i'm collecting ways to say i love you. here is the list so far...
je t'aime (french)
ek is lief vir jou (afrikaans)
te amo (spanish)
naku penda (kiswahili)
please write back if you speak another language and can add to this list!
Saturday, January 26, 2008
cultural nuances
sitting around the kitchen table, we have discovered many new things about south african, american, japanese, and canadian culture and how they are the same or different. did you know:
- toyota is the most popular car company in south africa
- in japan, they keep squirrels as pets
- satsuma is like a purple potato (my yams caused some confusion)
- the card game 'president' or 'janitor' is a drinking game in america, but the word for it in japanese means 'richest man'
- you can't find marmite at the roche brothers grocery store, but rooibus tea is everywhere
- some people in america put ketchup on top of their pizza (maybe this is just the one we were talking to...)
- nobody knows what i'm talking about when i say touque
...hopefully there are many more of these to come!
- toyota is the most popular car company in south africa
- in japan, they keep squirrels as pets
- satsuma is like a purple potato (my yams caused some confusion)
- the card game 'president' or 'janitor' is a drinking game in america, but the word for it in japanese means 'richest man'
- you can't find marmite at the roche brothers grocery store, but rooibus tea is everywhere
- some people in america put ketchup on top of their pizza (maybe this is just the one we were talking to...)
- nobody knows what i'm talking about when i say touque
...hopefully there are many more of these to come!
relocating
after being away from bridgewater for a month and a half, i am officially back and already one week into the semester. things have changed significantly and i'm now living with two wonderful friends just off the edge of the campus (a five minute walk from the library) on maple ave. how appropriate!
it is a very large house that is currently still under renovation by the landlords. and so we get construction from the wee hours (seven o'clock on days where no one has a morning class...!). this is the view of the front:
here is the side door that leads directly into the kitchen, and the windows to the right of zaine are mine. the room is somewhat septagonal - seven walls, with only one right angle, and three of those have windows. it gets beautiful morning light.
i think we would collectively agree that this is our favourite room in the house. here is reiko showing off her skills with a skillet.
this table and chair set was a steal...reiko found it for five dollars at the thrift store. and i happened to have the fabric for our table cloth. zaine contributed the fitting world map. we have the idea that we should hang all of our different flags out the front of the house, the way american flags are hanging proudly on lots of houses in the neighbourhood. conversation piece?
that door on the right in the picture above leads into my room. here is a photo from the inside. so far all it has is a bed and nightstand and several still packed suitcases.
that door on the right of my bed is a double door that connects my room to zaine's. here is the mantle that was left behind when the fire place was closed off. it makes for good shelf space!
zaine's room, which overlooks the street:
here are the double doors that connect zaine's room to the front hall with the staircase leading up to reiko's room, the bathroom that has been ripped out, and the two other rooms waiting for renovation (one with a gaping hole that leads to the attic).
our mostly empty common room
some of reiko's art, which i am hoping she chooses to decorate the living room area with...
finally, a picture of home. to christen our new oven, we baked a loaf of bread, and i cooked up a lentil stew (served in one of my pottery bowls from ceramics one, taken last semester at bridgewater) for supper on the first night that we had the table.
it is a very large house that is currently still under renovation by the landlords. and so we get construction from the wee hours (seven o'clock on days where no one has a morning class...!). this is the view of the front:
here is the side door that leads directly into the kitchen, and the windows to the right of zaine are mine. the room is somewhat septagonal - seven walls, with only one right angle, and three of those have windows. it gets beautiful morning light.
i think we would collectively agree that this is our favourite room in the house. here is reiko showing off her skills with a skillet.
this table and chair set was a steal...reiko found it for five dollars at the thrift store. and i happened to have the fabric for our table cloth. zaine contributed the fitting world map. we have the idea that we should hang all of our different flags out the front of the house, the way american flags are hanging proudly on lots of houses in the neighbourhood. conversation piece?
that door on the right in the picture above leads into my room. here is a photo from the inside. so far all it has is a bed and nightstand and several still packed suitcases.
that door on the right of my bed is a double door that connects my room to zaine's. here is the mantle that was left behind when the fire place was closed off. it makes for good shelf space!
zaine's room, which overlooks the street:
here are the double doors that connect zaine's room to the front hall with the staircase leading up to reiko's room, the bathroom that has been ripped out, and the two other rooms waiting for renovation (one with a gaping hole that leads to the attic).
our mostly empty common room
some of reiko's art, which i am hoping she chooses to decorate the living room area with...
finally, a picture of home. to christen our new oven, we baked a loaf of bread, and i cooked up a lentil stew (served in one of my pottery bowls from ceramics one, taken last semester at bridgewater) for supper on the first night that we had the table.
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