Where In The World ... ?

1. 73

   Inspirepubposted 16 years ago

   I know we have half a dozen Aussie/Kiwi Hubbers amongst the regulars, plus lots of Americans and Canadians.
   
   Who here is British?
   
   Anyone here from Sweden, Norway, or Denmark?
   
   Malaysia? (I know there's at least one from Indonesia).
   
   Who is from a non-English-speaking country, and learned English as a second language later in life?
   
   While all the American Hubbers are driving themselves to exhaustion trying to turn out 10 Hubs a day for this competition, let's find out where everyone else is from.
   
   Jenny
   
   P.S. I'm one of the Aussies.

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      Sylvia Pageposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      Hi everyone I am from Sri Lanka. We are a multi-cultural society and predominantly Sinhalese.
      
      Languages: Sinhala 74% (official and national), Tamil 18% (national), other 8%; English is commonly used in government and spoken competently by about 10%
      Ethnicity/race: Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, unspecified 10% (2001)
      Religions: Buddhist 70%, Islam 8%, Hindu 7%, Christian 6% (2001)
      Literacy rate: 92% (2003 est.)
      
      I belong to the other 0.5%. My great grand parents were German and settled in this beautiful island some where in the 1800s. Therefore, I might say that I am of mixed parentage and multicultural, and so is my husband whose many greats ago was British and mother the daughter of an Irishman (from two knighted families) who settled here to grow coffee and ended up growing thousands of acres of tea.
      English was the language spoken in our homes. Therefore I consider my mother tongue being English. I was educated in a convent in English with Sinhalese as a second language. All that changed when the Government took over the schools and made Sinhalese the official language. Tamil and English were made the second and third languages. This change created a bit of turmoil and today we have to deal with terrorism, mostly in the North and East.
      
      English is now coming back as a link language and is used widely in commercial establishments.
      
      I live close to the Administrative Capital in the Western Province. It was once a very peaceful and sleepy countryside and now with urbanization has got a little too crowded to my taste.
      
      I see a great bunch of you here having a lively interaction and hope that I could share some of that comardarie.

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   2. 67

      Carolina Creteposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      G'Day
      
      I'm British, from near Manchester & live in Greece, Greek husband and 'more than half' Greek kids - they were brought up in Greece!

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2. 83

   jimmythejockposted 16 years ago

   You probably would have guessed that I am from Scotland lol.....jimmy

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3. 68

   Stacie Naczelnikposted 16 years ago

   Well, I'm one of the crazy Americans.  But I crashed your party anyway.

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4. 86

   gamergirlposted 16 years ago

   I'm that super pms'y crazy Americanish chick.. can I come?  I'll bring popcorn and my puppy...
   
   a party may help me have a better day.

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5. 0

   RFoxposted 16 years ago

   I'm a half and halfer. I have dual Aussie and Canadian citizenship. Grew up in Oz and now live in the frozen north (well, rainy north at the moment.)
   But I'm a wanderer at heart and lived on the road for years in different parts of the world. My tent was my home.....those were the days......
   
   
   
   
   Popcorn for you Gamergirl and Stacie.....Now where's the puppy? (I love party crashers.)
   
   Oh yeah and my name's Rachelle

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6. 62

   Mishaposted 16 years ago

   Umm, well, I thought I cleared that up when I placed this info in my profile
   
   I'm a Russian citizen living in US. Yes, I am that case with ESL, and that greatly complicates me working for American market.
   
   But - it is still fun to hang out with you folks here

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7. 73

   Inspirepubposted 16 years ago

   I should fess up to being a US citizen as well as an Australian citizen, I suppose.
   
   You Americans can party in this thread, too - especially since you come bringing coffee, Stacie ...
   
   Jenny
   
   P.S. And then I married an Englishman, so between us we can live and work in Australia, New Zealand, The US, Canada, or anywhere in the EU. We're in Australia because of the climate! And the hours of daylight in winter. I have no idea how you stay sane, RFox!

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8. 68

   Stacie Naczelnikposted 16 years ago

   Seattle coffee.

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9. 86

   gamergirlposted 16 years ago

   Seattle's Best, Stacie?  Don't let me down!!

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   1. 68

      Stacie Naczelnikposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      More like the best of Seattle coffee.

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10. 58

    College politicoposted 16 years ago

    I'm from the great state of Pa (thats Pennsylvania to everybody else). I think we are the only people who refer to their state by its initials. Do any other states do that?

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11. 75

    Kenny Wordsmithposted 16 years ago

    I'm from and in India, but English was my first language at school.

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       RFoxposted 16 years agoin reply to this

       Ahhhh India.....I can't wait to go back!

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       1. 75

          Kenny Wordsmithposted 16 years agoin reply to this

          Welcome! A lot of  pictures await your coming!

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          1. 0

             RFoxposted 16 years agoin reply to this

             Thanks Kenny I'm in the process of developing my adventure travel photography company just so I'll have an excuse to go to India twice a year every year.....oh yeah!

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12. 0

    RFoxposted 16 years ago

    Wait, who said I was sane? That's a dirty, rotten lie.....Say that to my face and I'll feed you to my polar bear.....his name his Fluffy.......grrrrrrr
    
    

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13. 75

    Kenny Wordsmithposted 16 years ago

    What a creative excuse! Wonderful!
    Then I'm like you. I am using my love of Wodehouse as an excuse to visit Shropshire and London this year!
    Cheers!

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14. 59

    kellyfilmgirlposted 16 years ago

    I'm from the South. Some Americans consider us foreigners because of our funny accents. Does that count? :p

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    1. 58

       College politicoposted 16 years agoin reply to this

       Where in the south?

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       1. 59

          kellyfilmgirlposted 16 years agoin reply to this

          Tennessee.

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          1. 58

             College politicoposted 16 years agoin reply to this

             I really want to visit the south sometime and I think Tennessee would be a major stop on that visit

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             1. 59

                kellyfilmgirlposted 16 years agoin reply to this

                You should. It's a beautiful state. Especially East Tennessee.
                
                I disagree about Nashville. It has some very beautiful places. Especially around Franklin. GORGEOUS places. That's where all the fancy schmancy country music stars live.
                
                I should make a lens with some of my photography from the area sometime.
                
                Visit when the leaves are turning. It's amazing. Spring is also very nice, but it's also hayfever city.

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                1. 61

                   Greg from Maineposted 16 years agoin reply to this

                   That would be very interesting. I'd enjoy seeing the photos...

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    2. 0

       daflaposted 16 years agoin reply to this

       Kelly, did you know that crisis counselors are taught to talk in a Southern accent because it's calming?  I'm from the south too, born and raised.  It's nice to find another G.R.I.T.S. here.

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15. 71

    Peter M. Lopezposted 16 years ago

    Texas, baby.  But my wife graduated from Belmont in Nashville, TN.  It's a beautiful place.  Worth the trip.

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16. 86

    gamergirlposted 16 years ago

    I lived in Nashville for 10 years.  It's a pothole in the center of the state, really.

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    1. 71

       Peter M. Lopezposted 16 years agoin reply to this

       I wouldn't go that far.  I loved the area around Vandy & Belmont.  It felt like Austin to me.

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17. 86

    stephhicks68posted 16 years ago

    I live in Oregon.  But I can't bring myself to say I'm an Oregonian.  Born and raised in the Seattle area and lived there for 36-37 years.

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18. 86

    gamergirlposted 16 years ago

    Aww.
    
    Down here in NC it's hard to find Seattle's Best.  Stores carry it, but run out of it fast.

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19. 68

    Stacie Naczelnikposted 16 years ago

    Okay okay...for you.  But, you will have to try other kinds.  You might find they are better.

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20. 86

    gamergirlposted 16 years ago

    Oh, I have no doubt.
    
    I'm still working my way toward normal roasts as opposed to flavored coffee, I'm still acquiring that taste.
    
    Espresso plus white chocolate syrup is just so good, though!

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21. STAFF

    pauldeedsposted 16 years ago

    I was always partial to Zoka, when I lived in Seattle.  In the Bay Area, Blue Bottle Coffee is among the best.  Blue Bottle will ship fresh roasted beans anywhere in the U.S., but they aren't cheap.  Unfortunately we've usually only got cheap Costco beans here at HubPages, although we do have a nice industrial size coffee maker and grinder.

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    1. 68

       Stacie Naczelnikposted 16 years agoin reply to this

       I love Zoka.  In fact, some of my hubs are written while I'm sitting in their coffee shop near U-Village.

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22. 64

    Bob Ewingposted 16 years ago

    Northern New Brunswick, Canada, snowbound and minus 15 C today but the sun is shining.
    
    The Best Coffee

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23. 69

    funrideposted 16 years ago

    Well, I´m from Portugal (a non-English-speaking country) and portuguese is my first language. I´m here to train my english wrinting and to party with all you crazy mates !
    
    
    
    

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    1. 73

       Inspirepubposted 16 years agoin reply to this

       oooooh, an Aussie smilie!
       
       Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi, oi!
       
       Jenny

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    2. 75

       Lissieposted 16 years agoin reply to this

       
       
       Oi way is this thread full of Americans - go away yanks this is an foreigners thread :-)
       Hi funride -your English is a whole lot better than my Portugese - I have just started learning Portugases as the mineral exploration company I am working for in Australia is doing a lot of work in Brazil! The pronouciation is bizarre - I know some spanish so I have the pronounceation is all mixed up now - though I can recognise the vocab and grammar quite well! Bom Dia

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       1. 69

          funrideposted 16 years agoin reply to this

          I´m so glad you liked it
          
          Here are some more just for you:
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          Boa tarde Lissie, como estás?
          
          If you ever need help with your portuguese I´ll be very happy to help you!
          
          

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24. 71

    William F. Torpeyposted 16 years ago

    I spent my first 15 years in Yonkers, N.Y., USA, then moved with my family to Connecticut. I moved back to New York (Long Island) about two years ago. It's nice to communicate with folks from around the world.

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25. 82

    The Indexerposted 16 years ago

    Greetings! I'm from the UK, about as close to the middle of England as you can get. I live close to the site of the battlefield where Henry VII defeated Richard III in 1485. Visit my hubs and you can see some photos taken not far from home.
    
    As for coffee, I don't understand it!  Since Starbucks and Nero turned up, we've all had to stop asking for "white" or "black" and learn strange language like "skinny latte", whatever that is. Apparently what I think of as coffee is called "Americano" for some reason!
    
    I think I'll stick to tea, which is much nicer anyway!

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    1. 60

       Sylvia Pageposted 16 years agoin reply to this

       I love my coffee too. If you love tea then you must have ours...best in the world comes only from Sri Lanka!

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26. 0

    RFoxposted 16 years ago

    Yes, I have my cuppa tea every morning. I miss REAL Tetley tea. It is not the same product in Canada.
    As for coffee.......Italians are the best (in my opinion)....how can you go past Illy....it's so smooth and flavorful.
    

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27. 86

    gamergirlposted 16 years ago

    Austin is much prettier than Nashville, on the whole.  I promise you, I spent a looooot of time downtown in Nashville, and unless you were in the Vandy area, or in the higher income areas, it's not really -THAT- pretty.  The buildings are nice, but the streets are dirty, there are a lot of homeless folk, and the air is yucky.  People are all-in-all pretty friendly, though.

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    1. 71

       Peter M. Lopezposted 16 years agoin reply to this

       I agree.
       
       
       
       I will take your word for that, I must confess during my 4-5 trips I rarely left the Vandy or touristy areas. 
       
       I will say this, the people in Austin are friendlier, as best I can tell.  But, I'm partial.

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28. 78

    ripplemakerposted 16 years ago

    I'm from Cebu, Philippines.  It's 'crazy' out here with the variety of dialects and languages. But our medium of instruction in school was English.  I'm Filipino-Chinese --my ancestors were from China.  I wonder if there are other hubbers from where I come from.    Hellllooooooo

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29. 90

    compu-smartposted 16 years ago

    Goodday Inspirehub..
    .i was trying a very lame Aussie accent:D
    Im from London and used to live in Earlscourt (UK) and the pubs i used to go in there were the closest ive been to Australia lol

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30. 73

    Inspirepubposted 16 years ago

    I'm touched, Compu-Smart!
    
    For future reference, it's "G'Day" ... but we make allowances for you Pommie types anyway  ...
    
    
    
    Jenny

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    1. 90

       compu-smartposted 16 years agoin reply to this

       Crikey & struth!!
       
       I remember now..
       
       G.day 2u2;)

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31. 58

    Mark Knowlesposted 16 years ago

    British here Live in France though. Can't stand the weather, the CCTV cameras and the complaints - Miss the beer though. No one makes beer like the English - we can't make a cup of coffee if our lives depended on it, but beer, that's another story......

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    1. 67

       Carolina Creteposted 16 years agoin reply to this

       Yes, yes and yes. Couldn't care less about the beer though
       
       Agree about the coffee too ... yuuck. Someone mentioned Illy - fantastico coffee. I'm intrigued about Seattle coffee, what's that all about??

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32. 73

    Maddie Ruudposted 16 years ago

    I'm half American, half Canadian.  I've lived in Britain.  As you can imagine, my spelling is rather confused.

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33. 73

    Inspirepubposted 16 years ago

    I have slowly been worn away by writing for an international audience, and I now find myself leaving out "u" in deference to my American readers. I still can't bring myself to use bastardised spellings like "jewelry", though!

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