What's your country like

[congressmn]

Originally posted by Eärniel
Oh I definately doubt that South Afrika is the only land where languages are compulsory subjects. Here in Flanders (Vlaanderen, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium) we get French at the age of 11 (decided not to mention the grades because I'm pretty sure they won't correspond with the way other people's education system is divided).

It's compulsory, although not in Wallonia (Wallonië, the French-speaking part of Belgium), they get the choice between English and Dutch and I'm not sure if either of them are compulsory. Which is why a reasonable part of the Flemish can speak French but only a few people in Wallonia seem to be willing to take Dutch lessons. But I'm not going into that any further, language strife goes back a long time in my country and it'll takes ages to explain it fully.

I got English at the age of 13 and German at the age of 17, both compulsory. Though I believe that defers from school to school and the type of education you take.

o sure isnt. in indian schools (english medium). English is compulsory thru out. then we have our local language, and a foreign language or an ancient indian language(sanskrit), meant to be taken to earn required credits to get promoted to the next grade level.


i took Sanskrit, and i failed 2 times. my scores: 32/100 then i improved with 36/100, and then somehow a whopping 95/100. go sanskrit!


and on the matter of britich or american english, i think the Indian variant is the BEST!

at least we know how to spell "color", our color is "colour".

and unlike the Americans we dont have so many "z" in our words.

Surprizingly it isnt Americanz. the way things are going all the damned S's will be removed and replaced with "Z's". And it is only an issue of time before they are called Americanz.

[sun-star]

Languages are compulsory in Britain up to the age of 14, I believe. It's usually a choice between French and German, though you might get Spanish and occasionally Italian. And of course if you're at an indenpendent school you often learn Latin and Greek. I would suggest it might be more useful to teach English properly first (of whatever "flavour" ), since lots of British kids don't seem to manage that.

[Baby-K]

This is my home town, the site is the official government one, so don't expect too much, I'm still looking for better.

Jozi

It's not too bad, but I have decided not to link to one page only, so you can play around & see what's up - there's news stuff, events, places to go, accommodation guides etc etc etc

(Oz, ye might want to keep in mind that SABMiller [previously SAB; South African Breweries] is the second largest beer producer in the world & guess what - they're in Jozi! We sometimes go for tours etc....)

EDIT:

This one's for tourists and gives info on a few other places to visit, like Cape Town, Durban & Zululand and I think Zimbabwe is mentioned (but I wouldn't recommend going there right now, though the tourist industry & especially Vic Falls has been largely untouched by the political turmoil in that country, the problem is there is no fuel in the country - their oil price has been increased yet again with more than 100% - so it might be difficult to get around if one is looking to go on a Safari)

Taxi to Soweto

(This is the 3rd time I'm editing, co's the fnucked up link is not playing with me - gonna smash the freggin screen in )

[Baby-K]

Originally posted by Coney
Yup

England seems to have been discussed a lot on the 'moot but here's where I currently abide Durham (it's nice place, bit boring at times tho')

Is that the Cathedral?

[sun-star]

If anyons's interested, this is my area:

Canterbury

and the island (though it's not really an island) where I live:

Thanet

"Joburg is soap opera capital of SA", eh? Well, you learn something every day

[Baby-K]

Originally posted by sun-star
"Joburg is soap opera capital of SA", eh? Well, you learn something every day

Sick innit?

[Coney]

Originally posted by Baby-K
Is that the Cathedral?

heh, that's about all durham is.........a cathedral, a castle and a bleedin' huge university (oh and pubs, lots and lots of pubs).

(Oz, ye might want to keep in mind that SABMiller [previously SAB; South African Breweries] is the second largest beer producer in the world & guess what - they're in Jozi! We sometimes go for tours etc....)

Second biggest brewery in the world? tours of said brewery?.........oh I'm going there

Never let it be said that I don't strive to broaden my cultural horizons

[Baby-K]

(oh and pubs, lots and lots of pubs).

Hey, reserve a bar stool for me! (Might save on accommodation cost if I lived on the stool )

Second biggest brewery in the world? tours of said brewery?.........oh I'm going there

And they're bloody cheap too (about R50 - R80 [about 5 - 8 pounds if not less]), then you get food & a glass free (filled of course as many times as you want with as much beer you can handle) - trouble is you have to tour the facility, which becomes difficult after the nth beer tasted

Never let it be said that I don't strive to broaden my cultural horizons

You'll never catch such a lie falling from my lips

(yay, my second link finally worked....)

[Coney]

Originally posted by Baby-K
[B]And they're bloody cheap too (about R50 - R80 [about 5 - 8 pounds if not less]), then you get food & a glass free (filled of course as many times as you want with as much beer you can handle) - trouble is you have to tour the facility, which becomes difficult after the nth beer tasted
[B]

All you can drink for £8 a day? and they feed ya as well?............bugger visiting! I'm gonna live there!

(yay, my second link finally worked....)

it did aye.........place looks very interesting ............ lot's of warinings about personal safety (particularly liked the one "Don't trust anybody").........hehe, sounds like just my cup of chaos does J'burg

[Baby-K]

All you can drink for £8 a day? and they feed ya as well?............bugger visiting! I'm gonna live there!

It's the sh*t! Ye should see what we look like when we finally manage to get out of there...

Overall alcohol etc is quite cheap in SA (if yer smoking again when ye come - a box of 20 is about R12.00 (£1.20))

it did aye.........place looks very interesting ............ lot's of warinings about personal safety (particularly liked the one "Don't trust anybody").........hehe, sounds like just my cup of chaos does J'burg

Ha don't trust anybody - sounds X-fily.... Take a look at the Durban stuff then ye know where we're going in December... I reckon Jozi will keep ye busy for a while....we can start our own Soap Opera

[Coney]

Originally posted by Baby-K
Ha don't trust anybody - sounds X-fily.... Take a look at the Durban stuff then ye know where we're going in December... I reckon Jozi will keep ye busy for a while....we can start our own Soap Opera

Oh, I know durban pretty well (courtesy of me friend Tony and his bleedin' endless slide-show )

Soap Opera sounds good .............call it "Oz in J'burg does Dallas" or summit!

It's the sh*t! Ye should see what we look like when we finally manage to get out of there...

Overall alcohol etc is quite cheap in SA (if yer smoking again when ye come - a box of 20 is about R12.00 (£1.20))

Why am I still sitting here???

*checks flight times for J'burg*

[Baby-K]

Oh, I know durban pretty well (courtesy of me friend Tony and his bleedin' endless slide-show )

We're going to Umhlanga, not Durban itself, but hey if ye wanna be uninvited........ (guess it will be us 5 girls alone then) btw Nix is still...ye know...so ???

Durban is pretty close to it though. Hun, ye don't know Durbs until you've been in a Riksha (that picture of the guys in the very bright clothes pulling what looks like a buggy / wagon). They pull it while you sit in it & then the guys jumps in the air, which tilts the riksha back & it feels like yer gonna land on yer head

Soap Opera sounds good .............call it "Oz in J'burg does Dallas" or summit

Oz does Egoli (Egoli = Zulu for Place of Gold, which is the African name for Jo'burg)

*checks flight times for J'burg*

Lemme know when to pick ye up

[Coney]

We're going to Umhlanga, not Durban itself, but hey if ye wanna be uninvited........ (guess it will be us 5 girls alone then) btw Nix is still...ye know...so ???

No! No!.........slide shows are all very well (actually they are borin' as sin) but I can't wait ter see the place fer real (remind me to stay sober for at least a coupla hours, need to keep some memories )
Aye, can't blame Nikki........lot's of suspicious types floating around the internet *hides axe* ...... yer could always give her me email, I'll be on me best behaviour if she writes.......honest

Durban is pretty close to it though. Hun, ye don't know Durbs until you've been in a Riksha (that picture of the guys in the very bright clothes pulling what looks like a buggy / wagon). They pull it while you sit in it & then the guys jumps in the air, which tilts the riksha back & it feels like yer gonna land on yer head

Never been in a Riksha ..........sound fun tho' I'll have a nose around the 'net for Umhlanga when I get back from work.

I'm feeling very cosmopolitan today

Lemme know when to pick ye up

Be there in about 5 hours (I wish)

[Baby-K]

God's Window

God's Window is probably one of the most beautiful places in SA (in Mpumalanga, the East of the country). It truly has the right name, the view is absolutely breathtaking...

If you use the 'previous' and 'next' buttons there are other pics as well of different places in SA (especially nice if you're into camping, hiking etc)

See why I love my country......

[Baby-K]

No! No!.........slide shows are all very well (actually they are borin' as sin) but I can't wait ter see the place fer real (remind me to stay sober for at least a coupla hours, need to keep some memories )

If yer gonna stay sober yer doing dishes If ye want memories take photos

Aye, can't blame Nikki........lot's of suspicious types floating around the internet *hides axe* ...... yer could always give her me email, I'll be on me best behaviour if she writes.......honest

Don't actually even know if she's just being full of it for the sake of it or what. Hell, she could skip the whole thing 'cos Warren (the new man) has his own place in Scottbourgh.

Never been in a Riksha ..........sound fun tho' I'll have a nose around the 'net for Umhlanga when I get back from work.

It's hilarious! Enjoy work

[Baby-K]

*Watch out, it's being bumped*

Coney, hun this is for you - I keep forgetting to post the link of the place we were for Easter Weekend, so here it is (just 2 motnhs down the line )Kloppenheim

Anyway, I said I would, so now I did - not my fault they were busy constructing the site.

BTW - did you get the second e-mail I sent this morning (it has a Powerpoint show as attachment, so if ye can't open it it'd be a shame - I think ye'll appreciate that one)

[Coney]

Originally posted by Baby-K
BTW - did you get the second e-mail I sent this morning (it has a Powerpoint show as attachment, so if ye can't open it it'd be a shame - I think ye'll appreciate that one)

AAAAAARRRGGHHHH!!!! (just checked me emails and had a nosey) Bejesus! I need a cup of hot sweet tea now!

Coney, hun this is for you - I keep forgetting to post the link of the place we were for Easter Weekend, so here it is (just 2 motnhs down the line )Kloppenheim

Looks gorgeous!

[Baby-K]

AAAAAARRRGGHHHH!!!! (just checked me emails and had a nosey) Bejesus! I need a cup of hot sweet tea now!

Sick innit? What I wanna know is - how do they......you know..............

Looks gorgeous!

Yeah - if ye go to the gallery & check out the cottages you'll see the one we were living in. Best is - we didn't pay for the accommodation or activities like horseriding or fly fishing or whatever.

[Coney]

Sick innit? What I wanna know is - how do they......you know..............

Dunno, but it'll prolly sound like a blacksmiths shop ............. hell, it'll sound like a dozen blacksmiths shops! (I can't even figure out how they would do the preparation, nevermind the actual hammering)

Yeah - if ye go to the gallery & check out the cottages you'll see the one we were living in. Best is - we didn't pay for the accommodation or activities like horseriding or fly fishing or whatever.

That's great hun Yeesh, I need contacts with folks who can swing a holiday in a place like that for free!

[Baby-K]

Dunno, but it'll prolly sound like a blacksmiths shop ............. hell, it'll sound like a dozen blacksmiths shops! (I can't even figure out how they would do the preparation, nevermind the actual hammering)

*clang clang clang*

Good god no! They'd dent the armor for sure The first one (not the car) did my head in - I'm sorry but he doesn't really have an artillery at his disposal now does he? (Mebbe that's why all the decoration is required? )

I just wanna know who the blacksmith is that would shoe those horses?

That's great hun Yeesh, I need contacts with folks who can swing a holiday in a place like that for free!

We hardly ever pay for stuff like that - got connections ye see (hell this year alone I've been away free about 6 times) (jealous yet? )