A House Somewhere - Chapter 2

"A Home in Paradise"

by Isabel Allende

Summary:

Since Isabel needed some free space, due to the divorce from her first husband, she accepted a two-month book tour through Europe and the United States. The last city on her journey was San Francisco, more precisely Marin County. There, during her reading William Gordon showed up. As he had read one of her books and liked it as well, he wanted to get to know Isabel closer. He took her around to show her the natural beauty of Marin County. To come to the point: they married.



Even though, it was in the nature of Isabel to travel around she ended up living in Marin County and grew roots in it. It took her a while to feel comfortable in the “Paradise”- that’s how she describes Marin County. However, she mastered to get accepted: she decided to learn English, to get a driver’s licence and to accept the customs. Finally, she adapted so well that she considers herself being a part of Marin County and definitely not feeling like an alien any more. It’s her home now and she loves it.

Isabel Allende: " ... I found the direct approach of Americans offensive. Their sense of time is so different! Time is gold: fast money, fast sex, fast food."

I really liked this story. Not only am I interested in the person of Isabel Allende, but also her writing style is funny, informative and descriptive at the same time. The excerpt of “A House in Paradise” was easy-and enjoyable to read. It’s really worth-reading.

VOCABULARY:

ferocious (wild;grimmig): fierce and violent e.g: Women can be ferocious when they fall in love.

gracious (freundlich; gnädig; gütig): behaving in a pleasant, polite, calm way e.g.:He was gracious enough to thank me.

ambiguous (doppeldeutig; unklar):having or expressing more than one possible meaning, sometimes intentionally

e.g.: His reply to my question was somewhat ambiguous

oblique (verblümt; indirekt):describes remarks which are indirect, so that the real meaning is not immediately clear

e.g.:She made several oblique references to the current financial situation

A HOUSE SOMEWHERE

As we have to choose another book apart from David Monagan’s Jaywalking with the Irish, I decided to read “A House Somewhere- Tales of Life Abroad”. As some fellow students of mine recommended it strongly, I thought why not and just gave it a shot. Furthermore, it’s not just one complex story so that you can stop reading whenever you want without knowing what has happened before, because the chapters are arranged independently from different authors who have experienced something different.


In CHAPTER ONE Jan Morris, a British historian and travel author who has already been to several places throughout the world like Spain, Venice, Sydney, Manhattan etc. writes about her affection of travelling around and staying in other countries. Although she likes being away from home and learning about other cultures and customs, she from time to time she feels very homesick when being abroad. Jan describes her homesickness with a Welsh word called hiraeth, which means longing, nostalgia or sometimes plain grief.

Summing up, she has had a lot of pleasure from travelling; nevertheless she misses the sense of belonging. To make a long story short, she misses Wales “as the powerful homing instinct is inexplicable.”

Oh my goodness!

When I was searching through the world-wide-web, I came across an article which almost made me puke. First of all, at the medicine.com it is said that eating sushi (raw fish) can cause an infection by parasites from the fish. Anisakiasis, that's how the disease is called, contracted from infected seafood which is eaten raw or marinated. Symptoms are: nausea, abdominal pain or diarrhea (within 12 houra of eating infected seafood; can last weeks to months)

The second article I found was telling the story of an Japanese man, who complained about persistent headache. However, he just put it off as a migraine and stress from work. The pain in his head got worse and worse, he even started to lose his psycomotoric skills. So he seeked for help. The doctors finally found out what the reason for his terrible headache was: tiny worms were crawling around in his brain.

Here's the link, to check the story out yourselves. Watch out the pictures are shocking and disgusting: http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl-brainworms.htm

See also the comments by medical experts: http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl-brainworms4.htm

God save the Queen...

Presidents come and go, but for more than half a century, the queen has always been the queen.

President Bush was playing host for the royal couple (Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip during their two-day visit to the capital. It's the Queen's fifth visit to the States, where George W. Bush thanked her for the support during the Iraqi War. Yesterday, the White House was decorated to perfection for a white- tie dinner for the Queen, where about 134 A-list guests were invited. Who wouldn't want to get an invitation to such a big dinner party, when the Queen is present? Well, apparently there are more important things to do than showing up at such a big event. That's probably the reason why Helen Mirren, who won an Award for the portrayal of Elizabeth II in "The Queen" turned down the invitation of Her Majesty.

Since this story is not that interesting as others, the blooper of the American President made the crowd burst out into raucous laughter: he made the Queen 200 years older than she is. Embarrassing and the queen was not amused.

(article in the The New York Times)

Almost French

For our last English class we had to read an excerpt from Sarah Turnball's "Almost French".

It describes Sarah being invited to a Cocktail party, from which she expected definitely something different...

At the party, where mainly business people or lawyers are present, she realises that partying in France has a different meaning to partying in Australia: Neither do the French comunicate with Sarah, except for the person they came with, nor do anybody offer her a drink.

So, as an Australian she tries to break the ice by introducing herself to the other "party-tigers".To get the ball rollin she starts with chitchatting questions like "what do you do?" and so on. Unfortunately, it isn't working. Handing out drinks to the others was the next hole in which she stepped, that's to say that is considered to be impolite.So, people started talking about her and looking down on her.

Seriously, how the hell could she know that it's rude? Actually, she was gutted by the French restraint and the adherence of their old rules and formalities.

I really can understand how she felt at the party since I'm a very outgoing and laid-back person too. If she had had come to Austria, she wouldn't have had such a hard time . Although Austrians are at the very first beginning a bit shy, if you give them a bottle of beer they won't stop talking. The next time you meet them, it goes without alcohol.

I don't wanna characterise the Austrians as alcohol addicts, but it's just for "the ice-breaking thing" and to become more relaxed.

Europeans and their languages

Today I came across a very interesting article- thanks to Mr. Newman, called "Europeans and their languages". It is about the European Union, which is home to 450 million people from diverse ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. Today, the EU counts 20 official languages and about 60 other indigeous and non- indigenous languages which are spoken over the geographical area.

Broadly speaking, the text refers to the EU becoming a multilingual society in the very near future and its hard times to finally achieve this goal.

As it is also said in the article, I think that a language is the path to understanding other ways of living and opens up the gate to become more tolerant towards other cultures and customs.

However, it's unquestionable that English remains the most widely spoken language throughout Europe. Furthermore, it is mentioned that the motivation of EU citizens to learn a second language or foreign languages in general, is kept within a limit. The reasons for this discouragement might be the lack of time, and the high expenses of languages classes.

Well, as far as I' concerned, I undoubtedly think that learning languages is the key to a wide range of opportunities. Not only, for getting well paid jobs, but also for oneself, to enrich one's life. I'm a language learner, so i can definitely tell you that it's hard work. Apart from studying tons and tons of vocabulary, you really have to put a lot of effort and time into that. You need discipline to sit down and cram all the vocab and grammar sections eagerly.

Remember : "The harder you work, the luckier you get"

Feeding languages

For today's class we had to read the text "and now..." from our script, which basically provides some information about English, its changes and how other languages such as "Singlish"(Singapore English) are formed. It is said that "untouched and pure" English will solely be spoken by a minority in the future. The acceptance of different Englishes increases, which means that not everything has to be put into "correct and proper" English.

According to scholars, the reason for this might be that the steadily growing number of L2 speakers ( people for whom English is the second language), will shape and forge new forms of English.

However, a new form of English hast just appeared, called Text English. Acutally it was used as a parody, but now has found its way into a used language- text messaging. I'd like to give some examples: Hr tcher 4t it was nt so gr8! (Her teacher thought it was not so great) or 2 mny wds & trs? ( too many words and letters)

Another paragraph discusses dictionaries like slang, dialect, humorous or business dictianaries, but also new words that are knocking on the door to be admitted.
Here some examples of those words which you will propbably will find next in your dicionaries:

• Gaydar: an intuitive sense that enables someone to identify wether another person is gay


• Zorse: an animal that is a hybrid of a zebra and a horse


• Gayby: a baby born to a surrogate mother in behalf of a gay couple


• nestspionage: the theft of confidental information by abuse of the Internet

To end up, I give you a sentence to think about: "The use of the English langugae is enslaving and a danger to native tongues"

Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

As everthing seemed getting well, the Monagan’s were robbed. What’s more that David was worried about is that the thieves broke into their house while they were sleeping. It is only natural that he was preocupied about the safety of his family. Later he received a call from the police, telling him that his car was stolen and ready for collection at one of the gardaí stations.
Monagan noticed that there has been a dramatic increase in the crime rate, that the police is understaffed and prisons are bursting into seams. Monagan couldn’t sleep anymore, and began patrolling the house with a baseball bat.
In the end the Monagan’s and other victimized neighbours filed a formal complaint with the gardaí against the “uncontrolled” youth in their neighbourhood. Another progress was made when they caught the burglars who stole David’s car.

Jaywalking with the Irish

CHAPTER 16

As Jamie stated to get into projects with the Cork Opera House and Art gallery, David Monagan thinks that they have now ended and overcome their six-month probation period. Angesteckt with the enhusiasm of Jamie, David was pondering about creating his own newspaper. He wanted to launch a provocative, colour monthly magazine to celebrate Cork’s renaissance. The only problem for the realization was – as almost always the money. The kids quickly noted the change in their parents’ spirit. “If you atrat your magazine, Dad, won’t we have to stay here for years and years?, little Laura asked. Well, in fact the children settled in very well, but they claim that they prefer living in America, because it’s “way, way, double hundred times better” and they also miss their friends a lot back home.


CHAPTER 17

In chapter 17 he tries to get in touch with potential investors or advertisers to make his project, the magazine come true. He met Trevor White, the publisher of the “Dubliner”, who warned him that it is very hard to launch a new magazine in Cork. Not wanting to give up, he and his wife drove to County Kerry to visit Noelle Campbell- sharp, a poetential helper for the magazine scheme. Unfortunately she didn’t really give him some useful advice, but solely talked about her achievements in life. When she invited them to stay for dinner, they said goodbye politely with the excuse to get home to their kids.

Jaywalking with the Irish

CHAPTER 12

In this chapter David Monagan talks about the four- day jazz fesival in Cork, which is the “mother of all Irish parties”. It takes place every year at the end of October, and the city turns into a carnival where 50.000 visitors come to hear the offerings of 1000 musicians.
Then the Monagan’s decided to celebrate- after being three months inot their adventure, with a trip to a place in County Kerry called Sneem. They enjoyed the tranquil and peaceful area and savoured the spectacular vista of the mountains. They passed a sixteen- foot, steinlessstell tree sculpture with the sign: “The Way the Fairies Went”. This was a gift of Israel’s president. Apart from that we get more historical information, for instance when he writes about a church where under the altar is said to lay the reamins of one of the laziest and most outlandish priests in history of Kerry, Father Michel Walsh. He rather prefered hunting than preaching sermons.

Jaywalking with the Irish

CHAPTER 8

In this chapter the children started their schooling in Ireland, with topics of private and state schooling or the question of wearing school uniforms or not.
As I have been dealing with the schooling system in England and Ireland for two semesters, I really do not wanna get into this too much again, because I actually cannot hear it anymore. (Sorry!)

CHAPTER 9

In this chapter was that David had to admit his search for work is rather unsuccessfull than anythingelse. We also got to know the three stages of the Irish drunk. For those, who don't know what I’m talking about, here we go: the peacock, the monkey and the pig. (“They all start as peacocks and turn into mnkeys

and the pig comes rrooting around after”)Probably because of his problems finding a job, most of the chapter is set in the “Hi-B pub”.

Jaywalking with the Irish

CHAPTER 7

In chapter 7 the Monagan's are on the way to Clonakilty to visit the Music Fesitval. Apart from the difficulties David has with the roundabouts, he also realizes that the rural roads, where sheep and cows were crossing the streets where now replaced with highways. What I found very interesting was that Monagan gave us an overview where Ireland is set when it comes to driving dangerously or the rate of road fatalities. (Ireland is the seventh most dangerous place to drive on earth and has the second highest rate of road fatalities).
He also mentions the “festival crusties”, whom he had noticed at the festival. “The crusties” are considered to be the Irish hippies, who moved to the secret spaces of Ireland’s west in the 1970s and 1980s.

Jaywalking with the Irish

CHAPTER 6

As David and his family thought they moved to a safe place, they never closed their front gate.Apart from that they also felt with shutting the gate imprisoned. As a consequence, many of the kids from the neighbourhood made use of the always-open gate, came over and played in the Monagan’s garden. The American family thought that their democratic behaviour would welcome every kid, which was a rather considered to be a naïve thinking by the Irish. One day when a girl spat on Laura, David followed his duties as father and talked to her in a rather unfriendly way. His reaction, talking to the girl straightforward had the consequence that the kid’s garden play furniture had been smashed to bits.
“In Cork, the lexicon of the unsaid runs deep, and conflicts are discussed in parables.”
“A newcomer to Ireland had better learn those nuances”.

But this incident didn’t make the family's lose the faith in the Irish. As one day David lost his sunglasses- not very inexpensive ones, he called Vincent Fahr, a Cork City fireman for help. After “diving and seeking” in the black, thick water-mud is probably the most suitable word, he finally managed to give them back to his proprietor. Having found a hero in Vincent, he also proved that a spirit of selfless dedication still “runs down the Irish backbone”.

Jaywalking with the Irish

CHAPTER 4

In this chapter of jaywalking with the Irish, David Monagan explores the pub- life - the extraordinary public house called "Hi-B", where he- as always, meets a lot of interesting and definitely one-of-a kind people with whom he is chatting .
The author also conveys the situation of the family; getting started in Ireland or making necessary arrangements.

CHAPTER 5

In this chapter he uses the first sentences “the true symbol of Ireland is a circle”, a talisman shape to explain that Irish people very often tend to reminisce about what has happened in the past. (In our English class we also heard that also the songs or conversations are full with nostalgia)
What’s more is that David and his wife visited Paddy, Bun’s son and his wife and stopped at a nearby pub, named Mary Osborne’s, where Jamie could show her talent as a singer. (“a golden noodle…”)
Monagan also mentions the vanishing of magnificent and picturesque places, which are now replaced by bungalows of the rich.

Jaywalking with the Irish

CHAPTER 2

As in chapter one, David Monagan continues to describe the reasons for moving to Ireland, the settling in and the reason why they left America. Furthermore, he depicts the commence of getting to know new people, or meeting their new neighbours. Giving us an insight into the reasons whey they left America, he mentions that they wanted to escape their odd and programmed lives, where people are too busy to interact and socialise with others.

In search of food, he found a supermarket where the first dodgy experience happened: he could not use his credit card for paying the groceries. Secondly, full of confidence he went into a bank to open a checking account, which was then deniend, because of the bank clerk’s saying that “they cannot know how he is who he say he is until six months have passed.”

CHAPTER 3

In chapter 3 David looks back on the time spent in Ireland when he was a student. During this time he rented a gate lodge in the north of Dublin, a few miles from the Trinity College, where he was meant attending the classes. But he rather prefered reading books by Falnn O’Brien than going to College. Furthermore, he mentions his friend and soul mate Bun, with whom he underwent ispiring days going to pubs and drinking “ambrosia and nectar”- carrot whiskey. Receiving the sad news that his dear old friend had died in his sixties, ripped open a wound which never healed.
David Monagan also describes places like Connemara, which he was introduced to through his friend Bun.

Connemara is a distirct in the west of Ireland. Formerly it was divided into North and South Connemara. The coast of Connemara consists of numerous peninsulas. The main town of Connemara is Clifden.

Trinity College
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin or more commonly Trinity College. It was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I and is the only constituent college of the University of Dublin, Ireland’s oldest university.

Flann O’Brien
Flann O’Brien was the best known pseudonym of Brian O’Nolan, who was born in 1911 and died in 1966. He was a 20th century satirist and humorist who also published under the name “Myles na gCopaleen.”

Jaywalking with the Irish

Hurray! I have managed to read „Jaywalking with the Irish” till the very end. Apart from the fact that I feared the book would be as boring as Bill Bryson’s "Lost Continent", I was overwhelmed and surprised by the courage of the Monagan's and by David's funny and intriguing style of writing. Although I got slightly confused through his mix of past and present experiences when reading the first chapters, I finally could follow his thoughts and got totally involved in his traveller story.

Chapter One

As David Monagan had already been to Ireland when he was a student, he was absolutely thrilled by the the place.

In chapter one he describes why he and his family moved to Ireland and how they felt about it, especially his youngest son Owen. On their first day in Ireland, they wandered the streets of their new home and enjoyed the hectic atomsphere. However, he also sensed that Ireland has changed over the years and is now different to what he had expected. He started to have doubts about the big step moving to Ireland and realized that he and his family will have to learn quite a few things about how things work in this country.

Jaywalking with the Irish

About the author

David Monagan, an American in his forties with Irish roots moved with his wife and his three children from Cornwall, a small town in Western Conneticut to Cork, Ireland's second largest city.

In his book "Jaywlking with the Irish" he describes the family's pleasures, challenges ,frustrations and struggles when it comes to terms with their new life to fit in.