iruka wrote:

Swarovski is sexy, so I can understand that

[hangs head] I am a total whore for Swarovski. I even belong to their Collector's Society.

iruka wrote:

Even if Germany has Oktoberfest, supposedly the best beer you can get in Prague. I don't know, I don't drink alcohol.

Ohhhh, there is this beautiful beer in Bavaria called Augustiner, which you can't get anywhere else. I fell in love with it very quickly, and I will have to go back during Oktoberfest to camp out in their tent. And Bavarian beer halls are an experience and a half, even if you don't drink. Particularly if you spend your first night in Germany getting trashed in the Hofbrauhaus, and the next afternoon you take a very serious Third Reich Walking Tour and end up back there being told: "This is where Hitler made one of his famous speeches."

...takes a little bit of the fun out of it, really.

iruka wrote:

Clarice wrote:

You've just reminded me that I have to look at getting to Turkey on the twenty-fifth of April. ANZAC Day. Galipoli. All the Kiwis and Aussies go to Turkey to see where all our ancestors got slaughtered. Good for the kiddies, I understand. (And yes, I am being more flippant about this than I really am. And you should have seen me bawl my eyes out at Dachau, Nuremberg and Nagasaki; the peninsula is going to kill me.)

I had to go look it up in Wikipedia.
It's okay that some things are remembered. It gives a small hope that we'll learn from our mistakes... but eh, as they say, history repeats itself.

Heh, don't worry -- ANZAC Day is only really known in Aussie and NZ anyway. It's our Veteran's Day, or Armistice Day. And yes, when in Nagasaki, I got the horrible sinking feeling of history repeating itself. I was by myself in a very quiet atomic bomb museum, as my friend wasn't up to a second trip through it, and at the end I walked into an unexpected picture of the Nazi rally grounds of Nuremberg (there's a bit of a story behind why they upset me so much) that was part of an explanation of why the atomic bombs were dropped, and I started bawling my eyes out. It was just that...the past hurts, but then I look at the present and just...what kind of future is out there? God knows.

iruka wrote:

Yeah, we've scattered all across the world because of the recent war and other things.

I've been told tourists are pleasantly surprised by our English when they come here. English is mandatory in elementary schools from either the 1st or 4th grade, and we're surrounded by it all the time (TV and the like). So I'm willing to bet that pretty much anyone one encounters on the street would be able to give directions at the very least.

Our hearts do melt into a puddle when a foreigner attempts to pronounce a phrase, though.

Hee, that's cool -- I felt so embarrassed in Europe when I was last there because although I can do a bit of French, I know no German or anything else of the sort, and I hated asking people to speak English to me. I try to pick up other languages, but I feel better doing it if I know I can revert to English if I get desperate. And what you say reminds me of my mother, who is moving to France with no French and is freaking out. "Mum, trust me -- say "bonjour" and "merci" and "pardon" a lot, and try to start saying things in French, and they'll LOVE you for trying. Just don't walk in and say "ALL RIGHT WHO SPEAKS ENGLISH 'COS I AIN'T SPEAKING NO FRENCH!!!""

Hmm, I have to go Wiki Croatian now and see what family of languages it comes from.

Clarice wrote:

[hangs head] I am a total whore for Swarovski. I even belong to their Collector's Society.

:envy: I don't usually like sparkly stuff, but Swarovski is just so pretty!

Clarice wrote:

Ohhhh, there is this beautiful beer in Bavaria called Augustiner, which you can't get anywhere else. I fell in love with it very quickly, and I will have to go back during Oktoberfest to camp out in their tent. And Bavarian beer halls are an experience and a half, even if you don't drink. Particularly if you spend your first night in Germany getting trashed in the Hofbrauhaus, and the next afternoon you take a very serious Third Reich Walking Tour and end up back there being told: "This is where Hitler made one of his famous speeches."

...takes a little bit of the fun out of it, really.

I can imagine.

Clarice wrote:

Hee, that's cool -- I felt so embarrassed in Europe when I was last there because although I can do a bit of French, I know no German or anything else of the sort, and I hated asking people to speak English to me. I try to pick up other languages, but I feel better doing it if I know I can revert to English if I get desperate. And what you say reminds me of my mother, who is moving to France with no French and is freaking out. "Mum, trust me -- say "bonjour" and "merci" and "pardon" a lot, and try to start saying things in French, and they'll LOVE you for trying. Just don't walk in and say "ALL RIGHT WHO SPEAKS ENGLISH 'COS I AIN'T SPEAKING NO FRENCH!!!""

Most Europeans know another language or two, so I can imagine they wouldn't have a problem with foreigners. Though there's always that myth of the snotty Frenchman who refuses to speak English. I don't know if it's true.
And that's great advice that you gave your mom! You just have to show that you're trying. I'm sure moving must be frightening, but she probably needn't worry that much; when you move somewhere and are surrounded by a language 24/7, you can't help but pick it up quickly. Well, at least that's what I'm told.

Clarice wrote:

Hmm, I have to go Wiki Croatian now and see what family of languages it comes from.

Oh, it's a Slavic language.

Clarice wrote:

"Mum, trust me -- say "bonjour" and "merci" and "pardon" a lot, and try to start saying things in French, and they'll LOVE you for trying. Just don't walk in and say "ALL RIGHT WHO SPEAKS ENGLISH 'COS I AIN'T SPEAKING NO FRENCH!!!""

Yeah I think pretty much everyone likes it when you at least make the attempt. Which will suck for me when it's time for French, christ I fall all over myself trying to pronounce French. Also I blush a lot.

I think it's because if I ever hear French spoken where I am, it's either in mockery () or someone's hitting on someone, so I feel like if I say 'merci' everyone will think I'm trying to get laid.

Might be true in France, I dunno how attractive the men are as a rule.

Giovanna wrote:

Yeah I think pretty much everyone likes it when you at least make the attempt. Which will suck for me when it's time for French, christ I fall all over myself trying to pronounce French. Also I blush a lot.

I think it's because if I ever hear French spoken where I am, it's either in mockery () or someone's hitting on someone, so I feel like if I say 'merci' everyone will think I'm trying to get laid.

I don't speak French really, but I have been learning it off and on for a year -- and it took me a good while to wrap my tongue around it. Heh. In my experience, the French are perfectly pleasant if you try and speak French to them, no matter how badly -- at least you're trying. And actually, I giggled a lot in France, because hearing "Et voilà!" and "Excusez-moi" used quite seriously for some reason just set me off. The poor French. As for "merci," seriously, they say it all the damn time anyway.

Giovanna wrote:

Might be true in France, I dunno how attractive the men are as a rule.

...I spent a good deal of time staring at men in France. I mean, you like men in suits, yes...?

FRANCE WILL DESTROY EVERY PAIR OF PANTIES YOU OWN.

...you think I am kidding. OHOHOHO I AM NOT.

iruka wrote:

Most Europeans know another language or two, so I can imagine they wouldn't have a problem with foreigners. Though there's always that myth of the snotty Frenchman who refuses to speak English. I don't know if it's true.

The French I met were fine, but I admittedly tried to speak French with them. Terrible French, but it amused them. And I was both amused and insanely jealous of the Swiss; I wish I was raised in a country where it would be standard to speak up to five languages.

iruka wrote:

Oh, it's a Slavic language.

I despair of what my pronounciation of Croatian would be; I got one of my workmates to tell me some things in Lithuanian today and she couldn't stop laughing at my pronunication. It's worse than French, dammit! Even my German is better than this!

Clarice wrote:

I despair of what my pronounciation of Croatian would be; I got one of my workmates to tell me some things in Lithuanian today and she couldn't stop laughing at my pronunication. It's worse than French, dammit! Even my German is better than this!

It's a tough language to pronounce for the English-speaking folk... and learn, too, since it has some grammatical elements not present in English.

I've been to China... But I'm Chinese so its not really that eventful for me... It was full of Chinese people and scary food. I nearly starved myself. 

I've also been to Canada, Florida and got dragged all over New York. At least NYC was enjoyable. (gets very carsick)

I was going to go to England with my university but am too sickly.
I'm not contagious just... unhealthy.

unlike the rest of south texas, I've never been to Mexico. Though I probably don't have to since it seems to be coming to me. ~__~

I would however kill to go to HongKong to go visit my brothers.

well i want to travel too and thanks to yall the list keeps growing.... Europe, India, Australia, Las Vegas, Hong Kong and other. I have been to Montreal i would like to visit it again. Due to having to do fucking community service project some shitty place in some poor part of Mexico i hated it. anyway i have been to a few places in the US but the most resent was to Miami for spring break it was fun.