English speaking room

Солнцецвет писал(а):

May I join?

Why not, darling! It's a pleasure to see new people coming to our chatting room. Join us and tell a few words about yourself: your occupation, interests, etc. We are ready to answer your questions if you care. Welcome!

Thank you!
As you can see on my picture, I am 22 and I live in Kazakhstan. In 2008 I have graduated our local university and work as a sporting analyst. I like learning languages, I can speak English fluently enough, German a bit worse, Kazakh is a trial, but I can manage. My last passion is Latin, but here I'm just a beginner, "can read and write with dictionary")) I desperately nee a Latin tutor, but alas, my city cannot grant me this opportunity.
I like reading, Internet surfing and cooking (of course!)/ That's it.

Hope this year will bring happiness and comfort in our families and souls))
Girls, how did you celebrate this feast?

Солнцецвет
Thanks a lot! you are a very interesting person and seem to be energetic and like everything challenging! By the way, do you read English books in the original? It's the best way to keep fit, I mean the language. I studied Latin at the univesity too, but it was ages ago! Though I remember my teacher so vividly as if it was yeasterday. She was a great woman - charming, well-read, well-bred and seemed to know everything dealing with the language and antique literature.

Солнцецвет писал(а):

how did you celebrate this feast

I saw the New Year in at home with my husband and my daughter's family. We used to travell somewhere, but this time our daughter came to us from Yekaterinsburg and we stayed at home and enjoyed their company as well as they enjoyed ours. A lot of delicious food, presents and what's more important a rare opportunity to be together.

It's a great pleasure to read such delightful words about myself, but I own it is not true )) Usually I'm quite lazy and it is difficult to move me from my cozy chair. But nevertheless, thank you!

Oh, I do enjoy reading, and I have read great many books in English, less in German. Now I make my way through the fables of Aesop in Latin. It is not too easy and I have a lot of amazing discoveries which compelled me to love Latin. One never knows simple Russian or English words derived from Latin. It is miracle to trace the roots of words and phrazes. Some of them are really astonishing, i.e confectus in Latin isn't connected with sweets - it means depressed, despondent. It took me 5 minutes to understand the word gubernator in the story about navy and sailing. Imagine my amazement - it means skipper!
But forgive me my circumlocution, it's hard to stop prosing!

NatalyS

I envy you in some aspects - my family circle is not large)) It is wonderful to have the family together, and that's a pity such close relatives are able to meet not so often as they want!
Suppose the food's recipes came from here?

I am eager to ask some personal questions... How did you learn to speak English? Maybe you have great travelling experience abroad?

Солнцецвет писал(а):

I am eager to ask some personal questions... How did you learn to speak English? Maybe you have great travelling experience abroad

I'm ready to answer your questions, pet Fitst of all, while cooking for some special occasion like New Year I try to consider all my dearest and nearests' tastes and cook the food they like. So all the dishes appear to be mine, time tested In this case I never experiment with cooking not to fail and disappoint my family. So if you skim my recipe book you'll see what meal has been prepared. I've chosen favourite ones.
As for my English..... You see I'm a former university teacher (in the USA they call the teachers professors, if you work at university of course). I studied at the Far East State University and in the Tomsk Teachers Training Institute. Then did a special course for teachers of English as a foreign language in the USA. I'm retired now, but don't quit the language. it's addictive, you see. More than that I realy travel abroad every year, not to English speaking countries though as my husband is mad about country-cum-sea-holidays in good hotels. Both of us like Greek islands. We've already been to Crete, Cypros and Rodos. Our new holiday destination is Korfu. I've also been to Spain, Tunis and Bulgaria first on my own and then with my hubby. You can read a story about Rodos on the site.
http://forum.say7.info/topic7802.html

Dear girls,
I was eager to show you the photos of white Christmas in England but …it happened differently. Traditionally Christmas is a family holiday as you know, and that’s why we spent the entire day at home with our nearest and dearest as well as Boxing Day. Sorry, I didn’t go outside and didn’t take photos. And then the snow started melting. Now we have snow again but after Boxing Day people usually don’t switch on Christmas decorations outside and pack everything away till next Christmas. I believe that here we are the only ones who haven’t done it yet as we will celebrate Russian Christmas and New Year. But I would like to show you the photo taken some days before Christmas. My grandson Kyle made a snow man. If it’s possible and you can enlarge the photo you will see then that the eyes and mouth of the snowman are made from leaves and a petals of a wild rose. It’s because the bushes of wild roses on the lawn in front of our house were still in blossom though it was the end of December. It’s not often when we have snow and white Christmas when we do it’s like a miracle!

Natasha, and what dishes did you cook for a New Year table?

elenayork
Hello, darling. Glad to see you! You, your grandson and the snowman are really great! Nothing to say of the lovely dog! I was going to demonstrate winter illumunation that decorates our city every year but unfortunately there's nothing to write home about Crisis!
Though it didn't influence our family celebration: delicious food, good drinks and presents... Everything's as usual. This is what I cooked for the holiday dinner (supper in my country).

http://forum.say7.info/topic18138.html
not with trout but with shrimps this time.

http://forum.say7.info/topic9153.html

http://forum.say7.info/topic3152.html
You can see it on the second page. Very tasty!
http://forum.say7.info/topic3110.html
http://forum.say7.info/topic22817.html
http://forum.say7.info/topic22817.html
with tinned peaches this time
Then cavier, mushrooms in marinade (we bought them in the shop - the only place where they are sold), grilled salmon on skewers, meat French style (cooked but nobody was able to eat it after all the food had been eaten before ), mashed potatoe, shrimps stewed in soy sause, French cognac, red and white wine, Russian vodka Beluga (it has been a true hit for the last 5 years), champagne, cherry juice and berry coctail, fruits and chocolates. Hope haven't missed anything. We are still eating the food cooked for the supper.

Natasha, wow…wow… wow!!!! When reading your recipes I felt that my mouth was watering… It is so tasty! I adore different salads. In England they don’t cook it we usually do in Russia. Traditional salad here includes some salad leaves on the plate, some slices of ham, a bit of spring onion, pickled onion, some grated cheese and salad cream zigzagged on the top. Now you understand why my mouth was watering…. As for me I cook some simple variants of salad (Russian salad) because we like it and because it’s easy to cook. But I must confess that I am fond of reading about a meal more than eating and cooking. I told my husband about this wonderful cooking site and showed him some photos of different dishes. He asked me about the photos I uploaded in my photo album. And I answered – “The photos of our dogs!” He laughed. Usually I cook everyday meal but sometimes as it was on Christmas my husband cooks, and then it’s a holiday! He is a perfect cook, a chef in our house. I wish I would have taken the photo of the chicken he cooked for Christmas. But as soon as he took it from the oven with potatoes and onion on the tray baked in chicken grease (under the chicken skin there was garlic and herb butter sauce) we all dreamt only about having it as soon as possible. Sorry I can’t show it.
Happy New Year to everyone!
Sorry, I must go now, will catch you later.

elenayork писал(а):

he took it from the oven with potatoes and onion on the tray

My mouth is watering now You see my husband used to be good at cooking chicken. I doubt whether he can do it now. His late mum used to say that I had spoilt him cooking tasty food. Although now he is the main baker in the family. It's he who's baked bread since we bought the bread maker.
Hope to see you soon. My best regards to your husband. By the way have you ever treated him to any Russian food? Does he like anything Russian style?

Hi, girls! I'm back. Anything new?

jessie15 писал(а):

Anything new?

Hello! New Year first of all! Have your lovely babies got many presents? How are you getting on? Love!

NatalyS писал(а):

Hello! New Year first of all!

Oh, yes!!! Happy Holidays, everyone!!

NatalyS писал(а):

Have your lovely babies got many presents? How are you getting on? Love!

Yeah... they got quit a lot of presents... from us, from grandpa, grandma, aunts and uncles!lol And I'm good, Thanks!!

jessie15 писал(а):

And I'm good, Thanks!!

That's great! And a lot of presents too!

Yeah... What about you ? How are you doing?

jessie15 писал(а):

Yeah... What about you ? How are you doing?

Thank you. A bit tired after all cooking, cleaning, answering telephone, etc.... Otherwise all right. My daughter and her family are leaving for Yekaterinsburg tomorrow and and I'll have a lot of spare time and nothing special to do. I miss them badly.

NatalyS писал(а):

I miss them badly.

How much children do you have?

jessie15 писал(а):

How much children do you have?

Two: Son Danis (36) and Olga (27). I'm a grandma: Mary (, Alexander (4,5) and Nataly (3,5). Olga is waiting for a new baby to be born in May. All of us are waiting.

NatalyS писал(а):

I'm a grandma

Wow!!! That's nice!!!! Nataly is named after you?

Hello ladies! May I join you conversation? I’m a new member on this site. I found it by accident, I don’t even remember what I was looking for. Living in such multicultural city like Toronto, I experimented with different ethnical cooking. By now I’ve forgotten most of my own Russian recipes. Now, I’m glad to lean it anew and feel inspired.
It’s a bit unexpected, to find an English language page on such site. It’s wonderful. I love English. I have studied it in school of course, like any other child in Russia. But without much success. I had to start from scratch when we immigrated to Canada almost 12 years ago. I was fortunate to find good school where I met THE teacher. He and his wife have been our friends ever since. After 6 months in school, I was out in “big, scary world”. My English was still limited. I began reading, trying to understand, not to translate to Russian. My Lord, I’ve read Danielle Steell… book after book… After a couple I had a feeling that I can write them myself by now! Everything was so predictable but it helped me to learn I’m still learning…
A bit about me – I live in Toronto as you already learned. I work (don’t we all?). I went to college here, now I’m in Records management and archives. I live with my husband and son. We are “downtown” people, live downtown, work downtown, my son’s university is in downtown, too

Irina B писал(а):

Hello ladies! May I join you conversation?

Of course you can!!! We're always glad for more people!!

Irina B
Hello, glad to see you! Thank you for sharing your life story with us.
Your English is wonderful! Like you I am fond of reading Danielle Steel's novels as for me it's not only the way to enjoy and entertain myself but it's also a good way to improve my English. I can say the same about Sharon Owens' novels - all about family life, love, relations betwen parents and children - those are the problems the girls on the site touch upon and discuss so ardently. Sorry to say none of the books has been published in my country. I got acquainted with the author thanks to my dear friend Splattie. Sharon Owens is known to be the bestselling author in Northern Irland. Her novels are advertised as magical and heartwarming stories of love and friendship. No doubt they are worth treating this way.

Have a look, girls! This is what I saw today in the morning: the trees covered with sparkling snow and the snow jently falling onto the ground..... I felt as if I were in a fairy tale. Wonderful, isn't it?

NatalyS писал(а):

Wonderful, isn't it?

That's so cool!!! We don't have any snow here..

No snow in Oregon, eh? Well, we don't have snow either. Had some last week, may be 1 sm or 2 and a bit of flurries this week. Right now, it's +4C outside! Imagine this! Winter in Canada... I had to cancel my plans to go tobogganing this weekend
Instead, I'm planning to visit our little India area.
I dislike big cities, however, I tolerate (less in the winter) Toronto. I think for one reason – it's truly multicultural place. I like to experience "the world" at the convenience of my own city
So, tomorrow I'm going to look for that magical potion - Indian hair oil Amla. May be will grab some lunch while I'm there, I do enjoy south Asian food. That's the plan, anyway
Have a good weekend, everybody

Good evening/morning or afternoon!! May I join????
My name is Tanya. Two years ago I moved to my own flat from parents and I hadn’t got a clue how to cook))) My parents live not far from me and every evening I visited them for supper)) But I searched this wondeful site and now I am trying to cook))
I've been learning English for 3 months with native speaker from Manchester. At the beginning I didn't understand anything what he said, because of special accent (sorry for my russian: сУмер - summer, мУни - money, мУст - must and etc). But now I've already got accustomed to this speech))
I'm going to spend Jule and August in the UK, so now I am trying to find as many opportunities to practise English as possible.

Add one more foto of Russian winter. It's near my house

Танчес
Hello, glad to see you! Welcome! You've been learning English for 3 months only!? I can't believe You seem to have finished an English speaking school! my congratulations! As for the picture of Russian winter it impresses, really.

Танчес писал(а):

understand anything what he said, because of special accent

A special local acсent is difficult to understand sometimes, even if you are a native speaker. When I first came to Lipetsk I couldn't get some peole though they spoke Russian, but it wasn't the language I got used to hearing in Vladivostok. May be because they were not university people