THE WILD AUSTRALIA

The merits of being unemployed

Why the hell people relish the idea to go to Australia, the WILD Australia? The costs are colossal, the journey is endlessly long, prisoners were sent to Australia and after all it is treacherous and wild. (Yes, in the past prisoners were sent to Australia. In year 1787 the British began to colonize Australia. Since the unexplored land was harsh, much work was needed to turn this land into arable fields. Therefore, convicts were the first settlers of Australia, and a major number of those prisoners were Irish. The Irish became the first white minority in Australia. Read an interesting article about a famous escape from Australia under: http://www.irish-society.org/Hedgemaster%20Archives/australia.htm). This question seems to bother Sean.

Sean considers himself lucky since he landed safely, wasn’t kicked over by an animal he had hold for the most dangerous, the kangaroo. A visit to Australian museum changed his mind.

The main reason for visiting the Australian Museum was to get primed for the worse, to see what did he let himself in for and to get to know what he will have to become inured to. Why inured to? Australia is home to the world’s most lethal insects, snakes (jus the thought of them makes me feel queasy) and is awash with the most “resplendent” spiders. Snakes creep around in the bush in water or fields, crocodiles (not at all amenable) are gigantic and can grow up to 7m and the famous spider is the Sydney funnel-web spider. Australian beauty is just a veneer that cracks down the moment you get to know it better. Australia = island of terror, so he things.

VOCAB:

§ pose an immediate threat
§ bewildering mass
§ venomous snakes
§ slither over
§ unnerving
§ not averse to

CHAPTER 14

Monagan begins this chapter by describing Ireland in December or as he says a “season that is best spent in bed.” Not only does the countryside grow sullen but also their precious car. Besides, he points out that some crazy visitors to Ireland believe that it promotes health. Yeah, of course. It makes you want to sleep day in day out and as if this weren’t healthy :).

Another thing that can have an influence on your health is the gardaí and their perfunctory engagement with the problems of their fellow citizens. Amongst the tribulations the Monagan family has so far stumbled upon is now the smashed window of their car. On calling the gerdaí the incident still remains shrouded in mystery.

As if this shattered window weren’t enough. Monagan’s wife Janie has problems finding a job. I the Hi-B Monagan was given an offer- his wife should call in the morning. But what turned out is that promises made in a pub are not to be stuck to. Moreover, they find out that when looking for a job, it is not the question of what you can but whom you know – “or you will officially be regarded as nonexistent.” The problem of who-do-you-know is also at the root of the emigration of qualified people.

The adjustment to the new environment seems to be more unsettling for the parents than their children. Mercifully, it is Christmas time, so all the bad memories can be swept into a corner, if only for a day or two.

Ireland is without doubt not the only country in the world with the question “Who do you know.” Bribery, corruption and who-do-you-know – it all perfectly epitomizes Croatia. Recently I heard from my friend that her friend who was an excellent (more then an excellent student) had “surprisingly” “little” difficulties enrolling for the course she wanted. Why? Because people who know THE MAJOR PEOPLE (professors, doctors and so on and so forth) jump the invisible line. That makes me furious.

AUGUST

The holiday season

In August the serene Provance is invaded by tourists, who can even be recognized miles away; new shopping baskets, spotless cars, immaculately dressed women. Although the natives find here or there something to grumble at the tourists, “… it was generally agreed that they were a funny bunch…” Fun could also be made of them: “ What is it that changes from the colour of a dead rat to the colour of a dead lobster in three hours? Les Anglais en vacances.”
It is important to emphasize that English are not the only who undergo a transformation. French people too change from dead boring (or better to say formal) to riotously amusing. On a party where Peter and his wife were the only English speaking, the sound of Vivaldi was replaced by “… a few seconds of electronic hissing, followed by the shriek of a man undergoing heart surgery without anesthetic…” What an affect will this music have on other members of such an elegant gathering?

If this party isn’t enough to bring you in good mood or to make you laugh your head off, you could visit a traditional goat race. Putting a bet on the sheep is common, but if you are not familiar with it, it is recommended to seek advice since this goat racing is a highly sophisticated discipline. Not only you should calculate for the sheep (the sheep who make the most droppings before the race are likely to be faster), but also for the drivers, for the strongest driver.

VOCAB
§ solemn - Her face grew solemn.
§ Consternation – SYN: DISMAY - Her mouth fell open in consternation.
§ Inducement to sb/sth – SYN: INCENTIVE - Government officials have been accused of accepting inducements.
§ sartorial - He is known for his sartorial elegance.

JUNE

“The local advertising industry was in bloom.” As another summer season began the pace of live in Provence accelerated a bit. Adverts filled the windscreens of cars, amongst which was one inviting to donate blood. Peter and his wife took the plunge. At the time they got to the village hall in Gordes, the rooms were already crowded with as well sober volunteers as with some men in inebriated condition. What amazed them was that contrary to England where you usually get a cup of tea and cookies, the food and drinks were in surfeit, prepared to wine and dine those who suffered the depredation of an injection. “Hundreds of liters had been collected that morning in Gordes, but the other statistic that interested me- the number of liters that had been drunk- was nowhere to be found, a tribute to medical discretion.”

Another interesting thing we find out in this chapter is the ingrained social behavior of the Provencal people. You have to go to great lengths to get used to the quaint daily rituals and become one of THEM (the Provencal people). Why go to great lengths? The rules for social behavior are deeply enshrined in the heads or Provencal men and women. Shaking hands is not just a simple handshake. While men are known to be “prone” to a whole palette of handshakes and are at the risk to suffer bodily damage, women have to be good in maths. Kiss once, twice or three times – who knows? Mayle says: “It is hardly surprising that aerobics never became popular in Provance.” A trip to Aix, a university town, reveals another set of rules one should apply to while going to a café.

One topic is covered through the whole book, namely the renovation of their 200-year-old farmhouse. This made me think about their financial situation. They must be filthy rich, or am I mistaken? I mean, not only did they move to France and bought a house (I suppose it wasn’t that cheap) but also were embellishing it to perfection. Besides, trips to the neighboring villages and diners in unique and venerable restaurants couldn’t be that inexpensive either.

VOCAB
§ excitable - a class of excitable ten-year-olds
§ perilous - a perilous adventure / journey
§ perfunctory - They only made a perfunctory effort.
§ furtive - She cast a furtive glance over her shoulder.
§ Convalesce - She is convalescing at home after her operation.

THE MOBILEPHONEMANIA

http://averyinrome.blogspot.com/

Since my intention is to learn Italian next year, it would be of a benefit to learn something about Italy in beforehand. After having searched the Internet for some special blogs, I found nothing that grabbed my attention. For this reason, I looked into the blogs of my fellow friends and finally found what I was looking for. The girl, whose name I have to find out, landed in a unique corner of the world, Italy, due to love.

It this entry she reports about the peculiar attraction for the most ubiquitous device in this day and age, THE MOBILE PHONE. As if this “machine” were handy for showing of. Of course it is, so they (Italian people) hold. While she was on a party with her friend, the thing she found odd was JUST how the Italians are enamored with this modern apparatus, how they pay homage to their pats. Barely can ONE mobile phone ring that a cacophonous symphony by thousands of other mobile phones fills a room. A venerable ritual follows! Showing photos of relatives, friends, friends of the friends and so on and so forth. Not to forget to listen to the ringtones. They all feel compelled to do it.

That nowadays people have more than one mobile phone is nothing unusual. I myself have two, one in Croatia and one her in Austria. But not that I am obsessed with them, no! This mobilephonemaina remembers me of a friend of mine who could hardly await a lesson to be over to write a few sms. Whit I find absurd is that children who even cannot utter words properly or are illiterate are in possession of this “machines”. I won’t go into details now but I hold that mobile phones should be banned in primary schools.

Mysteries Squared

Yuppie!
After some looong time of procrastination I finally started reading the other blogs. Honestly, I was torn between two of them and finally alea iacta est. Since I’m an avid but peculiar Australia fan (peculiar in the way that I don’t know much about it), I found a blog about a Canadian guy (Sean) living in Australia http://www.a-reminder.org/notes/. In this for me rather opaque entry he remarks on the Australian PM, John Howard and the shadow government.
To start with, we find out that Australia, one of the well-known and most exotic “islands” of the world, is nothing short of invisible in the North America media world, a tame affair. News about Australia seldom reach the other side of the world, Vancouver. Apropos news, when watching it on TV, the thing that astounds him (Sean) is the “incompetence” to understand it. This is an unadulterated testimony to the fact that knowing a language is just a drop in the ocean. Cultural background is what we need! General knowledge is what we should long for!

Now to the political part or better to say to John Howard, the ostensibly disreputable PM. Sean’s opinion of the Pm is no that positive. I’ll now sidestep this unsettling issue since I might be in jeopardy of misinterpreting his standpoint. You rally have to read his entry yourself, http://www.a-reminder.org/notes/?p=7. However, what I’ll do is to find something about the Australian political system to at least have a clue about it. Politic is not my thing, though. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Australia
Having read two or three more entries of him (I’ll report about it some other time), I am of the opinion that they are a real page-turner or should I say mouse-clicker!? I am glad that I have finally found something attention-grabbing and I’m really looking forward to reading it.
VOCAB:
spine-tingling bore
sth is afoot
alcohol-invigorated men

ELOQUENT SILENCE

ELOQUENT SILENCE, Sandra Brown

The other day I started reading a book, the dust jacket of which was (or still is) quite an alluring one. Not exactly knowing that it is as a heart-wrenching novel as all the classic love stories, I got my hands dirty. From the aforementioned you can slightly draw a conclusion that I am NOT AT ALL an enthusiastic reader of this love stories. I like to watch love stories, though. However, so far I have read 50 pages and I am unfortunately of the opinion that I will not continue reading it.
What it is about?
The story is about a famous soap opera star Drake Rivington, who has a hearing-impaired daughter, Jennifer. As he is quite often busy or better to say all the time busy, there is actually no tame for him to personally take care of his daughter, which is why he hires a private tutor, Lauri Parrish. Lauri is a dedicated young teacher for the deaf. The very moment she espies Drake, deep in her heart she relishes the idea to work for him. However, at the beginning it is just an instantaneous infatuation. As soon as she is scrutinized and disparaged by this FAMOUS DRAKE, transfixed with shock she changes her mind, but not for long. (I this scene Drake’s behavior, redolent not even of a wild animal, renders me speechless. (I abhor him.) And this is where/how it all begins.
What I have to stress about this book is that, as long as the life of Jennifer is concerned, it is somewhat a page-turner. In an interesting way it is depicted how a life of a deaf person looks like, how they “hear” and they learn to speak: “She’ll learn sign for a basic communication, but at the same time she’ll learn the alphabet just as every child does. And she’ll learn the sound a particular letter makes… Eventually she’ll be able to speak I want you to understand, Drake, that she’ll never hear things like we do. Her hearing aid isn’t a corrective device, it’s an amplifier.”
If you like reading love stories go one and read this one. If not, don’t even try it!:)
One more thing, on the cover it says A CLASSIC LOVE STORY and I didn’t even notice it. Don’t laugh at me. I wear glasses :).