MEMORIES OF THE ISLAND
Hi Anne and readers!
Today I wanted to tell you something about my childhood. My grandparents (from my mum’s side) owned a house in “the island”…..
Let me explain it. There is a place, not very far from the city called “The Parana River Delta” (delta is an area of low land where a river spreads into many smaller rivers near the sea). When I was a kid we (my parents, my sister, Claudia and me) used to take the ferry at the pier to go to my grandparents’ house. It took us around 2 hours to get there. It was all an adventure and we had really a lot of fun. In fact, my grandfather had built the house by himself, can you believe this? We always used to say “let’s go to the island” meaning that we wanted to go to my grandparents’ house. The land that surrounded the house was very large. There were a lot of fruits trees, lettuce and tomatoes plantation. There was also a hammock that of course my grandfather made.
Unfortunately we had to sell it when my grandparent’s died but we all remember now with nostalgia those days. Though pictures of “the island” are in my mum’s house I want to share with you shots of The Parana River Delta. The other day Esteban (who has a digital camera) gave me a surprise and sent me them by e-mail.
So Anne, I had to scan most of the pictures I posted. But some of them were taken by Esteban with his digital camera.
About the word “haberdashery”, I looked it up in the dictionary many years ago but thought that perhaps there was another word for it too. Paco, of course I knew the word “mercería”, here in Argentina we use that word too.
Anne I used the word “impressionable” referring to the movies with much blood and shot guns in it. I think that the words scary or frightening don’t fit. What should I have said instead?
Lucky you Anne! Travelling by taxi is very expensive in Argentina. Thanks God I have a car and we don’t have to pay for the garage which is in the building where we live. However if I have to go to the town centre I’d rather take a bus. However, now I’m getting used to travelling by subway, you know I’m a bit claustrophobic and sometimes I feel sick in indoor places.
Anne…………sorry, I wanted to say “worn out” really. Promise to do the exercise with the phrasal verb “to tear” later.
About the 5 expressions you reworded, please tell me if I could find them.
1)Intrigue. In my blog about books I should have used intriguing book.
2)Your sister looks like you. It’s better to say your sister and you are very alike. Or your sister and you look like each other. Or (with another meaning) your sister looks like a princess.
3)Are you the one clapping the hands on the right? (I didn’t put your hands because I didn’t know surely that it was you)
4)If you drive a car. I should have said “if you have a car”.
5)It takes a long time to get….. I should have used “it takes you a long time to get…..”
I have a doubt. I used the phrasal verb “make out”. I can make out the meaning of the word from the context. You used “work out” instead. Is it the same?
Thank you for all of your help and please tell me if I found the 5 expressions. I still don’t know how you can juggle between your job, your house, your kids & husband, the blogs, the MA (by the way what is a MA?)
Thank you readers for all of your comments (Paco, Camilla, Naheed, Modjtaba Emadi, Vladimir). Welcome Modjtaba Emadi, I promise to talk about food in another blog.
Hope Anne and readers have a nice Friday.
Bye for now,
Cris
Comments
Hello Cris,it was lovely to read about your grans. It was a vivid descripton of their home and the place. I have often noticed that if you ever ask children and adults about their favourite places or people they instantly talk about their grans from their mother's side, maybe because we are more close to them. Should I say thank you to Esteban for those lovely pictures? Looking forward to reading about food. All the best wishes, Naheed
Hi Cris! You had a marvelous memories in your childhood, and the landscape of The Parana River Delta are so lovely too. It will be so great to live in here, as it's a really beautiful and relaxing places. I do believed that the house was built by your grandfather:)! He must put a lot of effort to built that amazing house! If there is a chance, I really want to go to this island, for a journey or whatever. It's a bit sad to know that the house was sold, but anyway the best memory will always stay in our mind, and it's pleased to recall this sometimes. Have a good day, Erika.
Hi Cristina! What a wonderful place! I don't know much about Argentina, so thanks Cris for all the things you tell us. Bye for now.
How beautiful the picture is,is it your hometown? as to the childhood,everyone have a different one,and I think you childhood is happy and interesting . as to me ,I grow up at rural erea and my hometown is underdeveloped,but the environment is very good,and the people is more nutural than the urban I think ,while the living standard is not as good as unban erea. Maybe I am a child of fortune that I have more opportunity to study in university while most of my classmates of elementary school did not have ,they have been leaving school in junior high school,I remember I have four good fellow in my village,when in the childhood ,we go to school together nearly everyday,now they have been working for several years ,and each time I go home ,I may not meat them for they are not at home ,I miss them and my childhood
Dear Cristina, Your story about your grandparents reminded me my childhood. As you did, I also used to visit my grandparents from maternal side. They lived in Chitwan which is now major tourist destination for wildlife safari. I started to visit them when I was about ten years in winter seasons and in that time schools were closed in capital city, Kathmandu, of Nepal and that process continued for 5 years. Main purpose of my visit was to have a short tour in jungle where most of people used to go to collect reeds to make thatched roof. In the mean time I could have glance of wild birds and wide animals. Though it was danger to go in that way, now I realised. In that period I was able see some wild animals as well as birds and tasted so many wild fruits. In that period, only few wild life camps were there but it wasn’t affordable to general peoples but nowadays there are so many hotels inside and outside of main jungle in Chitwan at a reasonable rate for internal tourist. Six years ago, I got an opportunity to visit National Park as a tourist and it was really unbelievable experiences. It was three days camp with wine and dines. Chitwan is famous for its flora and fauna. The most famous wildlife in Chitwan is perhaps the single-horned Asian rhinoceros. It has over 50 different species of mammals, 400 different species of birds, and 65 different types of butterflies in its hardwood Sal forests, and "elephant grass" savannah.
Hi Cristina, I have the same problem than you I don't have a digital camera and I thought that I could't participate as a blogger student because of that. I suppose now that with a bit of help I could use scanned photos, or some of then sent by e-mail from my family. You are lucky to remember your grandparents. I only knew one grandfather. My two grandmothers died very young. And today, what a problem with the smoke in the Delta and in Buenos Aires! Here in Montevideo we also had consequences of that strange phenomenon.
Hi Cris, in a German newspaper I read few minuets ago an interesting article about smoke in your city. The newspaper wrote that there ia a lot of stinking and irritation making fumes in Buenos Aires. The issue of that should be farmers in the paraná delta. Because hey are burning the fields, so they must not plough the ground. An other reason should have the basic in differences between the goverment and the farmers in the restriction of soja production and the export. Coud you please tell me more about this specific situation. Thank you.
Hi, Cris! Really nice pictures! Hope you are well. See your new blog soon.
