englishandcroatian

My trip to Croatia Day 2

2007-10-02T01:38:00.001-07:00

Monday, the 16 th of April On Monday morning I woke up a bit more relaxed. From 8 to 9:30 I did my homework for the workshops and dabbled in English words for the forthcoming progess test. This day we had our classes immediately at the beach. The intention was to make us familiar with the impact of outer impressions on writing. We had to compose two poems with the terms: "blue, sea, shell and sun". One without any restrictions and the other related to feminism. The theme of short story writting class was to depict the same scene of action dependent on different states of mood. In the afternoon we visited Trogir. Some students of the tourism class showed us around in the small town. At sunset we hat to say good-bye to Renate, because she left on Wednesday morning. From then on we were only three in our literature classes. For more informations about Trogir go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trogir

Virginia Woolf "A Room Of One's Own" Conclusion

2007-06-27T09:41:00.000-07:00

Conclusion

I was curious to read this book and it fulfilled my expectations. Virginia Woolf’s depiction of the development of female literature was exiting, touching and alarming. For me, it is a perfect piece of work dealing with female oppression and influence of money on creativity.

I was impressed by the achievements of female writers under such miserable conditions. No wonder, that most of the women developing literature died young (I discovered it by writing the foot notes). I followed the flow of Virginia Woolf’s ideas and for me her thoughts and indignation are very familiar. To my mind men are still inclined to feel superior and women, working in lower positions in the private economy, still earn much less money than men. But certainly to a much lesser extend than at Virginia Woolf’s time. Today a further problem has arisen. Not a missing room of one’s own or missing money prevent a woman to be creative but maybe the lack of time.

( I wrote this essay originally for the class "Kulturschwerpunktthemen Englisch")

Virginia Woolf "A Room Of One's Own" Chapter 6

2007-06-27T09:37:00.000-07:00

Chapter 6

On the morning of 26th October 1928 Mary Benton looked out of her window, watching the flow down on the street. It brought a girl in patent leather shoes, a young man in a maroon coat and a hackney cab. The girl and the man got in the hackney cab and it slid away like being carried away to another place. Mary Benton sensed a spirit of a natural merger.
She raised the question whether every human being did possess both genders which must be unified.

Maybe her query was in line with Coleridge’s[1] opinion who stated that a great spirit has to be androgynous. A spirit reaches its full prosperity and uses his entire potential only through the merger of the male and female side.

The narrator opened a contemporary book written by a man termed by her as Mr. B and discovered that through the feminist movement the men themselves had become more gender-conscious. Throughout Mr. B’s book she was confronted with his ego. It was like an obstacle that blocked the source of his creative power. Then she realized that the author was focusing on his manliness, as a sign of protest. He protested against equality of the other gender by insisting on his superiority.

Unlike Coleridge’s sentences which after reading exploded in the spirit and caused a bunch of new personal ideas, Mr. B’s sentences simply fell to the ground. According to the narrator’s opinion it was deadly to think of the personal gender while writing. A kind of collaboration had to take place between the spirits of both genders.

Then Mary Benton stopped talking about the requirement of a room with a lock at the door and 500 pounds per year when women wanted to wrote novels or poems. The necessity of financial security was not only stated by her but also by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch[2] who proved by referring to several male poets that money and higher education were essential for their success. The mental freedom depended on pecuniary security and the art of poetry depended on mental freedom. Therefore a poor poet in Mary Benton’s time had not the slightest chance.

Mary Benton pointed out that after women had reached access to higher education, after married women had gained the right to possess assets and after they had received the right to vote the lack of opportunity, education, encouragement and money were only invalid excuses any more. Of course women had to give birth to children but only to two or tree and not to ten to twelve. Women should write all kinds of books in order to revive Shakespeare’s imaginary younger sister, the embodiment of creativity in Mary Benton’s mind.

[1] Samuel Taylor Colderidge (1772-1834) in his table talk an 1st of September 1832)
[2] Sir Athur Quiller-Couch (1863-1944) extraordinary influential literature historian, critic and publisher

Virginia Woolf "A Room Of One's Own" Chapter 5

2007-06-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

Chapter 5
In the course of her survey Mary Benton reached her presence. It was the time, when women wrote just as many books as men. Turning away from pure novels, women also wrote books about history, faraway countries and aesthetics.

Mary Carmicheal[1] was the first to write about a relationship within her gender. Up to Jane Austin women in literature were not only seen mainly by the other gender but also only in their relationship to the other gender. No matter how clumsy Mary Carmicheal was she wrote as a woman who had forgotten that she was a woman. What a groundbreaking feat!

[1] Mary Carmicheal was the pseudonym of Marie Stopes ( 1880 – 1958) was a Scottish author, campaigner for women's rights and pioneer in the field of family planning

Virginia Woolf "A Room Of One's Own" Chapter 4

2007-06-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

Chapter 4

In the 16th century, thinking of Elizabethan gravestones with all the kneeling, their hands folding children, who mourned their mother’s early death, looking at their houses with their gloomy and cramped front rooms the narrator found it impossible for a woman to write poems.

One of the first who dared to express herself in writing was Lady Winchilsea[1], born in 1661, aristocratic by birth as well as by marriage, and childless. She wrote poems and expressed herein her indignation about the social position of women. Pope and Gay two English poets called her “Bluestocking with a tendency to scribbling”.

Her contemporary the Duchess Margaret of Newcastle[2] wrote: “Women live like bats or owls, are slaving away like animals and die like worms”. Like the aforementioned she complained bitterly the women’s fate. Her mind grew crazy for freedom and loneliness. It goes without saying that the insane duchess served as a warning in order to intimidate bright young girls.

Since no intelligent woman obeying the rules of decency should write books Dorothy Osborne[3] only wrote melancholic and sensitive letters. Letters could be written while men talked as long as they were not disturbed.

Mrs. Aphra Behn[4] was a middle class woman who owned virtues like humor, vitality and courage. By reason of her husband’s death she was forced to make a living by using her talents. She was the first to succeed.

The great chance at the end of the 18th century was that women of the middle class commenced to write. Female writing was no longer a sign of insanity, it gained practical importance. Husbands could die or stroke of bad luck hit families. Hundreds of middle class women started writing or translating. The immense mental liveliness, exchange of opinions, meetings and writing of essays resulted from the fact that women were encouraged enough to earn money by writing. In the narrator’s opinion the fact that women turned to writing in general was more important than single books.

Jane Austin[5] did not possess a study of her own. Most part of her work must have been written in the living room. She took carefully care that no servant, no visitor or any person outside the next of skin perceived her occupation. Jane Austin was the first to be able to write without hate, bitterness or fear. Nevertheless, she still suffered from her life’s narrowness. It was impossible for a woman to leave her home alone. She was never traveling, never going by bus through London or was eating out all by herself. Maybe it was her nature not to long for what she did not possess.

Mary Benton doubted that this was equally true for Charlotte Bronte[6]´, who expressed her longing for distant areas in her book “Jane Eye”. The restlessness laid in her nature and tortured her. Surprising is the fact that most of the excellent novels were written by women who were to poor to buy several sheets of paper at a time.

George Elliot[7] escaped from the social constraints. But she was only able to flee into the isolation of a villa in St. John’ wood. Her marriage similar partnership with a married man was generally met with disapproval.

The young Tolstoy[8] did more or less the same thing, went into war and was able to gather various experiences unhampered and unscolded. Had he been living in the back of beyond, would he have been able to write “War and Peace”?

The women’s values described in books were very different from the men’s ones.
The male values seemed to prevail. An important book stated a critic, deals with war, and an unimportant one with female feelings. What genius and honesty must have been required to withstand in a pure patriarchal society. Jane Austin and Emily Bronte’ accomplished this deed. They wrote like women wrote, disregarding the permanent warning to write only this or that.

Another great problem that occurred was the lack of tradition; women could not retrace opinions or wording from former female novelists. In view of the fact that variety and freedom of expressions are utmost essential in the area of art, this inadequacy and lack of tools of the trade must have strongly affected women’s writing skills.

[1] Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea (1661-1720) was writing poems, which were influenced by her friends Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift and John Gay.
[2] Margart Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle 8 1623-1673), eccentric poet with interest in the developing natural science
[3] Dorothy Osborne (1627-1695) was writing letters, which presented a vivid picture of her epoch and the relationship between both genders.
[4] Aphra Behn (1640-1689) was the first female professional writer, especially successful with her theatre plays.
[5] Jane Austin (1775-1817) was a famous English writer
[6] Charlotte Bronte (1816-1853) was an English novelist and the eldest of the three Brontë sisters whose novels
have become enduring classics of English literature.
[7] Mary Ann Evans (1819 – 1880), better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist
[8] Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) was a Russian writer – novelist essayist, dramatist and philosopher

Virginia Woolf "A Room Of One's Own" Chapter 3

2007-06-27T09:23:00.000-07:00

Chapter 3

It was disappointing that the only insight after a day of research was the fact that women were poorer than men. Mary Benton decided to go to the roots of this matter and looked up the words "women" and "position of" in the latest available history book by Professor Trevelyan[1]. What she was reading was the following: Beating a wife was a recognized right of man in 1470, which was exercised without shame throughout the social classes.

Likewise had a daughter who refused to marry the predestinated husband to be aware that she could be locked in, battered and pushed around the room without sympathy of the public. Not personal affections were relevant for a marriage, but only the family’s greed especially in the chivalrous upper class.

Even two hundred years later women of the middle and upper classes were only allowed to select their husbands themselves in very rare cases. The predestinated husbands were their master, at least insofar as permissible by law. In spite of that, Shakespeare’s women did not seem to lack personality and character. But this was only the woman in literature. In reality they were locked in, battered and pushed around.

In the rest of Professor Trevelyan’s book women were mentioned utmost seldom, only a queen or a high ranking lady. But by no means, a woman belonging to the middle class could take part in a great movement possessing nothing but her common sense and character. A woman of the Elizabethan era did not have any money, was married before she was grown up, most probably at the age of fifteen or sixteen.

She was not sent to school. She had no opportunity to study grammar and logic, never mind reading Horaz or Vergil. Every now and then she was reading a few pages but soon admonished by her parents to stir the soup, to darn the leggings and not to waste time with books and papers.

If she felt called to develop her poetic talent she would not only be hampered and hindered by others but also by her own contradicting feelings. A woman with a poetic gift, born in the 16th century was an unhappy woman.

Even in the 19th century she did not have her own room, unless her parents were extremely rich. Her pocket money dependant from her father’s voluntary will reached for her clothes at best. Still women were regarded as being inferior to men. Mr. Oscar Browning[2], once a great men in Cambridge, who examined also girls in Girton and Newham said, after looking through various exams, that he still have the impression that the best woman is intellectual inferior to the worst man. At Shakespeare’s time actresses and two hundred years later female composers and preachers were compared to dancing or upright walking dogs. Female artists were not encouraged. On the contrary, they were snubbed, insulted and advised.

[1] George Macaulay Trevlyan (1876-1962) was teaching history in Cambridge. His history of England, quoted by Virginia Woolf was issued in 1926.
[2] Oscar Browning (1837-1923) historian in Cambridge

Virginia Woolf "A Room Of One's Own" Chapter 2

2007-06-27T09:20:00.000-07:00

Chapter 2

Mary Benton commenced chapter 2 by raising the questions
“Why is one gender so prosperous and one so needy?” and
“What effect does poorness have on literature?”
She took pencil and notebook and went to the reading room in the British museum to search for the truth

She was astonished, amazed and stunned, when she discovered how many books men wrote about women in the course of one year. Books with titles like “Gender and its nature” were not only published by doctors or biologists but also by young novelists whose only qualification seemed to be that they were no women. Women, on the contrary, did not write books about men. “Why are women so much more interesting for men than vice versa?

Why Samuel Butler[1] did said: “Wise men never say what they think about women?”
Judging by the books at hand Mary Benton had the impression that they seemed do nothing else, unfortunately the men's opinions were very different.

Pope wrote e. g. “Women are most often completely despicable”
La Bruyere[2] said “Women are extremes they are either better or worse than men”
Napoleon thought that women were incapable; Dr. Jonson[3] put forward the opposite opinion.

The truth about women was not touchable. From what she read and saw Mary Benton created artificially professor X who wrote the volume “The mental, moral and physical inferiority of women”. What prompted him to write this book? He was obviously furious but why? Possibly the insistence on the female inferiority helped him to stick to his own superiority.

Then Mary Benton referred gratefully to her own independence for she had inherited an annuity for life amounting 500 pounds per year. Around the time she received the money women got the entitlement to vote. Mary Benton admitted that the money was infinitely more important.

Before inheriting the money she had tried to survive by addressing envelopes, reading aloud to old ladies, teaching children the alphabet and making artificial flowers. To put it in a nutshell, she exercised all activities that were available to women before 1918. Mary Benton briefly remembered the bitterness in these days and the relief she felt when she got her permanent income. No once more did she need to hate a man, he could not harm her. No once more did she need to flatter a man, he could not give her anything.

[1] Samuel Butler (1835–1902), a novelist and critic, was maligned for his free opinions
[2] Jean de la Bruyere (1645-1696) famous French writer
[3] Dr. Samuel Jonson (1704-1784) poet, critic, biographer and lexicographer, one of the most influential men at his time was highly appreciated by Virginia Woolf.

Virginia Woolf "A Room Of One's Own" Chapter 1

2007-06-27T09:15:00.000-07:00

Chapter 1
Mary Benton[1] was requested to speak about “women and literature” She broadened this general topic by raising the question “What does a woman need to be creative?” She put the utmost importance on the fact that a woman had to have sufficient money and her own room to be able to be creative, at least.

In the first chapter she mentioned two incidences which perhaps occurred to women continuously to hamper their creativity. She strolled through the Garden of Oxbridge University[2] and was busy contemplating the destiny of a little fish when she entered the lawn in an onrush of creativity. At the very moment raised a man and blocked her way. His face showed dismay and indignation. At first she could not understand his gestures, but then her reason helped her. He was the janitor and she was a women. The green was only allowed for fellows and scholars. A woman’s place was the path. She returned to the pebbles and her creative thoughts were gone.

A little bit afterwards she contemplated the handwriting of a poem by John Milton[3] and remembered that the original was being kept in the local library. She opened the door and instantly appeared a friendly old man like a guardian angel to prevent her from entering. He informed her that she was only allowed to step in if she possessed a credential or were accompanied by a fellow.

Mary Benton went enraged down the stairs, firmly determined to ask for hospitality never again. To prevent herself from further unpleasant surprises she did not even want to walk into the university church. Contemplating about these occurrences the narrator raised the question why men and women are treated so differently.

Looking at the walls she realized the tremendous amounts of money required to build and maintain these premises. These funds were provided by men. The adjacent women’s college Fernham[4] she was invited to, appeared by contrast plain and simple. Referring to the history of origin Mary Benton told her friend that in the year 1860 it was almost impossible for women to raise the required funds (30.000 pounds) for the building and equipment. There was no money for further comfort.

Both women were filled with indignation about the miserable poorness of their gender.
What have done their mothers that they were unable to leave their daughters any assets?
Were they only powdering their noses?

Her friend’s mother e. g. gave birth to thirteen children. To make a fortune and to raise thirteen children was impossible to manage for any human being. Apart form that, only since the enactment of the women’s property Acts (1870 and 1882) a married woman is allowed possessing her own property.

Referring to her two personal experiences in Oxbridge, Mary Benton found it embarrassing to be locked out but at the end of chapter 1 she considered how much worse it would be to be locked up. She started thinking about one gender’s security and prosperity by putting up the other’s poorness and uncertainty, the effects of tradition or the lack of tradition.

[1] Mary Benton is a figure in the Scottish ballade of the four Marys
[2] Oxbridge is composed of Cambridge and Oxford.
[3] John Milton (1608-1674) wrote the poem Lycidas referring to the death of his friend.
[4] Fernham is composed of Girton and Newnham

Virginia Woolf

2007-06-27T09:06:00.000-07:00

Virginia Wolff’s curriculum vitae
Virginia Woolf (1882– 1941) was an English novelist and essayist who was regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the 20th century.
Virginia Woolf was the daughter of the author Leslie Stephen and his second wife Julia Jackson (widowed Duckworth, born Jackson). Virginia Woolf had altogether seven siblings, among them two brothers (George und Gerald Duckworth) and one sister (Stella Duckworth) from her mother’s first marriage.

Her mental health was impaired. Caused by her mother’s sudden death in 1895 and that of her half sister Stella two years later, Virginia Woolf suffered from several nervous breakdowns. Her father’s death in 1904 induced her most alarming collapse and she was briefly institutionalised.

Her breakdowns and subsequent recurring depressive periods, modern scholars have claimed, were also caused by her sexual abuse committed by their half-brothers George and Gerald
Woolf married the writer Leonard Woolf in 1912. Judging by her last written words, before she committed suicide it must have been a very sensitive and happy partnership.

During the post war period, Woolf was a significant figure in London literary society and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Her most famous works include the novels "Mrs Dalloway" (1925), "To the Lighthouse" (1927), and "Orlando" (1928), and " A Room of One's Own"(1929) with its famous quote, "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction".

Virgina Woolf A Room Of One's Own Introduction

2007-06-27T08:59:00.000-07:00

Introduction
A Room of One's Own is a very sensitive 112 -page novel by Virginia Woolf. Beside her book “Three Gunnies” it presents her most famous feminist work. A Room of One’s Own was first published in 1929. It was based on a series of lectures she delivered at Newnham College and Girton College, two women's colleges at Cambridge University in October 1928. Immediately before she published her book "Orlando" in which she revealed indirectly her relationship to Vita Sackville-West.

A year in Provence - Lavatory a la Turque

2007-06-13T08:23:00.000-07:00

Peter Mayle described an odd facility which is still used in France. (I know this piece of furniture from my own experience. Imagine my surprise, when I arrived exhilarated in Paris, wanted to powder my nose and came across this unusual device).

It is a shallow porcelain tray with a hole in the middle and foot-rests at each side. If you use the flushing it is highly probable that your feet get a shower for free. To avoid soggy feet you can try to operate the flushing from the safety of the doorway. For this purpose monkey-like arms are required. You can take a second opportunity and not flush at all. According to Peter Mayle’s opinion, which corresponds to mine, the second variant is prevailing.

A year in Provence - The menace of vipers

2007-06-13T08:19:00.000-07:00

In the forest, Peter Mayle’s acquaintance Massot put up signs saying Prive´ and other with the unwelcoming message “Viperes “ to get rid of the hated Germans. Peter Mayle didn’t believe in this danger and got immediately a private lecture from his distant neighbour.

If a viper bites a man, the man dies. If the viper bites a woman – then the viper dies.
Even so, told Massot, snakes are normally peaceful creatures and attack men only if they feel provoked. Massot advised him to run in zigzags’ uphill to escape the furious, jumping viper.

But by far the best antidote to vipers would be, being joined by a woman. The snake would catch the female creature first. Another infallible peasant’s trick is spitting in the open mouth of the viper after catching it. Peter Mayle went home circumspectly by practising his spitting form time to time.

“Buying a house in Provence is not without its complications.”

2007-06-13T07:07:00.000-07:00

Outline of the situation in Austria

Sorry, but I can’t resist dealing with taxes.

Peter Mayle described in his book that all property in France costs more than its advertised price. An unlucky buyer could end up paying as much as 15 % on top of the price, as he has to pay the property price, government fees, legal fees and the agent’s commission.

If unmovable property (land and buildings) is transferred in Austria, the acquirer has to bear the following expenses:

(On basis of the agreed acquisition cost)

Property transfer tax (if not purchased from a closely related person) 3,50 %
Land register fee 1,00 %
Fees of the notary public ( approx. ) 2,00 %
Agent’s commission incl. VAT 3,60 %
Total 10,10 %

If land is debt-financed additional fees arise.

A year in Provence

2007-06-12T13:01:00.000-07:00

Discussion questions

1) How well did Mayle's frequent trips to Provence as a tourist prepare him for the reality of residing there? What were some of the initial surprises he and his wife encountered?

To my mind, it is impossible to prepare oneself as a tourist for a future life as a prospective resident. When you decide to change your residence you want to realize their harboured dream and there is a huge gulf between a dream and its materialization.

Of course, Peter Mayle and his wife took French lessons but the spoken language in Luberon was quite different. They dreamed of mild winters instead of the gloomy and cold ones in England but the climate turned out to be so very cold and frosty that their pipes burst. They learnt about the existing long-term agreements concerning the agricultural use of land which come under discussion when the property is transferred.

When it comes to their cuisine, the French appear very proud sometimes even smug and conceited. Monsieur Bagnols, for instance, who described in a picturesque way that the English kill their lamb twice; once when it is slaughtered and once when it is cooked.
The weird forest inhabitant Antionne Massot pointed out that the French eat their haunted foxes as opposed to the Englishmen who were chasing after them for hours and then only cut off their tails.

The paperwork connected with the purchase of their house and their car that drove them nearly crazy. Peter Mayle and his wife had not only to present their birth certificates, their passports and their marriage certificate but also their electricity bills and telephone accounts.
(I am very sorry to tell you that the last point is become international practice. Based on the experience that on the one hand people are very creative when it comes to transfer their residence to get perquisites, but on the other hand they are very reluctant to pay the connected ordinary expenses).

2) How does the form of the book--a month-by-month journal--enhance the immediacy of Mayle's observations and draw the reader into his experiences? How do the changing seasons mirror Mayle's own adjustment to his new environment?

The monthly descriptions of Peter Mayle’s life, his experiences and his adventures simplifies to follow the thread of the story. It divides the occurrences of the book into ones that are typical for the respective month or season and ones that are personal and extraordinary. I am under the impression that Peter Mayle and his wife relished and treasured the new life from the very beginning. The regarded their new neighbours as warm hearted, sociable and reliable people and they tried and succeed to fit in.

Apart from enjoying sumptuous dinners and the local wine the Mayles got step by step acquainted with the behaviour of their neighbours as well as that of their craftsmen. For instance a purchase of a piece of furniture or a crate of wine was nothing that could be done within minutes. Such undertakings always required contemplating and discussing the subject over several pastis or glasses of wine. The final outcome was usually quite different from the originally intended one.

3) Mayle writes that neighbors take on an importance in the country that they don't have in the city [p. 6]. How do his relationships with Faustin, Massot, Menicucci, and the other local workmen reflect this? Does the fact that Mayle is a foreigner influence the way he is treated? How do the men working on his house endear themselves to Mayle, despite his continuing frustrations with their casual attitude about completing the job?

I have the impression that the inhabitants of Luberon were described as people who loved not only the soil they lived on, directly or indirectly, they had also a certain awe of their neighbours. I think Peter Mayle was treated like a native Luberon. He treated the local people with respect and in return he was treated likewise. Unlike his visitor Michael who behaved like a smug and conceited Englishman.

Peter Mayle became a partner to his neighbour Faustin. Faustin looked after Peter Mayle’s newly acquired land under the traditional system of metayage
The owner of the soil pays the capital costs of new wine socks and fertilizer and the farmer does the work of spraying cropping and pruning. I think the kind of welcome party including a five hour dinner served also as a means to guarantee a perfect takeover of this long existing agreement.

I believe that Peter Mayle was an advocate of supporting the local economy and therefore was getting along well with Monsieur Menecucci the local plumber and the other local craftsmen and in the end even with their wives.

4) Mayle notes there are "two areas of endeavor in which France leads the world-- bureaucracy and gastronomy" [p. 23]. What particular characteristics of the French does Mayle bring to light in stories about the bureaucracy involved in buying the house, a car, insurance, and other necessities?

The French appeared extremely suspicious concerning the transfer of durable goods to foreigners. The had to prove their existence, their identity, their dwelling and their actual living costs several times, which they experienced as a very time consuming business.

5) The influx of tourists begins in May and reaches a high point in August. How does his status as a resident affect Mayle's attitudes about friends and acquaintances who, as he himself once did, try to take in everything Provence has to offer during a short holiday? Does he learn things about himself and the life he has chosen by looking through the eyes of visitors? To what extent are his own perceptions influenced by his English upbringing?

As a permanent inhabitant Peter Mayle wants to live in rest and peace, being disturbed as little as possible by tourists. How annoying, when the bakery products were sold out or the local restaurants were overcrowded. He admitted that visitors are necessary for the economy but his understanding vanishes when the local craftsmen leave his building site in order to work for the second residence owner with a special surplus.

He pointed out several stereotypes concerning aliens: Germans are supposed to scatter their waste everywhere. Belgians were feared for their ruthless driving and English are said to be always suffering from diarrhoea. I do not find that his perception is affected by his English origin. Maybe he understands the intentions and manner of the visitors to the country better than his native acquaintances.

6) How does the Mayles' party for the workmen and their wives, as well as their own Christmas dinner at a local restaurant, put the events of the year into context and serve as a coda to the book as a whole?

They invited the workmen together with their wives so as to force the craftsmen indirectly to finish their incomplete jobs before Christmas. Mrs Mayle believed that the women would like to regard and compare their husbands’ work and this little trick worked perfectly. Everything was ready in time and together the celebrated a party with sumptuous meals and excellent wines. On Christmas day the current was cut off and so they called a nearby restaurant. There, all seats were taken but the owner offered them a small table in the kitchen which proved that they were entirely taken up into the local community.

My opinion
I like the book. It was not too difficult to read. The story is well structured and all characters are depicted in an endearing way. In Luberon seems to exist functioning neighbourhood assistance, problems are discussed and solutions are offered over a good meal and several pasties. For my taste, this is a very attractive procedure. Let’s move to France.

Ninochka - film

2007-06-09T02:17:00.000-07:00

Tina’s presentation has rekindled my memory. Her film “ Moscow on the Hudson” has reminded my to the movie “Ninotchka” which was frequently shown on the Austrian TV decades age.
Ninotchka is an American film produced in the year 1939. The main parts were played by Greta Garbo and Melvin Douglas. It received four Academy Awards nominations, for Best Picture, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Original Story, and Best Screenplay.

Plot
Three Russians, Iranoff , Buljanoff and Kopalski, are sent to Paris in order to sell jewelry confiscated from the Czar’s family during the Russian Revolution of 1917. Shortly after they begin to enjoy the capitalist lifestyle, the Soviet Union sends Nina Yakushova (Greta Garbo), a special agent who is supposed to conclude the jewelry deal with Count Leon as soon as possible and to bring back the three men.

Rigid and stern at first, she slowly becomes attacted by the West and the Count, who falls in love with her.
The previous owner, the Grand Duke Swana, who has been attracted by Count Leon too, threatens to impede the transaction of jewelery unless Ninotchka promises to return to Russia at once and to meet Leon never ever again.

Due to her loyalty to Russia Ninotchka agrees and returns with her comrades to Russia. Leon tries to visit her but he doesn’t succeed. In Moscow Ninotschka and her comrads are mourning after their time in Paris. Shortly after their meeting, Iranoff , Buljanoff and Kopalski, are sent to Konstantinopel to sell Russian furs.

An anonymous report about their inability and decadence arrives in Moscow and Ninotschka is sent after them to observe them again. Upon her arrival she realizes that the account has been a trick by Leon. He confesses her his love and persuades her to remain in the West.

My opinion

"Ninotchka" is a romantic comedy and funny satire to the fight of classes, The confrontation between the capitalism and socialism systems is overdone, but presented so excellently that you cannot help but laughing. It is a pity that the movie isn’t shown on TV any more.

My friend Harvey

2007-06-09T00:40:00.000-07:00

Dealing with my presentation of fairies and imps I realised that one of my favourite black and white films “My friend Harvey” is dealing with a sort of Irish imps. Harvey, the invisible friend of Elwood P. Dowd, is a Pooka in the shape of a six foot, three and a half inch tall white rabbit.

The film is based on the novel “Harvey” by Mary Chase who won with it the Pulitzer Prize in 1945.
The principal figure Elwood P. Dowd is played by James Stewart.
Josephine Hull won an Oscar in the category “Best side-actress”

Plot

At a society party Elwood P. Dowd starts to introduce his imaginary friend Harvey a Pooka in the shape of a six-foot three and a half inch tall, rabbit to the guests His sister Veta has enough of his eccentric behavior. She fears that he could destroy her efforts to find a suitable husband for her elderly daughter. Though she decides, to commit him to a sanatorium to spare her daughter Myrtle Mae and their family future embarrassment.

When they arrive at the sanitarium Veta is mistaken for her brother. But when the truth comes out the search is on for Elwood and his invisible friend. When Elwood shows up at the sanitarium looking for his lost friend Harvey, it seems that he mild mannered Elwood’s delusion has had a strange influence on more than one of the doctors.

Only just before Elwood is about to be given an injection, Dr. Chumley’s formula nine-seven-seven that will make him, as his taxi driver says, into a perfectly normal human being and you know what bastards they are, does Veta realize that she’d rather have Elwood be the same as he’s always been- carefree and kind - even if it means living together with Harvey, the Pooka, forever.

Personal opinion

The movie can be described as an extraordinary pleasant amusement.
The plot isn’t difficult to understand and all characters are depicted in a likeable way.

Another chapter of American history ?

2007-06-08T23:22:00.000-07:00

When I was a little girl my father encouraged me to read the daily newspaper. I was nearly scared to death when I read about “Agent Orange” at the age of 8.

Agent Orange is an herbicide, developed a weed killer in the 1940’s. During the Vietnam War this means was employed by Americans to destroy covering vegetation in order to detect their enemies. All in all, about 40 million litres Agent Orange were sprayed by helicopters.

The Austrian newspapers were then full of warnings concerning the long-term effects. The main problem was supposed to be the poisoning of the soil with dioxin for decades or even centuries. This was said to cause cancer of various kinds and children’s innate malformation even in the second or third generation. Neglecting all these warnings the presidents between 1961 and 1971, (John F Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon) and the Congress approved of using this substance.

All the sombre premonitions came true, nowadays the third generation is poisoned and the result is still horrifyingly deformed children. According to the Vietnamese Red Cross suffer still about 500.000 people from long-term consequences. Other estimations speak about 4 million victims.

In 1984, some chemical companies that manufactured Agent Orange paid 180 million $ into a fund for United States veterans following a lawsuit. The Vietnamese victims didn’t receive any compensation. The Americans did not see a context between the malformations and the use of Agent Orange. The courts stated that Agent Orange was not considered a poison at that time. The fact that even then international scientists warned forcefully was completely insignificant. Should we not all take responsibility for our past actions?

Why I am a happy person

2007-05-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

What makes a person happy? As a little child I was happy when I was sitting on my father’s lap sipping on the froth of his beer. A bit older I relished most caressing my little cat, strolling through the forests and meadows with the neighbours’ kids or playing theatre in front of our whole municipality. Then, our performances were actually events for the entire community because most of our neighbours didn’t possess a TV set.

Between ten and twenty I was fond of spending my leisure time with my friends. I fell in love for the first time and was quite sure to have met the man for my life. But fate decided otherwise and we were separated after a couple of years.

I met my later husband when I was twenty one. Or should I better say I realized him? He was a close friend of my cousin and he showed up ever now and then. Of course, I fell in love with him up to my eyes, maybe because he was a tax expert and I majored in business administration. After we got married our honeymoon lasted several years and I gave birth to our son Markus. I entered the business world when my son was four. The following years I was busy bringing up my child, being an acceptable mother and wife and doing my best at work.

When Markus was about twenty a slightly unpleasant period of my life began. I was faced with decease and death. Thank heavens there were people around me who gave me a hand when I was likely to lose the ground under feet. Although it was a difficult time, I gained two precious experiences.

Firstly, if you believe in yourself you can overcome every difficulty.
Secondly, look at the small things; they always brighten up your life.

Now, in the morning, when I leave my home for work, the sun is shining, my glance fall on dozens of flourishing pot plants on the stonewall in front of me and the day-children of my neighbour give me a warm welcome then I can say without the slightest doubt “I am a happy person”.

My trip to Croatia - Return to home

2007-05-28T12:29:00.000-07:00

Saturday, 21st April 2007

The party after the closing performance lasted till early Saturday morning. Due to dozens of bleary – eyed people the final meeting was cancelled. We all met to an extended breakfast and after a couple of pick-me-ups (coffee) I was prepared for my lonely trip to Graz.

Still at Graz, I had discovered that the earliest possible ride back on the train would take me 16 hours. My English exam was just around the corner therefore I decided to take a plane at all costs. (To be honest I paid for the ticket more than for the entire stay) It was very hard to leave my group because despite of our age gap we had spent a pleasant time together.

During the taxi drive I could exercise my newly gained knowledge. At the airport I succeeded in asking whether or not my suitcase was directly transferred to Graz. In the duty free shop I did my shopping by using only Croatian.

My plane flew from Split to Vienna. In Vienna I had to hurry to catch my connecting flight to Graz. I really feared that my luggage could get lost - with all my elaborated English documents.

My first impression as I spotted my aeroplane to Graz was that it had seen better days. “Boneshaker” came into my sense, as I entered the machine. Against my worst presumptions, we arrived at Graz safe and sound. I was so happy when I felt ground under my feet again and held my suitcase in my arms that I smiled at the customs officers. Owing to this suspicious behaviour I was checked first time in my life

In retrospect, I can say now that this week in Croatia was a valuable experience I don’t want to miss. My Croatian professor has already announced that a similar event is going to take place next year again. How great would it be, if we could improve our English knowledge in a comparable way!

My trip to Croatia - Day 7

2007-05-28T02:24:00.000-07:00

Friday, 20th April 2007

On Friday evening our great closing performance took place. All participants were running to and fro excitedly. My group had to execute the most difficult task. We had to present our own poems publicly. After we had selected our best “works” we were practising the entire day reading them out aloud. In the end we felt unable to pronounce the simplest sounds.
Then there were rumours that we should have to scale bar stools with a microphone in one hand and our poems in the other. But to reassure us, Helena and Ivan (our instructors) carried a sofa from the lounge to the refectory where the performance was said to occur.

Sabine, Anita and I came first. We were all suffering a bit from stage-fright but with the first words our scare disappeared and judging by the received applause we did a more than satisfactory job.And what was even better we could relish the evening without further disturbance.

My trip to Croatia - Day 6

2007-05-28T01:19:00.000-07:00

Thursday, 19th April 2007

On Thursday afternoon and evening only cultural in-house events were scheduled.
The first lecture dealt with the development of Split. During the other one the three parted structure of the Croatian language was pinpointed. Both speakers took our minor language knowledge into consideration, though I was able to understand approximately 60 per cent.

The DVD player was broken down, therefore the subsequently announced film wasn’t shown and we had an evening off.

My trip to Croatia - Day 5

2007-05-28T01:02:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, 18th April 2007

After class on Wednesday, we went on a trip to Salona near Split. Our guide, a professor of history from the University of Split, gave us a short insight into the historian development. Together with him we climbed over stone walls in order to reach the most interesting pieces.

Salona served as a stronghold and a harbour of the Illyrian Delmati which quite early came under Hellenic influence. It was as a colony under Julius Ceasar, who was the then governor of Illyricum, and became soon the centre of the province of Illyricum and afterwards of the province of Dalmatia. It developed into a cosmopolitan centre of the Adriatic. The high point of its expansion was during the time of Diocletian. Between the IVth and Vlth centuries Salona became an important centre of Christianity. It was destroyed the by Avars and Slavs around the year 641.

The ancient ruins were excavated and are publicly accessible now. Most of the movable monuments from Salona are kept in the Archaeological Museum, in Split which was founded in 1821.(description follows that one available under http://w3.mrki.info/split/solin.html )

More detailed information is published under
http://www.mdc.hr/split-arheoloski/eng/FS-dislocirani.html

Meanwhile our international meeting has encountered interest and a journalist of a local paper devoted an article to us. (only available in Croatian)
htt p://www.dugirat.com/content/view/4253/

My trip to Croatia - Day 4

2007-05-20T14:38:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, 17 th April 2007
On Tuesday our excursion to Dubrovnik was scheduled. We had to get up at 6 o’clock a.m. and were supposed to be on the bus at 6 30 a. m. As in Dalmatia time has another meaning, we started our trip only at 7 a.m. . Instead of the announced four hours ride, we were sitting on the bus for six hours.

Though our stay in Dubrovnik was shorter than expected. In order to gain time our guide hurried through the picturesque Old Town and by walking in the Stradun (main street) and adjacent streets, we passed by

all the well-known sites such as Church of St. Blasius (patron saint of the city), the Orlando statue, Sponza Palace (not destroyed by the earthquake in 1667) and Onofrio's Fountain. Unfortunately there was no time to visit the great wall surrounding the old city centre.

During a guided tour through the Franciscan monastery I lost my group and heard for the first time in my life that relics may include parts of the body of the deceased saints. Were their bodies sectioned immediately after death?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relic
Then I strolled alone through the town searching my group. I wasn’t afraid because I had been to Dubrovnik several times before and I knew the town as well as my group. I was sure that I would find them relaxing in a café. My presumption was correct and we spent a nice afternoon in this intoxicating and unspoilt town.

Blogs of Expatriates

2007-05-16T09:43:00.000-07:00

Searching on the internet I keyed in the word "Expariates" and found the following links

Newspaper for Brits living abroad
The Telegraph online newspaper has an expatriate section specifically for British expats. Read the latest UK news.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/global/index.jhtml

Expariate in Ireland

A Canadian in ...
http://jedidjab.com/blog/

Adventures of an American spouse
http://americanabroad.blogspot.com/

A Jamaican-American in Cork, Ireland
http://jamaicanincork.blogspot.com/

Expariate in England

American academic in England
http://towhomitmay.blogspot.com/

Bilingual blog (English and French), mainly about translation
http://www.nakedtranslations.com/

An American about to move to England to be with her fiance
http://andreaythomas.blogspot.com/

From San Francisco to Bristol
http://jennredd.typepad.com/

An American student turned teacher in London
http://www.wellingtongrey.net/

Expatriate in Scottland

An American post-graduate student living in Edinburgh, Scotland
http://cyocum.blogspot.com/

Kahtie's journey from New York, the centre of the universe, to Glasgow, ned capital of the world.
http://longayelander.blogspot.com/

My trip to Croatia - Day 2

2007-05-06T13:44:00.000-07:00

Sunday, 15 th April 2007
After a good wink of sleep I woke up on Sunday morning. As I did not yet have any work to do for the Croatian class, I continued working out my English words from “Jaywalking with the Irish”. My group met 10 o’clock a.m. for the first time. It was really pretty difficult to make myself understood.

Our lecturer Olija gave us a brief introduction in writing short stories. A story is different from a contract. You need not stick to the facts. Most essential is that you captivate your reader. In the early afternoon we were introduced by Helena in the fundamentals of modern poetry.

I, myself did not catch more than 30 % of my workshop leaders’ speech. Sabine1, Anita and even Renate, a young Slovenian woman, assisted me a lot by giving oral guidelines what I had to do. Thanks to their help and the intensive use of my tiny dictionary I managed both classes.
On this day I wrote my very first short story about my childhood and my first poem about my greatest fear.
(Picture: Renate, Sabine 2, Sabine1, Anita - my group)

In the afternoon we went by bus to Split again. This time we enjoyed a guided tour and learnt many interesting and instructive details about the nice inner city. In the evening we had dinner in a traditional restaurant and we got to know Andreas, a student from Graz, who studies there this year. http://www.unist.hr/isg/University.pdf
For more information about Split go to http://w3.mrki.info/split/split.html

My trip to Croatia -Day 1

2007-05-01T00:57:00.000-07:00

Saturday, 14 th April 2007

During the night I woke up several times because I heard strange-sounding voices from outside and the train didn’t move. At dusk someone knocked heavily at our door. As a special service the conductor woke us up and returned our tickets. Despite my most secret fears, we reached Split safe and sound.

Sparsely washed and bleary eyed I looked for my co-students. I was elated to see them. We went to a café right away, because we all needed urgently a cup of hot, black and sugary liquid. It was an unpleasant surprise that nearly the whole town was a building site. Gone was our dream of sitting in a café and watching the wavy ocean in front of us.

(Picture: Nadine and Ewald)

We soon overcame this disappointment and used the morning to get to know each other. Our small group consisted of Sanja, Nadine, Anita, Sabine 1, Sabine 2 und Ewald. After several cups of coffee we felt strong enough to enquire about a bus to Trogir. After we attained satisfying information, we decided to deposit our luggage and to stroll through the town.

We discovered that the old town centre of Split was very small. Actually, the Dioclecian Palace represented the entire city centre.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split
Ambling along we spotted by chance an exhibition of books. With relish we thumbed through the various kinds of literature. In the end I became the proud owner of the book: “German without trouble” (Njemački bez muke). That may sound a bit strange but I know for sure that in this book the Croatian part contains no mistakes.

At noon we picked our luggage up and searched for the right means of transport to Trogir. The tickets were very cheap. But much to our surprise we had to pay for our bags and suitcases additionally. The bus driver shocked us with the message that we were supposed to walk about three kilometres from the bus stop to our hotel. The conductor was a nice guy and was enchanted by Sanja, so he coaxed the bus driver to stop immediately in front of our hotel. It’s a real pleasure to travel with young pretty girls. (Picture: Sanja, Nadine, Ewald and Sabine 1)

Manda and Željka (my Croatian teacher) arrived only at five o’ clock p.m. and with three further first year students from Graz the Austrian group was complete. In the evening the workshops for the next week were formed. A large variety of courses was at hand. We could choose among the following topics:

Singing traditional (Klapa)
Singing modern
Dancing traditional
Drama workshop
Preparing and presenting speeches
Writing newspaper articles
Writing short stories
Writing poems

I enrolled for " Writing short stories" because I didn’t only want to spend a sunny week at the sea but also to extend my vocabulary and to get some writing practice. From the approximately seventy participants altogether four chose the classes “Writing short stories” and “Writing poems”.

To put it in a nutshell, the two classes were joined. We were expected to write short stories in the morning and to compose poetry in the afternoon. Already on the train Sead had told me that the course leaders Helena Burić and Olja Savičević-Ivančević were famous writers in their mother country. Much to my dismay I realised that both couldn’t speak a word of German.
Since I was in Croatia I didn’t want to communicate in English, so I didn’t even try it. Once again the fear arose how I could handle this situation.

Well, on the one hand, I possessed a tiny Croatian pocket dictionary, the newly acquired book “German without trouble” and a one and a half year of study experience. On the other hand I started dealing with Croatian really on point zero and now I was suddenly facing two well-known authors. Would my knowledge be sufficient enough to meet their expectations?

(Is to be continued)

My trip to Croatia - Departure

2007-04-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

On Friday, the 13 th of April 2007, I got on the train to Zagreb and my exciting adventure, my excursion to Trogir near Split took its course. Several fellow students and I were on route to “Croatia Mundi 2007” an international meeting of people who study Croatian. I knew the other participants of Graz more or less by sight and met them briefly at the platform.

My friend Gunther was also on the train and so we shared a compartment. To be a bit more precise, we weren’t alone. We enjoyed the companionship of Gunther’s friend Sead, a Croatian translator and journalist, who had even been awarded the Austrian state prize.

http://bachmannpreis.orf.at/bp2002/translatio/muhamedagic_sead.htm

I saw him the first time He is a fascinating and blind man. After getting to know each other, I received an introduction into his work in general and his latest job in particular. He had his “laptop” with him. At first sight it looked like a customary keyboard but on a closer view it had a “reading line” and only a few keys. I must have sounded rather foolish when I asked. “And how can you write with these few keys?” He answered with a smile: “In Braille, of course”.

It was a stroke of luck that I wasn’t alone on the train. Every now and then an official appeared, murmured something incomprehensible and we had to show our passports. Slowly but surely, my fear was growing because we had to part in Zagreb. Well, I had studied Croatian for one and a half year and I knew some words and expressions, but could I already master a commonplace situation? In no time we had reached the both men’s destination. Gunther helped me to find my connecting train to Split and all of a sudden I was alone, all alone.

Hesitantly I asked the conductor about the sleeping car (Molim Vas, gdje je spavača kola?). A compartment was assigned to me – which I had to share with two young girls. They opened their mouths and, thank heavens, they were speaking English.

Both young ladies were relieved too. They couldn’t speak or understand a single word Croatian. They told me that they had come from California and would spend a whole year in Europe. One girl studied in Rome, the other in London and they used the Easter break to meet and explore the continent. The conductor collected our tickets; we locked the door and fell asleep.
(Is to be continued)

English Tenses

2007-04-23T12:05:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I met by chance Dan Funk an English and Italien teacher.
Here is his link on English tenses:
http://members.chello.at/dan.funk/
Have fun

Links

2007-04-23T11:18:00.000-07:00

Astrid's Blog
Betty's Blog
Birgit's Blog
Claire's Blog
Verena's Blog
Eva's Blog
Mr. Newman's Blog
Kathie's Blog

Abolition of the Austrian Inheritance Tax

2007-03-27T01:54:00.000-07:00

Abolition of the Austrian Inheritance Tax

The Austrian Inheritance Tax is said to be abolished with the end of July 2008 (maintenance period). The Austrian Constitutional Supreme Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof) declared Sec. 1 Par. 1 null and void. Unconstitutional is not the Act itself, but the tax base regarding real estates (three times the assed value (3 facher Einheitswert)).

Inheritance Tax (the different treatment of assets)

Example: Inheritance with different kinds of assets, 4 children, no spouse.

Real estate
market value € 200.000,-
Child 1
tax base
three times the assed value
e. g. € 50.000,-
- general allowance € 2.200,-

Inheritace Tax
6% of € 47.800
€ 2.868,00

Sole proprietorship
market value € 200.000,-
Child 2

tax base
€ 200.000,-
- special allowance
-€ 200.000
final tax base
€ 0,00

Inheritance Tax
€ 0,00

Security portfolio
market value € 200.000,-
Child 3

tax free

Inheritance Tax
€ 0,00

Cash
market value € 200.000,-
Child 4

tax base
face value
- general allowance € 2.200,-

Inheritance Tax
8 % of € 197.800,-
€ 15.824,00

The tax difference between child 1 and child 4 triggered the tax investigation procedure by the Austrian Constitutional Supreme Court.

Vienna Legends

2007-03-24T07:11:00.000-07:00

This week I was in Vienna. I had to attend a lecture of changes in tax law. During my ride on the train I read in the Book "Jaywalking with the Irish" that Irish people tend to believe in fairies and leprechauns. I think we do not. Most of the Austrian legends that I know tell about a relationship between a person and the devil. One of the best known Viennese legends in this respect is the one of

“The iron stump”

One day a young locksmith’s apprentice called Martin was sent to bring some loam from a pit outside the city walls. Instead of abiding by his master’s order he played with other boys and missed the time to return to the city before the city gates were closed. He feared to have to spend the whole night in the open air. Suddenly a little red-dressed man appeared and offered him money to pay the guards to reopen the city gates. Besides, he offered him his assistance to become a famous locksmith if Martin promised to go to the Holy Mass every Sunday for the rest of his life. Martin agreed without hesitation.

The following day the stranger came to his master’s workshop and ordered a special lock that could not be opened without the proper key. At first the master rejected the impossible looking job, but Martin talked him round to accept the order.

After many hours of exhausting work Martin managed to fulfil the task. When the stranger came into the shop again, he was very satisfied and ordered Marin to fix an old oak tree with this lock against the city wall on the Graben. Due to his unbelievable success his master terminated Martin’s apprenticeship right away and declared him a free journeyman. It dawned on Martin, slowly but surely, that he had maybe concluded a pact with the Devil.

Martin travelled through the world. After a few years he decided to return to Vienna, where the representatives of the local council endeavoured to get rid of the oak tree which was still fixed to the city wall. Martin offered to make a matching key. The Devil interfered in his work several times but eventually he succeeded in producing an appropriate key. He opened the lock and threw the key high up in the air and it never came back. The devil had taken the key again.

Martin observed carefully his duty to attend the Holy Mass every Sunday. One Sunday morning Martin’s friends talked him round to stay a bit longer with them to finish a card game. Martin remembered his weekly duty and ran to church. An old woman, who was lying, told him that the service had not even started yet. Martin returned to his friends to finish the game. However, the moment he heard the bells he realized that he had been tricked and missed the last chance to attend the mass. The Devil grabbed him and flew away. Later on his smashed and torn body was found near the old oak tree.

Since than it became a custom that every new locksmith’s journeyman would hit a nail into the old oak tree in memory of poor Martin’s fate.

View of my kitchen window

2007-03-19T18:26:00.000-07:00

When I open my blinds in the morning I enjoy a wonderful view of the baroque Mariatrost Basilica on top of the Purberg hill which is one of the most famous pilgrimage churches of Styria/Austria.
The Angelus stair on the other side of the hill serves my girl friend and me as a hiking path at 5.40 in the morning. If you can spare the time join us.

(photo taken by Markus Zeitlhofer)

For a more detailed information have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariatrost_Basilica