...it's where you find the most interesting people. In most weird/less popular language courses, really. I was a language major in college and I always found that normal people took Spanish or French, but the people taking Japanese and Russian were fascinating. They were rarely language majors, just students with some time on their hands and a yen to learn a new language or culture. There were Goth kids, random jocks, guys married to mail-order brides, and just a generally bizarre assortment of people you wouldn't expect to find in one place. Best class discussions ever.

I took Latin because of the history, but my classmates were more interested in theology, anthropolgy, law, etc. I stuck with it because my professor told great stories about Rome and Greece and because he passed around cookies in class. While it may not be the most useful language ever, I think it has the kind of versatility (in that it applies to so many different subjects) that it will always be around. It has become a cultural touchstone in a lot of ways.