tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51610340413654481092024-03-14T06:24:11.561+00:00Nearly Irish?Breton first, then French, and nearly Irish at this stage!
Sharing my experience as an expat mum in IrelandAnne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comBlogger250125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-53218583968874306102017-09-17T13:03:00.000+01:002017-09-17T13:03:35.005+01:00House hunting fever<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Over the past few months, I have seen at least 3 or 4 new housing developments being built in my village. "For Sale" signs are appearing on every corner of the street, prices are going up, and people are back </span><a href="https://lovindublin.com/news/people-have-been-queuing-overnight-for-these-dublin-homes-costing-from-410-000" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">queuing up for hours to buy a house</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All of this brought me back to the time when we were house hunting, and trust me, it wasn't pretty. We bought an apartment in 2006, at the height of the Celtic tiger. But we were looking for a property for at least a year before. It was a stressful time and it seemed we were never going to find something. The demand was huge, the supply sadly wasn't. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On one occasion, we went to a public viewing of a 2 bedroom house in the Blanchardstown area. The price on offer was 175,000 euros. The viewing started at 7pm, but by the time we had stepped in the house at 7.10 pm, we couldn't afford it anymore. The offers had gone up to 290,000 euros. IN 10 FECKIN MINUTES !!!</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The same happened to house we visited in Stamullen. There was only one property left for sale in the estate. It was small, the garden was facing North, the bedrooms were like shoe boxes, but still, we were amongst 50 potential buyers. And it was a case of who would put the most money on the table. And it certainly wasn't us. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The worst experience we had was trying to buy a house off the plans in Slane. We had seen the ad on the newspaper and rang the Estate agent, who told us to get there the following morning, as the sale was starting at 11am. Now, who in their right mind would want to buy a house, off the plans, for 270,000 euros? For all we know, it may have never been built!! But I still went.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I arrived around 9:00am, thinking I was early enough. I didn't know it was already too late. There were a good few people already, but the rule was that the Estate agent would start giving tickets at 10:30am. In the mean time, I learned that some houses had been pre-sold. Seriously?? And that some potential buyers had come the night before to get tickets... A bit unfair, don't you think? Anyway, I waited patiently and when the guy came out of his little portacabin to give out the golden tickets, it was every man (and woman) to himself. There was rushing, running and a lot of pushing. I eventually got my ticket and stood in the queue. Every single person in front of me was buying a house. Not an apartment, not a duplex. They all wanted a house. So of course when my turn came, the last one had just been sold. I gave up and went home in tears. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the end, we didn't get a house. We bought a 2-bedrooms apartment for 275,000 euros. and we're not even in Co.Dublin. But you know what, we were just happy to finally find a place for less than 300,000 Euros.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The whole thing was surreal. I am a rational (most of the time) person and couldn't get my head around how crazy people were. How crazy the banks were as well. But at the same time, we were obviously not thinking straight ourselves. We were caught in the whirlwind of house hunting, mortgage lending, money spending. "</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Get your foot on the ladder!</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <i>In 2 years time you can sell your house, make a profit and buy bigger".</i></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "<i>Clear that small 500 Euros loan and we can lend you 20,000 Euros more!</i>", "<i>Do you want to include a new car in your mortgage, why not?!</i>" I should have known better (even if I didn't take the "new car offer" with the mortgage). I come from a country which experienced several property bubbles so I knew it was going to happen at some stage. I didn't think it was going to happen so soon.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A couple of years after we bought, recession kicked in, and after 11 years, we still live in the same apartment. The view I have from my balcony is that of an unfinished apartment block. and the shops that were supposed to be opened around the complex are still empty. There is a TESCO though, which is probably one of the reason why no other shops opened. There has been a glimpse of hope recently when the whole complex was bought, and hopefully the last empty block will be put to the ground, but what a waste!</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I do like where I live though; it's by the seaside, the school is great and it's a village, which is perfect as I'm not fond of big crowds. But... All I really want is a house. A garden. A bit of grass. I want my children to be able to play outside without having to supervise closely in case one of them climbs and falls off the balcony...</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We're in negative equity like thousand of other people. We can't sell and we can't rent as it wouldn't cover the mortgage. We are stuck and unfortunately, it looks like another property bubble is on the way. It might be a grim outlook, but I'm thinking we'll have to go through another crash before being able to sell and buy a house. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In France, lands are sometimes bought by the council. Instead of contracting a developer to build 50 exact same houses, they sell plots of land to private individuals. Then, those people contract a company to build their house. There are a few building companies who sell "key-in-hand" properties. You choose a model from their catalogue, you can personalise your style (the amount of bedrooms, the shape of the kitchen, a garage etc), and it costs less than here. But I guess the developers wouldn't be happy about that...I also learned from a former town planner that, considering the amount of land available and the amount of houses needed in an area, it is a lot more cost efficient to have a developer build full estates. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buying a house is a life investment (my 35-years mortgage speaks for itself!) and it's supposed to be a big decision. Yet, it seems a lot of people here (and me included) end up buying a house in a rush.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We all need more rational thinking...</span></div>
Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-79298747464327063682017-09-09T11:15:00.000+01:002017-09-09T11:15:58.781+01:00Back to school<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That's it, the kids are back to school, which means I'm also back making lunch boxes and supervising homework. All of this made me think about the differences between French and Irish schools. I'm not talking about the big ones like lunches or school hours because I already expressed my frustration about it, but the more subtle ones, the ones that made me think "</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I was a kid in France, this was different!</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>School bags</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you're French, you'll know what I'm talking about. I took the "compulsory" back to school picture last week, and a French friend commented, pointing out that their school bags must have been bought in another country. And she was right, we bought them in France. You see, over there, most school bags are square, with a buckle closure. Few kids have bag packs in primary school (although when I looked at French friends back to school own pictures, the kids all had bag packs, so go figure!). Anyway, it reminded of my school years, and I just find those school bags are a lot more practical. My kids might be on the way to set up a new trend!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAHhd1HQiIGxQ8QardBDEzEm7gCr0ToEykQ4YrHefFDGQ_R5H_-j9zvsVbBUHLIkAYSCPXkA1eL2NchXoSybTJYyEnqibc5XY-fKpC-qZhIPOaXSLZ9yp93HugV_uzUja_VyiZjoZn9O7Q/s1600/DSC_0003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAHhd1HQiIGxQ8QardBDEzEm7gCr0ToEykQ4YrHefFDGQ_R5H_-j9zvsVbBUHLIkAYSCPXkA1eL2NchXoSybTJYyEnqibc5XY-fKpC-qZhIPOaXSLZ9yp93HugV_uzUja_VyiZjoZn9O7Q/s400/DSC_0003.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">My 2 kids French school bags</span></td></tr>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-d8a1fdb6-6622-992c-d8e0-7169164af175"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When we went to France this summer, my mum got worried and asked me if I noticed that my kids were writing in script. The thing is, this is how they learned how to write, but she wasn't convinced. "</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So they don't learn the proper way then?</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">" Yes, they do, it's just a different style! In France, kids learn cursive straight away, but here they start with script. My son will learn cursive handwriting this year only, and he's in third class. As much as cursive handwriting looks "prettier", writing in script is a lot easier!</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh86ZRFoAkRpXrY67vSnsh_U-Xzr6k8D63aCGCQvlUexfwJGQ6O9YG_geFzlnKlFNFouIvXijiPDhbc33ZZIcmquuMgB-X3FVvD2-hufF5XzoXR7AC5-UeEg5n68IAA-F-YVbJQaShbk_TF/s1600/_20170907_223409.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="576" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh86ZRFoAkRpXrY67vSnsh_U-Xzr6k8D63aCGCQvlUexfwJGQ6O9YG_geFzlnKlFNFouIvXijiPDhbc33ZZIcmquuMgB-X3FVvD2-hufF5XzoXR7AC5-UeEg5n68IAA-F-YVbJQaShbk_TF/s400/_20170907_223409.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">An old birthday letter I wrote to my mum, I was probably around 9...</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I never really thought about the reason why copies are different in France and Ireland, but now that I realised the writing style is different, it makes a lot more sense. In France you have more lines, probably because everything is written in cursive, but you don't need that many lines if you're writing in script, so yeah, it makes sense now. Still, I was very surprised the first time I bought a copybook!!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">French copy</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Books</b></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-d8a1fdb6-661c-0921-e243-09fbaf93cd79"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The advantage of being in a French primary school is that you don't have to buy books. Here, things are a lot different. Kids almost exclusively use workbooks that have to be bought every year. I almost passed out when my eldest started Junior Infants and I discovered the amount of books I had to buy... School might be free but back to school is expensive!! Having said that, most schools now offer a rental scheme to minimise the cost.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDmf7Lh3VeeecnwLBlYzXRXV0AClnT7vlknMx33xq3YoH4EX0YL7MTKYeRihC47JSD7Ve7zXtf6SIYpmqIaUjZrScooaAEElESGoBF6m_W5Yz6IEB8et5gSwfgTIvpSJAtj091l-fUzzQM/s1600/1238943_10151865250652329_2095607953_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDmf7Lh3VeeecnwLBlYzXRXV0AClnT7vlknMx33xq3YoH4EX0YL7MTKYeRihC47JSD7Ve7zXtf6SIYpmqIaUjZrScooaAEElESGoBF6m_W5Yz6IEB8et5gSwfgTIvpSJAtj091l-fUzzQM/s400/1238943_10151865250652329_2095607953_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">That was only half the books by the way!<br /></span><br />
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</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Uniforms</b></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-d8a1fdb6-661c-59c8-4480-6955c3f2ec0c" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No uniforms when I was a kid! I remember going to the UK on a student exchange trip when I was a teenager and be puzzled by the school uniforms. Fast forward 20 years, and I just love it. You don't have to think about what the kids are going to wear in the morning, which also means not too many clothes to buy either! A lot of people I know also told me they think there is less competition between the kids, and less pressure to look a certain way. I'm not entirely sure about that because, even if it's a good start, kids will always find a way to "undermine" another peer because of his hair colour, his weight, his glasses or his school bag...</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One thing for sure, my kids are having a completely different experience than I had as a child in a French primary school. I still think the Irish system is adapted to kids rather than parents (but that's what's important, right?) and I can't speak for every primary school in the country, but my kids' schools are very supportive and all the teachers I came across were very involved in my boys' education and progress.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As and expat, how do you find school in your host country compared to your home country?</span></div>
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Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-41422877671489340292017-09-03T12:00:00.000+01:002017-09-03T12:00:57.849+01:00He doesn't want to speak French<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig1s0BcTe1ex1P9uUELUkxDS3R9_DzkjNTjfVrIuyBNWSN7ve1ne32DbIaTTKatLZ-Saykl8ecw6dRjJ5BeMYshat1SwtnVeWzZ4i9nIeU17Jj8xZqKZeEVUPz-AhDNfbJScjGljwML0EY/s1600/flag-1047969_960_720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="579" data-original-width="960" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig1s0BcTe1ex1P9uUELUkxDS3R9_DzkjNTjfVrIuyBNWSN7ve1ne32DbIaTTKatLZ-Saykl8ecw6dRjJ5BeMYshat1SwtnVeWzZ4i9nIeU17Jj8xZqKZeEVUPz-AhDNfbJScjGljwML0EY/s400/flag-1047969_960_720.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I thought my 6-years old had reached a milestone when my mum announced he had been speaking French since day one of the holidays. As soon as he arrived at my parents, he instantly switched to French. Of course his sentences weren't perfect, but he was able to make himself understood without too much difficulty, and when he didn't know a word, my mum was able to help him.</span></div>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-9e49f57b-475e-e666-de80-cea8c9a914e3" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Every time I rang, she was telling me he was doing great, learning new words every day and little by little, making more complex and structured sentences. When I went over to pick the kids up at the end of August, I was actually blown away. During the year, he hadn't been speaking French that much, but he heard a lot of it at home, on TV or with friends of ours, so I knew he would take some of it in, but I wasn't expecting that much improvement. The way he was switching from one language to another depending on who he was talking to was unbelievable. It made me think of all the articles I read about how bilingual kids are supposed to do that, and how discouraged I was at the time, because mine were unable to.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Just before going back home, I thought: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"That's it, he speaks French now. Battle won!", </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">but I couldn't have been further from the truth. The moment we landed in Ireland, he looked at me and said </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Now we're in Ireland, so we speak English". </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yes, he has that logic that in France, you speak French and in Ireland, you speak English...</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Since we're back, I've been trying to keep speaking French to him, making it a game between us, telling him he can speak English to anybody else, but French just to me. Well, it works for a while ( 5 minutes usually), but he quickly moves back to English.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have so home hope though. I witnessed how much he improved during the holidays without practicing that much during the year, and I realised only the fact that he hears French everyday has an impact on his learning. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-9e49f57b-4763-4239-df3c-892bb4da637c"><span style="font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">And I have a plan for both my kids this year. With two other mums, we are opening a "</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/eastmeathfrenchclub/" target="_blank">French club</a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">" for families in the same situation as ours. It will help kids confronted to French at home, to improve their oral skills in a fun and relaxed environment. It will not be French lessons as such (I couldn't tell my kids they're going to school again on Saturday!), but activities-based sessions where they will put in practice their language skills and learn about French culture. I take this opportunity to invite all French and francophones families in the area to come to our open day next Saturday in Julianstown. </span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiZyrlJH73cI0pwuEjYOK1BfLUKDFgqD3A3be2Fm10e9NQPaYnXQDnpq4kUyIeCts0jlCCZYfwc9o7C_2oXq-_SqI4Fd9rUBmFNx-TvpMV7P5h9PCcdm-JIm2nsJiy2VCIMvj6-91b-aLa/s1600/FLAM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="960" height="451" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiZyrlJH73cI0pwuEjYOK1BfLUKDFgqD3A3be2Fm10e9NQPaYnXQDnpq4kUyIeCts0jlCCZYfwc9o7C_2oXq-_SqI4Fd9rUBmFNx-TvpMV7P5h9PCcdm-JIm2nsJiy2VCIMvj6-91b-aLa/s640/FLAM.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hopefully, it will be another stepping stone on my kids way to bilingualism. Speaking several languages is such a chance in the world we live in, that we, as parents, really have to give them all the tools they need to achieve their potential. </span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-9e49f57b-475f-3c67-0610-3c33d237cd3c"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And as my on own mum would say: "They will thank me later"!!</span></div>
Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-20269588400572685192017-08-31T20:45:00.000+01:002017-08-31T20:48:27.783+01:00Drinking wine<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0GLGjUB1IDT0FS3QmX9LNklh1CMIjpkbM5Fybtqhvj-nh2UwL-4rFVFv6UrAlXikSl3SmXQKgpdsODqbLQFDuTeHzOQcBzvmLj96ESNOk67YFsg4ysPqUqvJetsVYue1A6emvcQONjug1/s1600/Bandol_rose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0GLGjUB1IDT0FS3QmX9LNklh1CMIjpkbM5Fybtqhvj-nh2UwL-4rFVFv6UrAlXikSl3SmXQKgpdsODqbLQFDuTeHzOQcBzvmLj96ESNOk67YFsg4ysPqUqvJetsVYue1A6emvcQONjug1/s320/Bandol_rose.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;">Ros</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;">é, that's my kind of wine!</span></td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A few years ago, we invited a couple of friends (she's Irish and he's American) for dinner. It wasn't anything fancy really, just finger food and some drinks. </span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-28c3a74b-39d1-9fbd-1769-27a6948a9e0d" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As soon as they arrived, the husband started apologising. He told me they were a bit stressed at the idea of going to a French house, that they realised they had to bring some wine, but they didn't know which kind. So they brought a bottle with a cork, because if it was a bottle with a screw cap, I would have probably been offended. Yes, apparently, French people are supposed to hate screw caps; I just didn't get the memo. It must have happened after I left the country. On a side note, I find screw caps so much easier, it took me years to figure out how to use a corkscrew without making a mess!</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anyway, they proudly handed me the bottle, a Red wine, Cotes-Du-Rhones 2011... And I burst laughing:</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Thank you guys, you shouldn't have gone through so much trouble and stress. I don't know anything about wine, and I don't drink red anyway!"</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The bottle didn't go to waste though, my husband enjoyed it very much.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why does everyone assume I know about wine, just because I'm French? It's like presuming every Irish person knows about beer, but trust me, I couldn't differentiate a Bordeaux from a Bourgogne or a Merlot from a Cabernet Sauvignon. And when I have to buy wine in the supermarket, I choose the one with the pretty sticker, that is not too expensive, and I hope for the best.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hope for the best for the people who will drink it because I don't like red wine. Actually, it's not that I don't like it, I just don't know how to appreciate it. There so many different varieties, I don't think I could tell if the wine is good or not. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There's something I really don't get though, and that's people drinking glasses of wine in the pub, especially women. Do they think it makes them look more elegant or something? For me, wine has to be drank while having a meal and not on its own. I know this is really a French thing, but I will stand by it!</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In fairness, I can have a glass of rosé on its own (or a few...), but I still prefer to enjoy it with food. Maybe it's just the way I was brought up. Wine accompanies food, you don't go out and get drunk solely on wine (except if you're a student, it's "Beaujolais Nouveau" night in the bar, and the wine is free...).</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The strange thing is, after writing all this, and explaining how, even though I'm French, I know nothing about wine, I realised I definitely have a French way of drinking it...!</span></div>
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Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-74506636935646270452017-08-25T18:54:00.000+01:002017-08-25T19:02:39.130+01:006 tips for a smooth airport experience<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggPtmmhX13Okpxu3pkLshAT4SZry71W6Zm6IyyCKns0mFbnDi3WE5lmK6HU4KGBI75M56oU0AeOKjcHTHKdmWHXYoAu79HnGfmen_Z1aYOP9PLcmUgoGMpKMw9iTxN-hIimpRCDbO_f0I1/s1600/airport.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="814" data-original-width="960" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggPtmmhX13Okpxu3pkLshAT4SZry71W6Zm6IyyCKns0mFbnDi3WE5lmK6HU4KGBI75M56oU0AeOKjcHTHKdmWHXYoAu79HnGfmen_Z1aYOP9PLcmUgoGMpKMw9iTxN-hIimpRCDbO_f0I1/s400/airport.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We're finally back from our holidays (where I got to see the beach by the way!) after some misadventure at the airport. This eventful experience made me reflect on everything that happened to my and my husband while flying out over the years. So here are some "tips" for a smooth airport experience...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Don't lose your flight tickets</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nowadays, with online check-in and mobile boarding passes, the likelihood of losing your ticket is slim, but 15 years ago, when most people were going to the travel agent and had to hold onto their tickets for days or even weeks, the risk was real! I had booked my tickets for the big Irish move and placed them in a very *secure* place (the kitchen table) only to realise the day before leaving that they were gone. I suspect my mum threw them away by mistake as they were probably buried in between a pile of rubbish... Unfortunately the travel agent wasn't able to re-print one and I had to buy a brand new ticket. She opened an investigation with Air France to make sure no one used the spare one, and I got a refund ONE YEAR after! Since then, I'm an organised freak when it comes to travel documentation!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Make sure you leave for the airport well in advance </b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That goes without saying, right? Even Google sends you reminders to leave on time! You should be at the airport at least 2 hours before your flight, so you should take in account all possibilities that could occur on the road and even the airport. At least that's what my mum says: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"There could be a car crash, a traffic jam, snow (in summer, seriously??), you could also get lost, who knows...</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">". Most importantly a few of those things could happen at the same time. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Back in July, my mum drove my husband to the airport after he dropped the kids for the summer. She hadn't been to that place for a while so he had the GPS on. They got stuck in a traffic jam for an hour because a car had broken down just before a roundabout. Once they finally got out, they made their way to the airport but the GPS directed them to the military airport instead of the civilian one, and my husband arrived only 10 minutes before the plane departure. He was let onto the plane only for the fact that he had to be in Dublin the same day to leave for Mauritius the following day for his father's funeral. So, if you don't want to stress too much, anticipate all possibilities!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>If you're dropping someone, stay until the plane takes off</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And that's because, once again, you never know what could happen, especially if the airport is a long distance from your home. About 10 years ago, I went to France for a few days, and my parents drove me back to the airport. I checked in and started to queue for boarding so my parents decided to leave. As it happened, the plane was cancelled because some protesters invaded the runway and the plane we were supposed to take couldn't land. Unfortunately it was a small airport and they only had flights to London (I was connecting) 2 days after. My parents were gone already and I tried to ring them but their mobile phone was off. I only managed to reach them once they were back home, an hour and a half later. Then I had to wait another hour and a half for them to pick me up... The moral of the story? Do not leave someone until their plane take off, or keep your phone on.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Have a valid passport </b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is a common mistake if you don't travel a lot. It happened to my mum with her ID card, but she managed to get a new one just in time. One of our friends was even at the airport when she realised her passport had expired so that was the end of the trip. But the worst thing that happened was when my husband's passport was only 5 months valid at the time of our trip to Mauritius (If you fly outside the European Union you should have a passport valid for more than 6 months after the return date). We flew out without any issues, and he was supposed to renew his passport while over there, but he was so busy catching up with family and drinking Mauritian beer that he didn't think too much of it. He was sure there wouldn't be a problem, but in the end, the airline refused to let him on the plane back to Ireland and I had to travel on my own with a baby, for 12 hours... </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Do not leave your luggage unattended</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All luggage left unattended will be automatically destroyed</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*. I always laugh when I hear that announcement in the airport. After all who would do that? Well, when you're travelling with kids, inattention can happen. My husband was transiting through London with the kids, and of course, one of them wanted to go to the toilets. The eldest was carrying a suitcase and the small one had his bag pack, while my husband had another suitcase. The youngest complained his bag was too heavy, so in a panic and with the child almost peeing himself, he took the bag pack. After a minute or so, he realised he wasn't carrying his own suitcase anymore. But when he went back, it was gone. He went to the lost and found desk, hoping they hadn't blown his suitcase up already, but no, it was just being scanned. Then the agent asked him what was inside to make sure it was his. The problem was, I was the one who packed it! He did opened it once before to put the kids' hoodies in so he kind of knew (and it was just children's clothes). After he got his suitcase back, he had to fill in the longest form ever, detailing all the addresses he lived at, all the jobs he had, and the same for me (even if I wasn't even there!). MI6 probably has him on file now!!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>If you book connecting flights, make sure you have plenty of time between both flights </b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We came back from Brittany last week-end and when we arrived at the airport, we were told the plane was delayed for 2 hours because of a crack on the runway (!). We got transferred by bus to another airport an hour away, which means we missed our connecting flight in London. There was only 90 minutes in between the 2 flights, but I had booked that one because I didn't want to be home at 1 o'clock in the morning. Also, I thought that in the event of something happening on the last flight, we would be stuck in London for the night. That was without counting the appalling Ryanair Customer Service who stressed us out even more (their only solution was a flight on the following Thursday!!). We almost considered renting a car and travel to Holyhead to take the ferry home. At least their agent at the airport was a bit more helpful. He initially told us they weren't doing any stand-by for the last flight, then, after an insane amount of begging he finally agreed, but there was someone before us on the list. "</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So you actually do stand-by!</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">" I told him. He replied it was an old lady. Fair enough. Except the old lady was actually a 25 years old guy whose first flight had also been delayed. Ryanair, you never cease to amaze me (in a really wrong way!). In the end, we had to pay 400 pounds to fly out that night, all that because there were less than 3 hours in between our 2 flights. Lesson learned I guess. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If every trip went without a hitch, we wouldn't have any stories to tell, wouldn't we? So, even if there's always stress involved at the time, we always manage to laugh about it afterwards!</span></div>
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Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-60951643608657906962017-08-11T20:02:00.000+01:002017-08-11T20:02:48.855+01:00The "holiday"<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhce3-9rTGDkJjfYvbxsO7oD_InnR0VB5o8lCU3rwnccS9IkZBLPI2ZQvb8xjzjq02Y_16VcYz1SqcHzbV-StOrG43V7FT2qn37P82K-bnF-dQPjh6yQKrJV7LEF1OI96_yQxR_hEzM_x9C/s1600/Pors+Carn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhce3-9rTGDkJjfYvbxsO7oD_InnR0VB5o8lCU3rwnccS9IkZBLPI2ZQvb8xjzjq02Y_16VcYz1SqcHzbV-StOrG43V7FT2qn37P82K-bnF-dQPjh6yQKrJV7LEF1OI96_yQxR_hEzM_x9C/s640/Pors+Carn.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Will I have time to even see that beach??</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For a start, I just want to give an update on my "childcare nightmare" situation. We have finally found a solution and just in time before flying home for the holidays. In the end the kids will take the bus in the morning and they will stay at the creche only for the after school. With the price increase, we're actually going to end up paying the same as last year. Oh, and to do all that, I had to change my work hours. It's in these times that I'm grateful for a flexible boss!</span></div>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-fe16bd83-d29d-f136-9298-8e63f8aedba1" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At least we won't have to stress over childcare during our holidays, because let me tell you, a holiday home is absolutely exhausting. We're not there yet but our week is almost already planned minute by minute. OK, not quite, but you get the idea.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I usually put a status update on Facebook to let me friends know were coming and after that, it's first come, first served. I also text the couple of friends who are not on Facebook, but if they're not quick enough, tough!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So far we're booked on Saturday night, Sunday afternoon, Monday all day, and Wednesday all day. I still have to arrange to meet two other friends so I hope they won't be looking for the same day because I can't divide myself (and they live more than an hour apart so a joint meeting is out of the question...plus they don't really know each other, which would make the whole thing a bit awkward...)</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On top of that you have family. The old auntie you don't really want to see but your parents kind of force you to visit (after all, it could be the last time), the cousins you would love to see but they're all scattered around the area and are impossible to gather at the same time, your sister and brother you want to spend so much time with but just can't, your own parents you want to chat with but get on your nerves after 2 days...And well, your kids you haven't seen for 6 weeks and who will probably make you pay as soon as you arrive.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And then you've got shopping. We only have hand luggage this time, but the years we go home with the car we take at least a half-day just to go to supermarket! We mostly buy wine (typical!) and few things we can't find in Ireland. I also love going to my local market as there are always arts and crafts, and of course food from the region. Plus, I usually get to bump into a cousin or someone I haven't seen in ages...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I usually go clothes shopping as well, even if I hate it. French fashion is just a breath of fresh air compared to the Irish style. Sorry but there are fashion choices here that I just don't get, especially at the moment where I feel like I'm back in the nineties every time I step into a shop. I was a teenager in the nineties, the last thing I want to do is dress like that again!! I just need my fix of "safe" shopping in Camaieu or Cache-Cache.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So yeah, between the friends catch-ups where you try to squeeze in as much news as you can in the space of few hours, the visits to the old uncles and aunties, kids time, parents time, sister time and shopping time, I wonder if I'll actually have time to go to the beach at all!!</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mind you, the weather is supposed to be... well... like a Breton weather, so mild and possibly wet. At least I'll have the wine to forget about it!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What about you, does it stress you out to go on holidays at home?</span></div>
Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-61025241004951567032017-08-07T11:13:00.000+01:002017-08-07T11:13:51.678+01:00Another year, another childcare nightmare<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And here I thought our childcare problems were over... Last year our childminder let us down but we found a creche who could take the kids before and after school, provide meals and even help with homework. On top of that we were not paying them during school holidays if the kids weren't attending, which was a huge relief especially for summer as they're spending 6 weeks "practicing their French" with my parents.</span></div>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-1ab14491-bc2d-1033-c71f-bd02c62fe963" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The kids were happy, we were happy, everything was fine. Except we just got a text from the creche stating they undercharged us last year so this year we would have to pay almost 900 euros a month just for 4 hours a day...And they "forgot" to charge us for breakfast, which comes at 5 euros a day per child. I know the creche has running costs, needs to pay staff, insurance, rent etc, but I doubt breakfast costs this much...It's not like they get a full Irish every morning!!</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anyway, the thought of having to pay more childcare than mortgage is just killing me, and it is expensive because we both work full-time. But today I checked the </span><a href="http://affordablechildcare.ie/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">new scheme</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the government has put in place to help with childcare costs. And I'm just even more pissed off. It seems great and all for kids under 3 years old (if you're happy with a 20 euros per week discount), but once they start their free preschool year (which is only 3 hours a day!) what do you do? Then I checked what other help was available for older children but we don't qualify for anything because we work... which doesn't make sense at all. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I do feel as parents we are taken hostage by childcare providers, be it childminders or creches. Both childminders we used made us pay when we were taking holidays and it was free when they were taking time off. But they were almost never taking time off. And when they did it was on their terms so I always had to find a solution to manage when it happened. I know part of the problem is we don't have any family around to help, but I'm pretty sure it happens to Irish people as well who don't have parents nearby. Even last year, it costed less to fly my nephew over from France than to pay for 2 weeks full time in the creche. There's something wrong here...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anyway, enough rant for today! We still haven't figured out what we 're going to do comes September. All the other creches I contacted are either too expensive or they don't have a bus service to drop and collect the kids... A childminder would be ideal but the last one dropped us because the school run was unbearable so I don't want the same thing to happen. The kids are going to different schools next year and they finish an hour and half apart (and they won't start at the same time either!), so I don't know if I'd find someone happy to do it. I think we will scrap the before school care and maybe put the kids in the bus to go to school, or I'll have to try and change my hours or I might just give up work (although that's unlikely because I would just go crazy at home!)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am longing for the day the boys will be able to walk to and from school, but unfortunately that's not going to happen for another 5 years at least!! In the meantime I will just have to suck it up once again and find a solution... Wish me luck!!</span></div>
Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-54515358875593223552017-07-29T11:01:00.000+01:002017-07-29T11:01:09.730+01:00The long-term expat<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0WfywMfBck9qiD5ZAj5c1Yt8T5bkHPtg8lTV5ms5o9sL4rTviPoZAaC4GkClS9cIMIWS6mducY_Nkqm9teS_WWeyMahV2pyirwN9h7LZiEVlMGKhtUgN_BKBlWbukRFnic48IETNbCU7V/s1600/Durseyisland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0WfywMfBck9qiD5ZAj5c1Yt8T5bkHPtg8lTV5ms5o9sL4rTviPoZAaC4GkClS9cIMIWS6mducY_Nkqm9teS_WWeyMahV2pyirwN9h7LZiEVlMGKhtUgN_BKBlWbukRFnic48IETNbCU7V/s640/Durseyisland.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">We travelled within Ireland for the first time in 10 years!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How many years after a move abroad can you consider yourself a long-term expat? Two, five, ten years? There is probably no right answer, but one thing for sure, we all have a few things in common. So let's see if you recognise yourself in the list below...</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-b37d7092-8dc2-0c1a-ec24-64c16bdc9035" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>You've become a pro at booking flights</b></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You know the best time to book tickets, the best airline and the one to avoid at all costs, the connections available to go home and the time of the year they operate. You could almost book a flight eyes closed (because you probably know your passport number by heart anyway). And I bet you're always the one who helps other family members find a good deal to book their flight to come and see you. You might also be the one who guides them through the online check-in...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>You have a favourite airport</b></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, it's no surprise that Dublin is my favourite. I've always found staff friendly and helpful, which makes a trip a lot easier, especially when you have kids. On the contrary, my least favourite airport is Nantes. I had problems almost every time, from security who took my Breton cake away, to check-in staff who told me they were wouldn't be anyone to help me go down a flight of stairs with my child, hand luggage and buggy (while I was pregnant), because they were not there "for that". </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>There are more passports than people in your house</b></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are 8 passports for the four of us, and technically, we could have 2 more (but we never asked for Mauritian passports for the kids, because there's no point really). Before flying out, the same question always pops up: "What passport are you taking this time?" </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>You always take time difference into consideration when calling someone</b></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mauritius is 3 hours ahead in summer, 4 hours in winter. France is always one hour ahead. My brother in law is in Australia, which is 7 hours ahead, our friend in Morocco is on the same time zone etc etc. When I arrange a call with my mum or sister I always have to add "French time" to the time they want to call: "</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Call me at 8pm, French time, OK?</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">". And it's always French time because I am more used to the time difference than they are...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>You have a holiday budget</b></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is always this expectation from family and friends that you are coming home every year. "</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When are you coming back?</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">", "</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why are you only staying one week?</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">", "</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why do you come only once a year"</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">?... We do try to go home every year, even if it's just for a week. I want to see my parents as they're not getting any younger, and see friends that cannot come over to Ireland. We also go to Mauritius every 2 or 3 years, and we want to visit other places as well, so our holiday budget is pretty big! Having said that, it is our choice. When other people enjoy going out to fancy restaurants, concerts or buying twenty pair of shoes, we just enjoy going away. So we make it work, it's a question of priorities.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Your friends are also long-term expats or locals</b></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Most of our foreign friends have lived in Ireland as long as we have, sometimes longer. And our local friends, well, they're not moving anytime soon either! When you know you're going to stay in a country for a long time, you stop making friends with people you know won't stay, or at least you make a "lighter" commitment to "new" people. For me, it's a way to protect myself. I've always taken friendships very seriously and I need time to get to know someone. I don't always want to invest my time and energy with someone who will only be there for a few months, so I now have a tendency to detach myself from the relationship. I am friendly and always will be, but I don't expect anything on the long-term. Having said that, there are always exceptions, but trust me they are rare.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>You haven't travelled in your host country for way too long</b></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The first 4 years I was in Ireland I travelled all around the country. I visited major Irish landmarks and sites, and my little Ford Fiesta brought me everywhere. And then routine took over, my husband was working at the week-end and we just couldn't find the time to travel anymore. At the same time, living and working in Ireland meant I didn't want to also spend my holidays there. It's not a foreign country anymore and if I'm off work, I want to go somewhere else. Until the last bank holiday week-end when we had a great time in West Cork (but knackered after a 6 hours drive!).</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>You mix languages when you speak</b></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I speak Frenglish most of the time, which is fine with my husband or friends, but when I go to France it gets a bit difficult. At the beginning, some people thought I was doing it on purpose, but now they just laugh at me when I can't find a word! On a separate note, when I was in France last week, someone told me she was surprised I didn't have a foreign accent when I spoke French... That's weird, right? I don't think I can ever lose my French accent in my native language, it's hard enough losing it in English!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>You don't bring presents back home anymore</b></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The first couple of years, every pre-trip organisation included a day in Dublin to buy presents for my parents, brother and sister, aunts and uncles, nephews etc. I would always end up in Carroll's and break the bank to buy t-shirts, Guinness chocolates, shamrock pencils and the likes...Now I go home empty handed. I think my parents have a fair share of Irish memorabilia in the house. The only thing I do if I have time, is to go to Penney's for my sister. I know I'm not helping her addiction, but a little scarf or a top always makes her happy.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What do you think of this list, did you recognize a bit of yourself in it? Anything you want to add?</span></div>
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Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-28626617271754434102017-07-21T21:42:00.000+01:002017-07-21T21:42:55.502+01:006 things I forgot about France<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZwzm_S0tf_B3zzHHF7LxyT1iBIfaVl2smw5GUu-ELNjcF8177b01EZfcYG5ZLm-T1QC4_nqKqqRT2FA0iHz86br3bmpB4wU2Tsq3ppA67rCpK0zpfjABrZ_5jdvSbRyfCwpl91FMJVtz5/s1600/IMG_20170616_195738_270_picmonkeyed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZwzm_S0tf_B3zzHHF7LxyT1iBIfaVl2smw5GUu-ELNjcF8177b01EZfcYG5ZLm-T1QC4_nqKqqRT2FA0iHz86br3bmpB4wU2Tsq3ppA67rCpK0zpfjABrZ_5jdvSbRyfCwpl91FMJVtz5/s400/IMG_20170616_195738_270_picmonkeyed.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-222dc27c-66dd-a7bf-7713-5831500fa5b2"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I usually go to France once a year, for a holiday in my hometown. I know people and the surroundings so when I go there I am not surprised by anything really. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But lately, I had the opportunity to travel to other parts of France thanks to my job, and I realised there are some little things I forgot about my country…</span></div>
</span><b id="docs-internal-guid-222dc27c-66bb-f37c-3c50-ce9fc88b0d86" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Military presence in airports</b></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I landed in Beauvais a few weeks ago and also in Mulhouse the other day, the first thing I saw at the exit were military people, with full on uniforms and shotguns. I completely understand they were there for safety, but still, when you not used to it, it feels a little bit scary. It reminded me that France was still in a state of emergency and the possibility of a threat was real. Having said that, I did feel completely safe any places I went to after I left the airport. A terrorist attack is really not the first thing on your mind when you are visiting a foreign city. Even in the metro in Paris, I was more worried about getting out at the right stop than the possibility of an attack...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Table service in bars</b></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I spent an evening in Nancy, on the beautiful Place Stanislas. The square was surrounded by bars, all with an outdoor terrace. I sat down and looked out for waiter. He was a bit busy and told me he would be with me within a few minutes. It got me thinking how this French system is complicated. If you want a drink in Ireland, you go to the bar, ask for it and pay straight away. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In France, you just sit down. The waiter comes, takes your order, goes to the bar, gets your drink, has to remember where you sit, gives you the drink, comes back with the bill, takes the money, goes back to the bar, gets the change, comes back to you… </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s just a waste of time if you ask me!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>People speaking French around me</b></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I know it’s kind of a given if I’m in France right? Well, I’m just so used to be surrounded by English speaking people that I often surprise myself by thinking :”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oh, there are some French people here!</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” when I hear them talking French beside me. And then I remember than I am in fact in France… Please tell me I’m not crazy and I am not the only one experiencing this!!</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>The beauty of the country</b></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am ashamed to say I have visited Ireland a lot more than France. Of course I know Brittany because that’s where I’m from, but aside from my home region, I know very little about my home country. I have been to the Southwest twice and Paris a few times. With my job I have now the opportunity to travel a bit more and I really feel like a tourist when I go to France. When you live somewhere, you don’t really see the beauty beside you and I am now seeing my country from an outside perspective. I don’t really have time to do proper visits as I am mainly there for work, but I always take the time to walk around the cities I’m in, admire the architecture, take pictures and have a nice meal. I have been to places I would have never considered before, like Reims or Nancy and I realised France really has beautiful buildings and landscapes. I drove through the Vosges region and the views were really breathtaking. Next time I’m over in France I think I’ll take an extra day off just to visit, it’s really worth it. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyMmXajAxlX8_mvFw36iRUt_uI1v3uUJ33Rzn9D7J0ApYeR-2FWtekiNRF-lfJmdzi5RnXbt05qanHT0I8bUtoKErtEhiw40DLZzDy3v5kamT_00iBGH37hnuAbaEUfkOzucbLq3q1CJOw/s1600/DSC_1725.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyMmXajAxlX8_mvFw36iRUt_uI1v3uUJ33Rzn9D7J0ApYeR-2FWtekiNRF-lfJmdzi5RnXbt05qanHT0I8bUtoKErtEhiw40DLZzDy3v5kamT_00iBGH37hnuAbaEUfkOzucbLq3q1CJOw/s400/DSC_1725.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Place Stanislas, Nancy<br /></span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGwpMwM-7fFRZQq9rCSHoFTXoVVSZRovzbrFWRMdURqrQTanencswWE7nmL3lUXS29nrMQKF6gDsL-wqGhsXPAKaNhDt5JKIpEQGapB9JfgfD9NIdv6XhgkrFPQVxGsihsctjKMStJ1vO2/s1600/IMG_20170721_185241_155.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGwpMwM-7fFRZQq9rCSHoFTXoVVSZRovzbrFWRMdURqrQTanencswWE7nmL3lUXS29nrMQKF6gDsL-wqGhsXPAKaNhDt5JKIpEQGapB9JfgfD9NIdv6XhgkrFPQVxGsihsctjKMStJ1vO2/s320/IMG_20170721_185241_155.jpg" width="256" /></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9LJ59RSqUi5bH8dktzhRMGnMocW-kIo45oVeVx2CEBW936dMd-LWJFH8YkHy7e6TJ4eFsv2a8q5LeFOkBBVmnwCB2FpKXP6OS_NajNIwXtzrvDpdeuEIacJCBcEBmstvhDGa78jGhEaDk/s1600/DSC_1628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9LJ59RSqUi5bH8dktzhRMGnMocW-kIo45oVeVx2CEBW936dMd-LWJFH8YkHy7e6TJ4eFsv2a8q5LeFOkBBVmnwCB2FpKXP6OS_NajNIwXtzrvDpdeuEIacJCBcEBmstvhDGa78jGhEaDk/s400/DSC_1628.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Paris Opera</span></td></tr>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>The (very) hot weather</b></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Seriously, I think I was going to melt. I am not used to this kind of weather anymore (not that I was used to it in Brittany or Ireland!), and yet I was looking forward to it before flying out. I kind of regretted my enthusiasm when I discovered there was no air-con in my hotel room. The whole time I was there I was just hoping I wouldn’t look too sweaty for my job meeting! The good side of the hot weather was enjoying a cold refreshing cocktail in the evening and not worry about rain! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqqsycCGJ0KfqmQQsaSBLgYcng-1ACVjdTzZb065wU6VDjtYwrR22jQK0xNrR4wWYJBh04TO3zxULSjSCYMirszkWxqy19HlqFqI28pQuxMJJNqQVNunKUGM2w0aj8VDe8ezsBPZN2AB8I/s1600/_20170718_204814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="889" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqqsycCGJ0KfqmQQsaSBLgYcng-1ACVjdTzZb065wU6VDjtYwrR22jQK0xNrR4wWYJBh04TO3zxULSjSCYMirszkWxqy19HlqFqI28pQuxMJJNqQVNunKUGM2w0aj8VDe8ezsBPZN2AB8I/s400/_20170718_204814.JPG" width="221" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This one was well deserved!!</span></td></tr>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>French people can actually be nice</b></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Last year I wrote a very controversial post about French people being arrogant (I can’t even post the link because it was reported to Facebook, and I wouldn’t want to re-open this touchy subject anyway). This time I had a completely different experience in France. From the time I booked my rental car to the time I gave it back, I only came across nice, helpful people. The hotel staff, the people I met for work (and I was with competitors so it could have been awkward and less than amicable), the bar I had a drink in, the airport staff, the people in the queue at check-in… Even when I was in Paris a few weeks ago, everybody I met was in a good mood, and I didn’t have high expectations, trust me! I don’t know what happened, but I was so impressed it made me want to make up with French people. That’s a good start, right?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What about you, anything that you find strange, amusing or that you forgot about your home country?</span></div>
Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-13422107310993930622017-07-02T12:56:00.001+01:002017-07-02T12:56:31.528+01:00The joys of having mixed-race children<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGXE-aAIO_1VU50pyXBTTdYirnKgL4d0Of4VwuMJVHXAGho-Kcdga5dyjlJ43JMZWB-0HZWFB1MjFyI7ACjRcXld-NqLy-vHdE6YZ1eB8n_WZhVjI1aQoavYnx8Ai8fsFzN-8qm1lQX_cb/s1600/The+joys+of+having.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGXE-aAIO_1VU50pyXBTTdYirnKgL4d0Of4VwuMJVHXAGho-Kcdga5dyjlJ43JMZWB-0HZWFB1MjFyI7ACjRcXld-NqLy-vHdE6YZ1eB8n_WZhVjI1aQoavYnx8Ai8fsFzN-8qm1lQX_cb/s400/The+joys+of+having.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you have mixed-race children, it can sometimes lead to awkward and funny situations...</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>At the maternity</b></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The morning after my first son was born, the nurse came down to show me how to give him a bath. Everything went well until she took his nappy off. She looked at him, then me, then him again, and then the conversation went a bit like this:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Is the dad, uh... uh... uh...?</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> ". </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I didn't have a clue what she was talking about. "</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Is the dad what?</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">" I replied. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, is the dad....coloured?</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Y</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">es, he's black, why? Is there something wrong?"</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No, it makes sense now</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What makes sense?</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His testicles</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I burst into laughter. "</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What??</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, that's why his testicles are a lot darker than the rest of his body</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hadn't even realised they were, because let's be honest, it was my first baby and to me they just looked normal. Upon closer inspection, they were indeed a lot darker than the rest!!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>At the childminder</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After a few days, I also realised he had a birth mark on his bottom. So I did what every new mother would do, I googled it. And I found out it was a common birth mark in mixed-race children, a </span><a href="http://www.gosh.nhs.uk/medical-information/mongolian-blue-spots" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mongolian spot</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Once we knew what it was, we were relieved and didn't think about it until my son started to go to the childminder. I picked him up one day and the childminder was a bit agitated:</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I changed him today, I saw this mark on his back...I thought his jeans had rubbed off on his skin</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don't worry, it's just a birth mark!"</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oh my god, I scrubbed him, trying to take it off!!</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oops. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>At the supermarket</b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My husband was in a supermarket with one of the kids, and he lost him in an aisle. He was a bit panicked and started to look for him everywhere. He finally saw him with a security guard so went straight up to him and said it was his son. The guard look at him, looked at the child, and asked "</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Are you sure you're the dad?"</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> .Thankfully my son jumped right in his arms, so that was it. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I never get the question "Are you the mum?" because there is less difference between our skin tones than with my husband's. But I can understand why some people would be asking the question...And to be honest, better be safe than sorry. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>At school</b></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My kids know how their dad has a different skin colour, but the interesting thing is that they don't refer to white children as "white". They are "peach", which is funny because it makes a lot more sense when you think about it. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And to be honest, it's only when I look at school pictures that I see the difference between them and the other kids in the class.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>On holidays</b></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-3099e06a-0315-6d07-4491-fb8ec19fc57d"></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They tan so easily I'm jealous. I have to use sun cream, after-sun cream, tanning oil and hope I won't get sunburnt. They are just exposed for a couple of hours and they instantly get darker. Life is so unfair.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5q5E_nf3dyVSGJIymeH2DU-00oxPoM37l2b5oOyrAFTTP947Qo4ksc8jlDRhFvyczaLCGqhSFMyV2YfVlKJiQ_yy5MNYMNEVUVKD3V-tsmX1qsMeVjclx3Xh-sTK4FlWH2RIt1aTssoXE/s1600/tan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="540" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5q5E_nf3dyVSGJIymeH2DU-00oxPoM37l2b5oOyrAFTTP947Qo4ksc8jlDRhFvyczaLCGqhSFMyV2YfVlKJiQ_yy5MNYMNEVUVKD3V-tsmX1qsMeVjclx3Xh-sTK4FlWH2RIt1aTssoXE/s320/tan.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">My son's tan after 2 hours in the sun...</span></td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Being mixed-race is part of who my kids are, and they know their parents have a different skin colour, but it doesn't seem to affect them one bit, for the moment anyway. And well, I don't want to go into a "color chart" debate, but their skin tone is quite subtle, you only see a big difference in summer time (as if we had a summer in Ireland, but you get what I mean!). I think it's harder for their dad who had to justify himself (Yes, I am the dad!) more than once...</span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-3099e06a-0319-e9bd-5825-b54c5eadb0e9"></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you have mixed-race children, any interesting stories you want to share?</span></div>
Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-85912302339610862572017-06-23T15:41:00.000+01:002017-06-23T15:41:17.681+01:00Heatwave<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The "mini-heatwave" may be over but I never cease to be amazed when I see how crazy the country gets when the sun comes out. I know Ireland doesn't get much heat and I have to get my yearly fix somewhere else, but as soon as the temperatures hit the low 20s, Irish people go a bit overboard...</span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-fae12d6f-d54f-1e62-82f7-0f610136b1cc"></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Beaches are invaded </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyxq4LZJPobgJsIXRM88qLGQpDrqLbbSYebSYhyphenhyphenGbrO1qM_8EShDiNpPmGAbiVVpvwFkPfaxXJDLAoCV_RpOQSmq7ajmUDxlL13j0jGeRYG3rxezWUsOr4qNqB-7uh5IkMSPm5eL7qPRgM/s1600/8e6b2d6f-5f5c-452a-b949-f288b1ec9f23.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyxq4LZJPobgJsIXRM88qLGQpDrqLbbSYebSYhyphenhyphenGbrO1qM_8EShDiNpPmGAbiVVpvwFkPfaxXJDLAoCV_RpOQSmq7ajmUDxlL13j0jGeRYG3rxezWUsOr4qNqB-7uh5IkMSPm5eL7qPRgM/s400/8e6b2d6f-5f5c-452a-b949-f288b1ec9f23.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVh_xmR9Owx_zxWSNq-ybaqDAGSgf3MZnvBnBfesicFvqlNi4GLX2ch1xhMWQnLbJD9z_qJpq-2wobftWRSY9Pg5G17aZKqHk2EYGh5BNWnmw6aasKQDdyGpvZOVmqmFj8PZAeT3BClsXU/s1600/3ee2b94c-09ac-478d-80fc-574a30045ccd.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVh_xmR9Owx_zxWSNq-ybaqDAGSgf3MZnvBnBfesicFvqlNi4GLX2ch1xhMWQnLbJD9z_qJpq-2wobftWRSY9Pg5G17aZKqHk2EYGh5BNWnmw6aasKQDdyGpvZOVmqmFj8PZAeT3BClsXU/s400/3ee2b94c-09ac-478d-80fc-574a30045ccd.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-fae12d6f-d54f-5eda-1171-41ad84aedd1d"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And some people regularly forget about the tide. Unfortunately, car insurance doesn't cover for drivers' stupidity...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQ7mESCgtaddUgRq5MZ662mMagL1OkxeAa5uNFVrTypW3aLdZaXlyvgF_53XwIDtcxbshchayn9Hje93REnpTFlXEEXmxqOvcZvfXLP1P7eVfUF6-rU10cGmHAMerxlvHH_UJ5Ld43Z_-/s1600/tide.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQ7mESCgtaddUgRq5MZ662mMagL1OkxeAa5uNFVrTypW3aLdZaXlyvgF_53XwIDtcxbshchayn9Hje93REnpTFlXEEXmxqOvcZvfXLP1P7eVfUF6-rU10cGmHAMerxlvHH_UJ5Ld43Z_-/s400/tide.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They start sunbathing, with the results we all know</span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-fae12d6f-d54f-95ce-2a20-6a6e2de70fad"></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the beach last week-end, this man was sunbathing with his girlfriend and I swear I just wanted to go up to him and triple the amount of sun cream on his body. The poor man was as white as paper and I knew from the start he would end up like a lobster. And he did. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuFu0mYXG4KlhHgE56DLVvz22YOg0XET155PETuxnukjri0H8ML1F791G5jyEkn7UNpMgp0yKV-qru88KVeaPcRelutzISkVf80cGdrPPS4FQdF_kJEnFwGyZdZJpYeI9As6yYVf1C6Gs9/s1600/sunbathing.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuFu0mYXG4KlhHgE56DLVvz22YOg0XET155PETuxnukjri0H8ML1F791G5jyEkn7UNpMgp0yKV-qru88KVeaPcRelutzISkVf80cGdrPPS4FQdF_kJEnFwGyZdZJpYeI9As6yYVf1C6Gs9/s400/sunbathing.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Literally, as shown in this video of a naked guy on the canal... More seriously, one ray of sun and Irish people take the tops, shorts and flip-flop out. I was in my cardigan all week at work, and sure the weather was nice, around 22 degrees, but my colleagues kept making fun of me for being wrapped up. It's not hot guys, it's just warm!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your boss brings ice-cream to the office, the playschool organises a water balloon fight and the primary school takes the kids to the beach. This year they also skipped homework for a couple of days because the teachers wanted the kids to be active outside instead of doing homework! And for the adults, nothing is more enjoyable than an ice-cold pint of Bulmers in the local pub beer garden...</span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-fae12d6f-d558-795d-e53e-654fedeb7546"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unfortunately for Ireland, the weather is back to normal. Maybe it's a good thing for all the sunburnt people out there, but I hope it doesn't last too long and we can enjoy more good weather this summer (I am being VERY optimistic I know!).</span></span></div>
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Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-62286463056640631342017-06-18T11:08:00.002+01:002017-06-18T11:08:31.871+01:00Ignorance is bliss<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaEzxvRw-DxG92E2-o1hVHk5JjUQgFDfnXZHa7QwIAKW4lhLqGYHojMNgtBL0ypa_5tzUK7spnpDaffT0XxGXOPjd-GzVyCWQr2SdSSlSH3Gj89uHHy7W5MWw8d8-i0SzhL-1an7U9CrER/s1600/Bettystown+beach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaEzxvRw-DxG92E2-o1hVHk5JjUQgFDfnXZHa7QwIAKW4lhLqGYHojMNgtBL0ypa_5tzUK7spnpDaffT0XxGXOPjd-GzVyCWQr2SdSSlSH3Gj89uHHy7W5MWw8d8-i0SzhL-1an7U9CrER/s400/Bettystown+beach.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If my memory is still intact, it was 2005. My husband and I were visiting a friend in Kinsale, near Cork. He invited us to his place because he had just moved back from Dublin, and he wanted us to see how beautiful the area was. He was right. The village was like an Irish postcard, with colourful houses and narrow streets, full of pubs, seafood restaurants and a little harbour. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was really hot that day, well, by Irish standards anyway! Our friend was working in a pub close to the harbour so we went for a drink, and during his break we all sat down outside on the wall, looking at boats passing by. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As we were soaking up the sun, we started to talk about our life in Ireland. We didn't have any serious commitments at the time, none of us. There was no mortgage, insurance, or kids in the picture. I was still driving my French car in total illegality. My job was easy, without any real responsibility. We didn't have any worries, really. Maybe just paying the rent on time and the phone bill which was always expensive because of the calls back home. We had a cosy appartment, great neighbours and in a village we loved. We were going out regularly and had many friends from a variety of horizons. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We were thinking of going back to France though, but at that point in the conversation, our friend asked the question: "</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What is it that you like most about living here?</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">". The answer came so naturally that I still remember it to this day (well, maybe not in exact terms, but the general sense is still there!): "</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I love about Ireland is that we live here in total ignorance. We have an easy life and with our salary we can live comfortably for our needs. We live in that little bubble and we're not really interested in the economic or political state of the country because it doesn't affect us".</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And as we were finishing our drinks, feeling the gentle breeze on our shoulders we all thought the same thing: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"This the life!"</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of course, as the years went by, things changed, as they always do. I finally bought an Irish car, we applied for a mortgage and bought an appartment, had kids... And we started following the news and budget announcements more because this time it was affecting us, especially during the recession.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Surprisingly, I had the same conversation the other day with a friend I hadn't seen for years. I was in Paris for work and we met for a meal. She was nostalgic about her life in Ireland, and if her health was better, she would be thinking of going back. And then she said it. The same thing I said all those years ago. She loved living in Ireland because she was in her bubble of work and friends, of going out and visiting the country. She was oblivious to the political or economical aspects of the country because it didn't affect her. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So maybe that's it. Maybe that's the reason why French people love Ireland so much. Let's face it, only a minority stays for the long-term, but for those who went back to France and long for their experience in Ireland, what is it that you loved about the country? Could it be this sense of freedom, fun and the fact that you were not really affected by anything else other than your little bubble?</span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-1721bd8c-baa1-d144-afca-7dafabc5db4c"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I still love Ireland of course, but the innocence stage is long gone. We've been through a lot in the past 10 years or so, but yesterday at the beach, soaking up the sun on what certainly was the hottest day of the year, I thought to myself "</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is the life!</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">".</span></span></div>
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Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-5317351729256266182017-05-01T20:58:00.003+01:002017-05-01T21:14:00.904+01:00An old friend I used to know<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.fotor.com/Share/show?linkId=81b8a761423a43a1b0607b17b3846175"><img height="320" src="//img.haozhaopian.net/share/1493669599006VeA.jpg" width="320" /></a>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Back in March, I went to Mauritius with my husband and my best friends from France. While we were there, I realised my husband's attitude towards his country had changed. The most noticeable change was that he wasn't speaking the local language anymore. Mauritius' official language is English, but everybody speaks French (confusing I know...), and in private or in social situations like in a shop or the market, people speak creole. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Every time we were out and about visiting places, he was acting as a guide (as usual!), but every interaction he had with locals was in French. The only time he spoke creole was with his family. A few days after we came back I asked him about it. He said he didn't feel connected to his country, that he liked it of course, but that he had nothing to do with it anymore. And when we were there, visiting sites, he was like us, just a tourist. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I found this almost impossible to understand. How could he feel so disconnected to a country where he lived for 22 years, especially his formative years? I replied I couldn't feel that way about France, ever. Even if I loved Ireland, I equally loved France and I would always be French.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But for the past week, I have been thinking about my own relationship with my birth country, and in the wake of the presidential elections back home, I have realised that maybe I am not as connected as I thought. Yes of course I still feel French but it's like I don't recognise my home country anymore.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I go there once a year, I have a great time, catch up with friends and family, eat and drink, generally just enjoy myself for 2 weeks and go back to Ireland with the boot loaded with wine and nothing left in my bank account. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But I don't live there, I don't know what "real life" is like and what people are facing on a daily basis. All I know is the little bubble of my family and friends in Brittany, and the kind of life I live in Ireland. I do feel disconnected. Weeks before the elections, I knew who would be in the second round of the presidential elections, but I didn't (and probably still don't) realise what it really meant for French people. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I watch everything from the outside, and I'm going to tell you what I see: A divided country, and angry, unhappy and frustrated citizens (I still hope I'm wrong and it's just the TV feeding me crap, sensationalist stories). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Has France changed so much in the past 15 years, or have I changed? Probably a bit of both, but to me, at the moment, France feels like an old friend I used to know. Someone I was very close to, but time and distance made us drift apart. Someone I feel I don't have much more in common with anymore. Sure we see each other once a year, laugh and have a great time for a while but there is no more depth to our relationship.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unless I go back to France for good, I will always feel that way, trying to understand what's going on in my home country with an outsider point of view. And let me tell you, it's not easy.</span></div>
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Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-68816095029728411582017-01-02T16:13:00.000+00:002017-01-02T16:18:22.990+00:002016 roundup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh63NZFekA2rZqSvfffopNWP9bMI_4cDAKdlFihLCiutA1b5OD_2zZC7EnWtwcsU2GN6LK3JwY5ULks8ibRCYHP4gTayL1DufTC1gV71-CY1hYkV9KJgJMUl38HjScu3CafsL8PoIKcpUxG/s1600/new-year-1901660_960_720.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh63NZFekA2rZqSvfffopNWP9bMI_4cDAKdlFihLCiutA1b5OD_2zZC7EnWtwcsU2GN6LK3JwY5ULks8ibRCYHP4gTayL1DufTC1gV71-CY1hYkV9KJgJMUl38HjScu3CafsL8PoIKcpUxG/s320/new-year-1901660_960_720.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-60a0e894-5f0c-865d-70b8-a190dcae001d"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">I hope you all had a great festive season and I wish you all a Happy New Year! We had a great party on Saturday night with Danish, Indian, American and Irish friends, and even ended up singing our own national anthems. Looking back, that was a bit strange, so let's blame the alcohol, shall we? In pure Danish tradition, we jumped from the couch at midnight, and we moved onto the Venezuelan one, sticking wishes on the bottle of Champagne we just drank. We had to write my 5 years old's and well, he wished for penguins in the house, so I don't know about that one coming true. I guess we'll just have to wait and see...</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Tomorrow is back to reality so it's time to close the door on 2016 and have a little round up of my blogging year.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>My most read post</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I wrote "</span><a href="http://nearlyirish.blogspot.ie/2016/04/why-is-it-hard-to-make-irish-friends.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why is it hard to make Irish friends</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">" back in April, and it has stayed on top of the list since. In a way, I knew many expats would be able to relate, but I didn't expect that much reaction. It was a bit like I said out loud what everybody thought but didn't have the courage to say. The most interesting part is that I got many positive reactions from Irish people as well, so I guess the post had a very broad appeal.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>My least read post</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Surprisingly, it's the </span><a href="http://nearlyirish.blogspot.ie/2016/01/brooklyn-tale-of-emigration.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Irish movie "Brooklyn" review</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I honestly didn't think it would fare so badly, considering the subject. This movie, even if it was set in the 50's can still resonate with expats so if you are still on holidays or have nothing to do, give it a try, it's worth it!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>The unexpected hit</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sometimes it takes me days or weeks to come up with a good post idea, and writing "</span><a href="http://nearlyirish.blogspot.ie/2016/10/7-reasons-why-i-enjoy-living-in-ireland.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7 reasons why I enjoy living in Ireland</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">" was one of those that took a long time to be published. So needless to say I was very pleased with the reception it got!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>The one I enjoyed writing the most</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That's going to be a bit of a cheat, but I loved experiencing with infographics for "</span><a href="http://nearlyirish.blogspot.ie/2016/08/the-expat-holiday-expectations-vs_21.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The expat holiday: expectations vs reality</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">". I knew it would be better to show what it's really like with images than words and it really worked.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>The most controversial</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I've learned a thing or two with that one. First, that I am not the controversial type. Second, that I am not cut to write these type of posts and handle the flood of bad comments. Third, that there are some twisted people out there. The post was "</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why are the French rude and judgemental?</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">" (I can't actually share the link because it had been reported to Facebook at the time which means I cannot share it ever again, which is probably a good thing!) and if I had to do it again, I don't know if I would write it. This is my own fault, with a title like that, it was obviously a click bait. I was a stressed for days with this one, thinking about what readers were going to comment. I am not going to put myself through that again. Lesson learned I guess. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>My personal favourite</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I really enjoyed going back in time to write "</span><a href="http://nearlyirish.blogspot.ie/2016/07/back-to-beginning.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Back to the beginning</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">", which is about how I ended up in Ireland 14 years ago. In a way, it made me remember where I come from and what I have achieved since I arrived. Sometimes we tend to focus on the negative and this post made me see that all the problems I had to face at the beginning shaped me into the person I am today.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Honourable mentions</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Those are the ones that are in the top 10 most read posts: </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://nearlyirish.blogspot.ie/2016/07/meeting-french-president.html" target="_blank">My encounter with the French president</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://nearlyirish.blogspot.ie/2016/09/the-top-10-foods-french-people-miss-in.html" target="_blank">The top 10 foods French people miss in Ireland</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://nearlyirish.blogspot.ie/2016/11/reasons-why-ill-only-ever-be-nearly.html" target="_blank">Reasons why I'll only ever be nearly Irish</a></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://nearlyirish.blogspot.ie/2016/11/6-reasons-why-my-kids-are-more-irish.html" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">6 reasons why my kids are more Irish than I'll ever be</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>My biggest achievement</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">It's probably when someone called me by my blog name while in the queue waiting to meet the French president. Also that day I met people I didn't know but who had read my blog. Sometimes it's nice to have a little recognition because let's face it, I'm writing for pleasure. I don't make any money out of it (except a few cents a week from Google ads). Of course it would be a lot more rewarding to write for money but I haven't found the magic formula yet. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>My biggest disappointment</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">The Blog awards again! This time I didn't even make the shortlist. It's a bit ironic that the first year I was blogging and didn't have that many readers I made it to the final and now I don't even make the cut! I think I have missed the social media train as well. Some bloggers put so much time and effort to promote their blog it's crazy. I just don't have the time and energy to look into details on how to grow my audience, have my own domain name and all that sort of things. I suck at Twitter and I don't have even have a Pinterest, Instagram or Snapchat account.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Plans for 2017</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">I have finally written a plan for my book, a structure that I think is the best way to put my experience across. Now I just have to write it. It's fine, I'm not really in a rush, after all, the ideas have been sitting on the computer for 4 or 5 years only...On a more serious note, I really want to get stuck into it this year. I have a lot of material with the blog, so maybe it's time to tie it all up.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><br /><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That's it, I wish you all a wonderful year, filled with joy, health, happiness and laughter and I hope all your projects and dreams come true.</span></span></div>
Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-76760450046106289332016-12-30T21:53:00.000+00:002016-12-30T21:53:58.274+00:00New Year's eve traditions from around the world<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Mrt7KciQW2mIkUptaFfgQBPv9NwUCdcd26JFis7OkTYSRvprrrCBlUTzrpXzBc1PjKFZPO1ZM3WP-FvjICdQzfK7NyI5uVj9W8YPdOFFipqGkejVkmf9411-5ysJDaRZ56PsQf2wgUiF/s1600/happy-new-year-1063797_960_720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Mrt7KciQW2mIkUptaFfgQBPv9NwUCdcd26JFis7OkTYSRvprrrCBlUTzrpXzBc1PjKFZPO1ZM3WP-FvjICdQzfK7NyI5uVj9W8YPdOFFipqGkejVkmf9411-5ysJDaRZ56PsQf2wgUiF/s400/happy-new-year-1063797_960_720.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tomorrow is New Year's eve, and for us, it's always an international celebration. This gave me the idea of looking into how other countries celebrate the passing into another year. Thanks to my friends and the </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/expatsindublin/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Expats in Dublin Facebook</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> group I have gathered a few New Year's eve traditions, and I have discovered some unusual ones!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>France</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">At midnight, we do the countdown and pop the Champagne, then we are supposed to kiss under the mistletoe, something I have never done (Maybe my parents weren't into mistletoe, I don't know...). We also have fireworks and it is custom on New Year to give a bit of money to children (Les etrennes).</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Venezuela</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">In Venezuela, they drink a bottle of Champagne on which they stick wishes on a piece of paper. Once the bottle is finished, they hide it for the year so their wishes can come true. I think that's a sweet tradition and I might want to do it this year!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Ireland</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">An old Irish tradition is to bang pots and pans to ward off evil spirits. At midnight, everyone goes to the back door with a lump of coal, throw it out to "throw out the old year" and then go to the front door to welcome the new year. Another tradition is to just open the front door to let the New Year in. If you're in Dublin for New Year's eve, you might also want to go to Christchurch and listen to the bells ring at midnight.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">In Hungary, they eat lentils on New Year's eve for good luck and wealth.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Mauritius</b></span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">In Mauritius, they throw firecrackers. A lot of them! I've never witnessed it because I've never been to Mauritius at that time of year, but once, my brother in law and his friends threw firecrackers after their football team won a game, and it was rather noisy! </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Denmark</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">At midnight, Danish people jump from a chair or a couch to "jump into the new year". My Danish neighbour introduced me to that tradition and now we do it every year!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Russia</b></span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Russian people usually watch the president's wishes and when the Kremlin rings the bells, they drink champagne and open the window to let the New year in (At -25 degrees, I'm not sure I would cope...)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another tradition is to write a </span><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">wish on a piece of paper at the chime of bells on a Kremlin tower, burn it and put ashes in a glass of champagne, then at midnight you should drink it, and the wish is believed to be granted.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Finland</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finnish people try to predict how the next year will turn out by melting tin and pouring it into a bucket of cold water. The tin then freezes into a shape and they try to figure out what the shape means. This unusual tradition is called "</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molybdomancy" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Molybdomancy</span></a><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">".</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Peru</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Over there, they eat 12 grapes, eat champagne and throw fireworks, but most importantly wear yellow clothes for good luck.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Italy</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Italians wear red underwear for good luck, eat cotechino (a type of pork meat), lentils for hope of wealth in the coming year, and they pop a sparkling white wine at midnight.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Austria</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">At midnight, everyone starts waltzing everywhere in Austria. No matter what age, no matter with whom - they just waltz. It's especially wonderful in big cities like Vienna, when there's fireworks above and thousands of people meet up in front of the cathedral and at midnight everyone starts dancing!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Germany</b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #444444;"><br /><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">German people watch a Sketch at 7pm called dinner for one, then dinner and then Bleigießen , which is actually Molybdomancy, the same as in Finland!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Portugal</b></span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-914df910-51ac-66f7-b837-e27991b8dbeb" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">They also eat 12 grapes, one for each month of the year making a wish for each one and they toast with Champagne or some other sparkling wine.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Spain</b></span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">The Spanish also eat 12 grapes, one every time the bell rings midnight and if you manage to eat your grapes on time, it means you will have a lucky and prosperous year. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>England</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Families usually open the door to let the new year in, but the original tradition was to invite in a man with bread, salt and coal. This later changed to having a man be first back across the threshold.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Brazil</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">In Brazil they have a huge dinner, almost like Christmas dinner, fireworks at midnight with popping a bottle of champagne or any sparkling wine, and most important, for those passing it near the beach, they jump 7 waves on the sea, and for each wave you make a wish for the next year. The majority of people wear white, but some can choose other colors based on its meaning, like yellow for money or red for love.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">As you can see, there seem to be as many traditions as countries, and I'm pretty sure there are some regional variations as well. On the other hand it's interesting to see countries from different parts of the world sharing the same traditions like eating grapes or lentils, wearing a special colour or making wishes in a different way.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">On that note, I would like to thank all the contributors to this post and wish you all a happy and prosperous new year, no matter how you celebrate it! As for me, I might pick a bit of every tradition to make it a truly international celebration.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #444444;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do not hesitate to share more traditions from your home country in the comments!</span></span>Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-26847176732450651512016-12-28T19:30:00.000+00:002016-12-28T19:38:15.403+00:00My painless visit to the French Consulate<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsCBDRIhfHdIsiXXUzxhi4Ao0Q3dI_iOJk3LzDutyqaCzE7ssOKKoBUBUzbdv38cXkwXEpYMUvpz0Rf8A47zc9ckugBf6bk8kUzwNv9z2W7j8w3qIAO5IjHyuuxLyOIjNAwjYpIG-P6SZN/s1600/flag-1047969_960_720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsCBDRIhfHdIsiXXUzxhi4Ao0Q3dI_iOJk3LzDutyqaCzE7ssOKKoBUBUzbdv38cXkwXEpYMUvpz0Rf8A47zc9ckugBf6bk8kUzwNv9z2W7j8w3qIAO5IjHyuuxLyOIjNAwjYpIG-P6SZN/s320/flag-1047969_960_720.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Gone are the days when I knew everyone at the French Embassy. One of my friends used to work there and we spent a good amount of time barbecuing or just chilling out at the <i>gendarme</i>'s house on the grounds of the French residence. All the administrative duties were a bit simpler when you knew you would see a familiar face in a bit of an uninviting environment.</span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-546249c0-46de-3b63-d0e0-a65ad2c51e60" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">I'm not saying the French consulate on Aylesbury road was a horrible place, far from it, but as a French abroad, the last thing you want is to come face to face with a microcosm of French society. Let's be honest here, the French Embassy never really had a good reputation, and I have my fair share of annoying anecdotes, but trust me, they don't all come from the staff.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">I'm sure you've all heard stories about unhelpful members of staff, and yes, there were times where I felt I was talking more to a prison officer than a consulate representative. But I have also witnessed bad behaviour from French people, who think they are entitled to everything, that they can bypass you in the queue or just be disrespectful to the staff and other users. And sometimes, it's not even the French. The icing on the cake has to come from a foreign woman who took all of her clothes off inside the consulate when she was refused her visa. I wasn't there but I've been told the story by the guy who was at the counter that day. And trust me, it wasn't pretty!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Anyway, I'm sure you can understand I try to stay away from the consulate as much as I can, unless it's for a few drinks, which sadly is not going to happen any time soon (unless I'm invited for the 14th of July or something...).</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Today, however, I had a very positive experience. I was completely stressed out at the idea of going to the consulate to renew my son's passport. Firstly because I had never been to their new place on Fitzwilliam Lane and I am really bad at driving in Dublin. I always get lost and can barely follow GPS directions. The second reason was I was afraid of not having the proper documents (the proof of address only had my name on it and not my husband's), or that the pictures wouldn't be the right size (it happened before), or that my kids would misbehave, or that I would be late etc etc.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">I left very early and <strike>bribed</strike> treated the kids with a Burger King lunch. I didn't get lost and understood the GPS directions, and was half an hour early. I almost died when I found out the cost of the cark park ( 2.90 euros per hour!!!), but I didn't know how long I was going to be in there for so I forked out 6 euros just to be sure. Of course the youngest wanted to go the toilets, but luckily there was a pub only a few steps away from the consulate, so we took the opportunity to sit down and have a drink. After all, we had half an hour to spare.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">At 3pm sharp we were in front of the gate. We were let in and my handbag went through a security scan. I was mortified at the idea of the man there, seeing all the crap that was inside, but he didn't say anything. The waiting area was empty and they had a good selection of toys for the kids to play with, something that was cruelly missing in the old place. I waited no more than 10 minutes before being called in and all I was hoping for at that stage was for my kids to avoid talking about poop and fart, their favourite subject of conversation at home.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The lady was very nice and the process was painless. The pictures were fine (Phew!), the proof of address as well, and the phone call she took in the middle allowed me to take my son to the toilets for the 4th time since we left the house. My son had a very insightful question for her: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Why do you speak French and work in Ireland"?</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. He never asked me the question! He also tried to charm her by counting to ten in French and was all-around well behaved. My eldest was oblivious to the whole thing, playing on his tablet. </span></span></div>
<span style="color: #444444;"><br /><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">20 minutes later and I was out. Painless I told you! Of course, I realised I picked the right day, between Christmas and New Year, when Dublin traffic would be light and the consulate quiet. The appointment process was probably helpful as well, because there was less waiting than before. Thankfully I'm not the one who will pick up the passport once it's ready, and the next time I will be at the consulate will be for the French elections. At least I know how to get there now!</span></span><br />
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Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-69589598388985049802016-12-08T21:09:00.000+00:002016-12-08T21:09:56.174+00:00Home for Christmas?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGaw6v8ie5_XFbdCrygyNUfJtugzHAA5vlRuN8jCRvKq6ccf6cBOVqy8uahNfaUF_YdTwOn0HSrNfsuQ8zvgKxeGmDF8OKHTXDfi_rYIrXF2Gl3iPQjOj6wAX4-s7Ljpa7oQmGpvpa-9aq/s1600/Nearly+Irish+-+%25284%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGaw6v8ie5_XFbdCrygyNUfJtugzHAA5vlRuN8jCRvKq6ccf6cBOVqy8uahNfaUF_YdTwOn0HSrNfsuQ8zvgKxeGmDF8OKHTXDfi_rYIrXF2Gl3iPQjOj6wAX4-s7Ljpa7oQmGpvpa-9aq/s320/Nearly+Irish+-+%25284%2529.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">At this time of the year, you can see numerous videos of Irish people surprising their family with a visit home. Spending time with your family at Christmas is important in many countries, but particularly in Ireland, probably due to the emigration history of the country. So it's hard not be emotional when you see people meeting their loved ones at the airport on Christmas eve.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Even if I only spent one Christmas in France over the past 14 years, I always check the flights as early as July or August, just to see if we could make it home for Christmas. And every time, the price is extortionate. I mean, even if I had a thousand euros handy, I wouldn't spend it on a Ryanair flight. Add to that a rental car, and the holidays could cost as much as going to the other side of the world. And talking about the other side of the world, we did try to go to Mauritius for Christmas once, but at 4000 euros the ticket, we quickly forgot about it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">We did manage to go to France once, when I was on maternity leave with my second child. We had a good time, but it had been so long since I spent Christmas with my parents, that the spirit didn't feel the same. I have memories of spending Christmas eve with my parents, brother and sister, eating delicious finger food and drinking champagne, watching silly programs on TV and exchanging presents at midnight. When I was a child, we would put the Christmas tree up all together, put our slippers next to the chimney, and have an extended family lunch on Christmas day. Then we would spend days eating chocolates...Ah, memories!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">But I had been in Ireland for 9 years already when I went home for Christmas for the first time. Most of my uncles and aunts that would have been present on Christmas day had passed away. My brother came for lunch, but my sister only came in the evening. I was so tired on Christmas eve (a 4 months baby didn't help) I think I went to bed before midnight. Most of my friends spent time with their own family, which is completely understandable, so I didn't really get to see them as much as I would have liked. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">I had a nice time and I did spend quality time with my family, but for some reasons, it wasn't as "exceptional" as some summer holidays I spent there. I guess I liked the idea of going home for Christmas, but it didn't live up to my expectations. I was hoping for a Christmas like the ones I had, back when I lived in France, and it just wasn't the same. </span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-42dfa5dd-e042-8540-a9ba-32028bb58dc8"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">"Home" for Christmas? Well, it looks like "home" is in Ireland now, where I've been making new Christmas memories for the past 14 years and where my kids will make some of their own. </span></span></span></div>
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Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-8167646476940298012016-12-01T20:40:00.000+00:002016-12-01T20:40:00.822+00:00Irish Christmas memories<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">It's the 1st of December and Christmas FM is finally on air, which means it's the official start of the festive season. This is the occasion to share some of my Irish Christmas memories, and I have a few, having spent 14 of the last 15 Christmases in Ireland!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">So, in true "<i>Friends episodes titles</i>" style, I share with you some of my best festive season stories...</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>The first one</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">The first Christmas I spent in Ireland will of course remain very special. I used to live with this Irish family and the daughter enrolled me to wrap the insane amount of presents she bought for her friends. She also had me writing the list of recipients for said presents, which led to a big laugh because I couldn't spell half of them. I was only in Ireland for a coupIe of months so I had never heard of Siobhan, Caitriona or Niamh at that stage. That first Christmas was also the start of our very own tradition of celebrating with friends who were not going home either, and we have done the same ever since.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>The one where our landlord invited himself for dinner</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Yes, he was the best landlord in the whole world, and tenants who are currently struggling with their rental house or apartment will definitely be jealous, so I apologise in advance. This guy showed up on Christmas Eve because he had nothing planned and ate dessert with us. He also brought us presents, wine and chocolate. Something he did every single year until we moved out.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>The one where it snowed on Christmas day</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">I can't remember what year it was (2005 maybe?), but one thing I know is that it was completely unexpected. It wasn't that cold so never in a million year we would have thought it would be a white Christmas! Imagine our surprise when we opened the curtains in the morning. It didn't stick that much but we took time to enjoy a nice walk and built a (very small) snowman.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>The one with the worst Christmas present ever</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">If you have a partner, I'm sure you know how difficult it can be to find a great gift. And let's face it, some people are better than others at choosing presents. And some of them are actually useless, even when you write a list. One year, my husband, despite the list I gave him, offered me <b>a plastic shoe rack from Lidl. </b>Apparently, it was to store my enormous shoes collection. Except I only had about 4 pairs. He must have confused me with my sister who is a total shoe addict. Let me tell you I wasn't impressed.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>The one where I finished my Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve at 6pm</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">A few years ago, my then 4 years old decided he wanted a rocket ship from Santa. But of course, he told me that on the evening of the 23rd of December. Every normal parent would have found an excuse for the lack of rocket ship under the Christmas tree, but not me. So off I went to Smyth toys on Christmas Eve, only to discover they closed at 4pm (in fairness, they were opened almost 24 hours for 3 weeks before Christmas). So I raced to the other side of town to Argos. It was 6pm and the shop was closing. The employees were sending people out, and there I stood, almost crying. Again, completely my fault, who in their right mind would try and buy something on Christmas eve at 6pm? Luckily, a very nice employee saw me in distress and let me buy the beloved rocket ship, just in time for Christmas. It was somehow a very stressful evening, but when I saw the my son's reaction on Christmas morning, I knew it was worth it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>The one where I was sick</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">The first 12 years I was in Ireland, I worked over the Christmas break. As I was never going home, I didn't mind, and I could save holidays for other times during the year. But when I changed job, I discovered the company was closing for a week at Christmas so I had no choice but to be off. I was actually excited about being on holidays at home, and not having to travel anywhere for once. The excitement rapidly died off though. I had a cold for about 10 days before Christmas, then a severe stomach bug on Christmas Eve. My Christmas meal consisted of a slice of bread, three potatoes and water. I was sick all the way to New Year's eve, and on New Year's day, I finally got better so I decided to step out of the house, and you know what happened? I twisted my ankle! Of course, I was back on my feet and felt much better just in time to go back to work...But yeah, a Christmas I'd rather not remember!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>The one with one too many Danish snaps</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The joys of an international Christmas... A few years ago, my Danish neighbour had this great idea of bringing Snaps to our traditional Christmas meal. If you don't what it is, it's a very strong ice-cold Danish liqueur shot. The drink proved so popular on the day that all the guests were chanting "</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Skål!" </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Cheers!) and "G</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">lædelig jul"( Merry Christmas). Unfortunately some friends took the Danish Christmas spirit a bit too far and ended up either sleeping in the bathroom or sick in the corridor... And don't get me started on the worst hangover of all times...Having said that, it was one of the best Christmas I've had in Ireland so far, and all the friends who were there on the day agree (and they still want to drink Snaps).</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-027cf144-b1e8-fd58-58b8-a93719eb6c29"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">What about you, any Christmas memories you want to share?</span></span></span></div>
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Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-47234713597995432692016-11-19T11:24:00.000+00:002016-11-19T11:25:21.568+00:00Reasons why I'll only ever be "nearly" Irish<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBZEqWZ4ucpLfY48U7hV3PtSRXkK3pG-599G8QSfSHtHRu1cBQPakxL-s-zI83XJEXEn5l7ci8fK-diVq5gwIyfHJOj-KTxQtYQQxumwVJ1_hd8aNJPZIJGk6smNmfE3u0-VujRzkzCgJw/s1600/french-irish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBZEqWZ4ucpLfY48U7hV3PtSRXkK3pG-599G8QSfSHtHRu1cBQPakxL-s-zI83XJEXEn5l7ci8fK-diVq5gwIyfHJOj-KTxQtYQQxumwVJ1_hd8aNJPZIJGk6smNmfE3u0-VujRzkzCgJw/s320/french-irish.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Last week I wrote a post explaining the different reasons why <a href="http://nearlyirish.blogspot.ie/2016/11/6-reasons-why-my-kids-are-more-irish.html" target="_blank">my kids are more Irish than I'll ever be</a>. I replied to a few comments on Facebook and wrote that, contrary to my children, I would never be completely Irish. Someone then asked me why, so here's my complex answer to a complex question!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">I have lived in Ireland for 14 years. I speak English, have Irish friends, and work with Irish people. I'm interested in Irish culture, history and traditions and I even get the Irish humour (most of the time!). In order to understand the Irish "mentality" and way of life, I had to be aware of the country's past. I sometimes don't agree with certain attitudes, views or laws, but I understand where they come from. In short, I have adapted to my surroundings, and I feel completely integrated. The only thing I cannot do is vote, but I would have to apply for the Irish citizenship, and to be honest, I am not ready for that (also, it costs a thousand Euros).</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Why would I not apply for Irish citizenship? </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">This is going to sound a bit stupid, but it would feel a bit like cheating. I'm not born here and personally I don't consider myself entirely Irish, so I don't really see the point of acquiring citizenship if I'm not 100% in it. Having said that, the fact that I am French, and therefore European, makes the decision easier in a way. When you're from outside Europe and lived in Ireland for many years, applying for visas, work permits, going through the hoops of Irish administration to legally stay in the country, the logical decision, regardless of how you "feel" about your identity, is to apply for Irish citizenship. That's what my husband did, which means now I don't have to queue for 8 hours at the garda station, and show my face, just to prove we're still married. It just makes our lives easier. Let me just point out that he feels a lot more Irish than I do, maybe because he only goes home every 3 or 4 years and doesn't know anyone from his country here in Ireland. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Why don't I consider myself completely Irish?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">I was born and raised in France and came to Ireland when I was 22. Both my parents are French and all my education was done in French. All my childhood memories, and therefore my "formative" years, are about France: Books I read, movies I watched, games I played... I remember how France was in the 80's and 90's, how we lived, who was in power, major events that happened and how it affected me. Even if I know Irish culture and history through places I have visited, accounts from friends, and even my kids' homework, I have not lived it. And I think this is what separates me from my Irish friends. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">But then again, I don't think I'm still entirely French either...</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">In a way, it's only when I go home I realise I have become more Irish than I think. I don't think I would be able to re-adapt to a French workplace for example, to re-learn the formal aspect of things, the hierarchy, the "vous" instead of "tu"... I've become so laid-back and relax in my attitude that I find some French people bitter and unhappy. But maybe this is just how I was before? </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">A case of double-identity?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">To the question "<i>where are you from?</i>", I always joke and say I'm from Bettystown. Of course, the real question "<i>where are you from, originally?</i>" always comes next (my accent gives it away!). Well, I'm French, and proud of it. But I'm also proud to belong and contribute to Irish society. I will never be completely Irish, but I don't want to either. I don't want to forget where I come from and renounce my past. And why should I?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">But what do my Irish friends think of that?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Let's be clear, if I don't feel Irish, it's not because this is the way I'm perceived by the natives. In fact, a lot of Irish people I know consider me one of them. I think it's because I've always tried to empathise and understand where they were coming from. I've always asked questions about traditions, history and so on. In short, I've always been curious, interested, and I've never tried to hide my origins (I usually joke about them). In return, I told them about French culture, and I'm sure they were appreciative. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Assimilation vs. Integration</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">I will never be 100% Irish, and I'm fine with it. There is no way someone who goes to a different country as an adult completely assimilates to another culture. It's just impossible. How can a person completely forget and deny their origins, upbringing, culture, education? There is no doubt one can feel disconnected from their birth country because of the distance, the wide cultural differences or because they don't have family there anymore. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">But I don't think we can ask foreigners to forget a part of themselves. Integration is key, learning about the host country customs, traditions, history, mentality is crucial to have that sense of "belonging". But to ask someone to deny their own origins is just not right. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">This reminds me of my cousin, who married a Chinese girl. They've lived in France for more than 20 years, and she took on French citizenship. But in order to do that, she had to give up her Chinese passport (China doesn't accept dual citizenship). I remember my family comforting her at the time, saying "Don't worry, you will always be Chinese!" This woman is completely integrated. She learned French, had a business in France, and she even changed her first name for a more French sounding one. But she is still Chinese at heart.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">So what's next?</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-98e66abf-7c41-24ea-9e89-5aabfcd594df"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Maybe one day, if I really want to vote and I have savings, I will apply for the Irish citzenship, but I know I will only ever be "Nearly" Irish. The beauty of multiple backgrounds is that it allows us to be more open-minded, tolerant and adaptable. And in the world we live in, it's a lesson I really want to teach my Irish kids.</span></span></span></div>
Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-85804145992751534582016-11-13T10:26:00.000+00:002016-11-13T10:26:17.838+00:006 reasons why my kids are more Irish than I'll ever be<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My kids are finally starting to understand the concept of multiple nationalities. They know they are Irish, French and Mauritian, but because we live in Ireland, it is clear that they feel Irish first. And there are a few things that made me realise they are more Irish than I'll ever be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>They speak Hiberno-English </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I took me a few years to use typical Irish expressions because I had to get used to the way Irish people talked, but for my kids, it's natural. A few months ago, my 5-year old insisted on buying Actimel in Tesco, something I never bought before but that he had tried at the childminder. And when I asked him why, he just said " </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">'cos it's nice, like!</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">". And when he was in his "</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I love to clean everything</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">" phase, he told me "</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Look, I'm after cleaning the bathroom!</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"(which, if you don't know, is a typical irishism). Soon, he will be saying "</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">grand</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">", "</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thanks a million</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">" and "</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">yer man</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">". And that will be the end of it!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>And also Irish</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trying to to get them to speak French is an everyday battle. But surprisingly, they love learning Irish! My 8 years old is reading a book at the moment, and of course I don't understand anything, but he is able to translate for me! My youngest comes home and starts speaking to me in Irish. It's only a few words and expressions as he's only in Junior Infants, but he seems very interested. I wish they would put more effort into speaking French, but at least I know they enjoy learning a different language, which can only be positive.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>They have the accent</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My youngest speaks like a Dub, even though we live in Meath. I suspect it's because a lot of young kids have parents who are from Dublin but moved to the area a few years ago. He pronounces the "</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">th</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">" like the Irish, and when he said "</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">like</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">" (the Actimel story), it sounded a lot more like "</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">loike</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"... When I heard that, my first reaction was "</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Where does that accent come from?!</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">", because it's certainly not from me!! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>They love salt & vinegar crisps</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are so many different crisps flavours I wonder how the salt & vinegar became the winner. My husband and I were never brought up with that kind of choice when it came to crisps. I am more of a cheese and onion flavour myself, but my kids, in their true irishness love to snack on salt & vinegar...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>They know more about Irish traditions than I do (or at least they will soon)</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This one is kind of a given because they learn about them at school: Halloween, St Patrick, St Brigid, Christmas...They sing songs I've never heard of and tell me stories I've never read as a child. Soon they'll be talking about the Late Late toy show and I'm so not prepared for that!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>They consider themselves Irish</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If I ask the question "</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Where are you from?</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">", their answer is "</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ireland</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">". And that says it all really. That's fine because how else could it be? They're born here, they have an Irish passport, they go to the local school, they speak English...I would actually be concerned if they didn't feel Irish! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The good thing is, they tell me they're also French. The Mauritian part hasn't really kicked in, but I suppose it's because we go there so rarely they can't relate yet. One thing for sure, they are Irish but they are well aware it's only one part of their cultural heritage, and that means we have done a good job so far!</span></span></div>
Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-2387920301623016402016-11-07T21:50:00.000+00:002016-11-07T21:50:53.172+00:00Weird stuff we discovered when buying our apartment <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjreuEPgJZQiulRkRSYC0aO0ZAlfPnkdOUAroqpOf4LTDUcJg_zTXwTNGWubzt9LZnejdrd1h3KVoYMnvqBA-mZszm_lH8YUQDFEvrFGlt1mhZze4-dvzGME1LL8GZvw1wP7p45VAQtAlqe/s1600/14491-illustration-of-a-house-pv.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjreuEPgJZQiulRkRSYC0aO0ZAlfPnkdOUAroqpOf4LTDUcJg_zTXwTNGWubzt9LZnejdrd1h3KVoYMnvqBA-mZszm_lH8YUQDFEvrFGlt1mhZze4-dvzGME1LL8GZvw1wP7p45VAQtAlqe/s320/14491-illustration-of-a-house-pv.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Maybe one day I'll have a house...</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">This week marks the 10th anniversary of our property purchase: a cosy 2 bedrooms apartment in a seaside village, 45 minutes from Dublin. I can't believe it's been 10 years already, especially when I see the outstanding amount on our mortgage. Anyway, buying an apartment wasn't always the plan, but unfortunately, it was the only thing we could afford at the time. </span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Initially, I wanted a house, a garden, an attic, and 3 bedrooms. But in 2006, it was almost impossible to buy a house unless you were prepared to queue for hours and buy off the plans (I tried, it didn't work), try to bargain the price of a second-hand house (we also tried, didn't work either) or buy in a dodgy area (we almost did and looking back, I'm glad the sale fell through). We didn't have enough money to buy in our area of choice (Swords and Malahide), so we went further afield and lowered our expectations. We eventually found an affordable apartment in a brand new complex so we didn't think twice and signed straight away. I loved the fact that it was minutes from the sea and on top of that, it was a good size (80 square metres) so we knew we would have enough space when the time would come to extend the family...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">But when we moved in, we discovered a few interesting oddities!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>The apartment was sold half-furnished</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Yes, you're reading that well. The kitchen came with all the appliances: hob, oven,fridge, washing-machine, dryer and dishwasher. But there was no flooring across the whole apartment. We had to buy tiles and wooden floors, and do all the work ourselves. Well, my husband did it, but I was there for moral support.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>The walls are not straight</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Every time my DIY husband tried to install something on the wall, I was giving out because it didn't look straight. I blamed his poor vision for that, but after closer inspection, we realised that in fact, the problem was the wall, not the shelf or the cabinet he was trying to install. So yes, if you come to our place, don't be surprised if you notice that the towel hanger is not straight. It's not us. It's the builders.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>There is a radiator in a cupboard</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">That was a bit of a shock. What is the use of having a radiator in the cupboard? Well, don't forget we're in Ireland. Usually, there is a hot press in the bathroom. You know, that's where the hot water balloon is, and in general there are a few shelves where you can dry your towels. In our apartment, there is no hot water balloon in the bathroom because we have a boiler in the living room (another strange thing). So the clever builders/designers/architects thought it would be a great idea to have the "hot press" in the hall. And how do you dry towels? With the radiator of course! Needless to say we never turned it on.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Sockets and switches in weird places</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">In the bedroom, there are two sockets high on the wall, and I had to think hard for a while about their use. Then I realised it was to plug a TV, in case we wanted one on the bedroom wall.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Then we discovered a lone switch on the living room wall. It didn't switch anything on, and it only took us 6 years to find out it was there in case we wanted to install a gas fireplace.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">And last but not least, the only phone socket in the whole apartment was placed on the kitchen wall, near the hob and the oven. I still don't get it.</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-e9821514-40b1-fdd3-077c-891326ab9a94"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Apart from all these odd Irish building ideas, we love our apartment. Sure we've been living in an unfinished complex for almost 10 years (Thank you recession and the property developer who went bust), but it has been sold recently so hopefully the block across ours will be finished soon. We are near the sea and just passing by on my way to work makes me happier. We have great neighbours and the area is very quiet. I still want a house though, and I hope some day we'll be able to sell and have a garden. When that happen, I'll make sure to check all the walls first!!</span></span></span></div>
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Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-76189725557034946772016-11-01T17:38:00.000+00:002016-11-01T17:38:20.835+00:00How I actually enjoyed Halloween this year!<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqYwkCVW7iLtB31zL-nkBZHt5hqG9HNiZUJrl6Ijva2nVU9B8NVRY1sl9y-Hx1Xb5GcXIBKillzAyriSnI7d8O0zvQcfs_nyB5CvyfuW2SKyT767hicO8ARQNWms6D8E5tushsGB-WrcI2/s1600/IMG_20161031_180843.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqYwkCVW7iLtB31zL-nkBZHt5hqG9HNiZUJrl6Ijva2nVU9B8NVRY1sl9y-Hx1Xb5GcXIBKillzAyriSnI7d8O0zvQcfs_nyB5CvyfuW2SKyT767hicO8ARQNWms6D8E5tushsGB-WrcI2/s400/IMG_20161031_180843.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">I hope you all had a great Halloween celebration! As for me, I actually enjoyed most of it this year. You see, Halloween only appeared about 20 years ago in France so I never dressed up or went trick or treating as a child because it just didn't exist. But for the past 2 years, I had no choice but celebrate, and it's all because of the children!</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-e187ae9d-20f5-3530-cb83-d7997ee66ab3"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They were allowed to dress up last Friday and they even had a Halloween disco party at school. On Saturday, we went to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.causey.ie/causey-events/halloween02" target="_blank">Causey Farm "Hooka Spooka" Halloween event</a>.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I have to say, the kids had a blast and so did I. Even though I don't really like dressing up or doing "trick or treat", I enjoy being frightened from time to time. I'm not a big fan of horror movies but I do enjoy vampires and zombies stories (Buffy is my favourite TV show of all time!). We had great fun being chased by a vampire in the corn maze, finding our way through the "Dead and Breakfast" and I even enjoyed the magic show. The decorations were absolutely fantastic and you could see how much time and effort the organisers had put into it. For the adults, they also have the "Farmophobia" event at night, which I'm sure is a lot scarier. </span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZKNJLrQbDjmEPzyPH1HDMpUojYb0fGVcnu4y_dEgMm4OIlRgTNlPsIHp2VvT9NI6L3Y65Zv6GpJaM2y-WrQz01F05221I3sJjO09Hv2xsq2t_xnv7CPhCCagpyXGq0a_BE9iHLPQ7427l/s1600/IMG_20161029_182220_666.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZKNJLrQbDjmEPzyPH1HDMpUojYb0fGVcnu4y_dEgMm4OIlRgTNlPsIHp2VvT9NI6L3Y65Zv6GpJaM2y-WrQz01F05221I3sJjO09Hv2xsq2t_xnv7CPhCCagpyXGq0a_BE9iHLPQ7427l/s400/IMG_20161029_182220_666.jpg" width="315" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">And last night, we went out for trick or treat. We were invited at one of Ciaran's friend from school and as expected, the kids were in complete sugar overload by 8pm. I have to say, I couldn't believe how much sweets they received from the houses we visited. It wasn't just a lollipop or a chocolate bar, they were getting big goody bags of sweets & crisps! Good thing I carried an extra bag! The most sensible neighbours also gave fruit and peanuts, but we know those ones will be the last to be eaten...In the end, the sweet box at home was filled right up to the top with the kids' candies (and it's a big box...).</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-e187ae9d-20f5-98f4-ad09-708cec246aff"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We also had the opportunity to taste the traditional Halloween "Barmbrack" cake. The concept is a bit like our own Epiphany cake where you hide a little figurine. In the irish version, a ring is hidden and whoever finds it is supposed to get married during the year. The kids tried some of the traditional games like </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">apple bobbing</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (you have to grab an apple with your mouth in a basin filled with water), </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">snap apple</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> ( they are tied, suspended to the ceiling and you have to attempt eating them without using your hands) and the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">flour game</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, which is a bit like Jenga, except with flour (don't ask!). There were firecrackers involved as well and we even saw some fireworks.</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioQ0pOdUP_4iro2OIKajniqQONV3qYzlwWjsIJeqrFaHbEGuHGGdujlxOHZLGRkb0g8mfArtemiXAmprnR4g72aglakNH6nBQtLj1w5WJgBQw4R1fUJXVxf8sp-4lfnVOT5kYHm2FA5kZO/s1600/IMG_20161031_191831.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioQ0pOdUP_4iro2OIKajniqQONV3qYzlwWjsIJeqrFaHbEGuHGGdujlxOHZLGRkb0g8mfArtemiXAmprnR4g72aglakNH6nBQtLj1w5WJgBQw4R1fUJXVxf8sp-4lfnVOT5kYHm2FA5kZO/s400/IMG_20161031_191831.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">My little Spiderman trying the apple bobbing</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">For the first time since I'm here, I feel like I've experienced a true, traditional Irish Halloween celebration. Of course it was all about the sweets for the kids, but we were in an Irish house, we did it their way and it just made it a bit more special.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">Maybe next year I'll have the courage to dress up!!</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-e187ae9d-20f5-d1c9-b14c-1e8e50af1b3d"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444;">What about you, do you celebrate Halloween?</span></span></span></div>
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Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-17272817887994573282016-10-25T21:23:00.001+01:002016-10-25T21:40:03.947+01:00Christmas overload <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuNMdtEUVbbVrXDd-TqbhrBwuzBIiLyWp1565pzrwRMXrN8IxNQcc9w_yF0lU5bFQzH6hTehAH06gtIXdVLoamjtOIfUnKxd_BFiKEhm9GY1A5kXjUIDdzM5fAq36o-nZFZpdt-nlL6vQ5/s1600/Christmas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuNMdtEUVbbVrXDd-TqbhrBwuzBIiLyWp1565pzrwRMXrN8IxNQcc9w_yF0lU5bFQzH6hTehAH06gtIXdVLoamjtOIfUnKxd_BFiKEhm9GY1A5kXjUIDdzM5fAq36o-nZFZpdt-nlL6vQ5/s400/Christmas.jpg" width="371" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">In Dunnes Stores yesterday...But I suspect it's been there for weeks!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Last year, I published <a href="http://nearlyirish.blogspot.ie/2015/11/is-it-too-early-to-talk-about-christmas.html" target="_blank">a post</a> mid-November, asking whether it was too early to talk about Christmas. I don't know what you think, but I have the feeling that the festive season has started even earlier this year.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's subtle though. There are no decorations on the streets yet and no Christmas songs on the radio either, but shops are already selling Christmas trees, and believe it or not, Lidl has been selling chocolates and Christmas pudding since mid-September. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yesterday, I was in Dunnes Stores and was baffled to see Christmas decorations, trees and related accessories for sale already. On the other hand, the Halloween section was confined to a small shelf and half an aisle near the check-out. It's not even Halloween yet!!!! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I just feel shops are shovelling the whole Christmas thing down our throats and trying to make us buy stuff we don't even need right now. A couple of weeks ago, I was in a store where there were already Advent calendars for sale. Nothing weird about that, considering what's going on, but the strange thing is that I saw a mum with her kids buying some. Does she expect them to wait until the 1st of December to eat them? Is she going to hide the chocolates until the date? My guess is that they've already been eaten by now.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Call me old fashioned, but I think tradition is still important. What's the point of an Advent calendar if you eat everything before the Advent has started. Just buy regular chocolates! It's not a big deal in itself, but I feel this is all the paradox about Christmas. It has become so commercial and the run-up to it is so long that the magic, and ultimately the meaning, are getting lost. And the thought of my kids asking to put the tree up next week is freaking me out. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To be fair, it's not just about Christmas. On the 1st of July there were already "Back to School" stuff in Tesco, and on the 1st of September we were ready for Halloween. Thankfully Easter eggs won't be on sale before at least the 1st of February because January is the "Get back in shape" month. Hey, you have to lose all that weight gained by eating 20 Advent calendars on the run-up to Christmas!</span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-b5f81fcd-fd7b-5784-9814-86a34cc843b4"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do you think Christmas starts to early?</span></span></div>
Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-85203213589959076962016-10-21T21:37:00.000+01:002016-10-21T21:37:13.643+01:00Oh God I'm losing my French!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBvQlde9TY33E8KSdlqwZsgCPllheOHoHyeLY3sez3UtB1wBGdMklWu7QGIIiOM3u7lk7FwzTjjUO50KDtqBH4jfkrAqecuPmNF4sg2Oq1TL5tyIQKyf97hPCzqydLoTP6LCVlNna1j8aI/s1600/email.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBvQlde9TY33E8KSdlqwZsgCPllheOHoHyeLY3sez3UtB1wBGdMklWu7QGIIiOM3u7lk7FwzTjjUO50KDtqBH4jfkrAqecuPmNF4sg2Oq1TL5tyIQKyf97hPCzqydLoTP6LCVlNna1j8aI/s320/email.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I already knew my oral French was becoming a bit rusty at times, like not remembering certain words or mixing both languages, but I didn't expect my writing to be affected that much.</span></div>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-0a2fe6da-e8ef-0bf9-079b-de6cebe46a3a" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today, I had to write a professional e-mail in French, and although it was about six lines long, it took me more than half an hour to figure out how to make sense in my native language. I occasionally write business e-mails in French to existing customers or business partners, but I know them personally, so the tone doesn't have to be too formal. This time, it was to someone completely new and whom I only spoke once on the phone. Well, I definitely struggled!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you start learning a new language, your first instinct is to translate everything in your head. You think about a sentence, then translate it into the foreign language. The result is that most of the time, what you say or write doesn't sound native. Well, that's what happened to me today, but in reverse. For some reason, I was thinking in English while writing in French, so the way I was writing didn't sound proper French at all!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then I had a problem about the opening and the ending. In English, a simple "</span><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Hello</i></span><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">", "</span><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Hi</i></span><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">" or a formal "</span><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Dear Mr X</i></span><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">" would fit the bill, but in French, it's a bit more complicated. I thought of writing "</span><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Bonjour Monsieur X</i></span><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">", but when I looked it up online, I learned this wasn't the way of addressing an unknown person, especially if that person has a higher rank than yourself (a CEO for example)... Bloody French hierarchy rules!! In the end, I had to go with "</span><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Cher Monsieur X</i></span><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">." I know this is the exact translation of "</span><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Dear Mr.</i></span><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">" but in French, it just sounds a lot more formal, and not really "natural".</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The ending was something else altogether. In English, you can finish off with "</span><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Kind regards</i></span><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">" or "</span><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Looking forward to hearing from you</i></span><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">" which is simple and goes straight to the point. But the French have this way of ending with big words and expressions that could be longer than the actual e-mail! I wanted to say I was looking forward to his reply, but it sounded very abrupt in French and if I had to add something else, it would have been once again over-the-top formal. So I ended with "I</span><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i> am looking forward to your reply and I wish you a good week-end</i></span><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">", which sounds a bit silly in English to be honest.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All that made me realise the English language is so straightforward compared to French. You get right to the point, no messing around. The French like to put the form along with the substance, so I can understand how hard it can be to learn how to write in French. Not only you have to know the words, but you have to understand all the subtleties that go with them.</span></div>
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<br /><span style="background-color: #f6f7f9; color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All I hope now is that I get an answer to that e-mail because I have put a lot of effort in it!! </span></div>
Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161034041365448109.post-24979483186037812552016-10-19T21:44:00.000+01:002016-10-19T21:45:08.871+01:007 reasons why I enjoy living in Ireland<span id="docs-internal-guid-c3ff3318-dea5-f51f-61aa-2a358c465a19"></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-c3ff3318-dea5-f51f-61aa-2a358c465a19"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCMoLmN-n29Z-zkvEyST-NRMk5tBkfZmnV80d4GxBh9WpytU-dbFovsTeo5wkvhRAWrvfIBsSx-j6SAsi-eyNlarrRokBAJlQiPflmVBB52ly9anxnGIc-hlUXrtwb1DqC2QX7ENKQGrKE/s1600/Nearly+Irish+-+%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCMoLmN-n29Z-zkvEyST-NRMk5tBkfZmnV80d4GxBh9WpytU-dbFovsTeo5wkvhRAWrvfIBsSx-j6SAsi-eyNlarrRokBAJlQiPflmVBB52ly9anxnGIc-hlUXrtwb1DqC2QX7ENKQGrKE/s320/Nearly+Irish+-+%25281%2529.png" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Every time I go home or I talk to someone new, the same question always come back: "Why do like living in Ireland so much?". Well, here are a few reasons why...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Living my life in a foreign language</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The reason why I came to Ireland in the first place is because I loved speaking English. And I have to say, if I was to ever go back home, I think what I would miss the most would be not speaking English every day. I've come to a stage where I can speak the slang, use idiomatic expressions, understand Irish references. For me, speaking English has just become natural, I don't think in French and even if I occasionally struggle with pronunciation, I consider myself bilingual. It's just part of my life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Multiculturalism</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Last year, we invited friends over for my son 7th birthday. From the 10 adults present, there were 7 different nationalities. This is one thing I love about Ireland. You can meet people from all over the world and learn about various cultures very easily. I definitely became a lot more open-minded as a result.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Irish mentality</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Obviously there is good and bad everywhere. Nice people and not-so-nice ones, Irish or not. But in a general way, I just like the Irish "It'll be grand" attitude to life. There is less stress, people are more relaxed and I have learned to put things into perspective. I'm definitely a realistic person, but my French pessimistic side has gone down over the years. I'm a lot more patient too. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Education</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I know I had a <a href="http://nearlyirish.blogspot.ie/2016/10/rant-of-day-school-hours.html" target="_blank">big rant about school hours</a> a few days ago. Having said that, school rhythms are a lot more adapted to kids than in France (it's just a bit of a hassle for parents). Maybe I'm lucky, but all the teachers I came across were extremely helpful. I also find their way of teaching very positive. They encourage children to work to the best of their abilities. I will always remember when the teacher said to me after I received my eldest's National test results: "</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don't compare him to the rest of the class, or even the country's average because of course, you will be disappointed. What you need to know is that, given his abilities (he has autism), he really did the best he could. So you should be proud of him</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">". That's what parents need to hear. Especially special needs parents...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Culture & history</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Being from Brittany, I was always attracted to the Celtic connection so it's no surprise I'm a big fan of Irish traditional music, dance, legends and literature... Even before coming to Ireland I watched movies and learned a bit about Irish political history. Don't ask me why I had such an interest, I don't really know. I guess I could relate more to Irish people struggles than the French kings...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Irish Humour</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dark, dry, sarcastic and self-deprecating, that's how you could define Irish humour. I don't know how the Irish do it, but they have a way with words that I will never have, even if I'm bilingual. I also love the fact they laugh about themselves, whereas French people tend to laugh more at the expense of others. I think the Irish have this ability to laugh about pretty much anything, and that's what gets them through life... Something we could all learn a thing or two about.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Weather</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nah, I'm just kidding. I can't stand it. And I come from the Brittany, I should be used to rain and wind. The truth is, although it's never too cold, it's never too warm either, and if there's something I learned here, is not to trust the weather forecast.</span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What about you, what do you like most about your host country?</span></span>Anne Canaveerahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777690198291537441noreply@blogger.com