For the project “Knowing better each others": Our native land

[costicina]

Well, now we know how some of us look like (I hope that others will join!!).

Can we start to enrich the minimalist informations we have about  each others with furhter traits/detaills about our personality, our environment, our tastes, etc.??

Nothing too personal, or intimate, if you don’t feel like that. Just a “profile” of yourself, as sketchy as you like.

Let’s start with a “neutrale” issue: What is your native land, what are its  negative/positive peculiarities, do  you still live there, or have moved to a different country/city?

Sorry if I seem to nosy, but as I said, this “project” can help to mitigate the abstract, unreal, fictional  nature of  virtual interactions via Internet…

Margherita

[candlelightpiano]

    I was born and raised in Malaysia, a country north of Singapore and south of Thailand. My mother tongue is Hokkien, which is a Chinese dialect from the province of Fuchien in China. However, since my parents were several generations removed from China, our dialect became mixed with the language of the other races in Malaysia so it has assumed its own "flavor." The national language of Malaysia is Malay, which is a language also spoken in Indonesia. This means that other than English, I share a common language with President Barack Obama! So when I started school at the age of seven, I learned Malay and English.

The photo above was taken from the Berjaya Times Square Hotel, where I stayed the last time I returned home to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.

     My yearning for adventure led me to move to Texas and then to California and now I'm up in Winnipeg, Canada, also better known as Winter-peg in the winter or Skeeter-peg in the summer.  It's also known as the polar bear capital of the north! Well, that's actually Churchill but today, with a high of -24C, we actually see polar bears wandering around town!   Just kidding!  However, on days like these, I really, really miss my warm and sultry homeland.
    

[costicina]

You wandered all around the world, Choo Choo! Maybe that’s why you are so open-minded and reactive to all the external stimulus. I just wonder how you get used to the cold, coming from a tropical country (my husband visited Malaysia, and says it’ s one of the most beautiful place he has ever seen)…As for your unhappy musical background, I sympathize with you, having had similar experiences!!!

My name is Margherita. I was born in  Sardynia (Italy), a beautiful Mediterranean island, with a gorgeous sea and white sand. This is the beach where we have a holidays house, and where I spend almost three months in summer (the happiest of the year!)

They say  the natives are crazy and lunatic, proud and stubborn, and that they never forget an offence nor a favour you do them. Well, I’m a true Sardinian!!! We have our own language, too (NOT a dialect).

Now I live in Rome, the “Ethernal city”, luckily in the historical center, full of beatiful, ancient palazzi and gorgeous squares.

Well, I don’t want to bore you further… But  we can always start another thread about our studies and hobbies        

Margherita

[littletune]

That's really interesting !!    
And that picture is really beautiful!!  (I would want to be there too!  )

Well my country is Slovenia. It is a very small country and it only has about 2 million people   But it also has a lot of things like forests and lakes and rivers and the sea and the mountains, and caves, everything you want   well... we don't have any islands... except if you count the islands on a lake.   and we also have a lot of different dialects (even thought our country is so small, but maybe that's cause in the past different parts of our country were part of different larger countries). Our neighbour countries are Italy, Croatia, Austria and Hungary. 

[costicina]

Hi Littletune!!
One of my dearest friend was born in Lubjana, a beautiful, cosmopolite city where most of the population speaks at least three languages... And you are a living demonstration, since you master English so well!!
I'm fascinated with foreign langauges, but I only know (badly) English and German   , and of course ancient Latin and Greek (I learned them at school) but they utterly useless        ...

[littletune]

Hi Littletune!!
One of my dearest friend was born in Lubjana, a beautiful, cosmopolite city where most of the population speaks at least three languages... And you are a living demonstration, since you master English so well!!
I'm fascinated with foreign langauges, but I only know (badly) English and German   , and of course ancient Latin and Greek (I learned them at school) but they utterly useless        ...

Thank you!  Really you have a friend who was born in Ljubljana? That's cool!!  Well I guess it's because our country is so small and noone knows our language so we have to know other languages!  and we hear them on TV all the time. But you know a lot of languages!! well my dad says that Latin can be really useful too.  He always likes to ask people if they know what something means if it's a word that comes from Latin, and then he's all proud cause noone knows and he can explain it to them.   

[costicina]

Your dad is soo right, Littletune!!!!
Latin and Greek teach you to "think" in a rational, logic wway, and of course they are very useful to know the etymology of many words we use in our daily life.
Anyway, I'd like so much to learn French and Spanish, and Chinese too. But I should have a day of 48 hours, or a second life     

[ted]

I am a sixty-four year old, third generation New Zealander of Welsh, English and Scottish stock. Several of my great-grandparents came out on the first pioneering ships in the mid nineteenth century. I have lived in Auckland all my life and appear to completely lack the gene which causes desire to travel. I have been married to a Filipina for thirty-one years and have a twenty-nine year old son. I earned my living with computers in the manufacturing sector, mainly as a programmer, for thirty years until my retirement through redundancy in 2008.

[costicina]

You from New Zeland?? It's a surprise for me, I don't know why, but I thought you lived in the USA.

When I was young, when I got my Phd in philosophy, I began to entertain the idea to break away from everything and to find a job in your land, a sort of virgin territory, an intruiguing and utterly new environment. But like you, it seems I lack the gene for travelling....
If you had an image of your city/country you think can give us an idea of how it looks like, please, post it!!!
Thank you for joining this thread
Margherita

[ajspiano]

Cool idea..

Well I'm born and raised australian - though I have a british/polish heritage on my dad's side (he was a migrant).

I grew up in albany, western australia, a smallish coastal town with some of the worlds most pristine beaches (at least I think so, probably bias...)


I moved out of albany once I hit 18, and have been around austalia a bit, having lived in perth, brisbane and now melbourne. I like melbourne, as it has such a rich vibrant arts culture comparitively to some other parts of australia. I haven't been here a huge amount of time yet, but plan on staying.

Musically I grew up studying classical piano, but soon strayed into a self-taught jazz/modern thing, and can also play several other instruments - having been in bands as a guitarist, bassist, drummer and singer. I also studied the clarinet in school, but havent played much recently because my clarinet has a cork missing and won't stay together.

Alongside playing and teaching piano I also work a few days a week for a collectable stamp and coin dealer (weirdest experience of my life). And help out my gf when I can with her dog training business.

[williampiano]

For me, I have lived in California (western coast of U.S.) my entire life. In fact, I have only moved cities once, and both times i've stayed generally around the central/southern area of California. I can't really remember much about the first city I lived in, as I moved away when I was quite young, but now I live right near the coast, and have been here since around 1999. I haven't had much of an opportunity to move around much, as I am still only a teenager and living with my parents. But, hopefully when I go off to college, I'll be able to go see more places.

Here is what things look like around where I live.

[candlelightpiano]

I moved out of albany once I hit 18, and have been around austalia a bit, having lived in perth, brisbane and now melbourne. I like melbourne, as it has such a rich vibrant arts culture comparitively to some other parts of australia. I haven't been here a huge amount of time yet, but plan on staying.

Alongside playing and teaching piano I also work a few days a week for a collectable stamp and coin dealer (weirdest experience of my life). And help out my gf when I can with her dog training business.

Very fascinating, AJ! My two sisters live in Perth and I had a great time visiting them two years ago. I spent a short time in Sydney working for a blind Australian business tycoon and also visited Melbourne and New Zealand while working for him. That's an absolutely gorgeous photo of the beach - makes me want to pack up and fly out there in a New York second!!! How interesting that you work for a stamp and coin dealer and help your gf with her dog training business.

[ajspiano]

Very fascinating, AJ! My two sisters live in Perth and I had a great time visiting them two years ago. I spent a short time in Sydney working for a blind Australian business tycoon and also visited Melbourne and New Zealand while working for him. That's an absolutely gorgeous photo of the beach - makes me want to pack up and fly out there in a New York second!!! How interesting that you work for a stamp and coin dealer and help your gf with her dog training business.

Perth is a beautiful city, looks awesome as you drive up the river into the CBD. My parents live there now so I visit at least once a year. Its a stark contrast to the melbourne CBD that I think of more as a giant block of polluted air. I like melbourne's people and nightlife, not so much its look.

Your certainly right about the beach photo - I'm pretty judgmental of beaches having grown up right next to that and the many others around the area (google images for "albany beaches" - they are amazing). Its too bad the towns climate isnt just a fraction hotter though..

How long were you in sydney?

[candlelightpiano]

AJ: What is CBD? I worked in Sydney for almost a year. My boss traveled all over the world and besides many cities in Australia and New Zealand, I worked with him in Hong Kong, the US and Canada. It was a lot of fun. He lived the lifestyle of the rich and famous. He still lives in Sydney but is now retired. In Melbourne, he had a lovely home on Kooyongkoot Road (not sure of the spelling)

[ajspiano]

AJ: What is CBD?

stands for "Central Business District"

[fleetfingers]

Hi, Everyone! It's fun to read about all of these different places and backgrounds. I have blonde hair and green eyes, am from Danish and English descent, but was born in Singapore and lived there for a couple of years (love your Malaysia pic, Choo Choo!) - then in Hong Kong for 3 years. My family spent a few years on the east coast US before moving out west to Arizona. I still live here, where it's brown and hot, but always sunny, and it never snows. I love it!

Here are some pictures we took on a hike near our home:




Arizona is known for its beautiful sunsets (sorry our camera couldn't capture it better).

[williampiano]

Hi, Everyone! It's fun to read about all of these different places and backgrounds. I have blonde hair and green eyes, am from Danish and English descent, but was born in Singapore and lived there for a couple of years (love your Malaysia pic, Choo Choo!) - then in Hong Kong for 3 years. My family spent a few years on the east coast US before moving out west to Arizona. I still live here, where it's brown and hot, but always sunny, and it never snows. I love it!

Here are some pictures we took on a hike near our home:




Arizona is known for its beautiful sunsets (sorry our camera couldn't capture it better).

Nice photos! Living in Cali, I go to Arizona a lot! It's a great state, and the deserts are quite beautiful. Doesn't it get cold there during the winter though? My brother lived there for a while and he said the summers were really hot and the winters were absolutely freezing with some snow and ice. I guess it differs throughout different areas of the state though.

[costicina]

I'm so glad to have started this thread      !!!
AJ, you live in a beautiful place!! I can't live without the sea: the crystalline waters,  the effugent, bright colors of your beach recall me my native island, and I felt immediatly homesick...Your musical background is impressive, and to some extent can explay your competence and your deep insights in piano playing issues.

Fleetfingers, your Arizona is astounding, and the desert as fascinating as the sea. And William, California is a myth for us Italians, many of us dream to travel there!!!!
As for you Choo Choo, the more I know your background, the more intriguing you are to my eyes.
You seemd to have a very eventful life, rich of exciting and useful experiences....

Thank you to all of you!

Margherita

[fleetfingers]

Nice photos! Living in Cali, I go to Arizona a lot! It's a great state, and the deserts are quite beautiful. Doesn't it get cold there during the winter though? My brother lived there for a while and he said the summers were really hot and the winters were absolutely freezing with some snow and ice. I guess it differs throughout different areas of the state though.

Yeah, it depends where in Arizona you are talking about. Where I live, the summers are 105-115 degrees. Right now, we are enjoying temperatures in the low 70s. It does not snow here in the valley, but it does in other areas of AZ. I enjoy visiting your beautiful state, too. I have not been to Redwoods and would like to go there this summer.   

[candlelightpiano]

As for you Choo Choo, the more I know your background, the more intriguing you are to my eyes.