Can we make our own 'from our own correspondent'

[teafortwo]

I love love love this radio show...

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/default.stm

Can we please please please have a thread that has a vibe a bit like this?

We can have a bunch of parents who live all over the World in all kinds of countries (including Blighty), with all kinds of neighbours and themselves living in all kinds of situations (rural, city, suburbs and anything inbetween) explaining what is happening where they live. Day to day things (what is on sale at your local market, what you ate for lunch), portraits of figures in your community (e.g a lovely old village character), big news stories (e.g student riots), little news stories (a much loved dog has died that used to wander around the town centre), arguements in the cafe (sport, politics, religion), music and dance (e.g I notice all Parisian teenagers like to do this weird wiggling dance and they even have lessons for how to do it on national telly), observations on things that are different from where you come from (I don't know...e.g a New Yorker's take on living in the Lake District), interesting discussions on languages spoken... etc etc... I think it could be fun!!!

So tell me...

Am I making sense?

and..

What do you think? Shall we give it a go?

parcel mailed today for Califraus ds1 and 2!! It is in both names so they can fight over who gets to open it. My dds insisted we wrap the treats so the boy's get 'presents'.

hopefully it should be with you at the end of next week!! Hope they like it.

Gosh, Eidsvold, the school uniform is pricey. Thank goodness we don't have that here.

DS has to have 2 cushions for kindergarten, one for sitting on during circle time and one for their lunchtime snooze. He also needed a blanket, gym bag, and we provide stuff like sun cream lotion etc. We do not provide stationary.

We pay almost 400euros a month for kindergarten, that is a full time place from 7.30am to 4.30pm. One good thing is that you only pay for one child in this area of Germany, younger siblings only pay for their food if they are there over lunchtime. In this area the fees are staggered so that less well off families pay a lower fee.

Paris fooc

Everybody knows that Paris has beautiful parks. Parks philosophers meandered through for inspiration, painters have depicted in hazy romance and writers have lyrically described. These parks are like the city they inhabit - Stunning, perfectly kept but austere and unforgiving with their dusty paths, un-climbable trees and perfect grass it is forbidden to sit upon.

Today we spent the afternoon at one of the antidote of these places. It is a park called Jardin d?acclimatation http://www.jardindacclimatation.fr/. This park is a nostalgic place designed and created especially for the children of Paris.

Today dd requested to start the visit with the ?tooooooiiiiizzzz? and end it with the ?mammmimmmals?. So she spent several hours sliding down a huge tree slide, climbing over an activity boat and running through the cool water showering on les enfant from a rainbow arch and eight foot daisy in the water play area.

She was so tired after that, that she had no energy to work the sit on diggers in the sand-play or visit one of the Wendy Houses and she didn't even attempt to approach the pretend fire station and engine that is framed with (rare in Paris) swings!

The French version of Punch and Judy is called Guignol and is a much quieter and more polite affair than the scenes of domestic violence between Punch, Judy, the baby, the policeman and crocodile I remember screaming at in pure delight as a child. In the French version the puppets play out more complicated story lines and ask the children lots of questions and the children, in response, often nod, laugh or put their hands up or all three. At Jardin d?acclimation there is a theatre especially for these puppets but there was no show when we arrived so we decided to collapse in a café instead. Watered (dh), coffied (T42) and ice creamed up (dd) we jollily continued our tour.

We quickly walked past the expensive permanent fair ground to gaze in on an array of pretty birds and then we walked a bit further on to the pride of the park two Brown Bears! They lazily slept in the sun. No-one in the UK believes our local children?s park has real bears in it. At a recent family get together I gave up trying to explain and after a while said ?Yes? they are wooden ride on ones?? ? But, readers, they are as real as you and me ? and dd loves them (a little too much for my liking ? aren?t bears natures worst trick? So cuddly looking but so fierce.)!

Next through the lavender scented vegetable garden filled with growing tomatoes, a bay tree and artichokes to name a few and towards the Normandy farm with goats, rabbits, chickens, pigs, cows, ducks and my favourite the ?Sulfolk? sheep!!! Being from Suffolk I love seeing Suffolk sheep in Paris and the pretty sign completely mis-spelt adds to my joy!

We walked home feeling happy, hopeful and each of us slightly flush because our hearts had been filled with a little bit of childhood magic!

A lovely evocative post Tea for Two.

I'd love to know how other nations are reacting to the Olympics... Here in Toronto, it's being taken seriously as in the general North American - GO TEEEAM!!ethic.

The Bay, the biggest department store here, (as in Hudson Bay Trading Co) is the official merchandiser and has had big displays all summer. Vancouver will also host the 2010 Winter Olympics, so there's more than an element of build-up for this.

The city buses currently have "Go Canada Go!" on the electronic destination-tickers on the front. All encouragement is definitely required at the moment, as Canada are languishing at the bottom of the table with zero medals to their name. The optimistic word on the street is that the Canadian hopeful events (Kayaking?) haven't started yet.

Much like the UK, there are the usual grumbles that a failure to invest in amateur sports has scuppered Canada's chances in Summer Sports. But hey, rather embarassing to be behind Togo's team of just 4 athletes isn't it?

MME Lindt that is one of the cheaper uniforms - other schools have more formal school uniforms involving blazers, must have school bags, hats etc. Ours is just a wide breamed hat for play. But a navy one without the school crest is also acceptable and you can get them quite cheaply.

In this sports manic place - it is huge business. I love it. watch it all the time - have infected the dds with the desire too. They are hilarious dd2 acts out with dd3 swimming races on the couch. Dd1 and 2 have to stand and sing the Australian national anthem when it is played. Dd2 will cheer and have even managed to teach dd3 to say OI!OI!OI! after I say AUSSIE! AUSSIE! AUSSIE!

I think it is fabulous that people can come from all over the world - from amazing places like eritrea and compete and do well. From war torn countries and for a brief moment celebrate the spirit of the olympics!! Giving inspiration to other children.

Dh is waiting for the athletics to start - he prefers that to swimming - I keep ribbing him that for a country that is an island like ours they really aren't that good at swimming

I do remember to celebrate the british team as well given my lot are half english too. Have yet to teach them god save the queen though.

A wonderful post, Teafortwo. I have fallen in love with your park and have already worked out how far it is from Geneva I was a bit to see that they also have a fast food stand, with hot dogs.

A five hour drive is a bit much for a day trip but I will keep it in mind if we decide to go on a short trip to France next year. Do you think that DD and DS would believe us if we told them that it was Disneyland?

I really cannot comment on the whole Olympic fever here in Germany and I am strangely unaffected by it all. Probably because I am pretty busy with organising for our move.

The Germans get much more enthusiastic about football than they do about the Olympics I think.

We are going out to Schloss Rheydt this evening to this restaurant

It is really nice and great with the DCs as they don't pay for their meals! Children under 6yo do not pay for their meals, children from 7 - 12 Jahren pay just 3euros for any pizza or pasta meal and only 80ct for a small drink as long as they are with a fully paying adult.

The other unusual thing that they do is that you get a carafe of wine and a small glass and when you pay you tell them how many glasses of wine that you have had. Funnily enough, the Germans accept this totally foreign idea of estimating how much wine you have consumed. Saying that, DH did look very confused the first time we went there.

Mme Lindt, I can assure you that the Jardin d'Acclimatation is MUCH better than Disneyland! One of my favourite places in Ile de France.
We went to the Zoo in Vincennes today - sort of a nostalgia trip as it's closing for refurbishment in a few weeks and not opening again until 2012. Most of the large animals have been rehomed as their enclosures are not suitable. However, there are small islands in the middle of ponds where spider monkeys and tamarins play amongst real trees. There is a huge lake of flamingos, and you can take a train ride round past the giraffes (DD was trying to count them but is a little young to get as high as fourteen - still at the one, two, three, TEN, stage of counting) and the hippopotamus.
It's also Olympic fever here as France are having a good games (tho' not as good as GB!) but DD is very jealous of the people in the big pool and on the big trampoline and hasn't really grasped that it's all taking place a long way away in China!

I've just been on v. interesting road trip to north of Bangladesh with dh. Completely flat for 500km and nothing but paddy fields, bananas and coconuts. Have never seen such brilliant shades of green in my life.

We saw Buddhist monasteries, Hindu temples and Raj era palaces. Stopped on one place on old Bengal/Assam railway line and were fascinated by old Colonial builings. Visited the two churches (tiny congregations) and visited Christian graveyard, watched by about 100 people as is norm here.

WOW moondog what a trip!!! TELL US MORE - we beg of you!!!!!!

MmeLindt you will be horrified to know the Jardin d'acclimatation smells strongly of candyfloss and it is next to impossible to buy a snack below approx. a lifetimes rda of sugar or fat or urrrmmmm both!!!!!

If you decide to visit bring a picnic!

Thanks for seconding my love of Jardin d'acclimatation, Briochedoree! Your zoo trip sounded fun. Last time we were there all we saw were penguins and a few rats due to an unexpected massive downpour.

Today, after a morning at the D.I.Y centre trying to find someway of holding together our water pipes (we live in a building dating from early 1900s and along with many of its peers it has problems with leaking - but wouldn't you if were that age !), we spent the afternoon reading in a small local theme park.

Two years ago our town bought two buildings knocked them down and installed a mini North Africa!

The small park has, not grass, but a mosaic floor complete with wooden ride on camels, a wall with the entrance to a huge mosque painted upon it and a big star shaped water feature with tucked behind this a low thin and long rectangular shaped fountain with many small shots of water darting up for children to touch in ore and wander. The boarders are filled with roses, mint, lavender, palm and olive trees.

I eagerly turned the pages of my Jhumpa Lahiri book (it is great if you like bbc and Mum's net foocs you will love this -www.amazon.co.uk/Interpreter-Maladies-Jhumpa-Lahiri/dp/0006551793/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=121 8920270&sr=8-1) as dd threw her ball in and out of the water features and dh read some old Russian novel in French.

Oh my goodness - it has just occured to me and I am so excited about it ... how multi-cultural we were being...??? I was reading a novel by a British/Begali/American sitting in a North African garden in France while dh read a Russian novel and occasionally we both called out to our daughter who has a Slavakian name. It is quite good but I know given time I could do better and I bet you can too - OK - this could be an idea for a little competition - how multi-cultural can your family be in one given moment???

Anyway, anyway, anyway... for now, enough about me and the parks I have been visiting... I want in my next post to tell you about the lovely old Spanish man who lives in the apartment above ours!

Still loving this thread

9dragons did you swear like that in Chinese or English? (who taught you such swearing? )

Am surprised how many of you are going to school so early (well your dcs), feels like the holidays have only just started here (week 3 I think)

Am also surprised about those lists you needed, we needed nothing (except the uniform but that was even cheaper then 'normal' clothes) even the bookbag was free. We did have to buy a sports bag and plimsoles but about £5 in total.

Cali surely you havn't been in the States for 2 years allready? I would have guessed about 11 months

Tea, I would but for some weird reason, laptop will only take tiny messages!

Did you know that at partition in 1947, Pakistan was what is now Pakistan and then Bangladesh? ie. two bits of land flanking India but thousands of miles apart?

Unsurprisingly, Bangladeshis (ie what thne known as East Pakistan) weren't happy and kicked off, hence creation of Bangladesh as separate state.

During 1940s, ten million people died while Brits busy exporting grain to Europe for war effort.
Bloody hell, these people have suffered.

Where we were (Rangpur) town is made up of 40% 'Baharis'. These are stateless Pakistanis who got stranded here prior to independence.

Funnily enough, Moondog, DH and I were talking about India / Pakistan / East Pakistan yesterday and saying that we didn't know enough about the separation. I felt a bit stupid because I was wondering why India and Pakistan had the same Independence day and then I realised why! I know that a lot of people still feel very very bitter about what went on. I've never been to Asia, although a medic friend of mine worked in Pakistan for his elective and was completely blown away by the friendliness of the inhabitants.
Teafortwo, I am highly intrigued by your town with the N African park - sounds great fun! Are you N, S, W or E of Paris. We're over in the West, near Versailles, but I'm ashamed to say that I've never been to the Chateau. This morning I took DD swimming to our local pool which has bubbles and a stream. She has just learnt to float so she twirls round and round in the stream. So nice to see her lying back and relaxing as the long hols have got her a bit stressed - complete lack of routine and none of her friends are here. School starts again in two weeks, but she's going to a new one as we've just moved a couple of towns south of where we were previously. Before that we're going over to Blighty for a week. Haven't been for a few months so time to stock up on marmite, tea and branston pickle, not to mention the chance to take DD and DS to see the steam trains at the Bluebell railway.
I've only just discovered this thread and it's fun!
P.S. Teafortwo, there is a stand at the Jardin d'Acclimatation that sells salads...it's the one near the animals with the little manège and the balloon seller.
P.P.S. Ninedragons, going back to one of your earlier posts, right turn on red always used to catch me out, too, when my parents lived in NJ. Fortunately they've now moved to AZ and the rule no longer applies. Fortunately I've now been in France long enough to have learnt "Priority to the Right" which is also a trap for unwary foreigners!

I am off to the nation's capital next weekend and so look forward to reporting back on my child and husband free weekend doing family research and visiting the war memorial to do a rubbing of my great great uncle's name on the wall of remembrance.

Might also try and fit in a visit to some markets that are not far from where I will be staying.

I am flying down to Canberra at the crack of dawn literally - 6am flight on Saturday and back Sunday afternoon. Be very strange going on my own. Can't remember the last time I was off on my total lonesome.

Ooh, how exciting Eids. Enjoy!
Brioche, yes people are bitter. Bangladeshis hugely proud of their success in making Bengali/Bangla the official language and not Urdu as was original idea.

Lots more interesting reports here! Moondog, I have a Bengali multiple-Great- Grandmother. My father's mother was S African and somewhere in her history an ancestor married a Bengali woman, whose family I assume were one-time SA slaves. I've recently waded through John Keays' massive History of India which is a fascinating book. According to him, the Partition could have been avoided with a little less intransigence. So sad - I recall the E Pakistan war all too well.

Re Tfor2's multiculturalism, I'm not sure if this counts but each of my four children were on different continents earlier this year. Ds1 was in America, where he lives in LA with his wife, ds2 was in South America (Rio) with his work, dd1 at university, (studying International Relations!) in Scotland and dd2 with me in Nigeria.

No food on a stick? How disappointing. You need to get yourself to a Midwest food fest, cali. No such thing as real food there!

The Air and Water Show was on this weekend. Not sure about the Water part of it, but the Air bit involves lots of planes as one might expect - fighter jets, the Blue Angels, aerobatics etc - over the lake. I made the mistake of driving 12 miles to the northside of the city this afternoon - it should take about 20 minutes. So, after an hour and 20 minutes of weaving in and out of cars parked on the highway so that they could stop and watch the planes, I was rather fed up. YOU CAN'T PARK ON A MOTORWAY ffs

Your life always sounds interesting Sue.
I'm voting Bangladesh as scariest place to drive. Unreal. All bus drivers should be arrested.