Into the Forest discussion

Wow! I find this pretty cool!
Montreal Has Hidden "Sleeping Giants" Scattered Around The City

https://www.mtlblog.com/news/montreal...

I will have to go giant hunting next time I go to Montreal!

Interesting :)

If you ever go to Wrocław in Poland, hunt for dwarves. These little guys are everywhere there.
https://www.google.com/search?q=dwarv...

Asaria wrote: "Interesting :)

If you ever go to Wrocław in Poland, hunt for dwarves. These little guys are everywhere there.
https://www.google.com/search?q=dwarv......"

No, I regret so much that in the 15 years I lived in Berlin I ne read made it to Poland.! In the beginning I did not go because Berlin was still divided by the Wall and it was a hassle. By the time the Wall came down I was so tired of the climate in Berlin that I spent any extra money I had escaping to the south! Little did I knkw I would end up in Canada!

Jalilah wrote: "No, I regret so much that in the 15 years I lived in Berlin I ne read made it to Poland.! In the beginning I did not go because Berlin was still divided by the Wall and it was a hassle. By the time the Wall came down I was so tired of the climate in Berlin that I spent any extra money I had escaping to the south! Little did I knkw I would end up in Canada! "

I understand since you were sick of that city. However, what was Berlin like at that time? What was the most different in comparison to your home country/home city?


Sometimes life is the most creative script-writer :)

Asaria wrote: "Jalilah wrote: "No, I regret so much that in the 15 years I lived in Berlin I ne read made it to Poland.! In the beginning I did not go because Berlin was still divided by the Wall and it was a has..."

Actually I was not sick of the city, just the weather! I feel quite privileged to have been able to live in Berlin and I would not exchange my time living there for anything in this world!

When I arrived in 1980 it was so different! Because it was the only city in Germany with no draft you had a lot of draft dodgers, students, underground artists and foreigners living there. Because West Berlin was then an island surrounded by East Germany, the crime rate was very low. You could walk any where in the city at any time of night and feel safe. I was there when the Wall came down and East and West Germany reunited. It was a very exciting time!
I did at a certain time point feel like it was not meant to be the place I was to stay forever, but I was not sure where to move.
After I met my husband ( in Cairo another long story lol) and we were sure that we wanted to stay together, we decided move to Montreal the city where he had lived since he was a teenager. Around this same time he had a job offer to work in Yemen and me wanting to live somewhere warm encouraged it, but after 3 years we ended up in Montreal. I have no regrets. Although I will never love cold winters, I do love Canada. We have been in Ottawa since 2005.

Edited to add I am originally from California which is why I like warm Weather!

Jalilah, we were probably in Germany at the same time! But I was a baby and toddler. We lived there from 83-87. Never in Berlin though, and my memories of Germany are memories any child growing up anywhere would have. There's a lovely picture of my sisters making dandelion necklaces right beside a section of the Berlin wall.

I love the giants and dwarves! Esp. the dwarves! I'd be cooing every time I saw one. :)

Jalilah wrote: "Asaria wrote: "Jalilah wrote: "No, I regret so much that in the 15 years I lived in Berlin I ne read made it to Poland.! In the beginning I did not go because Berlin was still divided by the Wall a..."

It must have been an amazing experience. You were living in interesting times. From what you've said, West Berlin of 80s sounds similar to pre-war Berlin.

Margaret wrote: "Jalilah, we were probably in Germany at the same time! But I was a baby and toddler. We lived there from 83-87. Never in Berlin though, and my memories of Germany are memories any child growing up ..."

Out of curiosity, do you speak German?


Margaret wrote: "I love the giants and dwarves! Esp. the dwarves! I'd be cooing every time I saw one. :)

They're cute . Often families with children play the game "Gonna catch them all!". Great way to spend some time outdoor. And who could've thought it all started with "Papa Dwarf" erected to commemorate "Orange Alternative", an anticommunist movement famous for their creative, humorous protests.

Asaria wrote: "Out of curiosity, do you speak German?.."

Ya klar! I lived there for 15 years! I left in 1995 and hardly ever speak it anymore, so I've gotten out of practice.

I can say about 3 things in German. :) I would like to learn. Maybe in a year or two I'll take family classes with Marian!

Jalilah wrote: "Asaria wrote: "Out of curiosity, do you speak German?.."

Ya klar! I lived there for 15 years! I left in 1995 and hardly ever speak it anymore, so I've gotten out of practice."

I know something about not practicing language you used to know. When I took my mum with me to Beijing last year, she hadn't spoken Russian for 35 years! While watching TV in the hotel, she suddenly realised she understand what's spoken on CGTN Russian channel.

Margaret wrote: "I can say about 3 things in German. :) I would like to learn. Maybe in a year or two I'll take family classes with Marian!"

I was forced to learn German in high school. What a nightmare, when you dislike the language! Sometimes I can get the meaning from context, that's all.

My knowledge of German is through Yiddish which is a creole of German and Hebrew. My parents both spoke Yiddish as their first language. So I've discovered that I know more German than I thought.

When I was sent the original French edition of a novel by the author, I discovered that I could recover my knowledge of French after not using it for some time. French was the language that I was taught starting in junior high and continuing in high school. In college I was in a French theatre group run by a French Canadian. My new language in college was Russian, and it's my least successful attempt to learn a language.

When I was growing up in Southern California we lived with my grandparents who spoke only a little English. Although they attempted to speak in their broken English to me ( this was the 60s when raising children bilingually was still frowned upon), I ended up understanding a lot of Spanish anyway. After I had moved to Germany and learned German and also some French, on a trip home I was suddenly able to converse with my grandmother in Spanish, not completely fluently, but passable. I guess something clicked in my brain! Since living in Canada the second language I use after English is French and as a result I've regrettably lost my Spanish but I still understand it.

Shomeret wrote: "My knowledge of German is through Yiddish which is a creole of German and Hebrew. My parents both spoke Yiddish as their first language. So I've discovered that I know more German than I thought...."

Wow, I've always thought Yiddish belongs to dying languages, at least in its literary aspect. Sad, considering vibrant Yiddish scene pre WW2

Jalilah wrote: "When I was growing up in Southern California we lived with my grandparents who spoke only a little English. Although they attempted to speak in their broken English to me ( this was the 60s when a..."

My grandparents could speak fluent German without any trace of the accent. However, they refused to teach it to their children. The situation is a bit more complicated, though, 'cause they didn't speak proper Polish at all, but Silesian, which is considered a Polish dialect or distinct language, depends on whom you ask. It sounds like mix of Polish, Czech and German.

Then the history repeated itself again. In my case, I understand or get the context most of the time unless Silesian speaker uses way too many German loanwords. Usually, for our sake family speaks thickly accented Polish.

Asaria wrote: "Shomeret wrote: "My knowledge of German is through Yiddish which is a creole of German and Hebrew. My parents both spoke Yiddish as their first language. So I've discovered that I know more German ..."

My father was born in Poland pre-WWII. He and his family left Poland in 1930. He came from a village of Yiddish speaking Jews, and they found a Yiddish speaking community in England where they settled. My mother was born in the U.S. but also grew up speaking Yiddish. My maternal grandfather came from a Yiddish speaking village in Poland. My maternal grandmother was born in what is now Israel in 1905, but her family were Yiddish speaking Ashkenazi Jews.

Shomeret wrote: "My father was born in Poland pre-WWII. He and his family left Poland in 1930. He came from a village of Yiddish speaking Jews, and they found a Yiddish speaking community in England where they settled. My mother was born in the U.S. but also grew up speaking Yiddish. My maternal grandfather came from a Yiddish speaking village in Poland. My maternal grandmother was born in what is now Israel in 1905, but her family were Yiddish speaking Ashkenazi Jews."

Thanks for your detailed comment :). I did wonder if you have Ashkenazi roots since Yiddish was spoken mainly by the diaspora in Eastern Europe and people who trace their heritage to them.