Ribh's D'Coopage

[Ribh]

Hi @Grammy60

@Ribh, is Tuppence doing ok after her lice problem?

I think so, thanks MJ. Her comb is a much better colour & she is eating well but still not laying, which I guess is to be expected. She is feathering out again on her rump after Lavender's broody bout so I am hopeful but monitoring.

 

[Ribh]

Good evening folks

So glad she's home safe and sound

All of your international stories had me rolling with laughter but I can soooo relate to this one. Thankfully, German is my strongest language other than English. But knowing the language and not the customs can be dangerous. My friend and I were at dinner in the hotel and he wanted a glass of milk. The young waitress looked at me with a glare as she challenged did I really want milk? When I said yes, she walked off in a huff, went to the kitchen, grabbed a pitcher and walked out the door. A half hour later she returned with warm milk. She had to get it from the cow.

I must say I found the Germans rather an odd people. We crossed a road one morning: Sunday. No traffic. No pedestrians. Nothing. Absolutely deserted. But we jay walked. Sydney~siders ~ bit like being a New Yorker. If you aim on getting where you want to go you learn to play traffic dodgems fast! A lovely German approached us to explain in beautiful English that we needed to cross @ the crossing. We nodded politely thanked him while privately wondering what all the fuss was about...

 

[Shadrach]

I'm not responsible for the Queen's head.
If you would like a book mark, Shad, just PM me your address. I would have offered before but I wasn't sure it would be your sort of thing.

That's very kind of you Ribh. With a different life style I would love to have one but atm it would either stay in an enveloper in a drawer, or get destroyed in a few weeks.

 

[Ribh]

I was like that here when I first arrived. I'm far from fluent in Catalan but it's a lot better than point and say 'that'.

I like languages so I'm usually prepared to have a go but my comprehension is waaay better than my spoken & there are occasional hiccups when I translate too literally!
I used to watch [don't judge me] an Austrian show called Inspector Rex ~ Rex was a German Shepherd ~ which my youngest adored but I got so fed up trying to translate fast enough to keep her up to par I found her a German tutor, who was ex~embassy & gave her an excellent grounding. It has stood her in good stead with her music but rattled her chorus mistress who used to vent in rather picturesque German! She wasn't expecting a 10 year old to understand her!

 

[Ribh]

That's very kind of you Ribh. With a different life style I would love to have one but atm it would either stay in an enveloper in a drawer, or get destroyed in a few weeks.

No problems, Shad. I know things are a bit up in the air for you. You can always change your mind when life settles down.

 

[Shadrach]

I like languages so I'm usually prepared to have a go but my comprehension is waaay better than my spoken & there are occasional hiccups when I translate too literally!
I used to watch [don't judge me] an Austrian show called Inspector Rex ~ Rex was a German Shepherd ~ which my youngest adored but I got so fed up trying to translate fast enough to keep her up to par I found her a German tutor, who was ex~embassy & gave her an excellent grounding. It has stood her in good stead with her music but rattled her chorus mistress who used to vent in rather picturesque German! She wasn't expecting a 10 year old to understand her!

I used to have half decent German. We had German and French taught at school. I had a lot of trouble with French. I think the British develop the wrong mouths shapes for French speaking. I found German a lot easier.

 

[Ribh]

I used to have half decent German. We had German and French taught at school. I had a lot of trouble with French. I think the British develop the wrong mouths shapes for French speaking. I found German a lot easier.

I wanted to learn German @ school but French was the option. I have a poor ear so my spoken anything is pretty awful but I am good enough to be able to watch a lot of European films with only minimal help from the subtitles because if you know a little French & German then Italian, Swedish, Danish, Flemish etc aren't so hard because there are so many commonalities. Much, much easier than any of the Asian languages & the Asian languages are being pushed out here now. My older kids all had compulsory Japanese & hated it. Youngest was homeschooled so she got to choose. OD learnt hybrid Spanish because she needed it to function in Chile but on the whole, Aussies are lazy about other languages. Very few people speak more than one, unlike Europe where everyone speaks several.

 

[Ribh]

Good evening folks

Good evening everyone

Hello, Bob & Sue. Sue, do you get a break soon?

 

[Shadrach]

I wanted to learn German @ school but French was the option. I have a poor ear so my spoken anything is pretty awful but I am good enough to be able to watch a lot of European films with only minimal help from the subtitles because if you know a little French & German then Italian, Swedish, Danish, Flemish etc aren't so hard because there are so many commonalities. Much, much easier than any of the Asian languages & the Asian languages are being pushed out here now. My older kids all had compulsory Japanese & hated it. Youngest was homeschooled so she got to choose. OD learnt hybrid Spanish because she needed it to function in Chile but on the whole, Aussies are lazy about other languages. Very few people speak more than one, unlike Europe where everyone speaks several.

The British are just a lazy when it comes to foreign languages. Another 50 years and you'll only need English and Chinese.

 

[Ribh]

The British are just a lazy when it comes to foreign languages. Another 50 years and you'll only need English and Chinese.

That is probably true. I was shocked by how widely English was spoken in Europe ~ even in quite remote corners.