Ramble from Joan

Joan is here again, enjoy!

Waste

I took that silly test on Facebook -- What's Your City (or some such) -- and it seems that I would be happiest in San Francisco.

Hmm. I'm European (not proud of it, I just am), and that got me to think.

When someone from, say, New York decides to travel around her country, she is fairly certain that she will understand people (and be understood) wherever she goes. Not in a deeper sense, just language. In Europe, as in European Union, that is far from true. If I set out westward from where I live, I come to the Netherlands, where I would assume everyone had a throat condition if I didn't know better (sorry, neighbours :-) . South of that, I'd pass Belgium, a three-language state, then France, then Spain. And what I'd encounter there first would not be Spanish, but Catalan. Moving eastwards, around Switzerland (another three-language state), I'd move into Italy. For all I know, the inhabitants of North Italy are able to, but with difficulty, converse with those living in the southern parts. Moving a little eastwards, and then north again, I'd come through countries that have no communication problems at all -- they just don't speak to each other after the civil(?) wars they had not too long ago, which resulted in forming some of the states in the first place.

This little tour has not even touched on the United Kingdom or Scandinavia. Obviously, at least from a linguistic point of view, Europe has a wealth of variety, and, looking beyond linguistics, a wealth of potential to enrich everyone living here, too.

Poor America, or, more properly, USA? (No, don't worry, the rhetorical question is only there for dramatic effect ;-)

There's been a tunnel built between England and "The Continent", and it's been reported that, when the two boreholes joined, an English engineer poked his face at the new opening and said, "Eww, a smell of garlic!" That may be true or not, but it is typical of how Europeans deal with the richness that lies at their fingertips.

Poor Europe, without a question mark.

From what I read, someone from Alabama might find it hard to live in San Francisco, and vice versa. For myself, I wonder if that silly test might not actually have produced a valid result, if only for me.

But then, the "happy place" may have more to do with being where the people you love are. I said that the test was silly, didn't I? :-)

Joan

Hey, Joan, thanks for the ramble. Always interesting when you stop by! Off to updates, enjoy!

Elisa

BtVS

• Chapter 20 of All Too Human by invalid reality (BuffynFaith.Net).
  
  
• Chapter 7 of This Is How It Goes by NoSuchAnimal (BuffynFaith.Net).
  
  
• Chapter 3 of I Might Die! by kaykay13 (BuffynFaith.Net).
  
  
• Champagne by Sapphire Smoke (BuffynFaith.Net).
  
  Original
  
• Chapter 9.03 of Flowers of Edo by Nene Adams (her web site).
  
  Sanctuary
  
• Expanding Horizons by O'Malley and docwho2100 (JS Odds & Ends).
  
  X-Files
  
• Part 1 of Dana's Malakim by Dhamphir (Saffic).