now.

I also started visiting seniornet.org and chatting with the people online. Then I saw a notice that Latin was going to be offered. . I have always been fascinated with languages and words. I love to look at a really good dictionary and trace the origin of words. I also love crossword puzzles and am honored to have met someone in our class who actually constructs them. Learning Latin online was a dream come true.

I began the Latin class with great trepidation. It had been so long since I had worked at studying something. (The other online classes are mostly reading a book and answering a few questions about it.) Latin was an entirely new experience. I found that I loved it. It amazed me how many Latin words I recognized. Ginny, our teacher, is so patient.

This summer many of the students in the class continued to work together and I was thrilled and amazed at the help that was given.

It has been so nice to study with students my age. There is absolutely no competition. Each student tries to better his or her own understanding and anytime I am confused with a Latin word or translation, someone always seems to come online soon with the answer.

Another thing that I have enjoyed so much about online classes is being able to click on links that bring the Roman world alive. I very much enjoyed the pictures that Ginny shared with the class of the trip to Rome and Pompeii that she took last year. Anytime a new subject or person is introduced in our lessons, someone brings a link to post to tell much more about the person or subject.

I read all the time that learning new things helps to keep the mind alive and alert. Latin certainly does that.

Judy

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