Learning in the rain

I have no more excuses.  It's raining. Beli is at grandma's. I pulled out the Croatian lesson book. I sit at the table facing the window, then I notice a pretty flower out in the balcony. "Should I cut it or leave it out there?" I wonder. Ah, why not I need color inside the house so I cut it and I place it in a vase next to my books. I turn on the radio and begin to review the grammar rules:

Nouns in Croatian are characterized by gender( masculine,feminine, and neuter), number (singular and plural) and case (there are seven of them).

For now I will tackle the singular and plural forms of nouns. for nouns that are masculine you simply add -i.
prijatelj->..prijatelji.....................friend-friends...........amigo-amigos
student->>studenti......................student-students......estudiante-estudiantes
prozor->>prozori........................window-windows.....ventana-ventanas

with one exception: if it's a noun with one vowel then you add -ov plus -i.
stol->>stolovi............table-tables........mesa-mesas
zid->>zidovi..............wall-walls..........pared-paredes

another exception: if it's a noun with one vowel but noun ends in lj,j, č,š,ž then you add -ev plus i 
miš-miševi...............mouse-mice  .......raton-ratones
jež -ježevi----------hedgehog-hedgehogs.....???(no idea in spanish)
puž -puževi--------snail-snails........caracol-caracoles

another exception: if it's more than one vowel present but noun ends in K change K to C then add i.
jastuk-jastuci-----pillow-pillows.....almohada-almohadas

but if noun ends in H change H to S then  and i.
tepih--tepisi------rug-rugs....tapete-tapetes

AND if noun ends in G change G to Z then and i.
jastog-jastozi......lobster-lobsters...langosta-langostas

I don't mind learning all the rules, because it's easy to memorize them. The difficult part is to put all these rules together and have a conversation, that's the challenging part.  I continue for about an hour. Then I get hungry, so I make salsa and I'm munching away and reading. So far so good! Then Beli and hubby arrive and I can't wait for Beli's reaction when she sees all those stuffed animals I arranged on the bed.

She walks into the room and at first looks around, she doesn't know which toy to grab first. There are too many!

And this flower is also a token of my appreciation for everyone who gave me wonderful words of support. Thank you! Tomorrow I will continue studying, my goal is a minimum of one hour.

Support~Apoyo

 Plants find support within the city walls to continue growing.

 "You need only support and self confidence to go on studying this difficult language."

I BELIEVE IN YOU.

Your friend,

N

These are the words my friend gave me when I told her I was feeling discouraged about continuing with my Croatian classes. 

 Support, we all need it!