--- Alina Karieva wrote:
> Hi there!
>
> b> --- Alina Karieva wrote:
> >> HELLO BIG MAC! HELLO EVERYBODY!
> >> TODAY I'M WRITING WITH BIG LETTERS. :))
>
> b> Hello Alina. Today I'm writing with a keyboard! ;-)
> And with fingers :P

LOL - OK you win this one!

> b> Sorry for the delay. I can't always get online.
> It's OK, me too...

Me three! ;-)

<snip>

> b> Don't worry too much if someone else you know has better English
than
> b> you do. Life is not a competition. We should all try to be the
best
> b> person that we can be rather than try to be better than our
friends.
> b> If you ever meet someone who shows off because they have better
> b> English than you, then they are probably a bit immature.
> Good said! I never take serious showing off persons.
> Never will behave in an affected manner that man who knows his
own.

I don't usually take people that show off seriously. Although, you
can learn things from them sometimes.

I love that advice. I'd probably have said: "A man how knows himself
will never behave in an affected manner." The way you said it made it
sound a bit like it was a quote from Yoda from the Star Wars films,
so I think the original is cool even if it isn't correct. :-)

<snip>

> b> I think we have similar behaviour on this subject. Lets find
some
> b> other things to talk about to see if we have any interesting
> b> differences!
> Let's! For example,have you Women's Day in UK?
> It's Holiday in our Country on March 8
> and we have 3 days-off. It's cool!

We don't get that. I did see on Google that today is International
Women's Day. What we did have yesterday (Sunday) was Mother's Day or
Mothering Sunday. That is a holiday that you get on your day off!
Bah!!

Mother's Day is the day when you say thanks to you Mum.

> b> I do that a *lot*. I post a reply to one message and then read
> b> something in the next one that makes my reply look wrong.
> I hate myself in these moments!
> I's so easy - just look through the message once more,
> but we're always are hurrying... :(

I've looked through things several times and still made mistakes.
I've even published things on my website and left mistakes there for
over a year before I've noticed them!

> >> >> > I tucked into a lovely pair of jacket potatoes that were
> >> b> accompanied by a selection of vegatables, some veggie fingers
and
> b> something mysterious that was the shape of a sausage roll.
> >> >> Not so bad.
> >>
> >> b> You should try a roast dinner sometime. Mmmmm!
> >> NOTED, WILL TRY.
>
> b> So what is your favorite dinner?
> I have a lot of favorite dishes, especially meat.
> Do you know kabob/shashlik? This is meat prepared on the spit.
> Add some large onion, sprinkle a little vinegar...
> That's all! You have wonderful dinner!

We call a kabob a kebab! And I think the shashlik is a shish kebab
(I'm not sure of the spelling of shish - BTW). We have a lot of kebab
shops in London, and people joke that when you get drunk you want to
go and buy a kebab.

> Sandey, read carefully! You were soooooo hungry! LOL

"Look into my (potato?) eyes. You are feeling hungry. You will go and
eat a kebab!..."

LOL

...damn! I'm getting hungry now!

> >> b> <snip>
> >> >> > if you talk to us.
> >> BUT I THINK THAT WE'RE BOTH IN THIS GROUP - YOU AND ME,
> >> I HAVEN'T ANY CORRESPONDENCE FROM OTHER MEMBERS.
>
> b> Do you mean "But I think that we're the only people in this
group?"
> I know. Sometimes I myself prefer just to read what chat other
> people, without my log in...

That is called "lurking". It is a new Internet use for the word.
Lurking means hanging around a place, but on the Internet it means
reading a chatroom or bulletin board without every writing. A person
that "lurks" gets called a "lurker".

I've even seen a new word from lurk: "delurk". This isn't a proper
word in the real world, but on the Internet it means: "I've just
stopped lurking and have joined in."

> b> There are other people here, but sometimes we get quite or
sometimes
> b> we are busy doing other things and forget to log in.
>
> b> We originally started off writing in a newspaper and our
community
> b> changed between 6 messages a week and over 200 messages a week.
At
> b> one point there were over 50 of us!
> Great!

I'm hoping to get more people back again at some point.

> b> Hopefully more people will come back when they see that we have
a new
> b> person to play with! ;-)
> Let's try. "a new person" is me. Right? ;)

You got it in one! You are the new person. (Or "newbie" in Internet
slang.)

> >> b> Look up "Cockney Ryming Slang" in a search engine. This was
used
> b> by
> >> b> poor people that didn't want rich people to understand them.
> >> WILL LOOK...
> b> Did you look yet, my old china?
> Not yet... What is "my old china"?

"China" = "china plate" - "plate" rymes with "mate" (mate means
friend)

> b> If you did you will understand what I just said!!!
> No doubt, I hadn't enough free time for it.

Nobody really uses Cockney Ryming Slang any more. (Sandey said Celtic
was her native language. I could say Cockney is mine as I was born in
Kennington which is fairly near Bow - You have to be born near Bow to
be a Cockney.)

> b> Spanish is quite easy to learn...and unfortunately quite easy to
> b> forget!!!
> Quite right! I have such experience already!

I need to get an elephant to help me remember.

> b> I keep relearning the same things!
> This is not for only Spanish. Foreign languages need to used.
> Just interrupt using - enough! You will relearning the same!

("This is not only for Spanish. Foreign languages need to be used.
Just interrupt using them enough and you will be relearning the same
things!" Sounds better.)

I got really bored with learning the same thing, but then I found a
singing Spanish tape. I used to sing along with it in the bathroom (I
kept the tape player outside to avoid being electricuted). I've worn
the tape out now, so I can't listen any more. :-(

> b> If you ever get to watch a news clip of the Hindenberg disaster
you
> b> hear the man reporting it using the word with its original
meaning.
> b> He says: "This is really terrific." and when they show it on the
TV
> b> now, they have to explain what "terrific" used to mean so that
people
> b> don't get the wrong idea. If they didn't explain it people would
> b> think he was saying that it was good that the Hindenberg was
crashing!
> :)) Yes, this is play on words...

No, it isn't a play on words. It is a change in the English language.
When the man said "this is terrific" it meant "this is really
terrible" but over the decades people have misused "terrific" and
now "this is terrific" means "this is really great".

A "play on words" is sort of like a joke that you can do when you
delebrately pretend that something means something else. (When you
said "me too" I pretended you said "me two" and said "me three").
When you do a play on words you know what you are doing, but today
people that say "terrific" often don't know the original meaning.

> b> I just have to be careful to not get kidnapped. There are people
in
> b> South America (mostly in Colombia) that do that sort of thing.
> Morning news: Big Mac got kidnapped. Oh, no, it's awful, I can't
> believe, I will pray to God for you.
> Oh my God, I'm carried away.... :)))

No I'm the one that got carried away...by your kidnappers!

;-)

> b> And TV documentaries are great when you don't have enough time
or
> b> money to travel. They also let you avoid airport delays, loosing
your
> b> luggage and other problems! :-)
> It's the best way for travelling pensioners, not for youth. :)

How do the youth travel? Hitch-hiking? LOL

> b> How is your relationship with the rest of what was the USSR? Are
you
> b> part of the CIS? Are you still in the Warsaw Pact? Do have any
other
> b> special organisations?
> Uzbekistan is the part of CIS and our relationship with the
others
> members are mutual and friendly.
> Regarding Warshaw Pact - I'm not sure. Regarding other special
> organisations - a lot of.

I think it is funny that in Europe we are making the EU and might
turn into one country, but over there you have made the CIS and got
your countries back. (I prefer that, because I don't want to be part
of a United States of Europe.)

So what other organisations do you have? Tell me the ones that you
find interesting. But can you also tell me if the CIS has some sort
of space organisation? Who sends up the cosmonaughts now? LOL

> b> Wow! I remember reading that there were some arguments about
flags at
> b> this time. It was either in the new countries made from the USSR
or
> b> some of the new countries that appeared in Eastern Europe at the
same
> b> time. Did you have any disagreements over your new flag?
> No. We have our own Flag now, our Hymn...
> We're independent Country!
> I don't know about some disagreements over our Flag...

Was it the same flag that you had before you were in the USSR then?
People wouldn't argue if they already had a flag they could agree on.

> b> We are like that. There isn't really a typical British person,
> b> because we have been invaded a lot. In Scotland some people have
red
> b> hair (from the Vikings) and in England some people have blond
hair
> b> (from Northen Europe) and other people have brown hair (from the
> b> Normans). In fact a lot of Scotish, Welsh and Irish people
*still*
> b> think English people are foreign people (despite the fact that
they
> b> have been here for over 1000 years and are partially Celtic).
> The same thing in the CIS with different nations.

I think it is going to go that way everywhere eventually. We will all
be related eventually.

> b> What other countries do you get your TV from?
> I myself haven't any other countries from TV, but for a while.
> But we have a lot of channels in English.
> Not so many people can get foreign TV. First of all - language
> barrier. And they don't need it.
> Beside that we have translated movies, TV Shows etc.
> on Russian. I like to watch BBC News, but I can't have it at
home,
> so watching occasionally.
> About 60% films are American, we're watching them translated.

Our TV makes a point of showing some foreign films. Usually we put
subtitles on them, but they do also translate things. I've seen a few
British things translated into other languages and it really makes me
laugh when I hear the different voices they pick for characters I
know in English.

One good thing about the BBC is that it gets its money from the
government and can do "public service broadcasting". This means they
show programs that are good for people rather than programs that are
cheap to make or programs that are very popular. If you like
something strange or special, you can sometimes see a program about
it on the BBC. Channel 4 (a commercial channel) tries to be better at
doing this than the BBC, but they have to make a profit.

> b> I don't know enough about you to know what to ask. Why not tell
me
> b> how the break up of the USSR changed Uzbekistan.
> Oh, it's difficult theme.
> I don't want to discuss it in mail...
> Guess you understand me.

Sorry, I wasn't asking you to tell me about bad things or complain
about any body.

I am only really interested every day things. Something like: "they
had to change all the electricity or paint all the trains or build a
big border crossing in the middle of a main road or all the TV
stations were changed. I've never seen a country get born before, so
I don't know what it feels like to be in one.

However, if you don't want to talk about this, then it is ok with me.
I only want to talk about what you are happy with.

> b> Did people want it before it happened? Did people worry that
there
> b> would be a war? Or was it just a big suprise that nobody knew
about
> b> until it happend?
> It was surprise... See above comments.

Noted.

> b> Has your independece made you change all of your money, signs,
army
> b> and police uniforms and other things?
> Everything!

I bet collectors kept some of the old things. They will probably sell
them for a lot of money in about 10 years.

> b> Does it feel as if your country has changed now?
> Of course. A lot of things became better.

I'm glad to hear that.

> b> Here are some facts about Big Ben. Big Ben is actually the name
of
> b> the largest bell in the Westminister Clock Tower. You can hear
it,
> b> but you can't actually see it unless you have some friends
inside
> b> parliament. Big Ben has a crack in it and that makes it sound
> b> different to other clock bells.
> Why nobody repair it? Have you seen Big Ben yourself?

The crack happened when they forged it (made it). At the time I think
that Big Ben was the biggest bell that had ever been made. The crack
probably happened when it was cooling down. The could have melted it
down and remade it, but I think they like the sound. I've never heard
another bell that sounds similar to Big Ben. If you get the BBC world
service (radio) you will hear it every hour on the hour.

I've never been into the Houses of Parliament. The public can get
into some bits but the clock tower is off limits. It isn't designed
for tourists so I can't imagine being allowed in. We also have a
terrorist alert at the moment so they wouldn't let people in anyway.
(That is something *I* don't really want to talk about more.)

> b> It is nice to walk alongside The Thames, but make sure you bring
a
> b> coat because it can make the air cold sometimes. We have a
Thames
> b> walkway that goes from the source of the river to The Thames
Barrier.
> b> So you can walk along most of it.
> It's so romantic!

Romantic in some places, boring in industrial place, cold in most
places! LOL

I'll take you along some of it if you ever come to London.

> b> The stuff about rain is true, but the stuff about fog isn't. Our
> b> famous London fogs were actually caused by polution rather than
> b> weather. We have a special word for that now: smog. Smog is
smokey
> b> fog and can kill people with breathing problems.
> What do you do to reduce smog? Or it's impossible?

Smog has alredy been got rid of. The government banned coal buring in
London. We now have a special type of coal, called smokeless coal,
but most people don't use coal fires. A lot of the big factories
making pollution have now gone. (We import more stuff and make less
stuff than in the days of smog.)

We still have got some pollution, but today it is invisible pollution.

> b> Back in the days of Jack the Ripper East London used to get all
the
> b> chimney smoke from West London (becase the winds blow from west
to
> b> east). The East End of London also used to get the sewerage
water
> b> from the west, so it used to smell much worse than the West End.
That
> b> has all changed now.
> Oh-oh!

This is mostly good change. House prices in East London are going up
now.

> b> However, the East End of London originally was the place where
poor
> b> people lived, because the rich people all wanted to be in the
West
> b> End. The old buildings in these places are very different. The
> b> suburbs of London also have different characters. You can see
some
> b> very strange buildings in certain places.
> The same thing in our city. BTW, the Capital of Uzbekistan is
> Tashkent. I live in the capital, this is my native town.
> Tashkent has conditional two parts Old City and New City.
> There is very different buildings, big contrast - ancient
buildings
> in the old city, and modern European in the new city.

Was the New City ever different villages? The place where I live,
Southfields was originally a small farming area in Surrey where
watercress was grown. Then the London underground was built and the
area was built up.

> b> I think it is in Moscow. I don't remember the name of the park,
but
> b> it might be Gorky Park.
> I was in Moscow. You're right - Gorky Part.
> But I don't remember all shops, I was child then.
>
> b> So how are you getting along with the countries near you that
used to
> b> be on the other side of the Iron Curtain? Do people go on
holiday to
> b> places outside the former USSR much?
> Of course. All neighboring Countries.
>
> b> (That should be "I also" not "I'm also".) I think that if we all
make
> b> friends it is harder for our governments to demonise people when
they
> b> want an excuse to start a war.
> Why are you talking about war so often?
> I'm afraid to hear about war.
> But I'm sure that Government is too powerful thing...

Sorry. I'll talk about peace instead! ;-) I was just finishing off
the conversation. I guess it is now finished!

> b> I didn't know it was so easy to fly here. Visa's can be a
problem
> b> because everyone is scared that poor people will all want to
come and
> b> live here. They had a couple of TV documentaries that were
saying
> b> lots of Russian women were advertising on the Internet to get
married
> b> so that they could get into other countries. .
> I know. And because of these people it's very difficult to get
visa
> for UK, USA or Germany. Even you have an invitation or exam
> results, end even you have paid the tuition fee for enrollment,
> nothing can guarantee that you will get visa.
> A lot of people lied and stayed abroad illegally.
> Of course every Embassy workers will be scared to issue visa.

I think it is a shame that genuine people are punished because of bad
people. I think that torurism and movement of people is good for the
world as a whole.

> b> I think the money thing is a big problem waiting to happen. We
now
> b> have a situation where some houses in London are worth more than
a
> b> million pounds! A lot of people can not afford to buy a house.
The
> b> rise in prices has been spreading out to other parts of England
and
> b> is now making holiday homes in the European Community go up in
price
> b> as well. I think that at some point property speculators will
try to
> b> push up the prices in your country. Maybe in 5-15 years, but I
think
> b> it will get to you at some point.
> I've already noticed this tendency...

Wow!

> >> b> That should have been "I wish you a good day." and something
> >> b> like "And wish everybody who has read this correspondence all
> b> the
> >> b> best!!!" (I say something like, because you can sometimes say
> >> b> something several different ways in English. I tried to write
it
> b> as
> >> b> similar to your way as possible.)
> >> WOW!!!! EVEN AN ARTICLE!!!!
> b> :-)
> b> I think that is a complement, so thanks.
>
> It's not complement! I meant you're getting even to the article!
> :PPPPP!!!!!

You mean I'm finally getting to the point? LOL

> >> NOTED, KISS YOU!
> b> Kiss me, huh? With or without tongues?
> b> LOL
> No! Tongue for you is above! A lot of tongues! LOL LOL!

LOL I'll grab that tongue if it pokes out again! LOL

> b> I don't even know your capital city. Is Uzbekistan divided into
> b> smaller administrative areas? If so do these have capitals as
well?
> Capital is Tashkent. Uzbekistan is not separated into small
areas,
> and we have one capital.
> BTW, have you head about cities in Uzbekistan - Samarkand,
> Bukhara and Khiva? These are worldwide known touristic centers.
> Many tourists from all over the world are visiting these ancient
> uzbek cities every year.

Sorry, I've never heard of them. The Uzbekistan Tourist Board needs
to do a better job at promoting them. What do people look at in your
ancient cities?

> b> The UK is the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northen
Ireland".
> b> Great Britain is England, Scotland and Wales. England, Scotland,
> b> Wales and Northen Ireland are countries. However, sometimes
people
> b> call the UK or Great Britain a country. All of the four
countries are
> b> divided into several counties. A county has an administrative
> b> capital. London is a bit of an exception to the county system as
it
> b> is acutally built on the land from several counties.
>
> b> So how is your country put together?
>
> b> I can call myself English (although technically I am not
English),
> b> British or a Londoner. How many things can someone from where
you
> b> live call themselves?
> You mean nation? My nation is Uzbek, although I'm metis.
> My Dad is Uzbek and Mum is Russian.
> I call myself Uzbek. But if you look at me you will never call my
> uzbek girl. LOL.

I meant national as well as local identity. But if your country
doesn't have counties or departments you must all be Uzbeks.

> >> b> By the way, what does the name Alina mean?
> >> I'M ASHAMED BUT I DON'T KNOW. I COULDN'T FIND MY NAME IN
GUIDES...
> >> I MYSELF WANT TO KNOW.
>
> b> The Internet is a wonderful place. I've seen that you already
have an
> b> answer.
> Yes, maybe.
>
> b> Yours capitallessly,
> b> Big Mac
> Kiss you,
> Alina
> LOL

Kiss you back,
Yours tonguelessly,
Big Mac