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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Stelle Bilingual Triglot Senior Member Canada tobefluent.com Joined 4147 days ago 949 posts - 1686 votes  Speaks: French*, English*, Spanish Studies: Tagalog | Message 145 of 154 05 March 2015 at 12:18pm | IP Logged |
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I've actually started watching Caso cerrado recently. Even though the show is utterly and completely ridiculous - like
a cross between Jerry Springer and Judge Judy - I love Dra Polo! I'll see if the library carries her book. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| HermonMunster Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4636 days ago 119 posts - 211 votes Studies: Spanish | Message 146 of 154 22 August 2015 at 7:56pm | IP Logged |
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Hello Stelle,
I think you'll enjoy the book if you like the show. Just be ready for lots of sex and complete nonsense. It's definitely a page turner Garyb, I think that a do it yourself immersion trip will give you the most bang for your buck. When I finally go on my immersion trip I will design my own program. I would like some real instruction for a few hours a day, but for the most part I will be asking someone to just let me shadow them throughout the day. Life doesn't happen in a classroom. I'm interested in having fun/adventures while imporving my skills. If I were in a group of people in a classroom I could see myself getting bored or dominating the teacher's time and attention because I don't think the other students would be as serious as I am about learning/ improving. But in general I'm about living the language. I'd be likely to offer to pay or trade some labor or translation or something for allowing me to eat dinner with their family everday. Hi everybody, It’s been a long time since my last post. I’ve still been plugging along on my Spanish although I feel like I’ve plateaued to a certain extent. I haven’t been adding new vocabulary to my flash cards and I haven’t been reviewing the cards on a regular basis. I have been going to my Spanish meeting up when I can, and more often than not I’m surprising myself with how fluid I can speak. Of course I still get caught up when I’m talking about complex subjects or ones where that contain words I’ve never thought about in Spanish, but other than that I’m good to go. It’s fun to surprise people by speaking Spanish. Their faces are like 8-O “ you speak Spanish!!” My Mexican colleagues more or less write and instant message me in Spanish. They normally try to do all phone calls with me in Spanish but I still struggle with this. They like to use speaker phone and I just can’t hear/understand with echos and other people speaking in the background. Also the subjects we talk about are too important to not be certain what was said/intended. I planned on taking the Dele exam in July of this year but I never really found time to study. My boss approved the trip out to El Paso, Tx to take it, I just have to find the time to buckle down and study. I’m still going to Mexico about once every 1.5 months and I’ll be there this upcoming week Monday – Thursday. We have a really important build coming up for a new customer and I want to be in the plant to make sure that procedures don’t get in the way of us delivering on time. There’s a fine line between doing the right thing according to regulations/standards and the right thing for the customer. I just want to make sure that we don’t fail because some box wasn’t checked on a form. Worst comes to worst I will drive the parts back to the states and mail them myself. I’m going on the trip by myself and a few people have told me to just fly instead of driving the 4hrs into Mexico. They are too scared to make the trip by themselves. I think their logic is faulty. If something crazy is going to happen, having 1 extra guy in the car isn’t going to help. Also, since I know the language and more importantly know how to carry myself/be aware of my surroundings; I’m not worried. I’m looking at this ride down as an adventure. Plus I think i'm a bad kidnapping target. The bad guys would probably think,"He'd eat too much and I dont' think anyone is coming for him." lol I’m looking forward to be able to hang out with a friend of mine when I’m down there. The last few times I’ve been in Mexico I’ve been with a group of people and couldn’t get away to have a beer with him. He’s not in my group so it would be weird if I invited him to a team dinner. We are going to a BBQ place that’s new in town. I’m really excited about going because I heard the food is great and it’s a chance for me to blend in/ interact with the people in an informal environment. I’m probably going to go to a chicken wing / Karaoke bar on Tuesday. I’ve been once and it doesn’t matter the language, people trying to sing is hilarious. I’m really going to push myself this trip to speak Spanish as much as possible. These trips are a great opportunity to improve my skills and build my confidence. I’ve been trying to expand my computer/phone repair business into the Spanish speaking community but it’s not working out so well. The prices I’d have to charge aren’t high enough to make it worth my time. I currently have an ipad2 that I’m working on that has so many problems. I’m already 4 days overdue because I had to order more parts. I have about 3hrs into working on it and I’m only charging $30 for the labor. When it’s all said and done I’ll make about $7 an hour on this ipad. Considering the stress of worrying about damaging it more, time away from my wife, and the fact that main job is pretty time intensive… it’s just not worth it. I’ve been taking more pictures for stock photography and I actually have had 3 sales. I was pretty excited about my first sale even though it only netted me $0.35 lol. I take my camera with me just about everywhere I go and I’m looking forward to getting some good shots while I’m in Mexico. The Latin American market is very underserved in the stock photography. There just aren’t that many pictures of Hispanic people just living life. I’m hoping to use my language skills to get some great photo opportunities. To anyone who has ever considered taking up photography, do it. It changes the way you see the world. I love it and will continue forever even if I never become profitable at it. Next weekend I’m going to the zoo for a night Spanish speaking tour. It should be really interesting and fun. I just wish there were some younger people in the group. The average age has to be about 60. Not that there’s anything wrong with that age, but I think I’d have more to talk about with people closer to my age. I have two fun trips planned to Mexico for the rest of the year. One is the bike ride to Magdalena in October and the other is a wedding in November. I’m really looking forward to the wedding because I’m bringing my wife. Only one of my buddies down there has met her so there’s a big joke that she doesn’t exist. Ohh yea, I’m not sure if you’ve heard about the drug boss El Chapo, but the official story is that he escaped from a maximum security prison through a 2 mile tunnel. All of my Mexican-American coworkers were like, “ He didn’t go through that tunnel! I’m sure he walked out the front door.” The level of cynicism about the Mexican government is startling. I know that all governments lie, steal,kill, and are corrupt, but from the stories I’ve heard, most people are so fed up that they don’t believe anything the govt. says. That’s about it. Saludos 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| James29 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5378 days ago 1265 posts - 2113 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French | Message 147 of 154 23 August 2015 at 3:38am | IP Logged |
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Holy cow! Herm is back! I've been wondering what's been happening in the world of Herm. Sounds like you are still having a ton of fun.
You have now changed my perspectives on things... when I am in Latin America (and sometimes here in the US too) I feel like a beacon that stands out because I am pretty tall and moderately big. When I was in a mob in the Guayaquil bus station I felt nervous and uncomfortable with the situation... I should have had the right attitude like Herm and realized everyone was staring at me thinking I'd be the wrong guy to kidnap! 4 persons have voted this message useful | |
| HermonMunster Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4636 days ago 119 posts - 211 votes Studies: Spanish | Message 148 of 154 28 August 2015 at 9:16pm | IP Logged |
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Hey James,
I'm still alive. :-) Yep, it's like the nature shows. A lion doesn't go after a strong zebra but waits to get a calf or one with a limp. Predators aren't fools. Welp, I said I wanted an adventure… I got it. But before I get to that part of the story I’ll summarize the trip. On Monday there was a problem with some business we were quoting. The cost estimator contacted me because the analyst in my group can’t speak Spanish ( aside: I seems like it’s emotionally taxing for Mexican-Americans who can’t speak Spanish. The analyst has a Spanish first and last name and he looks 100% Mexican. It’s weird because he kind of looked ashamed when in the past he had to tell the guys in Mexico that he couldn’t speak, but not ashamed enough to actually start learning. ) After I realized that we could miss out on a huge opportunity, I left for Mexico about 2 hours early in the hopes of figuring out what was wrong. The drive was pretty uneventful. I didn’t get stopped to have my car searched or anything just paid my tolls and zoomed down the road. When I arrived I greeted everyone and got straight to work. We assembled a quick team to discuss the issue (90% in Spanish), discussed our options and made a plan to meet again on Tuesday. I was only there for an hour or so before the end of the work day so things when quickly. I stayed about 1.5 hrs late talking to a co-worker about life, our dreams, and how we are going to achieve them. It was a really great discussion and I feel a lot closer to him now. If you ever have to chance to just hang out with a co-worker, do it. I think our discussion will help in our business life as well. Monday night I went to a BBQ place with about 8 buddies. It was a day of the dead themed place and it was a slow night so we were the only ones on the patio. We spoke all in Spanish and I did pretty well. I had to ask people to repeat themselves often, but that’s when everyone was talking at once. One lady brought her cousin and I asked if she spoke English. We did the standard routine. “ what’s your name. How are you? Fine thanks” After that she said, “Ok, bye” and everyone cracked up laughing. The food was great with meat falling off the bones. I shared a platter with two fairly thin ladies so of course, I had all ribs I could eat. I joked that we should share plates more often. I knew better than to share with my buddies or I would have only gotten 1 rib. Tuesday morning got off to a bad start. My iphone made a sound at 4:45am. It was the noise for a meeting reminder. I jumped out of bed thinking a customer on the east coast scheduled an 8am mtg. I logged into my computer to see what the meeting could be about and there was nothing on my calendar. Stupid iphone woke me up for nothing and then I couldn’t get back to sleep. We had the team meeting in Spanish and English and it went well allowing us to submit an aggressive quote. Had lots of meetings and trips to the plant floor to check out our process and build boards. I went to lunch to have Chinese food with some buddies and it was really good. It was cool just being in the mix with Mexicans just living their lives. In the plant I stand out and it’s kinda annoying at times, but at the restaurant I was just another guy. Went to dinner with my program manager and he offered for us to talk in Spanish for the whole meal. It was a great opportunity to practice. I rarely had to switch to English and it was mostly for technical terms. I could understand almost everything he was saying and only had trouble when he got excited and started running words together. ( We were complaining about work). Wednesday was another busy day with meetings and everything was going smoothly. I ate my breakfast (they eat at 9:00am) in the cafeteria and was just looking around and minding my business when an older cleaning lady came up to me and started talking. I was polite and we just chatted about the weather and stuff and then she said, “ I love your skin.” In my mind I was thinking here we go… For some reason I’m the bee’s knees to older women down here. She told me about how she and the cleaning lady upstairs argue about who I belong to. “I said you’re mine and she said you can’t be because you’re already hers.” It was kinda weird and funny at the same time. I finish up my tacos de cabeza and go to buy some candy. I’m not sure how I can ween myself, but I rely heavily on reading lips. The lady behind the counter was talking to me through a food prep mask and I had a tough time understanding her even though she was speaking clearly. Later I was in finishing up a meeting and the cleaning lady upstairs came by and gave me the equivalent of a candied apple that she made. (since I’m in Mexico, instead of covering the apple in caramel, it was covered with chili powder). She sells them in the office and I offered to pay but she said no, it was a gift that she made special for me. Mind you that she did this in front of everyone so they all started laughing. I didn’t want to be rude so I accepted it. Now my buddies are teasing me saying, “ Hey Herm, she wants you to pay in ways other than money!” I would think this was hilarious if it weren’t happening to me. I wrote my wife, who is very pretty, and said, do guys do this to you often? She replied, “ ALL the time.” I’m glad I’m not a lady. It’s weird to have people you don’t want try to flirt with you and give you things. And now for Thursday. After having a great time at a bar drink with buddies and talking crazy, (They said that they could drink me and my friends under that table so we may have a Blacks vs Browns drinking competition in the near future. That discussion was pretty hilarious) I went to be like normal. Woke up packed my suitcase and headed to the car. I threw my bags in the trunk and then realized that there was glass all over the ground. My driver’s side window had been broken out. There was glass everywhere inside of the car.The only thing I had in the car was a cellphone charge. It was bigger than usual with an additional usb port, but not what I would consider worth smashing a window. I bet the thief was really mad to discover that there was nothing else in the car. I went back into the hotel and the hotel staff was there to help me. The head of security was asking me some questions ( in Spanish) and then I had to call to make an insurance claim. I called the number and asked in Spanish if they spoke English. The reply was, “Can you speak Spanish?” We started speaking and the process went surprisingly smoothly. I had to ask the lady to repeat a few things, but we managed to file a report and she dispatched a claims adjuster. The adjuster called me and when I answered, “ Hermon speaking,” he replied, “Español?” I couldn’t help but to think that I would have been screwed if I didn’t know Spanish. When he arrived we went to the car and filled out paperwork and while on of the maids cleaned up the glass we chatted about where we were from and how/why I learned Spanish. It was actually enjoyable considering the circumstances. A rep from the hotel came out and asked if I wanted to wait for their insurance and I declined, she tried to find a replacement charger for me and we chatted while I was waiting. She was from Mexico City and had a slightly different accent. When there was enough glass off of the seat I followed the insurance guy to the glass shop. He got me checked in and left. I had to wait about 1.5 hours while they fixed it. That was a good chance to listen in the conversations of other people getting their vehicles serviced. The checkout process was kind of difficult because the cashier was using words I was unfamiliar with and she was behind a glass wall with a small slot that was located really low. I had to duck down and almost put my head inside so I could hear her. When I was all finished and in the car I realized that my GPS wasn’t working and I really didn’t know where I was. I didn’t want to have to call someone from the plant to rescue me so I used my compass app and found the mountain in the middle of town and navigated my way back. ( I knew the hotel was north east of the mountain). At the hotel I collected my suitcase, thanked all the staff that helped me and headed home. The ride was easy although I did get caught at a checkpoint and had to run my bags through an xray. I’m really proud of myself for the way that I handled the situation and the fact that I was ready with my Spanish skills. This is exactly why I wasn’t scared to go by myself. I knew that if something came up, I’d deal with it. I noticed that my Spanish improved by the end of the trip. Maybe my brian settled into Spanish mode or something but I was saying some sentences that surprised me, “Whoa that was a tough sentence.” One last thing, when reading the menu at the chicken wing place i noticed they had a flavor called “cookies.” I couldn’t stop laughing at that. I asked my buddy and he said there are alittle bit sweet, but definitely not like a cookie. See ya 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Mooby Senior Member Scotland Joined 6108 days ago 707 posts - 1220 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Polish | Message 149 of 154 29 August 2015 at 10:45am | IP Logged |
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I really enjoyed reading about your Mexico trip - it was great you got to use your Spanish in so many ways professionally and socially. It shows why learning a language is so helpful - you got business done, and had a lot of fun on the way.
You're not just learning language - you're living it! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| HermonMunster Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4636 days ago 119 posts - 211 votes Studies: Spanish | Message 150 of 154 08 December 2015 at 5:31am | IP Logged |
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Hello Everyone, It is I, Hermon Munster. Signing in from Mexico.
It's been a minute since my last update but I'm still in the daily slog to achieve that illusive thing called fluency. I've been hitting the meet up group when I have time. I'm reading my first novel in Spanish, and I'm hitting my flash cards on the regular. Probably the most exciting things that have happened since my last update are another "manda" trip to Mexico, my first shakedown by a Mexican police officer, and my wife's first Mexican wedding. I'll start with the manda trip. I had such a blast last year while biking from Imuris to Magdalena that I wanted to do it again with my wife. I also wanted to invite a buddy who had never been to Mexico before so the plan was for 4 of us to ride down. 3 black folks and one Mexican lady (sounds like the start of a joke, right?) Anyway, we're all geared up to go and my Mexican co-worker texted me, " Don't come to my house yet, the trip might be cancelled." I already sold the trip to my wife and my buddy so we have bikes loaded on the back of the car and we're already 45min into the drive. I called my co-worker and she told me, " The guys we're supposed to ride with aren't coming. It was Jose's birthday yesterday and he's too drunk to ride a bike." My wife was pissed, but I understood, thinking, " It was his birthday..." I told my co-worker that we'd go to her house anyway and make a plan. We decided to drive down to Magdalena to take part in the festivities. It ended up being a blast hanging out with a few buddies and letting my wife and my friend experience the real Mexico puro y duro. It was far from Cancun but way more real and interesting. We drank beer by the river, prayed at a few Churches, helped a guy who got his car stuck in the sand, ate tacos and chicken wings, and my friend and I were called the " Obama brothers" by a guy who probably only knew the English words, "obama" and "brother." I got to use alot of Spanish just chatting with people and we passed them. Most were curious as to where we were from and why we were there. One little girl fell in love with my wife and asked to touch her hair. (I don't think she had ever met a black person before). It was an awesome trip and I'm glad my buddy had a good time on his first trip to Mexico. The police shake down was exactly as it seems. I was leaving Hermosillo Mexico on my way home and I slowed down to look at a graveyard (I'm an aspiring photographer so now the world seems totally new to me ). Next thing I know there are flashing lights approaching. I pulling over thinking, " This can't be for me." But sure as you know what, it was. The officer walked up and put his hand through the window so I could shake it. Immediately I knew the deal.... He wanted money. He told me I was speeding, (i wasn't if anything I was going too slow looking at the graveyard). He told me (of course in Spanish) that i had to pay a fine. Trying to diffuse the situation, I asked how much is the fine. He took his phone out to do the calculation and said mil trescientos ..... I couldn't believe he was asking for about $100 usd. I thought about my best course of action and took out my wallet and opened it. Just a bunch of receipts and a $5 dollar bill. I told him that I had about 300 pesos for the toll roads. He looked at me and I looked at him. The stare off lasted long enough for both of us to become uncomfortable. Then he asked, "If you give me money, how will you pay the tolls?" I replied, " I don't know." We stared at each other a while longer before his partner said," Hey! let's go." Maybe I'm weird but I was super excited afterwards. Like, "Whoooooo! My first shakedown!!! Yay Spanish skills!!!" I did have a backup plan, if things started going bad, I was going to go to the OXXO (convenience store) and buy a case of beer with the company card. My buddy Juan was getting married and it was the first time that my Mexican cowokers would meet my wife. The big joke in the office was that she's imaginary because no one had seen her. We drove down Friday night and stayed with a buddy who works in the plant. He has a 2 year old son and it was hilarious that he has about the same Spanish level as my wife. I was cracking up watching them try to communicate. The first night we just got some tacos, drank, and talked. On Saturday I had to work in the plant and then we got dressed and went to the wedding. My wife was kind of surprised that other than another lanuage being spoken the service was exactly the same as one in the states except waaaaay hotter. We went back to house to cool out for a big and get some grub. The men went to rustle up come lunch. Rotisserie chicken and vegetables. Man o Man some of the best food! The potatoes were sooo awesome. I asked why do they taste so good and they told me that all the vegetables are cooked underneath the chicken so the fat and the spices drip down on them. Yum! After we ask and had a nice chat in English and Spanish we all took a nap. When we woke up and put our nice clothes again it was time to leave for the reception. We left at dusk and didn't arrive until it was completely dark. We got soooooo lost. It was funny to see how different our Mexican friend's response to being lost was different from ours. We drove for about 2.5 hours and I'm sure that the place was only 30 minutes away. My buddy and his girlfriend was just as happy as a clam saying, " Herm, I think you have to turn around again." I was laughing in my mind thinking, " My wife and I would be so angry we were this lost for a wedding." My wife asked me why they don't just GPS it and I never really got an answer. I think it's because there was no exact address of the party. Just a location. We stopped at a gas station and bumbled around until we found it. The hacienda was awesome and people were ready to party. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate. It was raining and a bit cold. My buddy and I were sent back to the car to get the ladies' flat shoes and when returned the rain had slowed. After a few water and whiskeys my wife and I were on the dance floor having fun. The band was awesome and the bride and groom were ready to party. I think it really meant alot to my buddy that I'd attend his wedding. His father came up to me and gave me a bottle of Don Julio. I really appreciated it. Juan is a good guy and he's always worked hard for our customers. The book I'm reading is Rumbo al Hermoso Norteby Luis Alberto Urrea. I was able to get my book signed by Luis while I was in North Carolina. At the time people were telling me not to get the Spanish version because it had too much slang. About 2 years after getting it I started reading and I see what they're saying. I'm underlining about 12 words per page. It's so much that I'm not really able to read the book without being totally wrong about the setting. However it's a good story so far and it's helping to build my vocabulary. I'm having more dreams in Spanish and I'm doing alot more set talk in the language. I listen to the radio in Spanish every morning when i go tot the gym. As of late I've been feeling like I need my time in the southwest to be really productive as my as my Spanish skills go. I'm in Mexico until Thursday, will be back next week and will probably spend a few weeks in January down here. It's always a great opportunity to practice. I'm meeting the new plant manager tomorrow. I don't think I'll talk to him in Spanish unless he's already heard that I know some. I think it's better to just surprise him later. Ohh yea, my wife and I had a double date at the tomale festival last weekend. It was a whole bunch of fun and the tomales were great. There are plenty of things to do if you're open minded. Bye bye 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| BOLIO Senior Member United States Joined 4661 days ago 253 posts - 366 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 151 of 154 09 December 2015 at 1:46am | IP Logged |
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Wait! You are black?????? What?
Haha. Just kidding. Over the years I have looked forward to your adventures. There is only one thing wrong with your posts. You should do more of it!! Thanks for taking the time, BOLIO 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| HermonMunster Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4636 days ago 119 posts - 211 votes Studies: Spanish | Message 152 of 154 07 January 2016 at 9:56am | IP Logged |
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Lol Bolio, great post. Had me cracking up.
Hi everybody. This will be a super quick post. I'm in a hotel in the state of Sonora Mexico. I've had a few drinks, but you'll see why as I write more, so I get a pass on any mispelling or bad grammar. First off. Learn Spanish. It will change your life. Your experiences may not be quite like mine, but they will be awesome in their own way and you'll make more $$. like my sales job? lol Ever heard of the Guadaloupe Reyes Marathon? Me neither did I until I was in Mexico a few weeks before ago for an engineering review. So I'm in a buddy's backyard for the posada (Christmas party) (( and we were using a shovel to smash a piñata)) and he says, " Herm have you heard of the Guadaloupe Reyes Marathon?!?" Of course I hadn't and he proceded to explain. Basically it's a drink fest that lasts from the feast of the Lady of Guadaloupe (Dec 12) until the 3 Kings arrive for the birth of Christ (Jan 6). I have no idea why sweet baby Jesus or Mary would be associated with drinking but I've been to Mexico enough times to know, "Pues, es Mexico." I just got back to the hotel from celebrating the end of the marathon. I had a great time. Went to 3 bars, one puro y duro Mexicano with bands for hire and everything. Another with an alternative Mexican language Rock band. It was crazy fun! I kept thinking how did a guy from the MidWest end up in this situation. I was singing along with a band in Hermosillo Mexico at Midnight on the last day of a festival that is too crazy for most Americans to understand... It's all basically due to effort. I've worked really hard over the last 3.8 years to learn the language and the people. They really appreciate it. I was at a taqueria (taco shop) today and the chasier asked me if I wanted anything to drink. I was able to say, smooth as silk, in Spanish, " No thanks I'm good... well, do you have any moonshine." She smiled and replied, "No, we just ran out." It was fun and indicative of the cultural capital (if I may make up a phrase) I've build over the years. In my opinion and in nerd talk; Learning a language is like nuclear fusion, you get out more than you put in. Don't quit. It's hard, but super duper awesome when you can build n instant bond with a person from another part of the world. Happy New Year, Herm P.S today they served rosca (sweet candy bread) and hot chocolate for the Reyes. There is a tradition where a plastic baby representing El niño is baked into the bread and who ever gets the baby in their piece of bread gets good luck for the year and also has to bring in tomales for the group on a festival date in February. Of course, I was given the piece with the baby. I joked that I bring one tomal and we will cut it into 1,0000 slices. Edited by HermonMunster on 07 January 2016 at 10:12am 1 person has voted this message useful |
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