The rat answers the pig....
The noise of firecrackers sporadicallyreverberates around Beijing city; this is just a taster of things to come on February 6th, Chinese New Year's Eve and Chinese New Year’s Day, February 7th. On those days, the firecrackers will be constant and deafening! The whole country is preparing for the biggest holiday of the year, people finishing work, travelling to their hometowns and buying all sorts of foods and gifts for the holiday period. This is a family festival for Chinese people and being at home with their nearest and dearest is the most important aspect of the lunar New Year.
Many foreigners who live here tend to leave the city at this time (to get away from the barrage of firecracker noise!!) and take advantage of the time off work to take a vacation somewhere in south East Asia, in warmer climes. As much as I’d love to jet off to Thailand this holiday, I’m going to be home with my family, spending time catching up with some friends, doing bits and pieces of work, some study and generally chilling out. No fixed plans, just going with the flow.
How was your weekend? What did you do? How do most young people in your town spend their evening and weekends? For me, as I’m home most of the week and weekends, the days seem to blur into each other. This week, I worked on Saturday morning, I'm an English tutor and my student's classes are after school and weekends. The kids I teach are great; they all attend international schools and have good English. They are very hard working, dedicated and well-behaved and crack me up with their comments and stories. They are different nationalities including Korean, Japanese, Hong Kongese and Chinese so the multi-cultured teaching is really interesting for me. I’m lucky to be able to work for home too as that means I get lots of time during the day to spend running around after my baby girl, Teah, and then I’m able to have a break for a couple of hours by doing tutoring.
One good thing about the weekend was that my husband returned home after a two week business trip in the provinces of China. It’s not so much his return that I was happy about(!), just the presents he bought home for Teah and I !! It was just like Christmas when he opened his suitcase and pulled out toys and clothes for Teah and jewellery for me. It’s become somewhat of a family tradition that when he goes away on business travel, he comes home bearing gifts (and a great habit that is too!)Then in the evening we ordered one of my favourite take out foods, Indian. Yes, I’m a typical Brit with my passion for Indian curries especially ones eaten late on Saturday nights with a beer or two. Fortunately for me, being the foodie that I am, Beijing has a plethora of restaurants covering every nation’s food that you can think of. Most restaurants not only have great food but very reasonable prices compared to those in Europe.
Anyway Anastasia, with reference to your last blog, although you gave great information about the length and breadth of Russia and mentioned the size of your hometown, you never explained where exactly the town is located apart from saying Central Russia. How could the readers and I better get a sense of your location when most of us (sorry to those who know more than I!) only know where Moscow and St.Petersburg are situated. You also mentioned that you had been to the UK and that is where you saw those beautiful pigs (I adore piglets!)Additionally I noticed in the comments that Elena from Moscow asked about your UK experience. Next blog , please share details of your travel to the UK, your impressions and what you learned culturally and/or linguistically because I think we’d all be interested in that.
I was amazed to read that you had started your reading in English with Thomas Hardy-what an ambitious and extremely difficult start. Talking about ‘Wuthering Heights’, I can understand where you are coming from when you say that it’s too difficult to read due to the archaic language and expression and there is nothing more tedious than spending more time looking words up in the dictionary than reading and enjoying the book. Did you ever get around to reading it in Russian? I only ask because I know many students of English who, daunted by reading the English version, read the translation and thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a particular favourite amongst Chinese students. Now that you are reading modern writers, what are you currently reading? I’m usually reading two or three books at the same time and have just finished a Ray Bradbury novel called ‘Fahrenheit 451’. Have you ever heard of it or read it? I read it many years ago and enjoyed it much more on this re-read. Do you ever read books for a second time or even third time? I think, for students studying English, it’s profitable to read English novels a few times as you absorb more and more language and meaning on every read.
I’m supposed to comment on your language use and writing so that’s what I am going to end with. In general, I want to say that I think your writing style and accuracy are extremely impressive (look at all the positive comments you got from our audience!)There are some small errors but if I were to mention them it would be very nit-picky of me (and even native speakers don’t speak or write perfectly). However, I am going to quote a few things from your blog and I’d like you to tell me why I have brought them to your attention:
‘a rime of frost’
‘plain ticket’
‘that makes me feel shut up in from time to time’
‘There I, an eighteen years old girl, get impressed by my second cousin…’
I’d also like to ask you what exactly you meant when you said that ‘I write it out and use’ when referring to reading modern novels. Do you mean that you write out different parts of the book and use them in your own speaking and writing? Thanks for clarifying!
I must sign off by saying it’s lovely that you are a pig and your year is about to end, it’s fabulous for me that I am a rat and my year is just about to begin…
With very best wishes to you and everyone reading
Trudi
Vocabulary
sporadically (adv) occasionally
reverberate(v) echo
taster (n) idea/ sample
nearest and dearest close family
lunar (adj) connected with the moon
barrage(n.) large number of something that is delivered quickly
climes (n) country/climates
going with the flow acting freely and following what happens
crack me up make me laugh a lot
province (n) parts of a country outside the capital
bearing gifts having presents to give somebody
foodie(n) a person very interested in food and eating
plethora (n) quantity greater than what is needed
linguistically (adj) lconcerning language
tedious (adj) very boring
get around to finally do something
daunted (adj) discouraged
nit-picky (adj) focusing on small, unimportant detail
clarify (v) make something clear and easier to understand
Comments
Trudi your entry was so very exhilarating and inspiring with extremely useful and mind provoking words and expressions. I just went with the flow and enjoyed your writ. I can see that you and Anastasia are going to steel our hearts completely not forgetting to mention Teah.
Hello Trudi. It's been nice to read your first entries in the blog. I have a couple of questions I'd like to ask you. In your writing you say: "Teah and I" and "those who know more than I" and I would have written "me" instead. what of both "I" and "me" are more commoly used. Speaking about food, it's the first time I hear "take out food" instead of "take away food", and about this I ask the same question. I haven't read many books in the original, but many retold and simplified. Lately I gave a try at "World Without End" by Ken Follet, and succeed in read it. But most of them are already too hard for me to read. See you soon
Hi,Trudi How are you and your family all? I think I am getting addicted to your letters although they cause me to get more and more homesick. I am from Korea but I live thousands and thousands miles away from my family in the UK so i can't be with them on the Chines New Year day. Korean peolpe also have a big celebration on the lunar New Year. Poeple in our country will be together with their nearest and dearest, catching up with,blessing each other for good health and a fruitful year,sharing jokes and tucking into much of scumptious food. On the day my family will bow our mother in Korean traditional costumes praying for living a long and health life, after then my brothers and sisters bow each other,saying to thank for having been taken care of each others very well before eating the big morning meal.Anyway,I like your beloved Teah's picture and make me smile.she is so cute! Have a good holiday!PS.Do you know it's a pancake day but i've just heard the celebration has been banned due to Safety and Heathy standard.hyoshilxx
I hope you are enjoying the Chinese New Year eve. Each country has its own tradition to celebrate New Year. Here in India, we won’t do much fire crackers on New Year eve. Instead we have lot of fireworks at Divali day. It’s one of the Hindu festivals. In North Indians celebrate this as a New Year day. OK. You should ask your husband to take as much business trip as possible. So you can receive more jewels from him whenever he returns from abroad. Is it true that Brits are not fond of Jewels? But Trudi is different. Isn’t it? I was happy to know that you like Indian curries. Thanks for your advice to read the novel again and again. It will help the learners to gain the language point. Another useful point from your blog is read two books at same time. I have never done that. I have been picking up reading story books( upper intermediate and advanced level) in the last years. I never touched lengthy novels. But your advice will help me to learn English in a better way.
Hi, Trudy. Your lovely daughter looks able to play lots of pranks on you. - May I guess how one could 'correct' Anastasia's sentences? 1. Rime frost, without article or 'of', just an uncountable collocation here. 3. Feel shut in, without 'up'. 4. I, an eighteen-year old girl, am (as Anastasia uses the present tense in this part of her blog) impressed. - BTW, why do you yourself write « just the presents he bought home for Teah and I « ? Why I, not me?
Hello Trudi, it's really good to have you as a teacher blogger. Your daughter is very beautiful:). So you are also a fan of Indian food! I'm very impatient to ask you an interesting question that what makes Indian food so dear to English people? Is it the use of variety of spices or vegetables and various pulses or something that you would like to share with us all? You are living in my Nieghbour country and I'm glad about that. Naheed
Congratulations for your beatiful daughter. Here in Uruguay we have no opportunity of try indian food, if there is, I have no notice. The sushi is more in fashion but not widely known. I enjoy reading Rosamunde Pilcher. What can you tell us about her. I read some of her books in spanish and some others in English, Those are the books I re-read to practice the language.
G’day, Rat,Pig!!!!!!! What am I? I don’t know. How do I find it ? I think the coming days are going to be interesting for everyone. Cheerio! Praveen raj
Hi dear Trudi , What are you doing ? First of all very thanks for your information about Chinese New year . I 'm happy my shot in the dark was true ( About Chinese new year ) . What a beautiful girl . I specially love the children in this stage (toddlers ) . My cheeky monkey send a hug to pretty Teah . Could you please tell us the meaning of her name and it's pronunciation .I love reading book in English , but unfortunately I haven't had chance to read an original one . I have just read Penguin Books in different levels and in the different areas . I have read ‘Wuthering Heights’ in Persian and I have bought it 's penguin version recently . But personally when I read those famous books in English it keeps me on my toes . I know that re- reading books is a nice idea for brushing up my English but most of the time when I 'm reading an English book, from the middle of it I just to know the line of the story and I forget about it’s learning aim . Yes it 's my weakness about reading novels . I 'm waiting to hearing from you as soon as possible Kiss your pretty Teah for me and bye Best wishes ps_this is the second time that it send this comment for you , down to spam _manager ,it looks the enemy of our comments !!!!!
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