OK, so I'm still trying to keep up with Lithuanian. It really does feel like an uphill struggle sometimes. I wrote this text after completing the first four chapters of my textbook and reading a text on Lithuanian money. I wrote it all myself and got Tomas to check it. There were some stupid case ending mistakes. He also corrected some stylistic problems. But I do not want to post texts that have mistakes and I want to post something worth reading at the same time. I feel bad sometimes for taking pointers from Tomas, but a. if I don't then I won't be able to write good Lithuanian and understand why it's good and b. as long as I understand why it's wrong, then I don't see a problem with him checking over it and me correcting it.
So here's the text. Feel free to comment on it.
Apie Angliją – Anglijos pinigai
Jūs žinote, kaip vadinasi pinigai Anglijoje. Smulkios monetos – tai pensai (išskyrus vieno ir dviejų svarų), o popieriniai banknotai – svarai. Bet ar žinote, kieno portretai yra ant popierinių pinigų? Matome garsius Jungtinės Karalystės žmones.
Penki svarai: vienoje pusėje Elžbietos Fri, žymios kalėjimų sistemos reformatorės, visuomenės reformatorės, filantropės portretas. Kitoje (kaip ant visų pinigų) Jungtinės Karalystės karalienės Elžbietos II portretas.
Dešimt svarų: Čarlzas Darvinas, anglų gamtininkas, kuris parašė knygą „Rūšių Klimė“ apie evoliuciją ir natūralią atranką. Šioje pusėje taip pat kolibrio atvaizdas.
Dvidešimt svarų: škotų ekonomisto ir moralės filosofo Adamo Smito portretas.
Penkiasdešimt svarų: nesu mačiusi penkiasdešimties svarų banknoto....bet pagal Vikipediją ant jo yra Jonas Houblonas, pirmasis Anglijos banko valdytojas.
Created: 2008-01-30 20:55,
Tags: languages,
learning,
Lithuanian,
Comments: 5
I think the picture is pretty self explanatory. Take a picture, stick it in your computer, probably lose the camera down the back of the sofa...It's not out to buy yet (and not even in production) according to this site.
Created: 2008-01-28 18:53,
Tags: design,
stuff,
technology,
Comments: 0
I can't believe it! HEL LOOKS is exhibiting in Vilnius from 25th January until 20th February. Asta (my Lithuanian friend/penpal) and I were discussing how cool this would be in August last year. She said she wanted to persuade the creators of HEL LOOKS to come over to Vilnius and exhibit their photos. I really want to know if they came of their own accord or whether she had a hand in it. Well, either way, I'm pleased because she will be happy. I'm a little bit disappointed though because I won't get to see it. The next surprise I'm waiting for is for Asta to start her VIL LOOKS :)
Also some other great news: Alina Orlova has released her first album. Go here for a sample. I can't really tell you anything more about her music. My words won't be able to describe her talent well enough.
I'm still fighting my one woman battle against the Lithuanian language. Taking it one step at a time. Came across a Lithuanian scientific, literary and cultural journal called Lituanus and this article about participles. Scary!! If you want to find out about Lithuania in more detail then they have a comprehensive back catalogue of articles covering all sorts of weird and wonderful topics.
Created: 2008-01-28 17:53,
Tags: art,
fashion,
Lithuania,
Lithuanian,
music,
Vilnius,
Comments: 0
I've been learning Lithuanian seriously for one week now. I really wanted to make some progress instead of just being able to say "labas". So here's a letter I wrote (replying to an example letter in my textbook). It's all my own work and I'm really pleased with what I've achieved:
Sveikas, Tomai.
Ačiū tau už laišką. Labai malonu su tavimi susipažinti. Aš esu studentė filologė universitete. Aš kalbu angliškai. Dar rusiškai ir vokiškai. Aš noriu labai kalbėti lietuviškai. Mano šeima yra maža: aš, sesė, mama ir tėtis. Mes gyvename Blakburne. Tai nedidelis miestas šiaurėje Anglijos. Čia gyvena taip pat daug lietuvių...
Mano sesė visai aukšta ir gera. Jos vardas Nina. Šiuo metu ji mokinė, o ateityje nori studijuoti Medicinos akademijoje. Mano mama yra mokytoja. Ji labai linksma ir dosni. Mano tėtis niekur nedirba: jis pensininkas. Tačiau jis buvo direktorius. Mano tėtis kartais irzlus...Jis mėgsta skaityti knygas. Aš galvoju, kad mes paprastai gyvename įdomiai ir linksmai.
O kaip tu gyveni?
Parašyk. Laukiu tavo laiško. Lik sveikas.
Anna
Created: 2008-01-19 19:45,
Tags: languages,
learning,
Lithuanian,
Comments: 2
I came across this list of 100 ideas to brighten up your day. I spend 7 and a half hours typing data into a computer...I need all the help I can get. Plus, my idea for making my life more interesting is to learn Lithuanian! It's hard to feel like I'm achieving anything quickly here. This week on the way to work (one hour bus journey) I learnt the first two lessons in po truputį, including conjugating some verbs, declension of nouns in the genitive and locative, asking questions, introducing myself, countries and nationalities, about 30 adjectives and professions. A quick question for all you Lithuanians out there. You know the adjective juokingas (it means funny as in haha funny)? Well, is it from the English word joke or joking? Have you ever thought about this connection?
Well, the ideas from the link are a lot more attainable than learning a whole language. Let's have a go:
Idea number 37. List all the places you've ever lived. OK, this one is easy: Blackburn, Cologne, Oxford, Yaroslavl.
Idea number 39. Write about your relationship with your washing machine. ??? Well, firstly it's not my washing machine, but I think we have a healthy relationship. No socks go missing, no clothes shrink and it's automatic (unlike the ones in the public laundry in Yaroslavl!)
Idea number 58. List you ten most important things (not including animals or people). This is just from the top of my head and after just taking a quick glance around my room. I hope this doesn't mean practical things like shoes or anything. Photographs and letters, German dictionary, Russian dictionary, Russian vocabulary notes, my computer, passport, paper, pens, my necklace. So the list isn't too sentimental. But that Russian dictionary is a second hand bookshop find and I haven't seen it in any other shops.
Just one last link to finish off the post. It's 3 o'clock in the morning in a Yaroslavl suburb. You've drunk 5 litres of beer and the thirst is kicking in. But you remember you can't drink tap water and boiled water tastes like crap. What do you do? Go to a kiosk staffed by a lonely old woman. Knock on the little glass window and get served some refreshing mineral water. Oh and a packet a crisps. Oh and just one more beer. Oh yeah and a mars bar...In celebration of the wonderment of kiosks (a rarity here in Britain) is the website Kioskierung. Scroll down for a link to the English version.
Created: 2008-01-17 18:26,
Tags: blogs,
creativeness,
ideas,
kiosks,
links,
Yaroslavl,
Comments: 0
I found this Soviet New Year card after January 1st, but I thought, hey, I can post it on the Russian Orthodox New Year. That is today, by the way! Yes, it probably is a bit wrong as religion was more or less banned during Soviet times, but let's not get too deep here, I just like Santa riding a rocket. Not as environmentally friendly as reindeer, granted, but now we know how all the Soviet children got their presents in just one night... :)
I got such a surprise when I got home from a dull day at work. A lovely (and heavy!) parcel from my Lithuanian friend. So thanks :) She gave me some encouragement to get on with learning Lithuanian along with some reading material, namely the very interesting (at least the graphics hehe) pravda magazine.
Created: 2008-01-14 21:01,
Tags: life,
Lithuanian,
post,
Russian,
Comments: 0
OK, I've been experimenting around a bit with noodles and that kinda teriyaki flavour and tonight I think I hit the jackpot. The recipe is so simple and quick. The only real stumbling block is the ingredients. They are all available from the supermarket, but it's annoying having to buy whole bottles just for a small amount. But hopefully you'll like it and make it again and again!
Ingredients:
noodles (ordinary stir fry ones are fine. Soba noodles if you can be bothered)
some spring onions
some sesame seeds (toasted until golden brown in a dry pan)
1,5 teaspoons rice vinegar
2,5 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons honey
4-5 teaspoons soy sauce
any vegetables you want to add, perhaps prawns or something
Combine rice vinegar, sesame oil, honey and soy sauce in a bowl. Boil noodles. If you want cold noodles (very nice) then just run them under cold water after boiling. Combine the sauce and the noodles. Mix in sesame seeds and the some chopped up spring onion. You can also mix in some lightly fried peppers or mushrooms or whatever you like. See how simple it is?
Created: 2008-01-10 19:32,
Tags: food,
japan,
recipe,
Comments: 0
Just found this English to Lithuanian online translator via the Baltic times. It seems to be the first of its kind due to the fact that Lithuanian is a relatively small language (but an official EU language). I'm not sure how much work there is left to do on it, but it seems to have problems with basic sentences, for example:
English: you can see how good my Lithuanian is.
Translator: jūs galite pamatyti, kaip geras mano lietuvių kalba.
Real Lithuanian: jūs galite pamatyti, kokia gera mano lietuvių kalba.
I also hope they can make a Lithuanian to English version too. It will be much more useful from my point of view as the language is still more or less incomprehensible.
Created: 2008-01-09 20:16,
Tags: language,
lithuanian,
translation,
Comments: 3
Another wonderful creation from Art Lebedev. And look how cheap it is!
PS. Danger! Sticky tape! is what is actually printed on the tape.
Created: 2008-01-08 18:22,
Tags: design,
Russia,
tape,
Comments: 0
This
post is about a question that often used to come up whilst eating
poppy seed filled pastries in Yaroslavl. Can poppy seed cakes really
make you high? Whilst browsing through Neon one month (can't remember which one because I
ripped the article out and threw the rest of the magazine away) I
came across the answer:
"Macht Mohnkuchen high?
Coffeeshop? Eigene Geheimplantage? Dunkle Geschäfte nachts im Park? Alles
gar nicht nötig: Jeder Bäcker und Supermarkt hat legal ein
paar Drogen im Sortiment. Immerhin wird aus Mohn auch Opium gewonnen.
Ob man von Mohnkuchen aber tätsachlich high werden kann, hängt
vom Morphingehalt der Samen ab. Im Mohnbrötchen ist dieser
Gehalt nicht der Rede wert, im Kuchen unterscheidet er sich je nach
Anbaugebiet, Erntetechnik und Backverfahren. Kurzum, man weiss es
vorher nie: Meistens kann man ein halbes Blech herunterschlingen und
spürt doch nichts als grosse Uebelkeit. Aber in seltenen Fällen
kann es auch vorkommen, dass schon ein einziges Stück der
Tagesdosis eines Schmerzpatienten entspricht, einem noch Tage später
einen positiven Drogentest beschert – und ebenfalls Übelkeit.
Ausserdem: Atemnot, Benommenheit, Eurphorie, Müdigkeit,
Erbrechen. Für Babys kann Mohn sogar lebensgefährlich
werden....”
My translation:
Coffeeshop? Your own secret plantation? Shady dealings in the park at night? No need for any of that: every baker and supermarket has a few
legal drugs in stock. After all opium is extracted from poppy seeds.
But whether you can actually get high from poppy seed cakes depends
on the morphine content of the seeds. The content in bread rolls
sprinkled with poppy seeds is minimal, but in cakes it can differ
depending on where the poppies were grown, the harvesting technique
and the baking method. In short, you can never tell before you eat
it. Most of the time you can scoff down a whole plate full and feel
nothing but nausea. However, in rare cases one single piece of cake
can contain the equivalent of day's dose of morphine for a chronic
pain sufferer and days after you could test positive in a drug's
test. And on top of this: sickness. In addition: breathing
difficulties, dizziness, euphoria, tiredness, vomiting. Poppy seeds
can even be deadly for babies...
So there's your answer!
Created: 2008-01-07 15:32,
Tags: food,
German,
Russia,
Comments: 2
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