Every day I'm frustrated that I cannot express myself as well in English as in Swedish. Sometimes I sound really stupid, like when I try to talk about bikes. How could I know all the names of the parts on a bike? But I wouldn't blame anyone from just assuming that I don't know what I'm talking about at all.
But it's also stimulating to be totally immersed in an environment of a language which I know this well. I note little things here and there, funny things which I like. Like how it says on the vending machine that it takes loonies and toonies -- that took me about ten seconds to figure out. That's the one dollar and two dollar coins!
And I think people here are very fond of rhyming. "My ride, my guide" (time table for buses), "Hot eats, cool treats" (some restaurant), "Turn the knob to Bob" (ad for a radio show), "Stoop and scoop" (clean up after your dog!), "Pay and display" (parking meter), and so on... Little phrases that dance inside my head, very catchy this rhyming thing.
I was never good at wordplay based on the sound of words, even in Swedish. Rhyming is difficult. But I do have an ear for it.
This blog
- Åka
- Kingston, Ontario, Canada
- This is a mix of many things. I intend to write about physics, about going abroad for postdoc, about literature and ideas, and about fandom and Sweden and related things that I find interesting.
5 comments:
I always thought they should be called "doubloons" instead of "toonies," but I guess that's too complicated.
Hot Eats, Cool Treats... Oh, right, Dairy Queen.
Doubloons would have been way cooler and would definitely have fit in with the pirate trend! :P
Hey Aka, whereabouts in Canada are you exactly (if you don't mind my asking)? Because "Turn the knob to Bob" is the the slogan of one of our local radio stations here in Winnipeg! :)
Anactoria: it's in the heading for one of the prevoious posts: Kingston, Ontario.
Aha! Thanks!
(As is evident, I am once again behind in my blog-updations... ;) )
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