This entry is a bit special. My good friend Valentina from Minsk in Belarus has asked recently started a club for people who want to learn to speak and write English, and is situated in the IBA Training Centre - one of the largest IT companies in Belarus. Valentina works as a lecturer in English as a Foreign Language at the University of Minsk. The members of the club are advanced students of English but wish to improve their use and knowledge of the language.
For some obscure reason Valentina thinks I can help!!
Valentina and I met some years ago through a charity called the Friends of Chernobyls Children based in Blackburn where I used to live. She came over to the UK as an interpreter for a short time, and we have corresponded since then.
She started the English club some weeks ago and has asked me to write a few words of welcome and explanation to the members of her club to try to introduce them to a real live Englishman. Well, I am he!
If you are from that club, I wish to welcome you to my blog, and hope that you will feel happy to correspond with me through these pages. You will find that I have a sense of humour which is a bit strange, but is very English. We are known throughout the world (well, the English speaking world) as people with a 'peculiar' sense of humour. I hope you will be able to follow it through these pages and that you will appreciate it.
So, first let me introduce some of my animal friends. As you will know, the English are great lovers of animals. Sometimes we like animals more than our children, and if you have ever met any English children or teenagers, then you will understand whey we like animals so much!!
This first animal who I share my home with is Katbit. She is a Rabbit, but when you push your finger into her stomach she makes a sound like a cat. So, my landlady, who was given Katbit as a birthday present, decided that as she was neither fully cat or rabbit, that she would be called Katbit.
She is sometimes very noisy, but more often than not, she keeps quiet. The only real problem I have with Katbit is that she steals my chocolate - often!
Maybe I should explain the dress and Tee shirt she is wearing.
Shortly after my landlady, Yvonne, was given Katbit she decided that a naked Rabbit/Cat was not going to be very happy without clothes, so we went to one of the local supermarkets, Asda, to find her some clothes.
Please believe me, I am not telling you a joke now, what I am going to tell you really did happen.
When I walked into the supermarket it was about five minutes after Yvonne had gone in there, so I walked around until I found her, in the children's clothing section.
She was looked at the little blue dress you see Katbit wearing in the photo above. Alongside her was one of the supermarket staff, a lady of about 55 years of age. They were both seriously discussing which size of dress Katbit should wear. The lady, not realising that Yvonne was talking about a Katbit said, "You would be surprised how quickly small children grow when they get their first clothes. I am sure that your daughter will soon grow into it. You will be surprised how quickly they grow"
Yvonne looked her in the eye and said, " I am sure you are right, but I think I will still take the smallest dress"
So. Katbit was bought the blue dress and tee shirt you see in the photograph, and I had to drag Yvonne out of the supermarket before the management through us out!
This animal on the other hand is Xiamen. (You pronounce it Shamen - it's the name of a very beautiful city on the coast of China).
She is real. She is a German Shepherd dog who is about six months old. A farmer was breeding her and other dogs for fighting. We got her from a charity who rescue cats and dogs who are being mistreated. Proof that the English do love animals I suppose.
We have had her for the past four months and she is growing into a very beautiful, intelligent and playful dog. I will tell you more about the other dogs, cats and rabbits I share my home with in the future.
In the meantime, I hope that for my visitors from Belarus that you will enjoy the silly things I write, that you will e mail me from time to time, and that you enjoy the tea I will send you from time to time.
Take care, work hard and be happy.
David
For some obscure reason Valentina thinks I can help!!
Valentina and I met some years ago through a charity called the Friends of Chernobyls Children based in Blackburn where I used to live. She came over to the UK as an interpreter for a short time, and we have corresponded since then.
She started the English club some weeks ago and has asked me to write a few words of welcome and explanation to the members of her club to try to introduce them to a real live Englishman. Well, I am he!
If you are from that club, I wish to welcome you to my blog, and hope that you will feel happy to correspond with me through these pages. You will find that I have a sense of humour which is a bit strange, but is very English. We are known throughout the world (well, the English speaking world) as people with a 'peculiar' sense of humour. I hope you will be able to follow it through these pages and that you will appreciate it.
So, first let me introduce some of my animal friends. As you will know, the English are great lovers of animals. Sometimes we like animals more than our children, and if you have ever met any English children or teenagers, then you will understand whey we like animals so much!!
This first animal who I share my home with is Katbit. She is a Rabbit, but when you push your finger into her stomach she makes a sound like a cat. So, my landlady, who was given Katbit as a birthday present, decided that as she was neither fully cat or rabbit, that she would be called Katbit.
She is sometimes very noisy, but more often than not, she keeps quiet. The only real problem I have with Katbit is that she steals my chocolate - often!
Maybe I should explain the dress and Tee shirt she is wearing.
Shortly after my landlady, Yvonne, was given Katbit she decided that a naked Rabbit/Cat was not going to be very happy without clothes, so we went to one of the local supermarkets, Asda, to find her some clothes.
Please believe me, I am not telling you a joke now, what I am going to tell you really did happen.
When I walked into the supermarket it was about five minutes after Yvonne had gone in there, so I walked around until I found her, in the children's clothing section.
She was looked at the little blue dress you see Katbit wearing in the photo above. Alongside her was one of the supermarket staff, a lady of about 55 years of age. They were both seriously discussing which size of dress Katbit should wear. The lady, not realising that Yvonne was talking about a Katbit said, "You would be surprised how quickly small children grow when they get their first clothes. I am sure that your daughter will soon grow into it. You will be surprised how quickly they grow"
Yvonne looked her in the eye and said, " I am sure you are right, but I think I will still take the smallest dress"
So. Katbit was bought the blue dress and tee shirt you see in the photograph, and I had to drag Yvonne out of the supermarket before the management through us out!
This animal on the other hand is Xiamen. (You pronounce it Shamen - it's the name of a very beautiful city on the coast of China).
She is real. She is a German Shepherd dog who is about six months old. A farmer was breeding her and other dogs for fighting. We got her from a charity who rescue cats and dogs who are being mistreated. Proof that the English do love animals I suppose.
We have had her for the past four months and she is growing into a very beautiful, intelligent and playful dog. I will tell you more about the other dogs, cats and rabbits I share my home with in the future.
In the meantime, I hope that for my visitors from Belarus that you will enjoy the silly things I write, that you will e mail me from time to time, and that you enjoy the tea I will send you from time to time.
Take care, work hard and be happy.
David
1 comment:
I just wanted to thank David for his effort to help my students to start using the Internet for real language learning. We had a really exciting session in our Club. Thank you very much, David.
Valentina (Minsk, Belarus)
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