That's true. I really hope I'm not gonna choose false subjects once I go back. Ah, right ... credits. I actually knew that, but couldn't remember the right word. It happens sometimes.
Yup that's right, you're well informed about our history. Not too many people I've talked to know these kind of things. :) I think some people might still think that we are a part of Russia. My sister who travels a lot has had experience of it, she often needs to explain where Estonia really is and that it's a small independent country not a part of a bigger one. :P
Unfortunatelly her health isn't so good anymore, but that's expected because like I said, she almost is 100. But she definitely is a strong woman. :)
Oh I see. My psychologist plays games with me sometimes. :P Or she calls them games but I suppose they can also be called tests. I guess she tests how my mind works. For example last time I had to choose some buttons she had to represent the members of my family and friends and one button to represent myself. And then I had to place them on the table around myself in the right distances, as in how close they are to me. And so on ... We had a pretty long chat about why I chose to place some people closer than others and so on.
Yeah, both of our languages are from Uralic family, so is Hungarian actually. Haha. Perkele definitely seems to be their favorite word. :D It's almost as common as our 'kurat' which means the same. :D
Yeah. We have Japanese, Chinese and I think they even teach Arabic in our school. :) Thank you so much! I'll be sure to check all of these out. :)
Haha. Isn't it the best thing about college, you can drop subjects and choose something else. That's how it works for you too, right? I mean ... I'm kind of curious about your rating system. Do you have a certain amount of points you have to get to graduate? We do, we need to get 120 points for by the end of the second year. Well ... for me it would be the fourth year ... but oh well ... whatever ... :P If you can't get that many then it doesn't really matter how well you did at the presentation of your master's thesis or anything else. Do you have something similar in your school?
Anyway ... I hope you'll be able to enjoy college and that you'll be able to pass your courses without any major problems.
Yeah I can actually understand people's attitude in a huge countries like U.S but I don't think this is really a right attitude in a small country like us. I mean we basically depend on foreign stuff. We have local industries too, of course, but there are so many things we would never be able to do because we just don't have the resources. If for example every translator in our country suddenly said they won't work for us anymore because they feel underappreciated then we'd actually be pretty much cut off the world. We wouldn't be able to hear news from our neighbouring countries or anywhere else, we wouldn't be able to enjoy Hollywood or movies from Europe, we wouldn't be able to enjoy the taste of foreign products either because we just wouldn't be able to understand what they are made of and so on ... :P
Actually now that I re-read what I just wrote then it kind of sounds too dramatic but I'm guessing it would be rather bad if we suddenly lost the translators. At least for generations who have never learned a foreign language apart from Russian or German. Younger generations would be able to understand English and maybe a lot of other languages so I guess it wouldn't be such a problem for them. But still ...
And my granny has seen a lot. War, occupations by other countries, war again ... she knows what it means to really work yourself half death in a farm, she knows what it is like to basically raise five children on her own because her husband was a drunkard ... she's lived through a lot. In other words ... she's a one hell of a lady. :) She certainly deserves a break now as she is in such an admirable age. Soap operas and books are the best thing she can do while she takes it easy and relaxes these days. :)
You mentioned that you didn't get any real help, nothing more. If filling in tests was all you were asked to do during your visits then I must say I'm not surprised. I mean ... a psychologist's office should be a place where you can open up and share your problems and ask for help solving them. Answering restricted questions on a paper hardly counts as a professional help ... That's what you meant by tests, right? I didn't misunderstand, right? :P I'm sorry if I did!
Yeah, you're right about that. Since Finnish is really similar to Estonian, I find it not too difficult to learn. However unlike German, I don't really like the sound of Finnish. It somehow sounds funny to me ... and not 'haha' funny ... weird funny. :P They have many words we use, but the meanings aren't the same. :P And some expressions don't sound cute at all ... at least not to me. For example, I love you is " ma armastan sind" in Estonian while Finnish say " minä rakastan sinua" and the word 'rakastan' is actually pronounced 'ragastan'. It seriously sounds weird and ugly, at least to me.:P
I would appreciate it. :) I have obtained some books from my brother-in-law about Japanese grammar and so on but I haven't had the chance to really look at them yet. I wanted to take some courses at my school too, but they didn't fit in my schedule. Maybe I can make them fit now when I go back though ... :P It would be really really nice if I could.
It's alright. I'll be always happy to hear from you, no matter how late your reply is. :) How's it going with school? Everything okay?
Yeah, I guess some people think they are strong enough to beat it on their own. I don't think that's really true though. I think they are just fooling themselves. I tried to do it alone too at first but it was extermely difficult and ... well I'm ashamed to admit it but I couldn't really do it without reaching my hand out for a bottle. Depression can be a good excuse for an alcoholism ... thankfully I didn't fall that far...
It is really sad how people don't appreaciate the work translators do. It's like they don't understand how many things they wouldn't be able to understand if they weren't translated for them. I mean ... books, instructions, documents, news, movies, tv-shows and so on and so on ... if there weren't any people translating for them, how would they be able to enjoy foreign stuff? Youngsters maybe able to translate for themselves but what about older people? I have a grandmother who's almost 100 years old. She loves to read books and if translators wouldn't have been there to translate Hemingway or Remarque or other foreign authors ... then she'd never know why they are so famous. And that would be just sad. She'd miss out ... And she wouldn't be able to enjoy those soap operas she loves so much. :D
Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you find real help one day, if you even decide to search for it. Yeah, I was "stupid" enough to complain to her that I have problems with my anxiety attacks and the pills I swallowed didn't seem to work at all anymore. And she listened and told me ... " But maybe you don't need a pill, maybe you just need someone to talk to." and then she practically dragged me into the psychologist office by hand. :D I really am thankful she actually did that because I don't think I would have gone to visit a psychologist on my own. Maybe I already said it, but the idea of talking to a stranger about what exactly I've been through didn't really sound appealing to me. I've gotten used to it now though. I think maybe you also don't need any pills but just someone who would listen to you and give you as much advice as they could ...? I hope you find a good one, better than the last one if you decide to go down that path again.
Really? I've heard German is the hardest language to learn. I've never tried it myself ... although I've been tempted. I kind of like how it sounds ... You speak Japanese, right? How did you learn it? Did you do it on your own or did you go on a course?
It wasn't too easy for me either. I think without the support of my family and friends I would have kept fallen deeper and deeper into the darkness. I know there are people out there who have to deal with it all alone, so I consider myself lucky.
Yes. Knowing how to translate humor and puns and stuff like this is really hard and needs skills. What sounds funny in English might not always sound funny in Estonian, it's quite a challenge to try and make it a nice joke in our language without changing the meaning of what has been said in English. And these kind of things aren't even the only challenges a translator has to deal with, it's a harder job than most of the people here in Estonia believe it is.
Thank you for your encouraging words. You're right! I can't give up, I've stepped over some obsticles, I just need to keep doing it over and over again if I must. :)
I actually want you to remember your own words, because I think the same can be said to you as well. :) You've also come a long way during these years, you can only keep going further. :)
Well, if you decide that you really need to go and see one, then I hope you'll find a good psychologist. Someone that is easy to talk to. I actually didn't really like the idea of going to psychologist at first. Speaking about my personal problems with a complete stranger isn't really my thing. But then I made the "mistake" to complain about my anxiety to another doctor I'm regularly seeing and she practically dragged me into that psychologist's office. And I'm thankful that she did, because I really was lucky to get a good one.
I'm sorry but I don't know if lavender incense helps, I haven't tried it myself. I found an article that says lavender has relaxing properties and has the power to calm you down though. So I guess it wouldn't hurt to try it out, maybe it will help at least a little.
Well, I've learned more than three languages, but at the moment I'm able to understand and use only two foreign languages. English and Spanish, English on higher level than Spanish though. I'm working on reviving my Spanish skills and I do plan to do the same with Finnish and Russian too one day. And I actually would really like to learn some Japanese, but I don't know when I'd be able to do it. I do understand a little thanks to anime though.
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Hey.
I was just snooping around (like I always do c:) and I came across your page.
It's nice to meet you, how are you?
Let me introduce myself. I'm Sewn, but you can call me Kei, or whatever you want. ^_-
I hope we can talk more and become friends. c:
Have a nice day or night, whichever it is for you. xx
That's true. I really hope I'm not gonna choose false subjects once I go back. Ah, right ... credits. I actually knew that, but couldn't remember the right word. It happens sometimes.
Yup that's right, you're well informed about our history. Not too many people I've talked to know these kind of things. :) I think some people might still think that we are a part of Russia. My sister who travels a lot has had experience of it, she often needs to explain where Estonia really is and that it's a small independent country not a part of a bigger one. :P
Unfortunatelly her health isn't so good anymore, but that's expected because like I said, she almost is 100. But she definitely is a strong woman. :)
Oh I see. My psychologist plays games with me sometimes. :P Or she calls them games but I suppose they can also be called tests. I guess she tests how my mind works. For example last time I had to choose some buttons she had to represent the members of my family and friends and one button to represent myself. And then I had to place them on the table around myself in the right distances, as in how close they are to me. And so on ... We had a pretty long chat about why I chose to place some people closer than others and so on.
Yeah, both of our languages are from Uralic family, so is Hungarian actually. Haha. Perkele definitely seems to be their favorite word. :D It's almost as common as our 'kurat' which means the same. :D
Yeah. We have Japanese, Chinese and I think they even teach Arabic in our school. :) Thank you so much! I'll be sure to check all of these out. :)
Haha. Isn't it the best thing about college, you can drop subjects and choose something else. That's how it works for you too, right? I mean ... I'm kind of curious about your rating system. Do you have a certain amount of points you have to get to graduate? We do, we need to get 120 points for by the end of the second year. Well ... for me it would be the fourth year ... but oh well ... whatever ... :P If you can't get that many then it doesn't really matter how well you did at the presentation of your master's thesis or anything else. Do you have something similar in your school?
Anyway ... I hope you'll be able to enjoy college and that you'll be able to pass your courses without any major problems.
Yeah I can actually understand people's attitude in a huge countries like U.S but I don't think this is really a right attitude in a small country like us. I mean we basically depend on foreign stuff. We have local industries too, of course, but there are so many things we would never be able to do because we just don't have the resources. If for example every translator in our country suddenly said they won't work for us anymore because they feel underappreciated then we'd actually be pretty much cut off the world. We wouldn't be able to hear news from our neighbouring countries or anywhere else, we wouldn't be able to enjoy Hollywood or movies from Europe, we wouldn't be able to enjoy the taste of foreign products either because we just wouldn't be able to understand what they are made of and so on ... :P
Actually now that I re-read what I just wrote then it kind of sounds too dramatic but I'm guessing it would be rather bad if we suddenly lost the translators. At least for generations who have never learned a foreign language apart from Russian or German. Younger generations would be able to understand English and maybe a lot of other languages so I guess it wouldn't be such a problem for them. But still ...
And my granny has seen a lot. War, occupations by other countries, war again ... she knows what it means to really work yourself half death in a farm, she knows what it is like to basically raise five children on her own because her husband was a drunkard ... she's lived through a lot. In other words ... she's a one hell of a lady. :) She certainly deserves a break now as she is in such an admirable age. Soap operas and books are the best thing she can do while she takes it easy and relaxes these days. :)
You mentioned that you didn't get any real help, nothing more. If filling in tests was all you were asked to do during your visits then I must say I'm not surprised. I mean ... a psychologist's office should be a place where you can open up and share your problems and ask for help solving them. Answering restricted questions on a paper hardly counts as a professional help ... That's what you meant by tests, right? I didn't misunderstand, right? :P I'm sorry if I did!
Yeah, you're right about that. Since Finnish is really similar to Estonian, I find it not too difficult to learn. However unlike German, I don't really like the sound of Finnish. It somehow sounds funny to me ... and not 'haha' funny ... weird funny. :P They have many words we use, but the meanings aren't the same. :P And some expressions don't sound cute at all ... at least not to me. For example, I love you is " ma armastan sind" in Estonian while Finnish say " minä rakastan sinua" and the word 'rakastan' is actually pronounced 'ragastan'. It seriously sounds weird and ugly, at least to me.:P
I would appreciate it. :) I have obtained some books from my brother-in-law about Japanese grammar and so on but I haven't had the chance to really look at them yet. I wanted to take some courses at my school too, but they didn't fit in my schedule. Maybe I can make them fit now when I go back though ... :P It would be really really nice if I could.
It's alright. I'll be always happy to hear from you, no matter how late your reply is. :) How's it going with school? Everything okay?
Yeah, I guess some people think they are strong enough to beat it on their own. I don't think that's really true though. I think they are just fooling themselves. I tried to do it alone too at first but it was extermely difficult and ... well I'm ashamed to admit it but I couldn't really do it without reaching my hand out for a bottle. Depression can be a good excuse for an alcoholism ... thankfully I didn't fall that far...
It is really sad how people don't appreaciate the work translators do. It's like they don't understand how many things they wouldn't be able to understand if they weren't translated for them. I mean ... books, instructions, documents, news, movies, tv-shows and so on and so on ... if there weren't any people translating for them, how would they be able to enjoy foreign stuff? Youngsters maybe able to translate for themselves but what about older people? I have a grandmother who's almost 100 years old. She loves to read books and if translators wouldn't have been there to translate Hemingway or Remarque or other foreign authors ... then she'd never know why they are so famous. And that would be just sad. She'd miss out ... And she wouldn't be able to enjoy those soap operas she loves so much. :D
Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you find real help one day, if you even decide to search for it. Yeah, I was "stupid" enough to complain to her that I have problems with my anxiety attacks and the pills I swallowed didn't seem to work at all anymore. And she listened and told me ... " But maybe you don't need a pill, maybe you just need someone to talk to." and then she practically dragged me into the psychologist office by hand. :D I really am thankful she actually did that because I don't think I would have gone to visit a psychologist on my own. Maybe I already said it, but the idea of talking to a stranger about what exactly I've been through didn't really sound appealing to me. I've gotten used to it now though. I think maybe you also don't need any pills but just someone who would listen to you and give you as much advice as they could ...? I hope you find a good one, better than the last one if you decide to go down that path again.
Really? I've heard German is the hardest language to learn. I've never tried it myself ... although I've been tempted. I kind of like how it sounds ... You speak Japanese, right? How did you learn it? Did you do it on your own or did you go on a course?
It wasn't too easy for me either. I think without the support of my family and friends I would have kept fallen deeper and deeper into the darkness. I know there are people out there who have to deal with it all alone, so I consider myself lucky.
Yes. Knowing how to translate humor and puns and stuff like this is really hard and needs skills. What sounds funny in English might not always sound funny in Estonian, it's quite a challenge to try and make it a nice joke in our language without changing the meaning of what has been said in English. And these kind of things aren't even the only challenges a translator has to deal with, it's a harder job than most of the people here in Estonia believe it is.
Thank you for your encouraging words. You're right! I can't give up, I've stepped over some obsticles, I just need to keep doing it over and over again if I must. :)
I actually want you to remember your own words, because I think the same can be said to you as well. :) You've also come a long way during these years, you can only keep going further. :)
Well, if you decide that you really need to go and see one, then I hope you'll find a good psychologist. Someone that is easy to talk to. I actually didn't really like the idea of going to psychologist at first. Speaking about my personal problems with a complete stranger isn't really my thing. But then I made the "mistake" to complain about my anxiety to another doctor I'm regularly seeing and she practically dragged me into that psychologist's office. And I'm thankful that she did, because I really was lucky to get a good one.
I'm sorry but I don't know if lavender incense helps, I haven't tried it myself. I found an article that says lavender has relaxing properties and has the power to calm you down though. So I guess it wouldn't hurt to try it out, maybe it will help at least a little.
Well, I've learned more than three languages, but at the moment I'm able to understand and use only two foreign languages. English and Spanish, English on higher level than Spanish though. I'm working on reviving my Spanish skills and I do plan to do the same with Finnish and Russian too one day. And I actually would really like to learn some Japanese, but I don't know when I'd be able to do it. I do understand a little thanks to anime though.