As many of you are aware, Husband dearest and I have a young German student staying with us until the end of August. Lisa is 14 and hails from Western Germany.
Used to having the house to ourselves, we were never-the-less delighted to be asked to act as hosts to Lisa but were worried that, with no children and leading a fairly dull existence (I read and blog, Husband dearest goes to work and helps run the local social club, Lisa may find us a little, well, (dare I say it?) middle aged. Anyway, having e-mailed and FaceBook(ed) for a few weeks, Lisa arrived safe and sound last Wednesday. A truly lovely girl with manners her mum must be proud of, it has to be said though that we have never met a 14 year old quite like her - very curious as to how we live and the differences between England and Germany she keeps us on our toes by asking many questions.
Anxious to learn more about England, so far Lisa has experienced an English city, library, college and hospital (don't worry no one was ill, I had an out-patients appointment), has had a Greek meal with an English family (Husband dearest's. She will meet mine this afternoon), has tasted typical 'pub grub' (chips with a PASTIE* and baked beans) as well as Spanish Tapas, English style, and has been to the pictures (cinema) to see Eclipse which was interesting as she has never heard the actual voices of 'Bella', 'Edward' or 'Jacob' as in Germany they are dubbed into German using the voices of other actors. What else? Oh yes, Lisa has also handled more English money that she ever thought to (she helped us count well over £1000 at the club) and has tried, as well as a pastie, several other English delicacies - STOTTIE (she liked) and MARMITE (she didn't) included.
So what else have we in store for Lisa? She is going to visit HADRIANS WALL with some friends of ours and it is hoped we will take her to BEAMISH MUSEUM, the coast where she may discover just how cold the North Sea is and tomorrow she will get to see a typical English pub quiz team in action.
Hopefully though Lisa will do a guest post on Pen and Paper and tell you of some of her thoughts and experiences - I hope so.
*Grief, I have just discovered that Pastie has quite a different meaning in certain parts of the world, I'm so glad I included a link to the English meaning or people may well have wondered just what we were doing. (See Wikapedia's entry for Pastie to compare.)
18 comments:
Seems like you all are having a good time.
Love Pasties, OMG, only thing I eat when I am there!! I have yet to find them here as good as yours.
Sounds like you've been having a great time with Lisa - I'll be looking forward to her guest post.
And it seems to me, from reading your blog, there is NO WAY you could lead a boring life. . . :-)
vallah..good to hear u have a guest...plz say "Guten Tag" to Lisa on my behalf..Also "Danke" to u for sharing this news..eager to read Lisa's post and views..aufviedersehn...
Sounds like you're having a lovely time with Lisa :)
I look forward to the guest post!
xo
Giving her insights into a foreign culture in the way that you are is marvellous for her. This world needs more understanding and respect for different cultures. You ought to feel very proud of yourselves for your contribution toward international understanding.
All the best, Boonsong
She sounds a lovely girl, and you two are lovely to have her visit.
Re pasties; They are not only different in the US, they are pronounced with a 'long a' as in 'wait', because they used to have paste on the underside so that they will adhere to the place you stick them! Now, I suppose they are made like bandaids, so it's adhesive, not paste. But "Adhesivies" doesn't have that certain ring!
Lisa comes across as a lovely girl... And with wonderful hosts to keep company...i am sure she will have a tough time to say 'good bye'(how do you say that in German?) at the end of her visit!
Will look forward to reading her guest post...
Loved this post! It sounds like you are having a great time with your guest (I wanna come visit, too!!).
I hope she will step in with a guest post!
Although I've spent a fair amount of time in England, I'm not sure I ever had a pastie (and I'm still smiling at Susan's comparison to "our" pasties!). They sound much like a Natchitoches Meat Pie. (which is delicious!)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natchitoches_meat_pie
Wow! Sounds like fun. :)
Its great that you guys are doing that.
Haha! I remember when I was a kid and heard the word "pasties" on television and asked my dad what it meant. I'm sure he was blushing, but he actually did a good job of giving me an adequate definition. :)
Oh, are Cornish pasties the same as English Pasties? Do they taste the same?
Sounds like Lisa is having a quite a busy time!!! Sounds anything but boring and middle-aged (especially seeing Bella and Edward and Jacob ... HAHA.)
And yes ... pasties mean quite a different thing to me!
PW
Felt happy to read about Lisa's visit. It reminded me of of Ms. Hae Rang's - a Korean student's visit to my house and how she adapted well. I still remember she hugged and cried when she left. I miss her a lot.
Would like to know more about dear Lisa.
That's wonderful. You all must be having a wonderful time together. :) And also that's so fun that she now had the chance to hear the real voices of the actors/actresses. That's so funny that they don't subtitle as they do here in Holland, but just do a voice over.
Sounds like you guys are having quite an adventure. I doubt she'll find it boring in the least....everything is a new experience. Loving the fact that her first "picture" was Eclipse.
LOL on the word meaning bit. Yes, I read that and thought...okay, remember this is an English friends blog, it doesn't necessarily mean the same thing. ^_^ (Thanks for the link!)
Have fun and keep us posted.
Pasties also mean something else to me. (Vegas show girls come to mind).
I remember once upon a time ago when I was living with a host family. Best year of my life. I enjoyed both families.
Seems like she is a good girl and you are enjoying having some one new around :)
Geocaching is in the UK. There is a hand full of hidden treasures in London. Lots of people from the UK come here as well.
Until next time.
Twisted
I do hope that Lisa will write a guest post -- would love to read what she thinks of your part of the world!
I remember in high school, being friends with a German foreign exchange student (at that time, there were two Germanys; he was from West Germany). He was so polite and nice.
Well it sounds like you are keeping her very busy, and good for you hosting a 14 year old, not an easy thing to do I'm sure. I look forward to reading her post.
You made me grin about the word pastie. :D
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