Nice people thread part 3- Nice as pie

lostinrates

misskool wrote: »

And back to languages, I'm trilingual. Almost all my friends from "home" are. It's common to be able to speak multiple languages.

A friend had a lot of pressure put on her to only speak to her son in Italian (she is french, his father is English, they live in Italy). Its ''natural'' the boy should be being brought up in three languages. The school felt it was slowing hi down...she thought, as I do, he'd catch up in future years: and that languages were important enough to be slower over.

Something that always astounds me is the scorn with which the poor immigrants in Italy selling stuff on streets (usually illegally) are treated with. For example the Senagalese that really do plague round the Duomo speak passable Italian , and arrive speaking french, english and one presumes wolof or at least another of the languages spoken commonly there. They are brave, to have travelled, and brave to continue approaching people who swear and shrink away from them. If I had a job to give a brave multilinguist would have much potential I think....sales for example.

lostinrates

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

Yup! And he'd struggled through page after page about the colour of his grandmother's eyes, or whatever it was.

DH speaks no Hebrew. he can remember the first line of the thing he had to read for his Bar Mitzvah but thats all, doesn't know what it means. He can't even remember his ''Jewish name''. I think its all very sad.

neverdespairgirl

OH is (he says) like someone who went to nursery school in Israel and then did a bit of reading and writing at home with his Mum. Which is exactly what he did do!

So he can read anything - in the end. But it takes a lot of time. And writing makes him tear his hair out - you don't write any of the vowels, and of course, it's right to left to boot.

lostinrates

misskool wrote: »

Chopped a bit off the quote but as an emigre, I'd like to say that some family would be nice. I have many good friends and it's been years but sometimes, it still does feel a bit lonely.

I'd love to move back but it's not feasible and also practically, I know I wouldn't be able to cope having been away for so long.

And back to languages, I'm trilingual. Almost all my friends from "home" are. It's common to be able to speak multiple languages.

Increasingly nulear families mean, siblingless children often end up ''without family''. this sort of free-floating loneliness is increasing even if you are born in western europe I think.

Going back is interesting. I've been back with my mother in the past and it was highly emotional. I know and she knows she couldn't settle there now. Its a brave decision to leave when you think o th future honestly: you can become a square peg whereever you end up. As can your children, who always grow up as a bit ''different''. Thinking of my peers I think we ''gypsy expats'' find i much easier than our parents did. The ''being odd'' was our normality and we grew up with family not being available. we watched our mothers find it hard....but sort of knew thats how it might be for us. Now parnts are often older, we might sooner end up without them even at the end of a phone/letter ...or email, there was no email back then!

lemonjelly

Hey everyone:)

I finally appear to have some carrots showing through, to add to the beetroot and onions.

I spent a fair bit of the weekend getting my first load of beans & peas planted out up canes. Still have a few to do. Re-potted a few toms too. And I planted some spring onion seeds.

I planted some pepper seeds (just to try it out) a few weeks ago, & have not had anything sprout there.

Finished another book, started another one (I will get round to a proper update sometime...:o) Heart not really in it at the moment.

Interesting conversation you lot are having regarding the imi/emigration issue & the consequences. Holidays aside I've not been out the midlands at all really. I may throw something into the debate from a completely different perspective, see how it goes.

ope everyone is well.

JonnyBravo

lemonjelly wrote: »

I planted some pepper seeds (just to try it out) a few weeks ago, & have not had anything sprout there.

Surprised they didn't sprout in the hot weather a few weeks back.... if you had them in in time. (Mine did)
They always take ages to sprout IMO and need hot weather. Can't see them sprouting at the moment.

lostinrates

JonnyBravo wrote: »

Surprised they didn't sprout in the hot weather a few weeks back.... if you had them in in time. (Mine did)
They always take ages to sprout IMO and need hot weather. Can't see them sprouting at the moment.

Mine were in a heated propogator and they were sluggish. Its been a really bad germination year here. I need more south facing windowsills!

chewmylegoff

Generali wrote: »

I think Melbourne has much more of an identity than Sydney does although I've only been there for 2 days so it's hard for me to say.

i found melbourne very irritating to be honest, it seemed to be obsessed with having an identity, and all those painfully fashionable bars, and the "artistic" graffiti everywhere just hacked me right off.

i've spent most of the time during visits to australia where my oh grew up in the suburbs of brisbane, which probably only amounts to something like 3 months in total. i actually quite like it there, even if it does seem a bit like someone just went and bought 300,000 houses flat pack from ikea and assembled the lot on a sunday afternoon. the city centre of brisbane is a bit rubbish though.

there is definitely "too much family" there though, i'm used to 8 people max at christmas, go there and there's thousands of them. i could not live there, i don't like having 'other people' in my house on week nights.

JonnyBravo

lostinrates wrote: »

Mine were in a heated propogator and they were sluggish. Its been a really bad germination year here. I need more south facing windowsills!

I use them too, but still find peppers need a spell of hot weather on top of that to germinate them, (in a greenhouse). Find them much slower to sprout than virtually anything else I grow. Wouldn't bother except I love them!

JonnyBravo

chewmylegoff wrote: »

i don't like having 'other people' in my house on week nights.

he he he
Couldn't agree more!