1. Tomorrow I'll be halfway through my training. WOOOHOOOO!!! It means I'm getting closer to going back to Indo. YAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY!!!
2. Listening to this voice singing this song...
3. Walking down memory lane by searching for old songs in youtube. Mmmmm...my, my...
4. We (me and my ex-elementary school friends) have found a good venue for our reunion in November and we've also found a good date, day, and time to make sure that the others who live outside of Bandung will be able to attend the party. YESSSSSSSSSSS!!! Can't wait!!!
5. Getting so much encouragement through emails that I get from different sources.
6. Hearing that a friend's bitterness has been lifted by God and knowing that she's now enjoying life to the fullest.
7. Seeing hubby's CUTE sleeping face in the morning. THANK GOD that He still gives us time together.
8. Being able to save on grocery budget 'coz I've been finding plenty of empty cans or bottles from the hotel rooms (and I've been selling them back to Lidl). WHOOOOOPEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!
9. Looking back and knowing that I've improved in terms of reading Finnish texts. Now I'm on page 84 of a teen novel. Two years ago reading one page of a children's book (where there are only 10 lines per page) took me SOOOO long.
10. A an ex-elementary school friend who was also my campus friend told me that my self-esteem has improved SO much during the time when I was in elementary school versus when I was at the uni. THANK YOU for the encouragement, friend!
11. When hubby took a few days off (due to plenty of overtime), he was the one who cooked. :-D It feels nice not having to cook every once in a while, esp. when I'm doing physical work like now. :-D
12. Having a patient hubby who NEVER yells at me. (I know I've written this down many times before, but I don't want to take this for granted)
13. Hubby's hands. I LOVE those gentle, big hands! :-D
1. Getting more student money which I transferred to my "untouchable account". Now that savings' sum is back to its original sum. HALLELUJAH!!!!!!! ;-D
2. Sweet, sweet nighttime rendezvous with hubby. *wink wink*
3. Green grapes ---> I decided to splurge a little bit on fruit since I had received the student money again HE HE HE HE HE...
4. Pita kebab and salad. MMMMMMMMHHHHHHHHHHHHH...
5. Stealing another kiss from hubby during lunch break at the course today HUE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...
6. Seeing hubby working again in our classroom (our teacher needed help setting up something on her computer) and feeling SO proud of him. I couldn't help feeling, "That's MY man!" *grin*
7. Having a patient hubby. He never tires waking me up with a smile and plenty of kisses HEEEEEEEEE HEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...THANK YOU SO MUCH, Bonbon!!!
8. Being able to read Japanese comics online for free with English texts HO HO HO HO...I LOVE the internet!!! ;-D
9. Feeling that I've made some progress in learning Finnish. Even though speaking Finnish and listening to native speakers are still tough, but I find that I recognize more words and I remember many more new words than before (especially compared to last year HE HE HE...).
10. It's FRIDAY today and I'm going to my in-laws tomorrow. I'm REALLY looking forward to it HO HO HO HO HO HO HO...In-laws, here I coommmmeeeee!!!
My spring course is starting again mid January until April, then we'll have summer break and we'll start again in autumn. I must say I'm VERY excited since I'll be meeting my friends again, especially my Brit friend MC. She's such a jolly, friendly person and she always lights up the class he he he he...
Other than that, of course I can't wait to learn more Finnishhhhhhhhh and practise it!!! A few weeks ago I was in my in-laws and I was trying to read some comic strips in the local newspaper. That day I was able to read one comic strip without the help of dictionary and I could understand the whole thing. I was SO HAPPY that I even told Arttu about it he he he he he he...This is how I felt like:
I still remember the first few months I was here. I was making VERY slow progress in learning Finnish and I couldn't understand a thing people were saying to me. I always tried to read the newspaper or magazines in my in-laws, but I couldn't understand anything, except perhaps just a few simple words. Nowadays I can understand more words since I know more about the changes of the word forms. Even then I know I still have a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNGGGG way to go, but I'm going to CELEBRATE each new step towards understanding the language better he he he he...
One tough thing about learning a new language is this: the limited vocabulary. So, even though I can probably ask many questions (after looking up certain words that I probably don't know in the dictionary), I may not be able to understand the answers, especially if the answers are long and they use words that I don't know yet. I often experience this when I ask something to my mother-in-law and she gives me an elaborate answer. Then I'll just give her a blank look and she'll understand that I don't get it HI HI HI HI HI...and we'll both have to wait for Arttu to translate it for me ha ha ha...
Another funny incident that often happens when you learn a new language is this: you hear some words or phrases that sound FAMILIAR, yet you can't seem to remember what they mean!!! You search high and low, even in the nooks and crannies of your brain, but the meanings aren't embedded in any part of your brain yet.
This kind of experience always makes me feel like biting my finger and think REAL hard and say, "I KNOW those words, but what do they mean?" But of course it's futile since in real life...conversation goes fast...and the moment you're stuck on the words that you don't understand, you miss out on the rest he he he he he...Such is life when you don't know the native language he he he he he...
Anyway, here is a list of the exact same words in Indonesian and Finnish:
1. Tuli ---- Finnish: fire, Indonesian: deaf 2. Sama --- It has the same meaning both in Indonesian or Finnish: the same 3. Satu --- Finnish: fairy tale, Indonesian: one 4. Kita --- Finnish: mouth (of a cave), Indonesian: us 5. Lupa --- Finnish: permission, Indonesian: forget 6. Paha --- Finnish: bad, Indonesian: thigh
It's always interesting to see how different the meanings of exact same words in another language, don't you think so? The first time I learnt about "paha" (bad in Finnish), my brain always conjures up the image of a "thigh" HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...
