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April has found its way to the Mayles' property and with it arrived a visitor-Tony. Tony is the archtype of a successful City businessman (they were just starting to bud in the 1980s) with his reeling mind and pinstriped suit.
What on earth did he come to Provence for? He wants to buy a house and hopes to avail himslef of Mayle's helping hand.
After all, buying a house in France is nerve-wracking. Not only do most properties cost more than the advertised prise (taxes), but you have also to know how to make use of loopholes in the French system. I wonder how it is today then.
What strikes a reader and Mayle most about Tony is his lack of feeling for cultural differences and his belief that money is an international language. Fortunately, it wasn't in the France Mayle described in this book , but today the tables have turned.
So you can imagine Mayles' sheer joy when Tony left them for good, but then tourists started to throng their property. The Mayles' certainly aren't antisocial, but they just want to savour a calm life, which is perfectly understandable.
They aren't bored by the life they are leading in Provence as they wanted to escape the undercurrent of frenetic activity, which characterises city life, and, instead, be elated by embellishing their house and exploring the French culture.
To tell the truth, everyone, no matter how she/he might love to live in the fast lane, dreams about a paradise on earth, like the Mayles', were to retire and be one with nature again.
Yesterday I listened again to the Here on Earth programme. It is a programme of the Wisconsin Public Radio which tries to galvanize the world community and decrease xenophobia. I'll feature the link under the post "links" tomorrow.
The programme I listened to revolved around the Irish Gaelic Language and the question how to save a language. The moderator, Jean Feraca, spoke to a linguist (Brian Ó Broin), who teaches adults the Irish Gaelic language in the USA and to a teacher and singer (Mairín Uí Chéide), who also works and lives in America.
After centuries of English colonization, where speaking Irish was savagely forbidden, the EU has named Irish Gaelic an official language in 2005. Today, there is a renaissance of interest in learning Irish, especially among Americans with Irish roots.
In answer to the question "How to save a language?" both speakers agreed that this happens through:
a) the dedicated labour of activists
b)communication
c)marketing and the media (radio and TV stations in Irish)
Ireland is for them nowadays also a bilingual country, which aims to use English as a language of business and Irish as the language of identity.
Finally, I have to transcribe what Mairín said about learning languages:
"Everyone can learn a language if he/she puts his/her mind to it. The only thing you should do is to try to keep obstacles out of the way."
This week I have the wish to recommend you this website:
http://www.ku-eichstaett.de/Fakultaeten/WWF/Lehrstuehle/SPRACHEN/de/news/HF_sections/content/SS%20Essay%20Phrases.pdf
It is a pretty exhaustive page where useful phrases for writing essays are featured.
Moreover, there are a few tips about words and phrases you should best avoid or try not to overuse when writing.
This week my reading material was an article about the fashion superpowers who shape the British wardrobe. The article was featured in the March Marie Claire issue and as I'm very much into fashion (not buying much-the money is too tight for that) it was only natural for me to read it.
However unusual it may sound the stories of fashion designers and their like didn't impress me much. What astounded me was the story of English window dressers.
To begin with, I had no clue whatsoever that such a profession existed. Then I googled and, to my amazement, it is a thriving business. If you wish to be informed about it, check:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Moore_(window_dresser)
http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Window-Dresser-Simon-Doonan/dp/0141003626
Secondly, window-dressing is indescribably hard work. Read just this figures about window-dressing at Selfridges on Oxford street (Marie Claire) and you'll comprehend what I mean:
It takes 45 people one week, working 19 hours a day, to transform the 27 windows at Selfridges. Each window is changed every six weeks.
All of this just so we mortals can indulge in feverish shopping. It's unbelivable!
Two days ago I finished reading "4.50 from Paddington" by Agatha Christie.
I can only say so much:
In the last post I revealed to you that the police were poking their noses round the estate where the woman's dead body was found. After that, there arouse the possibility that the dead woman was the wife of one brother of the Crackenthorpe family, who died in the war. Everything pointed out to that and Scotland Yard thought one of the brothers, who were still alive, did it. Then, suddenly, the most suspect brother ,Alfred, dies of poisoning with arsen. Who is the murderer then...
Here is some vocabulary that is not Victorian at all. On the contrary, it is there for you to make use of:
feverish shopping, activity etc-excited-Have you seen the feverish activity in the kitchen?
to pay the earth/ to cost the earth-to pay a lot/to cost a lot
wildly unlikely- it certainly is very unlikely to happen-It is wildly unlikely that she will pass the year if she continues to procrastinate.
treacherous-dangerous-Snow and ice have left many roads treacherous, and motorists are warned to drive slowly.
perturbed (formal); perturb; perturbation-worried-He didn't seem unduly/overly perturbed by the news.
undue; unduly (formal)-too much-There's no need to be unduly pessimistic about the situation.
Here I am again commenting on the adventures of Kim, Thomas and the kids.
I would like to comment on several of their daily adventures in March 2006.
Firstly, here is some more information on Kim and Thomas as individuals. She is a hairdresser, who has German roots, and advises not always to go to the same hairdresser just because you believe your hairdresser will be offended if you leave her/him. Don't always play on the safe side.
He is an engineer and his family is originally from Spain.
Secondly, I relish in reading Kim's description of the chemistry there is between them. It's just life-affirming to know that true love isn't a mystical concept. On their example you can beautifully see how love creates a bridge between the boundaries of culture. Although they still lived apart then, they saw each other as often as possible.
Thirdly, Thomas spoke about the year he spent in Glasgow on a programme similar to Erasmus. At first, it was hard to get along with his rusty English, but, as time is the best teacher, at the end of his year there, he was almost fluent. This just goes to show once again that you should be intrepid enough to learn everything you set your mind on.
Forthly, thanks to Thomas, I was made to rethink my point of view on stereotypes. He commented on a blog ( unfortunately it cannot be accessed any more) where an American woman constantly whinged about her stay in France and generalised terribly. Thomas' stand on this is that you are free to speak as long as you don't insult others. I couldn't agree more. The key word here is common sense.
Finally, Thomas remembers his grandfather, who died in March some years before. Alas, he couldn't say goodbye in a proper fashion to him before he passed away. As my grandfather has a similarly special place in my heart as Thomas' has in his, my biggest fear is that I too won't be able to say goodbye to him when the time comes. I can see now, every time I'm home, that he is shrivelling a bit more, like a leaf in autumn, and this tears my heart apart.
Isn't life curious. I mean, you read blogs by people who are complete strangers to you and yet you can relate to what someone else reflects on most of the time.
To begin with let me apologise for my last entry as I misinformed you in two ways.
Firstly, I know the African-American guys name- Fred. Secondly, he didn't land on Croatian ground in October 2005.
Now, let me tell you (this time without misinforming you) what befell him in November 2005.
Amongst other things he wrote his portfolio on www.creativehotlist.com/froyster
and if you happen to be intrigued to read it, do it. After all, he won the Graphic Design USA website award for www.comicspage.com
If you are a comic buff, you can find some hot stuff there.
What I simply cannot emphasise enough is his genuine interest in reading Croatian news and books (translated into English)as well as studying it actively. This is how moving abroad should be done- one has to know the basics about another culture and language. The rest will come to you once you've moved.
His stuff was also being shipped in November and he found a subletter for his apartment.
Finally, there was a intriguing sentence amongst his posts, which really makes one wonder:
"There is only so much you can learn in one place. The more you delay moving, the more time you waste."
