The resources that I am using to learn Esperanto. By Paul Howlett

The resources that I am using to learn Esperanto. 

By Paul Howlett

1.     Duolingo website.  (Good introduction to the language.)

2.     I joined a local Esperanto group.

3.     Basic text book “The Esperanto Teacher” by Mason Stuttard. (Published by the       Australian Esperanto Association).

4.     Using John C Wells - English / Esperanto / English Dictionary.

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I have two books that I have purchased that I refer to from time to time.

1.     Step by Step in Esperanto by Montagu C Butler (an old text book but covers all you need to know to learn Esperanto.)

2.     Esperanto by David Richardson (A more modern text book, but still “old”, but has a good introduction and a history of Esperanto with some language “drills” and exercises in the second half of the book.

3.     Last but not least there is a never ending supply of material on the Internet. Youtube websites, Lernu, too many to list.

4.     Special mention to Evildea’s website which is fun, current and well worth a look!

To be continued….

VOODOO EYES by Paul Howlett

Voodoo Eyes  by Paul Howlett

She had some beautiful features for a strange girl, and she had the all curves and bumps that made me, a poor boy from the south side of town totally smitten.

I worshipped her from afar and she had no idea that I was totally enamoured by her looks, the way she walked and the sound of her voice. Her image filled my dreams, as I slept fitfully through the long hot summer nights.

I met her by accident at the local sports stadium, as I was practicing to run in the next interstate athletics carnival. She was one of the attendants that took the registrations details from me for the next competition. She took down all my details, age, name, address and phone numbers, but I was to star stuck to give more than my basic details.  

I was in love. I felt like I was in mortal agony!

One look into her face, and I was gone.

 She had voodoo eyes.

Her eyes were deep brown, and I seemed to lose my soul in them. She had a wonderful smile. Her smile was the same for all the young men who registered that day, and the talk amongst the guys was like…where the F*** did this angel or devil come from? 

Some fights broke out behind the change room building, and I suspect that it was over who was going to ask this angel out to the local dance, that was to be held later in the month.

Sometime later I had to guts to act!

I stuttered, I stumbled over my words when I phoned her and asked her if she would come to the dance with me.  

She replied that she would love to go out with me.

Years later after we were married, she told me that one of the reasons that she agreed to go to that first dance, was that my eyes made her feel like I had some magic. 

Maybe it was me that had the voodoo eyes?

Roman Orange

Roman Orange                   by Paul Howlett

When I was driving down in the south of France, I decided to have a look at the Roman amphitheatre in Orange.  I turned my car left, at the outer suburbs of Marseilles and headed on up the road - north.

I was very interested in the fact that the Roman theatre is still in use to this day.

I was a little disappointed to see a modern ticket office stuck rather incongruently in the middle of the Roman temple area.

I did see, after entering the Roman Amphitheatre that it was being used for a scheduled rock concert that night by the English band The Cure!  There were people on the stage conduction sound checks with all modern equipment that looked strangely out of place to me, in a 2000 year old building.

Here, I see a statue on the back wall of the stage, which is probably 1800 – 2000 years old and on the right is a modern bank of stage lights and equipment.   I am sure the local French young people in Orange would not think this was strange, but to an Australian this just looks weird.  (GRIN).

Australians are just not used to seeing buildings that would normally be in a museum still being used for their original purpose!

On reflection, I think it is great that the Romans built a stage and building that is still in use for its original purpose!

The Free Air Station

The Free Air Station by Paul Howlett

I was driving my little red Citroen along the French motorway when I saw a “free air” station and decided it was time that I checked the tyre pressures in my car.

I was a little surprised that I had not encounter such an air station before so I took a photo, just for the record.

I commenced to inflate or check my tyres on one side of the car, and when I proceeded to try and get the air hose across to the other side, I found that the hose was too short.  So I started pulling on the hose but it refused to give me any more length. I thought that the hose was stuck.

Then the car behind me, waiting to use the air station honked his horn, and a Frenchman started yelling at me!  Then I realised that I had not looked on the other side of my car. The air hoses are designed to use on each side of the car.  So I stopped yanking on the hose, walked across to the other side of the car and used the hose on that side of the car.  I was embarrassed and I guess the two Frenchmen in the car behind me thought I was another dumb tourist. 

All French rent-a-cars have special number plates (coloured deep red), that tell everybody that you are a tourist driving the car.  This is actually a good thing as I found that French drivers would give you some more space on the roads.  

The way the French drove in 1991 you needed all the space on the road that you could get!!

Travels in Brittany May 1991

Travels in Brittany, France May 1991  by Paul Howlett

I was very interest in looking at the “standing stones” in Brittany.

So after I drove up to the parking area in my little red Citroen, I commenced to walk around these strange rows of upright large stones and rocks.

I had a good walk up and down some of the rows and just wondered what the folk were doing some 2000 years or so ago!

The megalithes are the upstanding stones and the stones with a “roof” on top are called Morbihans.

Somewhere in the middle of Brittany I came across a Menhir, a different kind of standing stone.

I think these stones have a different shape and are big and solitary.

Finally to took a picture of some farmers (again somewhere in the middle of Brittany, mowing grass for the winter cattle feed).

I know farmers mow grass in Australia, but I guess I do not see them mow in such lush “green grass” circumstances.