Week 45 Nostalgia Isn't What it Used to Be

Week 45

A couple of memories popped up this week, hence the title - although I did hear it used in an audiobook - which happened to be a murder mystery involving the death of an entire shift (watch) of firefighters!

1999/2000. We had not had refugees for very long. Janny was still working at the swimming pool and occasionally I had to run the show on my own. Almost without exception, the refugees had English as second, third or fourth language. There was Joseph from Rwanda who could speak 7 languages!
One evening, whilst Janny was still at the swimming pool, I received a fax (yes a fax was an essential item back then!) saying that 3 new refugees would be arriving shortly. Late in the evening, so the shops were closed (even that has changed), so the best I could do was soup and bread and cheese as a "warm meal".
Upon reflection, I think I can remember that they were a little unsavoury-looking but we had all sorts back then and so we didn't take that much notice of what they looked like. We were, after all, just temporary accommodation.
So, the newcomers were reasonably well settled, with a meal of sorts and a place to sleep. I left them to it and wished everyone goodnight.
A little while later there was a knock on the door - from one of the refugees who had been there a while... Mister Ken, you'd better come.... Oh? Ok. Only to find that the newcomers had taken over and were giving a propaganda session on the blackboard - about Kosovo, I think. The men doing the talking looked as though they had just left their Kalishnikovs on the ground when they boarded the bus as asylum seekers. Our other "guests" were obviously upset and even scared. Some of the women were in tears.
I forget now what I said to defuse the problem, but it settled down enough for me to leave to make a "is it OK if I do this in English" phone call to the person who had sent the fax.
By an hour later, the shady characters had been picked up and taken by taxi to a "tougher" centre in Zwolle.
And of course, Janny only came home after the drama was all over!
Now, the reason why this memory came rushing back is that Frank and Pam very kindly sent me a pack of cards from Albania (photo above), for my birthday. The symbol on the cards is almost the same as the one used by the propagandists - they had an almost identical symbol drawn on the blackboard as they were making their case - for whatever?
As closure to this story, we did hear later that the three had almost rioted in Zwolle when they were yet again given more "soup and bread".
I wonder what they're doing now?

Shit from Last Week

It seems that I wasn't the only one with raised eyebrows... They have pulled the ad (for laxatives) due to complaints.

Making a Difference? (Nostalgia 2)

I quite often have an emotional feeling about our kids. Saturday morning and I had a coffee with our person in charge. One of the new kids was on the couch, under a blanket with his cuddly toys, watching TV. That they, the parents and the system all trust us to be doing the right thing... Quite a responsibility and quite rewarding just to think that we are making a difference to their lives.

One of the kids brought a birthday cake - she is 22! (going on 6). So sad, especially to think that she is the same age as Ben.

Around the farm...

Winterising!

 The outside water taps have to be closed off. The water fountain and outside furniture all taken inside. Even the chooks have their daylight hours extended by setting a time clock on the lighting! (Otherwise, they stop laying).

Shopping

It used to be every week, but it's only about once a month these days, that we have to do a "big shopping" for "out the back". We have a competition to try to guess how much it is going to cost - this week we were both way off the mark! 

€250,00 for this lot! (must have been a few "extras").

A new lamp. 

Janny has been collecting "old stuff" for a while now - I finally got around to making this lamp out of an old woodworking plane.

and we thought it was going to be quiet this year...

For the last couple of years, we have had orders for "Christmas Gifts" for one of the churches in Bakkeveen. Not this year, or so we thought!

We have a few woodworking projects that I have had to make some "jigs" for - so that they all end up exactly the same. Janny then uses her Silhouette Plotter to make the stickers...

More on Language...

I found a very pertinent article on language in the expats newsletter this week. I thought - YES - somebody else understands, after all!

You'd think that it would be easier after 25 years... but it's NOT!

If you’re not a native speaker, you may relate to some (or all) of these common challenges:

"I can’t express myself properly because I can’t find the exact words I need."
"I struggle to discuss complex subjects because I just don’t have the same depth of vocabulary as I do in my native language."
"I’m struggling with grammatical constructs that I don’t even know in my own language!"
"I can’t access the healthcare system because I don’t speak the language."
"I feel like an outsider / I feel self-conscious because I have an accent."
"I can’t support my children with school subjects/homework."
"Some of my mistakes, or the way I say things, offend people."
"I feel anxious about speaking in groups."
"I feel left out because my partner/kids speak the language."

Expats in a new country or culture also have to deal with nuances such as slang, context and different communication styles. Mastering all of this can become especially intimidating when there are expectations from a partner or parent-in-law, children or locals.

Anxiety can also inhibit us from noticing relevant or important language messages from those around us, which may lead to more misunderstandings.

Yet another Birthday...

Avoided the evening Circle Party, but did have a mini "coffee and cake" version with Janny's parents and a sister and brother in law. Also, cake with the clients and then dinner with Ben and Janny. More than enough food and celebration for one day.!

Contact with Paul, Cheryl and Glen and a visit by Ben! Even a phone call from my Son-In-Law who took great delight in letting me know that he was calling from the Gold Coast!

Disappearing birds...

Since 1980 it is estimated that there are 421 million fewer birds in Northwest Europe.
There is great uncertainty as to the cause and therefore the solution, but it does involve the corresponding disappearance of insects - which, in turn, is being blamed on the way that land is being used for farming and agriculture.

and lastly...

I rather liked this definition from The Devil's Dictionary...

The Nose

It has been observed that one’s nose is never so happy as when thrust into the affairs of another, from which some physiologists have drawn the inference that the nose is devoid of the sense of smell.