Hello my lovely readers, it's my favourite time of the month, and that can only mean one thing, it's bilingual carnival time! This time we have a few newcomers joining the usual suspects, and as ever a great selection of posts all about raising children bilingually. So I hope that whether or not you raise your children with more than one language, you will enjoy this selection of posts. Hopefully it'll encourage some to start or continue the bilingual journey with their children, or you may get some new ideas how to make the trip that little bit more exciting for yourself and your children.
So sit back, grab a cuppa o una jarra and enjoy the read.
If you're looking for great resources to boost the target (read: minority) language, drop over at Hobo Mama who has the cheater's guide to making up bilingual children's songs. Not cheating at all in my humble opinion, but easy peasy and very effective! It also goes to show that you don't need to be a native speaker to raise your children with two languages.
More resources can be found at Blogging on Bilingualism. Second in the serious of resources is a collection of DVDs in French, and previously I was particularly interested in the first instalment which was all about German resources. If you have any resources for other languages, make sure to head over and you may even be able to do a guest post on the blog!
Intrepidly Bilingual is looking back on her journey so far in Hanging On. Raising children bilingually is unfortunately not necessarily the easy option and sometimes it can be fraught with doubts. In the end though, it can only be worth the effort.
Very Bored in Catalunya also struggles with the raising her boy bilingually. With a slight language delay in his home language, he is now struggling to understand the teachers in his school, but help is at hand to boost his Catalan.
Where Going Havo? is taking a closer look at the relationship between grandparents who are largely monolingual, and bilingualism in Grandparents and the Cost of Bilingualism. It is a post many of us will be able to nod their heads to, when bilingualism is both a link and a place that grandparents can't follow.
Over at Verbosity, Solnushka is all philosophical about the attempt to impose meaning on the protolanguage(s) emerging from Baby's mouth. But don't worry, it's not all that serious stuff, but rather amusing when the parents are trying to get better at deciphering their offspring's utterances.
Fast forward a year or two, and you'll be where my own self is at presently, when our now preschooler is getting a kick out of inventing her own language and finding the power of it all simply hilarious, while mummy and daddy stand by and shake heads.
Mary Yucel Ankara shares her journey of raising two children bilingually in English and Turkish, how she came to the OPOL (one parent one language) approach after much consideration and that language delay is not something to be worried about.
But you don't have to follow the popular OPOL method to give your child a multilingual start, as Elisa's daughter Beli proves in Which language do I speak: Spanglish, Spantian or Crolish? I just love the trilingual mix that comes out of the 22 month old's mouth!
Little M. blogs at Mummy's Busy World and is very proud to be speaking two languages already. It seems Little M. has done his research and can tell you all about why it's so great to be a bilingual tot! And you can now even find a multilingual family corner on the blog, now, how good is that???
Finally, you may encounter unusual things when on a Day at the German Embassy, as BabelKid can tell you. Would you raise your child bilingually if neither of the parent was a native speaker of the "other" language? And would you make sure your child spoke the community language better than you by withholding the parent language? And yet, haven't many of us been there just there (personally I received informal speech training when at primary school to fully eliminate any trace of parental non high German accent and my dad never taught me a word of the rich dialect he grew up with)?
Stop Press: It appears that a submission has escaped my eyes, so here's a late edit to include Losing Language by Mamapoekie, who much like me has to focus in order not to let the community/majority language creep into her life. And how raising children bilingually may help not just to pass on a language, but to also keep it alive for the parent.
If you want to subscribe to all the instalments of the bilingual carnival, look at previous carnivals, contribute to the next one or even offer to host it on your blog, don't forget to stop over at the Bilingual Carnival page over at Bilingual For Fun where you can subscribe to the newsletter and never miss a bilingual carnival again!
Mummy do that!
Wednesday, 2 June 2010
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
Munich for kids
One thing we didn't compromise on our short holiday to Munich was that we wanted to make it a child friendly visit to a big city. Basically, I've had enough of dragging an uncooperative toddler through cities and places within cities that she really didn't want to be. It's stressful for everyone involved. We were keen not to let this happen and to make it a holiday that worked for us all, that was relaxing as well as varied.
And luckily, Munich was game for it. I guess it does help that Munich is a well to do city, a green city and has rather helpful and friendly people in it. Coupled with lots of green spaces and a fabulous public transport system that surprised even someone used to good integrated public transport (in Cologne, not Glasgow, just to be clear), we were winning.
So if you ever fancy a city break with toddlers, Munich is a good choice. Here's what we enjoyed:
1. Olympiapark
A massive park built for the 1972 Olympic Games. Great for walking, picnics, with swing parks and a small beer garden, a little train with a guided tour, ponds, ducks, and good views of the city. You can also go up the Olympia Tower (which is a no no for me as me and heights don't talk) and visit a Sea Life Centre
2. Taxisstrasse Beer Garten
It's a big beer garden with traditional food - but you can also bring your own food. It comes with a play park and is popular with families. Cubling instantly made new friends.
3. Botanical Gardens
We visited them in the pouring rain and were rather thankful for the huge glass house and cafe. The glass house has different rooms for the flora of different countries, even a prehistoric dinosaur room (which was a bit problematic because Cubling thought there were dinosaurs behind the ferns and was rather reluctant to go in). I'm sure the actual gardens are great too, lots of space to walk and beautifully landscaped. The Botanical Gardens are connected to the Nymphenburg Palace and its gardens; where you can find:
4. Museum fuer Mensch und Natur (natural history museum)
A delightful museum about the world, nature and mankind. Cubling particularly enjoyed the quizzes upstairs where you can categorise animals etc (which really is aimed at children who can read and know a lot more, I struggled with some of the quizzes) - as long as there's buttons to press, she's happy. There's something for everyone in this museum, from geological information to dinosaur sceletons, it's all there. And once you're done, you can explore the palace or its gardens (we let Cubling nap after all the museum excitement and enjoyed reading a book in the gardens).
5. A stroll through the shopping precinct and Virtualienmarkt
The great thing about Munich is that its main streets are rather boulevards. They are wide, lined with trees, and in the shopping precinct, they are pedestrianised. So even the city centre doesn't become claustrophobic. There are endless fountains, so our progress was slow as every fountain had to be explored. We visited the Frauenkirche and a fabulous old fashioned toy shop just next to it (note: don't take toddlers in there, it's hard work to keep their quick hands off the toys), before we explored the Virtualienmarkt - a market mainly for food.
6. Englischer Garten and Chinese Tower Beer Garden
The Englischer Garten is apparently the biggest city park in the world. It's definitely big and we only explored part of it. It's beautifully landscaped along a little river, with play parks, lots of fowl, and - can you guess - a beer garden at the Chinese Tower, where you can refresh your batteries after your stroll through the park.
7. Fountains and more fountains, particularly the one at Hohenzollernplatz
There are countless fountains in Munich, but the one Cubling enjoyed best must be the one at Hohenzollernplatz. It's not a location you necessarily have to see, it's just that the fountain is perfect for little people. They can walk on/in it, and have hours of fun.
8. Best Western Apart Hotel
I don't want to advertise a specific hotel, but I have to say we were very pleased with our choice. The hotel is just a tram journey from the centre, next to the Olympiapark and with easy access to the Nymphenburg Palace. The service and breakfast are faultless. Above all, because it's an Apart Hotel, the rooms have a kitchenette/hall area which is separate from the bedroom. This meant that once Cubling was sound asleep, we had a space where we could sit without disturbing her. Also the room was spacious and simply comfortable, just perfect for what we were looking for.
We travelled with Ryanair to Memmingen airport which worked really well. There is a shuttle bus connecting to Munich and the trip was really easy, considering the distance. Direct flight from Scotland to Memmingen, bus trip and - well, nothing. There. Arrived. A rather stress free trip.
Of course there's probably lots of other stuff that can be done in Munich, but I think we made pretty good choices (with little information, we didn't even bring a guide book) which kept us busy for 6 days and made it possible to combine a bit of sightseeing with meeting up with friends. We took it easy, so you could probably fit in more.
One thing I would warn about though is that restaurants are not necessarily as child friendly/acceptant of toddler behaviour as you might be used to from the UK. We had one rather unpleasant experience where we got the stare and some comments on our parenting style, but in the beer gardens all was very easy going and in general people were very helpful towards us as a family.
And luckily, Munich was game for it. I guess it does help that Munich is a well to do city, a green city and has rather helpful and friendly people in it. Coupled with lots of green spaces and a fabulous public transport system that surprised even someone used to good integrated public transport (in Cologne, not Glasgow, just to be clear), we were winning.
So if you ever fancy a city break with toddlers, Munich is a good choice. Here's what we enjoyed:
1. Olympiapark
A massive park built for the 1972 Olympic Games. Great for walking, picnics, with swing parks and a small beer garden, a little train with a guided tour, ponds, ducks, and good views of the city. You can also go up the Olympia Tower (which is a no no for me as me and heights don't talk) and visit a Sea Life Centre
2. Taxisstrasse Beer Garten
It's a big beer garden with traditional food - but you can also bring your own food. It comes with a play park and is popular with families. Cubling instantly made new friends.
3. Botanical Gardens
We visited them in the pouring rain and were rather thankful for the huge glass house and cafe. The glass house has different rooms for the flora of different countries, even a prehistoric dinosaur room (which was a bit problematic because Cubling thought there were dinosaurs behind the ferns and was rather reluctant to go in). I'm sure the actual gardens are great too, lots of space to walk and beautifully landscaped. The Botanical Gardens are connected to the Nymphenburg Palace and its gardens; where you can find:
4. Museum fuer Mensch und Natur (natural history museum)
A delightful museum about the world, nature and mankind. Cubling particularly enjoyed the quizzes upstairs where you can categorise animals etc (which really is aimed at children who can read and know a lot more, I struggled with some of the quizzes) - as long as there's buttons to press, she's happy. There's something for everyone in this museum, from geological information to dinosaur sceletons, it's all there. And once you're done, you can explore the palace or its gardens (we let Cubling nap after all the museum excitement and enjoyed reading a book in the gardens).
5. A stroll through the shopping precinct and Virtualienmarkt
The great thing about Munich is that its main streets are rather boulevards. They are wide, lined with trees, and in the shopping precinct, they are pedestrianised. So even the city centre doesn't become claustrophobic. There are endless fountains, so our progress was slow as every fountain had to be explored. We visited the Frauenkirche and a fabulous old fashioned toy shop just next to it (note: don't take toddlers in there, it's hard work to keep their quick hands off the toys), before we explored the Virtualienmarkt - a market mainly for food.
6. Englischer Garten and Chinese Tower Beer Garden
The Englischer Garten is apparently the biggest city park in the world. It's definitely big and we only explored part of it. It's beautifully landscaped along a little river, with play parks, lots of fowl, and - can you guess - a beer garden at the Chinese Tower, where you can refresh your batteries after your stroll through the park.
7. Fountains and more fountains, particularly the one at Hohenzollernplatz
There are countless fountains in Munich, but the one Cubling enjoyed best must be the one at Hohenzollernplatz. It's not a location you necessarily have to see, it's just that the fountain is perfect for little people. They can walk on/in it, and have hours of fun.
8. Best Western Apart Hotel
I don't want to advertise a specific hotel, but I have to say we were very pleased with our choice. The hotel is just a tram journey from the centre, next to the Olympiapark and with easy access to the Nymphenburg Palace. The service and breakfast are faultless. Above all, because it's an Apart Hotel, the rooms have a kitchenette/hall area which is separate from the bedroom. This meant that once Cubling was sound asleep, we had a space where we could sit without disturbing her. Also the room was spacious and simply comfortable, just perfect for what we were looking for.
We travelled with Ryanair to Memmingen airport which worked really well. There is a shuttle bus connecting to Munich and the trip was really easy, considering the distance. Direct flight from Scotland to Memmingen, bus trip and - well, nothing. There. Arrived. A rather stress free trip.
Of course there's probably lots of other stuff that can be done in Munich, but I think we made pretty good choices (with little information, we didn't even bring a guide book) which kept us busy for 6 days and made it possible to combine a bit of sightseeing with meeting up with friends. We took it easy, so you could probably fit in more.
One thing I would warn about though is that restaurants are not necessarily as child friendly/acceptant of toddler behaviour as you might be used to from the UK. We had one rather unpleasant experience where we got the stare and some comments on our parenting style, but in the beer gardens all was very easy going and in general people were very helpful towards us as a family.
Sunday, 30 May 2010
creating a language of her own
This post is a contribution to this month's bilingual carnival, which I'm hosting right here on June 2nd. If you have any experience of raising bilingual children and wish to contribute to the carnival, please leave a comment with a link to your post by 1st of June and I'll include it.
We have entered the creative phase. No, it's not all about glueing, painting and drawing. Cubling has hours of fun making up words, names and enjoying the possibilities of creative use of language. Now, I'm not sure if this is phase is so pronounced because she is brought up bilingually, but I wouldn't be suprised if it was. As ever, it's hard to separate personality traits, nature, from influence of growing up with two languages, nurture. I can only observe and suggest that maybe there is a link.
I'm not talking about her making up her own secret language, it's more a sense of delight in the enless creative possibilities that language offers. A delight in sounds, in combining words to make nonsense words, in naming things and bringing them into existence by the very act of naming. Last night, two bilingual toddlers were in stitches when they surpassed one another in making up such words, which to them were hilarious, maybe even slightly naughty (just that there was nothing we adults could pin point as cheeky or naughty - or to use a good Irish word for it, bold). Their behaviour told us they were exploring boundaries, the boundaries of language for sure, as if their creativity in making up new words and sounds was rebelling against the order of words usually imposed by the OPOL approach. The sounds themselves, well, they were both English and German.
To watch the two bouncing off one another made me wonder whether there was a link to the two 3 year olds growing up in a very similar language environment (mother German speaking, father English speaking, living in Scotland, both attending nursery almost full time). With Cubling I could also see a link to her tendency to add to her communication through drama and vocal expression. It may be that this is her personality, or she may be making up for her still slightly lagging language development (NB, the lag is within the norm, I'm not concerned at all, but I can see that other children her age are able to produce longer and more grammatical sentences. As a linguist, I also understand that non-verbal communication is equally valid and she clearly is very good at that part). If it is the latter, she's doing fabulously by using all the communication functions available to her: her language is supplemented by gestures, facial expression, change of tone, volume, making her the most engaging interlocutor aged 3 that I've so far encountered. She loves role playing and pretending to be animals, so it all makes sense. She doesn't just enjoy drama and pretend play, she is also very confident at it, it warms my heart (mainly because I was always far too shy to stick out from the crowd or act out like that).
Her friend who has the same language background has just moved to Germany for good. From here on, their paths will differ a good bit. For him, German will become the dominant language while for her, English will continue to take centre stage. One last time we were able to listen to their way of communicating with one another, their carefree mixing of languages, their effectiveness of communication that enabled them to have the most fun filled play dates imaginable. How far have they come, from toddlers who only yesterday seemed not yet able to engage in social play without the constant intervention of adults reminding them to share, not grab, not push and pull, to pre-schoolers who genuinely play together for hours without a single argument or disaster, but hours of fun and entertainment. And all in perfect Denglish/Engleutsch. Just like their language, their creativity in their play was striking as was their delight in their creative adventures.
We will all greatly miss the shared time together, which will become so much rarer in the future with the distance that is now unfortunately between us. Yet we're determined not to let this come between somehow managing to continue the friendship not just between the two children.
We have entered the creative phase. No, it's not all about glueing, painting and drawing. Cubling has hours of fun making up words, names and enjoying the possibilities of creative use of language. Now, I'm not sure if this is phase is so pronounced because she is brought up bilingually, but I wouldn't be suprised if it was. As ever, it's hard to separate personality traits, nature, from influence of growing up with two languages, nurture. I can only observe and suggest that maybe there is a link.
I'm not talking about her making up her own secret language, it's more a sense of delight in the enless creative possibilities that language offers. A delight in sounds, in combining words to make nonsense words, in naming things and bringing them into existence by the very act of naming. Last night, two bilingual toddlers were in stitches when they surpassed one another in making up such words, which to them were hilarious, maybe even slightly naughty (just that there was nothing we adults could pin point as cheeky or naughty - or to use a good Irish word for it, bold). Their behaviour told us they were exploring boundaries, the boundaries of language for sure, as if their creativity in making up new words and sounds was rebelling against the order of words usually imposed by the OPOL approach. The sounds themselves, well, they were both English and German.
To watch the two bouncing off one another made me wonder whether there was a link to the two 3 year olds growing up in a very similar language environment (mother German speaking, father English speaking, living in Scotland, both attending nursery almost full time). With Cubling I could also see a link to her tendency to add to her communication through drama and vocal expression. It may be that this is her personality, or she may be making up for her still slightly lagging language development (NB, the lag is within the norm, I'm not concerned at all, but I can see that other children her age are able to produce longer and more grammatical sentences. As a linguist, I also understand that non-verbal communication is equally valid and she clearly is very good at that part). If it is the latter, she's doing fabulously by using all the communication functions available to her: her language is supplemented by gestures, facial expression, change of tone, volume, making her the most engaging interlocutor aged 3 that I've so far encountered. She loves role playing and pretending to be animals, so it all makes sense. She doesn't just enjoy drama and pretend play, she is also very confident at it, it warms my heart (mainly because I was always far too shy to stick out from the crowd or act out like that).
Her friend who has the same language background has just moved to Germany for good. From here on, their paths will differ a good bit. For him, German will become the dominant language while for her, English will continue to take centre stage. One last time we were able to listen to their way of communicating with one another, their carefree mixing of languages, their effectiveness of communication that enabled them to have the most fun filled play dates imaginable. How far have they come, from toddlers who only yesterday seemed not yet able to engage in social play without the constant intervention of adults reminding them to share, not grab, not push and pull, to pre-schoolers who genuinely play together for hours without a single argument or disaster, but hours of fun and entertainment. And all in perfect Denglish/Engleutsch. Just like their language, their creativity in their play was striking as was their delight in their creative adventures.
We will all greatly miss the shared time together, which will become so much rarer in the future with the distance that is now unfortunately between us. Yet we're determined not to let this come between somehow managing to continue the friendship not just between the two children.
Friday, 28 May 2010
The big oily spill and responsibility
Being on holiday means I'm no where near following any news in any depth. The massive environmental disaster of the BP accident and subsequent oil spill is sidelines as are the floods in some parts of Germany and Poland. Yet my thoughts are revolving around the oil spill, without knowing much of the in and outs. I honestly don't know in how far BPs actions have worsened the situation or if anything could have been done by the company to avoid it or mitigate the effect. So firstly, I admit to being seriously ignorant in relation to the complexity of the situation.
However, I would still like to suggest to think again about the ease with which we are ready to blame one oil company and pass on all responsibility to them. As far as I can see, all oil companies are as bad as one another, they are in it for the big profit because at the end of the day, we are highly dependent on oil for our energy needs and food production as well as the production of throwaway tat and stuff. We wants it, readily available, at whatever cost. The oil companies and their behaviour is endorsed by our consumerism and dependency on oil. Shell destroyed great parts of Nigeria, specifically the Niger Delta - not just environmentally but also by changing the society, and taking away the traditional livelihoods without replacing them with anything sustainable. They created poverty, dependency and certainly didn't share the profit they made with the area they destroyed. Add to this cooperation with a military government who were happy to endulge in severe human rights abuses, backed with Shell money, and you have an unstable country at the heart of Africa.
So this time it's BP. And I find it hard to put blame on the company as I've done on Shell for the past 15 odd years (and the abuse is still going) because BP were just doing their job (while Shell could have really shown much better corporate responsibility), as any other oil producing company would. Somehow it seems that we are all to blame, because of our hunger for oil, for creating a monster we cannot control.
So who is responsible and who will and should deal with the consequences? Not an easy question and I don't claim to have an answer. It is important though to consider that this accident didn't happen in a vacuum but in a culture that endorses practices which have proven to have the potential for severe damage to our environment. We are all responsible for that culture - we the people who buy and use plastic, have our food mass produced and imported, have our cars and warm houses in cold climates. We share responsibility at the very least. Let's acknowledge this and consider how we as a global society take on that responsibility before we embark on the easy route of placing all responsibility and blame on BP.
However, I would still like to suggest to think again about the ease with which we are ready to blame one oil company and pass on all responsibility to them. As far as I can see, all oil companies are as bad as one another, they are in it for the big profit because at the end of the day, we are highly dependent on oil for our energy needs and food production as well as the production of throwaway tat and stuff. We wants it, readily available, at whatever cost. The oil companies and their behaviour is endorsed by our consumerism and dependency on oil. Shell destroyed great parts of Nigeria, specifically the Niger Delta - not just environmentally but also by changing the society, and taking away the traditional livelihoods without replacing them with anything sustainable. They created poverty, dependency and certainly didn't share the profit they made with the area they destroyed. Add to this cooperation with a military government who were happy to endulge in severe human rights abuses, backed with Shell money, and you have an unstable country at the heart of Africa.
So this time it's BP. And I find it hard to put blame on the company as I've done on Shell for the past 15 odd years (and the abuse is still going) because BP were just doing their job (while Shell could have really shown much better corporate responsibility), as any other oil producing company would. Somehow it seems that we are all to blame, because of our hunger for oil, for creating a monster we cannot control.
So who is responsible and who will and should deal with the consequences? Not an easy question and I don't claim to have an answer. It is important though to consider that this accident didn't happen in a vacuum but in a culture that endorses practices which have proven to have the potential for severe damage to our environment. We are all responsible for that culture - we the people who buy and use plastic, have our food mass produced and imported, have our cars and warm houses in cold climates. We share responsibility at the very least. Let's acknowledge this and consider how we as a global society take on that responsibility before we embark on the easy route of placing all responsibility and blame on BP.
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Little pleasures that reduce me to hysterical laughter
There was much hilarity in our hotel room last night. Going back a bit, for a good while I played with the idea of becoming a translator/interpreter. But it was quite a hard job to get into, what with lots of people having the same language pair and my reluctance to do yet another qualification on top of my endless studies. So I tried to set up my own little business but never got the clients to make it worthwhile. I tried, did the business plan and realised that I'd be better off financially with another career, probably enjoy that other career more, and wouldn't have to do the marketing which is not something I particularly enjoy. And no, I never thought I wasn't good enough especially when we had to have an interpreter at our wedding (in case hubby didn't understand what he was letting himself in for this was a requirement) and I cringed rather a lot during the ceremony.
I was right about my career choice. I have no regrets.
Just sometimes, I feel that maybe there aren't enough translators about to make sure gross embarrassment is avoided. And I'm generally a helpful person and hate to see people look rather foolish. Here I am, in a German hotel which is part of a well known international chain which I think is American owned. Germany is a country where really everyone has a decent command of English, and I don't see how anyone could work in hospitality without being able to speak English fluently. The information booklet provided by the hotel is both in German and in English. I have a strange feeling they wanted to give me a good laugh and test my pregnancy pelvic floor function when they came up with the English translation. I can't but share some of the highlights - and I'm not sure if I should suggest to them to invest in a trained translator maybe for the benefit of their English speaking guests?
My rates are reasonable by the way.
"You like to get adapter, travel adapter plug or extension cord at the reception"
"Trains to the airport leave from the Munich main station. For a concrete schedule please ask at the reception desk" (I have visions of the ten commandments written in stone)
"You can borrow a bath robe for your sauna visit at the reception desk. We lend you a pledge for this made of beechwood" (sounds interesting, I'm tempted to use the sauna just to see that pledge made of beechwood... Thankfully I checked the German and it's about paying a deposit for the loan of a bath robe - not beeches were harmed in the transaction you'll be glad to know)
"in the case of fire doors and window closed regards immediately see notice, the building at the doors over stairs and escape routes deserted fire extinguishers be in every floor as escape plan" (umph, I hope there won't be a case of fire because I'm not all that sure what to do. Fortunately, "Emergency Exits are marked on the plan suspended on your room door" and you have to "Read the emergency plan in your room at the door" and in no other location!)
"City map: get with pleasure free of cost at the reception" (easy pleasure!)
"You can use the dryer daily from 7am to 10pm be due against."
"We like to send your faxes for you; per page we calculate euros 0, 30"
"Lost and Found will be escrowed at the housekeeping"
"Everybody make an analogous modem attachment extension cord is available on the reception" (Goody)
"Pay TV: You have Pay TV channels in your room at the disposal. Feels after petition of the room number and push the OK. We charges you Euro 13,90." (hm, a bit touchy feeling before watching more of it???)
"In the restaurant you have also the possibility watching different sports events with our flat TV"
"Our Housekeeping is glad to help you at a ragged button or loose hem"
"You have the possibility in every room of using the Internet free of cost. Open your Internet Explorer which conducts you on the initial page automatically. Select the 'Free' entrance there, please. A problem should be able appear you the hotline: our reception helpful or with pleasure also is it for them contact." (if their English is equally bad, I doubt their helpfulness. It also doesn't help that the page is in German and the word "Free" is not there at all, so even a guessing game will go pear shaped)
Thankfully, if internet access on the room fails, "among us you have the possibility in the lobby of using the Internet free of cost in our business room."
Of course, there is a "questionnaire in each room. Please tell us what you think about us, what you liked particularly or what could be improved". Maybe someone should suggest using a translator? But where would be the fun of a night spent giggling uncontrollably be?
I was right about my career choice. I have no regrets.
Just sometimes, I feel that maybe there aren't enough translators about to make sure gross embarrassment is avoided. And I'm generally a helpful person and hate to see people look rather foolish. Here I am, in a German hotel which is part of a well known international chain which I think is American owned. Germany is a country where really everyone has a decent command of English, and I don't see how anyone could work in hospitality without being able to speak English fluently. The information booklet provided by the hotel is both in German and in English. I have a strange feeling they wanted to give me a good laugh and test my pregnancy pelvic floor function when they came up with the English translation. I can't but share some of the highlights - and I'm not sure if I should suggest to them to invest in a trained translator maybe for the benefit of their English speaking guests?
My rates are reasonable by the way.
"You like to get adapter, travel adapter plug or extension cord at the reception"
"Trains to the airport leave from the Munich main station. For a concrete schedule please ask at the reception desk" (I have visions of the ten commandments written in stone)
"You can borrow a bath robe for your sauna visit at the reception desk. We lend you a pledge for this made of beechwood" (sounds interesting, I'm tempted to use the sauna just to see that pledge made of beechwood... Thankfully I checked the German and it's about paying a deposit for the loan of a bath robe - not beeches were harmed in the transaction you'll be glad to know)
"in the case of fire doors and window closed regards immediately see notice, the building at the doors over stairs and escape routes deserted fire extinguishers be in every floor as escape plan" (umph, I hope there won't be a case of fire because I'm not all that sure what to do. Fortunately, "Emergency Exits are marked on the plan suspended on your room door" and you have to "Read the emergency plan in your room at the door" and in no other location!)
"City map: get with pleasure free of cost at the reception" (easy pleasure!)
"You can use the dryer daily from 7am to 10pm be due against."
"We like to send your faxes for you; per page we calculate euros 0, 30"
"Lost and Found will be escrowed at the housekeeping"
"Everybody make an analogous modem attachment extension cord is available on the reception" (Goody)
"Pay TV: You have Pay TV channels in your room at the disposal. Feels after petition of the room number and push the OK. We charges you Euro 13,90." (hm, a bit touchy feeling before watching more of it???)
"In the restaurant you have also the possibility watching different sports events with our flat TV"
"Our Housekeeping is glad to help you at a ragged button or loose hem"
"You have the possibility in every room of using the Internet free of cost. Open your Internet Explorer which conducts you on the initial page automatically. Select the 'Free' entrance there, please. A problem should be able appear you the hotline: our reception helpful or with pleasure also is it for them contact." (if their English is equally bad, I doubt their helpfulness. It also doesn't help that the page is in German and the word "Free" is not there at all, so even a guessing game will go pear shaped)
Thankfully, if internet access on the room fails, "among us you have the possibility in the lobby of using the Internet free of cost in our business room."
Of course, there is a "questionnaire in each room. Please tell us what you think about us, what you liked particularly or what could be improved". Maybe someone should suggest using a translator? But where would be the fun of a night spent giggling uncontrollably be?
Monday, 24 May 2010
Munich calling
Two spirits, love and hate. I'm misquoting. Yet it's how I feel about travelling this day. I'm getting old or something like that, I mean surely something must be wrong with me. After all I'm the one who caught a serious travel bug aged 15 and couldn't let go, spent all her hard earned pennies laboured away in the dumbest of after school and holiday jobs just to be able to travel and explore the world. Only to declare in tears to hubby and Cubling today that I never ever want to travel again.
I guess it's understandable that I'm a bit on edge about this whole travel business. It once was fun when flights were cheap, you slept on someone's floor (and yes, I've slept on floors of people I didn' t even know) and it was all one big adventure. Nowadays it's an undertaking plus this year I've been caught out with cancelled flights twice. I'm scared of flying and feel that I fly far too often. I long for a week just at some Scottish loch taking it easy and enjoying the Scottish sunshine that can never be too hot.
Maybe it's because all my travel led me to Scotland, and as far as a holiday destination is concerned, it's got all I ever wanted. Maybe I'm just getting set in my ways and don't like the upheaval of travel anymore which was exciting once, and now with a toddler becomes a pain in the bum.
And I guess it doesn't help if you almost miss a flight first thing in the morning, after having been oh so organised.
We did get our flight though. We're in Munich. It's sunny and hot, and there's processions of people on roller blades, bicycle parks of unseen expanse, beer gardens the size of villages and after all the stress of the morning, I have to say that I'm rather taken with the amazing friendliness and helpfulness of the people. Above all, I'll be able to catch up with some very good friends over the next few days, friends whom I haven't seen in far too long because our lives no longer intersect an awful lot geographically. There is a bit of a time warp in Munich this week, with friends now based in Mexico, Cologne, Glasgow and of course Munich coming together. And never having been to Munich before, this was definitely a good enough excuse to explore the Bavarian capital.
I'm so excited to see everyone. I know the time will fly and be too short. But it'll be all worth it. And that's why I was in tears this morning, the panic of seeing it all slip by because of my own stupidity of not getting my directions right and getting stuck in Edinburgh rush hour traffic. All that effort, all that excitement to see some of my best friends only 10 minutes from evaporating into thin air. Gladly, I have a husband whose nerves are of much stronger built than mine.
So hello Munich, glad we made it.
I guess it's understandable that I'm a bit on edge about this whole travel business. It once was fun when flights were cheap, you slept on someone's floor (and yes, I've slept on floors of people I didn' t even know) and it was all one big adventure. Nowadays it's an undertaking plus this year I've been caught out with cancelled flights twice. I'm scared of flying and feel that I fly far too often. I long for a week just at some Scottish loch taking it easy and enjoying the Scottish sunshine that can never be too hot.
Maybe it's because all my travel led me to Scotland, and as far as a holiday destination is concerned, it's got all I ever wanted. Maybe I'm just getting set in my ways and don't like the upheaval of travel anymore which was exciting once, and now with a toddler becomes a pain in the bum.
And I guess it doesn't help if you almost miss a flight first thing in the morning, after having been oh so organised.
We did get our flight though. We're in Munich. It's sunny and hot, and there's processions of people on roller blades, bicycle parks of unseen expanse, beer gardens the size of villages and after all the stress of the morning, I have to say that I'm rather taken with the amazing friendliness and helpfulness of the people. Above all, I'll be able to catch up with some very good friends over the next few days, friends whom I haven't seen in far too long because our lives no longer intersect an awful lot geographically. There is a bit of a time warp in Munich this week, with friends now based in Mexico, Cologne, Glasgow and of course Munich coming together. And never having been to Munich before, this was definitely a good enough excuse to explore the Bavarian capital.
I'm so excited to see everyone. I know the time will fly and be too short. But it'll be all worth it. And that's why I was in tears this morning, the panic of seeing it all slip by because of my own stupidity of not getting my directions right and getting stuck in Edinburgh rush hour traffic. All that effort, all that excitement to see some of my best friends only 10 minutes from evaporating into thin air. Gladly, I have a husband whose nerves are of much stronger built than mine.
So hello Munich, glad we made it.
Sunday, 23 May 2010
Bedtime conversation
"I'm ein bisschen kalt!" (I'm a little bit cold - for the rest of this, I'll keep to English rather than her charming Denglish. Just imagine her mixing up languages and me consistently answering in German)
"You are cold? No way, it's so hot! Look at you, you're drenched in sweat. You're hot, not cold."
"Mami, I want to cuddle a bit."
"Mami, I'm a little bit hungry. Maybe I want a banana."
"Ok, here's a banana."
"The banana is a little bit like a rainbow. And a little bit like a slide."
"Yes, you're right."
"But there are no bugs?"
"Yes there are, there's a fly over there. Maybe it's looking for his dinner"
"Oh, yes, that's a fly. It's not a bug though and it doesn't do you any harm, you don't need to be scared of it."
"I'm a little bit scared of the fly."
"I think the fly is a little bit scared of you, because you are so big and the fly is so small."
"Mami, you're a little bit scared of the fly"
"No, Cubling, I'm not at all scared of flies. I'm a little bit scared of lions and crocodiles, but not of flies."
"I'm scared of lions and crocodiles and dinosaurs. I only like Mami, Daddy, Aunty R, cousin A and me."
"It's ok to be a little bit scared of crocodiles and lions and dinosaurs. But there are none here, so you don't need to be scared at all."
"I no like it if it's very very dark. I no like close my eyes and it's all dark"
"But you see it's still a little bit light, it's not dark at all so you don't need to be scared."
"Maybe I'm a bit like a baby"
"Why?"
"Big girls like lions, crocodiles and monsters. And I no like them. I'm a little bit like a baby."
"Oh, but you're a little girl. Maybe when you're older and you're a big girl, you'll like lions, crocodiles and monsters too."
"Mami, I want to see the baby"
"Ok, (I show her my bellybutton). Do you want to say goodnight to the baby?"
"Good night baby! Mami, I want you to stay in bed with me, not leave the room."
"Cubling, I'm always with you even when I'm not in the room with you. I can hear everything through the monitor and if you cry or anything is wrong, I hear it and I'm right with you. You don't need to worry, Mami is always with you."
"I want to cuddle a little bit in bed."
"Ok. But now it's really bedtime."
"What tomorrow going?"
"Tomorrow, we're going in an aeroplane and we'll visit your friend N in Munich! Good night, sleep tight."
"Twinkle twinkle?"
"Of course I'll sing twinkle twinkle."
It was the sweetest exchange we've had and I honestly didn't care about the lateness as long as hopefully now she isn't thinking of flies and monsters who want to eat her all up. She is the most adorable and loveable girl anyone can imagine (yes, I know I'm biassed, but sod it). And tomorrow holds a whole new adventure.
Saturday, 22 May 2010
Thursday, 20 May 2010
A fond farewell
It happens time and time again. This is not the first time, and it won't be the last. And yet it doesn't get easier. I try to ignore it, to distract myself, get on with the trillion things lined up in my head. Yet in the end it gets me as much as I try to ban it from my thoughts.
This week, very good friends of ours will be saying goodbye to Glasgow. It's a reality of our global apple of a world, where we move backwards and forwards so easily. People move. They make friends in their new found home towns. And then, suddenly, without much warning, they move on. There is choice, a sense of guilt, yet no blame, above all a lot of sadness. In the past, it was usually me who was spreading her wings and enjoying the ride. Back then I didn't spend much thought on those I left behind, we all travelled a lot, slept on the floors of each others bedsits. Then I settled, abroad, away from family and some of my bestest friends and as much as I like my new life, I will forever miss those I left behind, who by now had also settled with visits becoming a rare event. And really, the friends that will be with you all your life are made during your formative years.
Then sometimes, ever more rarely, you make new friends closer to where you are, to the place that you and someone else have ended up building their lives in. You share another formative time in your life, out of the blue, when you both come home from a holiday at your old home with a tiny growing person that throws you into a hormonal rollercoaster of pregnancy and motherhood. Due dates only 4 days apart, almost as many doors between the tenement flats you both live in. Jobs shared, motherhood shared, husbands who enjoy each others company as much as their wives enjoy theirs. toddlers who describe each others as best friends and play together in the outdoor nursery. And now I'm left to explain to Cubling that from next week, her best friend won't be there anymore. "No!!!" she says in disbelief. Yes, I answer softly. She will, of course, accept more easily than I do.
And I hope that in spite of the distance our families won't grow apart, that we can somehow bridge the distance. I'm not very successful at that, too often in the past I've missed good friends too much as to seek regular contact, because those phone calls, emails, skypes always carry a sense of what's lost, a longing and sadness that I far too often choose to keep at bay through silence.
This week, very good friends of ours will be saying goodbye to Glasgow. It's a reality of our global apple of a world, where we move backwards and forwards so easily. People move. They make friends in their new found home towns. And then, suddenly, without much warning, they move on. There is choice, a sense of guilt, yet no blame, above all a lot of sadness. In the past, it was usually me who was spreading her wings and enjoying the ride. Back then I didn't spend much thought on those I left behind, we all travelled a lot, slept on the floors of each others bedsits. Then I settled, abroad, away from family and some of my bestest friends and as much as I like my new life, I will forever miss those I left behind, who by now had also settled with visits becoming a rare event. And really, the friends that will be with you all your life are made during your formative years.
Then sometimes, ever more rarely, you make new friends closer to where you are, to the place that you and someone else have ended up building their lives in. You share another formative time in your life, out of the blue, when you both come home from a holiday at your old home with a tiny growing person that throws you into a hormonal rollercoaster of pregnancy and motherhood. Due dates only 4 days apart, almost as many doors between the tenement flats you both live in. Jobs shared, motherhood shared, husbands who enjoy each others company as much as their wives enjoy theirs. toddlers who describe each others as best friends and play together in the outdoor nursery. And now I'm left to explain to Cubling that from next week, her best friend won't be there anymore. "No!!!" she says in disbelief. Yes, I answer softly. She will, of course, accept more easily than I do.
And I hope that in spite of the distance our families won't grow apart, that we can somehow bridge the distance. I'm not very successful at that, too often in the past I've missed good friends too much as to seek regular contact, because those phone calls, emails, skypes always carry a sense of what's lost, a longing and sadness that I far too often choose to keep at bay through silence.
Saturday, 15 May 2010
Out of and into the mouth of toddlers
This morning, Cubling was "helping" me hang up bedlinen. She discovered the joy of a pillow case and pretended it was a sleeping bag. All good fun so far, although I was slightly worried about her dragging a freshly washed pillow case through the whole house. At least I had hoovered the day before I told myself. She put it to lots of creative uses, not just a sleeping bag, oh nonono. It also resembles a bin bag, and she showed me how she can throw lots of toys in there, into her Uelleimer (Muelleimer, German for bin). Then, out of the blue, she announced "mummy, when you are very very old and then you die, I'm going to throw you into a bin bag and put you in the Uelleimer."
Charming. I feel very loved by my girl today. Dead mummy corpse disposal sorted.
And proof that Cubling has discovered the concept of death. Which we have spoken about before a lot, but it was always clear that she had not really understood it (which we didn't expect anyhow) - Only a month ago I could tell her ten times that her Oma died and she would still ask "so where's Oma/your mummy?" It's rather disconcerting if it pops up out of the blue in such, hm, how can I say, functional and pragmatic terms of ... disposal.
Just to prove that Cubling is also rather charming here's our adventure from last weekend:
A colleague of mine has a brood of hens (and quails) which are freed free range - freed from the wretched existence of battery hens, because they no longer produce the required frequency of eggs. So they are now free to roam on an Ayrshire farm - if they aren't chased by little people that is. Cubling was excited to go and even more excited to find ... you wouldn't believe it ... EGGS! Carefully carefully she collected them and only broke one quail egg ("oh dear! Is broken!"). Guess what she's been demanding daily ever since: egg. Egg for breakfast, egg for dinner. Boiled egg, fried egg, scrambled egg. She'll have egg over chocolate, and that's saying something. I'm slightly worried she might turn into one. At least we've got some indication that going ahead with getting a couple of hens will be met with approval by Cubling, although she made it also rather clear that she prefers quails and bunnies because they're "cute" and "fluffy".
That's what an ex battery hen looks like. A bit short on the feather side of things, but rather ok about being handled.
Two hours later and Cubling finally dares to hold "my friendly" which is the name given to the hen by wee A. who was rather taken by Cubling (he ended up hopping on a trampoline baring his chest which I can only interpret of an attempt to impress my daughter. Kids start early in Ayrshire...)
And somehow I've got a feeling "my friendly" wouldn't be so friendly if she knew that within an hour of leaving her, her egg looked like this on Cubling's dinner plate. Nothing beats scrambled egg on toast for a quick, tasty and down to earth meal.
Charming. I feel very loved by my girl today. Dead mummy corpse disposal sorted.
And proof that Cubling has discovered the concept of death. Which we have spoken about before a lot, but it was always clear that she had not really understood it (which we didn't expect anyhow) - Only a month ago I could tell her ten times that her Oma died and she would still ask "so where's Oma/your mummy?" It's rather disconcerting if it pops up out of the blue in such, hm, how can I say, functional and pragmatic terms of ... disposal.
Just to prove that Cubling is also rather charming here's our adventure from last weekend:
A colleague of mine has a brood of hens (and quails) which are freed free range - freed from the wretched existence of battery hens, because they no longer produce the required frequency of eggs. So they are now free to roam on an Ayrshire farm - if they aren't chased by little people that is. Cubling was excited to go and even more excited to find ... you wouldn't believe it ... EGGS! Carefully carefully she collected them and only broke one quail egg ("oh dear! Is broken!"). Guess what she's been demanding daily ever since: egg. Egg for breakfast, egg for dinner. Boiled egg, fried egg, scrambled egg. She'll have egg over chocolate, and that's saying something. I'm slightly worried she might turn into one. At least we've got some indication that going ahead with getting a couple of hens will be met with approval by Cubling, although she made it also rather clear that she prefers quails and bunnies because they're "cute" and "fluffy".
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