A Book I've read

[Maarit]

Hi,
Can you name this book I describe?

Old Major gathers the animals of the Manor Farm for a meeting in the big barn. He tells them of a dream he has had in which all animals live together with no human beings to oppress or control them. He tells the animals that they must work toward such a paradise and teaches them a song called “Beasts of England,” in which his dream vision is lyrically described. The animals greet Major’s vision with great enthusiasm. When he dies only three nights after the meeting, three younger pigs—Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer—formulate his main principles into a philosophy called Animalism.
It includes the following commandments:
1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal.

Late one night, the animals manage to defeat the farmer Mr. Jones in a battle, running him off the land. They dedicate themselves to achieving Major’s dream. The cart-horse Boxer devotes himself to the cause with particular zeal, committing his great strength to the prosperity of the farm and adopting as a personal maxim the affirmation “I will work harder.”

Years pass on and the pigs become more and more like human beings—walking upright, carrying whips, and wearing clothes. Eventually, the seven principles of Animalism become reduced to a single principle reading “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

Napoleon entertains a human farmer named Mr. Pilkington at a dinner and declares his intent to ally himself with the human farmers against the laboring classes of both the human and animal communities. Looking in at the party of elites through the farmhouse window, the common animals can no longer tell which are the pigs and which are the human beings.

BR Maarit

[Admin]

Very good Maarit! I suppose this is Animal Farm by George Orwell? I've never read it, but have heard about it of course. This is an excellent piece of writing - just one expression for you to note:
Years pass on = We say: Years pass.
Hope you had a good Christmas and al the best for the New Year!
Pietr

[Maarit]

Hi Pieter,

yes, it is Animal Farm. It is one of the best books I have ever read - the real masterpiece written by George Orwell.
I can highly recommend this book but I can tell you that it is allowed to cry after reading this book.
"All animal are equal but some animals are more equal than others".
It includes political satire....
I had a very nice Christmas with my family although our eldest daughter is now in Thailand. She is coming home on 18th January.
All the best for your New Year!

Have you read Moby Dick? If yes, is it worth reading?

Kind regards Maarit

[Admin]

Hi Maarit, my mother read us Moby Dick when we were kids. I remember liking it then, but I haven't re-read it. In fact, I don't really read a lot of fiction, except in the summer. I take time to read every day, but it's mostly newspapers, blogs related to my work, books related to work - there seems to be no time for fiction at the moment!
So I guess you have nearly finished this course! Well done, congratulations on that!
Have a good year,
Pieter

[Maarit]

Hi Pieter,
Thanks for the congratulations. Yes, I have nearly completed this course - only my writing tasks and the speaking tutorial of the unit 10 are left. Actually I have almost written these texts and I am going to send them next week to my tutor.

This course has been amazing. I have liked every subject very much and I have worked quite hard with the units. I have enjoyed writing letters to Forum and it has been so nice to get your letters.

I will continue my English studies in this year: My employer has bought me an EF- internet course and I am aiming to take a CAE- test (Cambridge English: Advanced) next summer. Actually our school supposes that everyone who is teaching or is going to teach her/his subject in English has to pass the CAE-test.

By the way, I am going to make a one-week-visit and teach the Chemistry of detergents next March in Germany.

Have the nice year 2015! Do you have some new plans to the year 2015?

BR Maarit

[Admin]

Hi Maarit,
Thanks for your latest message - I'm very happy that you enjoyed the course. It was fun for me too, hearing about life in Finland and your travels to different countries. Good luck in Germany and good luck with the CAE exam! I'm sure you will do very well!
All the best,
Pieter

[Sonia]

Last summer I read another book of Vicente Blasco Ibañez. He is not the best known Spanish author, but I like reading his stories. They remind me of my grandmother’s ones. My grandparents lived a couple of days far from Valencia (nowadays just an hour by car), and worked the land. The customs, the relationships… almost everything in these books reminds me of them.

Well, the novel was published in 1898 within the ambit of the literary movement called Naturalism. I didn’t know, but the English translation of the novel sold over a million copies. The story is set in the rural Valencia of the late nineteenth century. It describes the living conditions of the rural and agricultural people.

Uncle Barret cannot continue working the land that their ancestors had cultivated for generations because he is unable to pay the rent to its owner. As a result, all the residents of the village, especially Pimentó, conspire to prevent anyone from working on that plot.

But Batiste and his family (his wife Teresa and their children Roseta, Batistet and Pascualet) install in the abandoned shack and agree to pay Mr. Salvador the rent and cultivate the land. From that moment, they will be relentlessly harassed by the rest of the community, who accuses them of pandering to the demands of the landowner thereby harming the interests of the agriculturers.

[Admin]

Thanks for your interesting message Sonia. I worked one summer in Valencia, and I lived in a street called Blasco Ibañez! I never knew that he was an author... Did you use to spend time on the farm with your grandparents? It's nice that their world was memorialised in this way. My Swiss grandparents were from a tiny village. My grandfather was a carpenter and my grandmother a housewife. They lived very frugally, with very little money. They collected wild foods, wood from the woods to heat the stove and they grew food in a garden behind the house. It seems incredible how simply they lived - but their world has vanished without a trace, as far as I know.
You write very well! Just one small thing:
But Batiste and his family... install in the abandoned shack = They installed themselves in the shack. The verb Is reflexive.
See you,
Pieter

[Maarit]

Hi Pieter,

I have International tourism course in Net Language and Kate Ryan said that I can write to Forum again.
Is it ok for you as well?

Best wishes Maarit

[Admin]

Maarit! I saw your name in the list and I was so surprised! How lovely to hear from you again. Are you well? And your family? Of course you can join us on the Forum, Kate is absolutely right. Which level of the Tourism course are you doing?
I look forward to hearing from you,
Pieter

[Maarit]

Hi Pieter,

Thanks for your letter. Nice to notice that you remember me after almost two years. :-) I am doing English for International Tourism (B2) course now.
I have been teaching chemistry at Tampere University of applied sciences as before. Now, I have given my lessons also in English in a couple of courses during the last few years. Furthermore, I have been on a teacher exchange in Germany (March 2015), in China (October 2015) and in France (October 2016).

I will have a bunion operation next week and after that I will be in sick leave for 6-9 weeks. I think it is good time to study again. :-)
I took a CAE-test in the summer 2015.

Our 25-year-old daughter made a journey around the world (Finland-England-USA-New Zeeland- Australia- Asia (Thailand, Camboza, Vietnam, Laos)-Finland last spring.
I flought with our 12-year-old daughter to Bangkok and we made a trek to Thailand's jungle. The trek lasted 5 days and we saw beautiful sceneries and wildlife.
Last summer we (my husband, our daughter and I) spent in Albania for one week.

What about you? Have you been to USA or somewhere else recently? Are you well?

I look forward to hearing from you :-)
Have a nice evening,
Maarit

[Admin]

Thanks for your news Maarit! Of course I remember you - we exchanged quite a few messages when you were doing the General English course. I'm very impressed to hear that you can teach your classes in English - good for you! But can you explain who the students are? Why are you teaching them in English?
Your travels sound exciting - I've never been to Albania, although I know some Albanian people who live in Germany. What was your impression? Like every year I spent the summer in the USA. I was in NY most of the time, but I also went to Washington to visit friends, and to Albuquerque to stay with my sister. It was all fine, but the atmosphere in America right now is not fantastic: people are very worried about the possibility of Mr. Trump winning the elections!
Take care and I look forward to hearing from you again!
Pieter

[Maarit]

Many thanks for your letter, Pieter.
Yes, we exchanged quite a few messages during the time I studied General English courses . It was important for me to write, write and write again. I have always loved writing.

As a teacher we can remember or not our students. I recognize many of my students when I meet them but I don’t remember their names.

I have taught chemistry to the groups in which there are exchange students from Asia (Vietnam, China, Nepal, South Korea…), Africa, USA and Europe. In some groups there have been 70% foreigners and only 30% Finnish students.

Albania is a good place for tourist: everything is very cheap, landscapes are beautiful and people are kind for tourist. For example, hotel accommodation is about 30 euros a night including a plenty breakfast. Hotel accommodation may also include laundry or a free drive to a beach. You can easily have a lunch by 3-5 euros and a dinner by 5-6 euros. There is interesting sightseeing in Tirana and in other cities.

Actually, we stayed in three cities: Tirana, Shkoder and Durres. We saw historical monuments, museums, churches (a part of them was closed from tourists) in Tirana. Shkoder was a smaller city the same as Durres that is very near Adriatic Sea. The period of Hoxha had very hard for the people of Albania because during this time nobody had not any contact to other countries. Nowadays they are free but, however, they have bad social problems such as unemployment, corruption, mafia. In addition, traffic is very dangerous: If the speed limit is 40 km/h they can drive 100 km/h or more. We saw a very bad accident due to high speed in a motorway. Nevertheless, it is a country worth visiting.

By the way, have you read the book: The boy in the striped pyjamas? If yes, I could tell you how deep influence it caused on me. 

Have a nice weekend, take care
Best regards, Maarit


https://bookpage.com/reviews/4855-john-boyne-boy-striped-pajamas#.WAnpusmFl6x

[Admin]

Thanks for the information about Albania Maarit, it sounds very interesting. I had heard about some of the social problems from the Albanian woman in Germany. It's a country with a complicated history and it will take time to sort out the problems, I imagine. I haven't read the book you mentioned - is it a novel?
Take care,
Pieter

[Maarit]

Hi Pieter,

I had my foot operation last Wednesday.
It succeeced well and I have not pains in my foot now.
However, at he same time, I had some problems with my teeth and now I have tried to treat them.
I will write you more about the book, The boy in the striped pyjamas, later.
It is a short-story including about 150 pages.

Best regards, Maarit