English Thread

[missy]

Well...I am actually a city girl.....and when I said that I love my country life,I was a bit on the sarcastic side. (but you guys couldn't know this of course.)
I spent the last years in Washington DC (which is not really a great city to live in) and when I changed careers I started moving around,down to Columbia,SC,Wichita Falls,Tx,San Antonio,Tx back to DC and then I finally ended up in Fort Campbell,Ky...right on the border to Tennessee.
This place is not neccesary my first choice...but the employer says I need to stay at least a couple more years.
Hopefully after that I will be able to relocate to Tx....my favorite State .
Until then I try to make the best out of it.

Regards,

Missy

[Crimson Tide]

Hi, Y'all!

Let me tell ya something about the seasons in Alabama, I heard last
year from an Alabamien:

"We have four seasons here in Alabama: Nearly Summer, Summer, Hot Summer and Christmas"...  and I think he was absolutely right!      

I'm very sad because I have to leave Alabama on August forever!

I would like to take the blue sky with me to Germany, so that everyone can take profit of it! Really, after a hurricane, or a thunderstorm, you can't see one single cloud in the sky the next morning! All the bad weather is gone!
I have to go back to the very north of Germany, and when there arrives a low, and the next low, and the next low,....etc...etc...I will always gonna get remembered the nice weather the last three years!  

       Monika

[Crimson Tide]

Hi missy!

I didn't notice that you are here!

 I tried always to answer you in the shoutbox!

Hi! Whazzup? How are you? And you are living in Kentucky right now!
That is a beautiful state! I mean, the landscape is really nice!
I can't know anything about how it is to live there!  

[americanhero]

I spent the last years in Washington DC (which is not really a great city to live in)

Hi Missy,


where in DC have you been?? I like this city and have spent a lot oft time there.
So I´m really interested to hear about your expereiences there.


What are you working? You`re really moving around a lot, wow. But for how long you are always at one place?


Greetz,

Yvonne

[missy]

Wow.....so many questions.
I will try to answer them all...but I maybe have to take breaks...I have a long working day ahead of me.
There was a question about how living in DC is....and I can sum it up into two words....expensive and dangerous.
(before I lived in DC,I lived in Northern Virginia....also expensive,not that dangerous)
Well....I lived in Southeast DC for about 4 years..'east of the river 'as we say,and with river we don't mean the Potomac but the Anacostia.
(If you ever get lost in DC and you find yourself crossing one of the Anacostia bridges...make sure you make a U-turn as soon as possible to head back towards downtown.)
So basically I lived in the Ghetto .
In those  years I don't remember one white person living anywhere near me,but that is really no suprise,Washington DC has its nickname 'Chocolate City' for a reason....about 70% of its population is african-american.

I thought it would be fun to post the jobs I had while I lived in VA and DC.
When I first got here it took about 4 weeksto get my working permit.
I think I started working the day after I had that permit in my hand.

1.Sales Associate at Marshalls Megastore in Potomac Mills.
2.Paperroute for the Washington Post
3.Usher at the Kennedy Center of the performing Arts in DC
4.Check in agent for Swiss Air,Sabena and Korean Air at Dulles Airport
5.Toll Road Officer at Dulles Greenway
6.Fares/Rules Analyst for an Airline Tarif Company
7.Emergency Coordinator for a travel insurance agency

That sounds a lot in 5 years,but some of those jobs I did only part time in combination with my full time job.

For my current job I will have to start another posting....cause it is a bit more involved .

See you later....

Missy

[Crimson Tide]

Hi Missy,
WOW....that sounds very interesting....and I'm very curious about your next chapter of your jobs   ! That sounds very exciting, and I'm sure it was not boring..none of your jobs!

   See ya,

Monika

[Elmo]

Am I the only guy writing in this thread living in Germany?
You are well off over there ´cause you are able to listen to American radio stations.
I was until last week, but American Forces Network has changed its program today and now it´s just one mind-numbing show. Before it, they aired a morning show directly from the States, which was really hilarious.
And now it´s all over after I´ve been listening for more than 3 years!

I´m very sad now...I need that bit of American culture...  

[Josie]

Am I the only guy writing in this thread living in Germany?
You are well off over there ´cause you are able to listen to American radio stations.
I was until last week, but American Forces Network has changed its program today and now it´s just one mind-numbing show. Before it, they aired a morning show directly from the States, which was really hilarious.
And now it´s all over after I´ve been listening for more than 3 years!

I´m very sad now...I need that bit of American culture...  

Well, I'm not a guy, but I do live in Germany  

Yesterday, by accident, we noticed that AFN was coming in somewhere around 105.something.

[Crimson Tide]

Am I the only guy writing in this thread living in Germany?
You are well off over there ´cause you are able to listen to American radio stations.
I was until last week, but American Forces Network has changed its program today and now it´s just one mind-numbing show. Before it, they aired a morning show directly from the States, which was really hilarious.
And now it´s all over after I´ve been listening for more than 3 years!

I´m very sad now...I need that bit of American culture...  

Hi, Elmo!
Bess your heart...I can understand so good what you mean! You need a little piece of "Home"!  

Is it not possible to hear some other channels via Internet?
Like we do here, for example, with NDR 2, our favourite Northern German Radio-Station, or we are watching "Tagessschau" , our daily news- via Internet, or "Fußballbundesliga" Saturday morning , that is so funny- we can listen to the soccer games while we are having breakfast!  

That should be possible also with some American Programs !?

Monika

[Elmo]

Well, I'm not a guy, but I do live in Germany  

Yeah, but I rather meant guy(s) as persons/people. I think it also can be used for females, at least in the plural. ("you guys..").

Yesterday, by accident, we noticed that AFN was coming in somewhere around 105.something.

So this was the first time you listened to AFN? Believe me, the "original" American shows are much better than the military shows with the annoying community news.
As a pacifist, I wouldn´t listen to AFN except for the good music, the language and the shows from the States.

@Crimson Tide: Yeah, it is possible to hear some live streams via Internet, I found a good link site on the page of
Howie Day (very good musician by the way). Some of the stations do broadcast live on the Internet, but I haven´t found a funny morning show yet. Haven´t given it much of an effort, though.
But I want my Jonathan & Mary!!

[americanhero]

Am I the only guy writing in this thread living in Germany?
You are well off over there ´cause you are able to listen to American radio stations.

Hi Elmo,

I´m  also living here in Germany, just for you to notice.  


Why don´t you listen to US radio stations broadcasting with a livestream via the internet?  Her is an interesting link:http://www.live-radio.net/us.shtml

While I´m online, I am listening to my favorite radio station in Utah and it`s something, I´m really looking forward every day. Sometimes I´m browsing around to the Washington DC area stations and you can choose between the kind  of music you like. Listening to that live streams is like a little bit of being in the US and it also helps me dealing with my home sickness back  to the US Iam suffering after a wonderful vacation.



@ missy:

what the hell have you done in the Anacostia area? Why not moving to a friendlier area nearby? Well, Dc is a really expencive city, that´s true. I think it´s the capitol city bonus or something like that and all the government stuff.
And I`ve been a lot of times around in DC, so I know this city really well. Okay, it`s not the same, if you´re living there or being there only for some time during vacation. But I enjoyed all my stays there.

And I agree with you, Northern Virginia is really okay and not that dangerous than some areas in DC. Where have you been in NOrthern Virginia? I also know several areas there, `cause I was travelling around there a lot.

@ all:

Well, I really enjoy it writing again into this board and get some practice with my English. I miss the chit chat and the small talk in English, the only chance is during my vacation once a year. That really sucks, but actually there ist no chance of being longer therei n the US than two weeks a year. What about Y`All?


Greetz,

Yvonne

[Crimson Tide]

Hi, Yvonne!
I'm really thinking about founding a "Conversation Group" ,having been returned to Germany. I will look for People who would like to join an English Conversation Lesson once a week, or so!
Perhaps a "Volkshochschule" would be interested in such kind of Group, I don't know, but I'm going to do something to improve my English skills, or just trying to keep what I learned! It was hard enough for an old lady like me to learn all that grammar, structure and the other stuff!  

I'm far away from being perfect, so it is very important for me to get some practice, too, back in Germany!

I hope I can really create such a Conversation Thing!  

[Josie]

@ Elmo:

No, I didn't find AFN for the first time, I didn't know that they also broadcast via 105.whatever. I'm used to 98.7. (I found out on their site, it was because we were driving through the Eifel and had the frequency from Spangdalem)

I went to the AFN website: looks like they've changed completely. It's ashame. I liked "Jonathan and Mary", too. We're also going to miss the "Country Countdown".

I'm a former military dependent, so I've been listening to AFN for decades  

You didn't used to get the "morning shows" on AFN. It took me a while to get used to listening to "such & such"-morning show - all day. Just like it took some getting used to listening to radio in the States, and the announcers didn't have ranks  

[Elmo]

@Josie: I also listen to 98.7. Today I first listened to the AM frequency, 860 khz or something like that, I think it´s called "The Power Network". It wasn´t successful in terms of J&M.
I´m not exaggerating when I say they had been a part of my life and I´m really gonna have a hard time now that they are no longer on AFN.

@Crimson: After working a few years, I went to school again and one year later, I graduated from "Fachoberschule" and from then on, I´ve been very eager to improve my English skills. I started reading English books, watching DVD´s and Jay Leno or Conan on CNBC Europe and so on. It´s not easy when you can´t use the language in everyday life, but it´s really fun for me.  

@americanhero: Great link! I already tried some stations. Maybe I´ll find an interesting station.

And as for the vacation: As I said before somewhere in the thread, I´ve never been to the US, unfortunately. Usually I go on vacation once a year, mostly for two weeks.
My planned trip to New York-Florida is supposed to be a little longer than 2 weeks. I would rather do at least 3 weeks, but you know, the lack of money and everything...
And still I don´t know yet if I´m going to take the trip. It´s been a dream of mine for many years now, but going alone...lonely and expensive...I dunno..

[ratlady]

Hey @all -

wwweeeeellll... FINALLY online again and I see that English-Thread is thriving again!! That is GREAT!! Wish I could contribute more but our internet-service is less than crappy at this time, been going on for over a month like this now and not too much hope of great improvement, I'm afraid... (unfortunately we're stuck with our current provider since there's only one cable company serving this area and we don't have a phone line...)

Anyway, right now it's been working for quite a while so this might be a good opportunity to "chime in" again  

@missy -

first, of course, good to see more people "joining" this thread - welcome! What "got" me most with your posts was the fishing part - I LOVE to fish, too!! Actually, just a few hours ago got back from a fishing trip - went for some brim in somebody's pond but unfortunately thunderstorms moved in before we even got a chance to really get started... Nevertheless, we need the rain, and the trip was worth it just for the really nice people we met up there, so we'll be back before long! And I agree with you - even though catching fish is a lot of fun (and most of the time makes a nice meal too   ), for me, above all, it's FISHING that matters - just being out there regardless of whether or not you actually catch anything (and to be honest, most of the times we'd come home empty-handed... but "happy" anyway!   )

@Crimson Tide:
A "Conversation Group" sounds like a good idea - hope you find some interested people! Is there a university somewhere in the vicinity of where you live in Germany? Back when I was at university (in Germany), there was a group there that met once a week at the Irish Pub ( ) to just chat in English - they had a note up on one of the main message boards that had the day, time, and location on it inviting anyone interested in joining to just "come on over"... Maybe you could look for something like that, or put a note out yourself to see if anyone would be interested? (..."old gal" or not, I don't think age would be a factor so no excuses there...   )

And I know exactly what you're talking about - I have the same problem with my Spanish... I never came up to as fluent a level as with my English (no wonder, I started English at age 11 and Spanish at age 26 or so    ) but could communicate fairly well during my time in Latin America (over a year in total)... now, I can still understand most of it - and nowadays even get considerable "practice" in this regard    - but speaking myself is a completely different issue...  It's just so much easier to "remember" a word when you hear it than when you're "looking for" it...    

@americanhero -

but actually there ist no chance of being longer therei n the US than two weeks a year. What about Y`All?

Well, for me, it's almost the other way around...    I hardly ever get a chance to see Germany (and all my family) for more than 1-2 weeks a year... which leaves about no time (or money   ) at all to travel WITHIN the US...    Reminds me of the time I when I was still living in Germany - never got around too much of that country either... it's just now that I'm NOT there anymore that I've come to really like travelling to and around Germany! Nevertheless, I still do, sometimes at least, miss "home" (which for me at this time is the AL Gulf Coast) when I'm over there... while I don't really miss Germany when I'm NOT there...  

@Elmo & Josie -
that's kinda funny... 98.7 is one of my favorite stations, too - but of course, over here (Mobile - Pensacola area) it's not AFN but "Cat Country"... and no really good shows on there either. Which is OK with me since I'm not that much into that anyway (the more music, the better), and actually only ever listen to the radio when driving. There's just one little "game" that I always like to "catch" on the way to work (if possible), but that's only a part of a show...

...and, @Elmo - well, it's just me, but I'd say - JUST DO IT! You'd probably forever regret it if you don't... unless you can be sure you'll have that chance again in the foreseeable future (and you never know what could happen). And, since I recommended it, I take the blame if it doesn't work out...    

But seriously... no risk, no fun - and it doesn't have to be that expensive either... Are you planning on taking a rental car all the way down, or flying, or would you consider Greyhound or something like that an option? (wouldn't actually "recommend" it but I've done it myself, all the way across the country, apparently survived   , and would also do it again if it wasn't for my husband   ...) Also, there ought to be some (youth) hostels or YMCA's on the way, which is not only cheap accommodation but also a great way to meet people... sometimes even "hook up" for the next destination... but I better not try to "talk you into" anything, I guess...  

Well, seems almost like I'm trying to lead about five or so conversations at once... AND "yadeyadeyade" too much at that, too...  (Must be the "excitement" about being able to do ANYTHING online at all, I guess) Hope y'all don't mind...