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TixhiiDon Tetraglot Senior Member Japan Joined 5448 days ago 772 posts - 1474 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese, German, Russian Studies: Georgian
| Message 233 of 431 24 April 2011 at 10:57pm | IP Logged |
Murdoc, thanks for the corrections again. I was SURE there were no mistakes in that post
so it's very depressing to see so many small errors yet again! Anyway, ჭესჰმარიტად
აღსდგა! Happy Easter to you too!
Haukilahti. Thanks for your message. I have to be honest and say that I don't have any
particular love for the novel Tixhii Don, although I have read it and I also watched and
very much enjoyed the old TV series. I was just looking for a name that would reflect my
love of Russia and Russian literature but which was also vaguely suitable as a nickname.
Since I am male, "Anna Karenina" would have been very weird, and I love "Rakovyi Korpus"
but that's not a very cheerful nickname, and my favourite work of Russian literature is
"Dom na naberezhnoi", but it was too many letters to fit on the site and no-one's heard
of it anyway.
Edited by TixhiiDon on 24 April 2011 at 10:59pm
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| Haukilahti Triglot Groupie Finland Joined 4948 days ago 94 posts - 126 votes Speaks: Finnish*, English, Polish
| Message 234 of 431 24 April 2011 at 11:14pm | IP Logged |
Thank you for the explanation and yes, even without loving the book (though I do), it fits well the requirements of a nickname.
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| TixhiiDon Tetraglot Senior Member Japan Joined 5448 days ago 772 posts - 1474 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese, German, Russian Studies: Georgian
| Message 235 of 431 06 May 2011 at 6:26am | IP Logged |
Annoyingly, circumstances have conspired to make this, the very week before my trip to
Georgia, probably the least productive week since I started studying Georgian a year
and a half ago. For one thing, Medea-sensei is still in Georgia, so my conversation
class didn't take place. For another, it is Golden Week here in Japan, which means
that my group lesson didn't take place either.
Now you might think I would take advantage of all that time off work afforded by Golden
Week to get down to some serious study, but I have been busy with other things most of
the time and unmotivated the rest of the time.
Maybe it's like an athlete or a concert pianist who always takes it easy the day before
the big race or the career-changing performance. Or maybe it just means my Georgian
will be that little bit crappier than it would have been had I got in a good few hours'
study in the days leading up to the trip.
Ah well, I still have the weekend and the plane journey I suppose.
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| ellasevia Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2011 Senior Member Germany Joined 6126 days ago 2150 posts - 3229 votes Speaks: English*, German, Croatian, Greek, French, Spanish, Russian, Swedish, Portuguese, Turkish, Italian Studies: Catalan, Persian, Mandarin, Japanese, Romanian, Ukrainian
| Message 236 of 431 06 May 2011 at 6:41am | IP Logged |
When are you heading off to Georgia, exactly? Whenever it is, I hope you find the time to squeeze in a little more last-minute studying and that you have a wonderful time there. Make sure to tell us all about it when you return. კეთილ მგზავრობას გისურვებთ!
And here's a little bit of your own wisdom from last summer (except, of course, for Georgian and not Swahili):
TixhiiDon wrote:
Enjoy your trip! Make sure you seek out lots of opportunities to use your Swahili in Tanzania. Although I'm sure you don't need me to tell you this, it will bring all that study alive for you and you will be even more motivated (if it is possible!) when you return! |
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| TixhiiDon Tetraglot Senior Member Japan Joined 5448 days ago 772 posts - 1474 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese, German, Russian Studies: Georgian
| Message 237 of 431 06 May 2011 at 7:33am | IP Logged |
I leave on Wednesday morning. I've been looking forward to that day for so long it's
difficult to imagine it will ever come. I'm like an 8-year old on December 23rd.
Thanks for throwing my own words back at me! I'll be sure to take my own advice.
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| TixhiiDon Tetraglot Senior Member Japan Joined 5448 days ago 772 posts - 1474 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese, German, Russian Studies: Georgian
| Message 238 of 431 13 May 2011 at 3:29am | IP Logged |
Salami saqartvelodan! (My new iPad, marvelous as it is, doesn't seem to be equipped with a Georgian
keyboard). I arrived in Tbilisi yesterday afternoon and went out for a walk. The entire population of the city
seemed to be strolling along Rustaveli Avenue so it was a nice atmosphere. I managed to buy beer,
Georgian limonati (cherry flavor), crisps (potato chips to all you non-British speakers), and a khachapuri, all
in Georgian. I also had a good conversation with my taxi driver as he drove me from the airport to my hotel
at a steady speed of 150km/h! His recommendation for a good trip was, and I quote, "khinkali, qartuli ghvino
da qartuli gogoebi" (Georgian meatballs, Georgian wine, and Georgian girls).
I am now watching the sunrise over Tbilisi from my hotel room bed. I can see Narikala fortress, Tsminda
Sameba, and the Mtkvari River. At the risk of sounding smug, all is good with the world.
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| ellasevia Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2011 Senior Member Germany Joined 6126 days ago 2150 posts - 3229 votes Speaks: English*, German, Croatian, Greek, French, Spanish, Russian, Swedish, Portuguese, Turkish, Italian Studies: Catalan, Persian, Mandarin, Japanese, Romanian, Ukrainian
| Message 239 of 431 13 May 2011 at 4:08am | IP Logged |
Yay!!! I'm so excited for you. How does it feel to be there at last? When I finally arrived in Tanzania last summer it felt so surreal at first and I simply couldn't believe that I was actually there. I take it you're not having any difficulty communicating in Georgian, then?
Edited by ellasevia on 13 May 2011 at 4:09am
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| TixhiiDon Tetraglot Senior Member Japan Joined 5448 days ago 772 posts - 1474 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese, German, Russian Studies: Georgian
| Message 240 of 431 13 May 2011 at 4:21am | IP Logged |
Thanks Philip. You're right - it feels very surreal. In Vienna airport waiting for the flight, I realized that I was
surrounded by more Georgians than I have ever met in my life, and it was a very small plane! It is also cool
to have real, rather than just practice, conversations. I had heard that numbers are often spoken in Russian
rather than Georgian, and sure enough, my taxi driver quoted me a price of tridtsat' pyat' lari. He may have
thought I was Russian though, or maybe Russian is the default language for tourists. I guess I'll find out as I
go.
As for difficulty communicating, sure I'm having plenty! It's easy enough to ask for things in shops, but there
always seems to be a follow-up question that throws me, such as "Do you want that in a bag?" (something
something something bargshi?) or "Do you have 50 tetri?" (ormotsdaati tetri gaqvt? - I really should have
caught that one). I was quite pleased with myself in the taxi though - I understood pretty much everything
he said and was able to reply appropriately.
It's still only 6am here and I'm itching to get out onto the streets!
Edited by TixhiiDon on 13 May 2011 at 4:28am
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