General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsA scene from lockdown Germany:
Sie: Was hast Du den ganzen Tag gemacht?
Er: Nichts
Sie: Du hast schon gestern nichts gemacht.
Er: Ich bin noch nicht damit fertig geworden.
She: What have you been doing all day?
He: Nothing.
She: You did nothing all day yesterday.
He: I'm not finished yet.
pdxflyboy
(672 posts)central scrutinizer
(11,617 posts)DFW
(54,055 posts)But she's a master chef and has a nice smile. Whaddya gonna do?
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central scrutinizer
(11,617 posts)But back in the 1850s. They all were peasants who spoke Plattdeutsch.
DFW
(54,055 posts)My wife's family spoke Platt, too.
Ik kan ook Pladdütsch gaut vertsteihen.
My wife's mom's family spoke it among themselves, but tried to teach their kids Hochdeutsch, thinking Platt made them seem like peasants. Her dad's family were all farmers, and they all spoke Platt as their native language. She has a cousin who now lives in Wiesbaden, but still speaks Platt when she talks to her brothers on the phone. They are originally from the Cloppenburg area.
central scrutinizer
(11,617 posts)My great great grandmother was one of the founders of the town in 1857. Theres a club there:
https://www.pdclubgi.com/
DFW
(54,055 posts)Like this thing (spelling Duetsch like they really pronounce it, though there are hundred different dialects), or that village in California where they only speak Danish.
Lars39
(26,093 posts)DFW
(54,055 posts)With all the Berlins and New Berlins, It stands to reason there would be one.
A most curious community I heard about all my life, but only visited it a decade ago.
On tangent about other odd German communities: My father always talked about a German city in China his tugboat was ported in during the Second World War. He also talked about wrestling abandoned US Navy ships from Gorillas Hell bent on stealing them. Absurd in our minds, but great stories nevertheless.
Fast forward forty years, we we eating in a fine hole-in-the wall Chinese restaurant in San Francisco my father frequented for years. When we walked in, the red carpet was laid out for us, and all the older staff came out to greet him, and to deliver the Tsingtao beer.
They were all from Qingdao, China.
Hekate
(90,193 posts)My friends and I drove over to visit the Elverhoj Museum on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Solvang. To us it seemed like just another quirky local tourist town we'd all been to before, and I for one had no idea how the Danes ended up there.
Turns out the Danish government sponsored the settlers, who were supposed to demonstrate the cultural wonders of Denmark to Americans and create friendship. In the Santa Ynez Valley? SMH but whatever. Given it's been a century, there are few who speak Danish any more, but cultural traces remain in churches and clubs founded by them, and of course in arts & crafts and such.
csziggy
(34,120 posts)My niece decided to stay in Prague rather than come home. We haven't heard much from her other than she'd bored. Usually she is working with refugees in some hot spot in the Middle East or South Asia so she is not at all used to sitting around.
At least she is safer in Prague than any of the places she's been over the last several years (Afghanistan, Baghdad, Turkey next to the Syrian border, and Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh).
DFW
(54,055 posts)France, Spain and Switzerland, just to name three places where I spend a lot of time, are all in virtual lockdown. The Swiss canton of Ticino, Italian-speaking and right on the border, is especially tight, but having more cases than the rest of Switzerland. Italy, of course, is having the worst time. Spain has had a lot of infections, too. These are countries with strong social traditions, and prohibiting them from having large gatherings is like telling an Eskimo to avoid snow.
Here in Germany, people are more used to following rules (and we have three times as many of them!). So people are keeping to the house except for essentials. We have maybe 55,000 recorded infections, but less than 1000 deaths (that won't last). Over in the Netherlands, things seem to be about on a par with here. Many countries have sealed off their border even to their neighbors. Holland only lets in EU citizens, and I haven't tried to test that. I only have American citizenship, but I do have a permanent German legal residency card. My younger daughter lives near (but not in) Frankfurt, and she and the family are trying to keep their wits about them at home. She is due to have her second baby in two months, and knowing her, she has probably negotiated a secure place in some clinic to deliver. Her first one was so free of complications, she voluntarily went home the second day, and with the hospital's blessings--very unusual for Germany.
Eastern Europe, we hear nothing. Some traditions of the old Soviet mentality linger on. Russia, of course, has followed the Trump example. "No virus here, we just perfect." Right, with a 1500 mile long border with China and Russians going in and out of Western Europe every hour, they have no virus. So, predictably, Russia just sealed off its borders to the outside world. Just a precaution, you understand. It's still a paradise there. We know, because Putin told us.
Prague is a nice place to be, but I guess even a fabulous city like that gets old after a few weeks of not being able to do anything. Sure, it's safer than Kabul, Dacca or Baghdad, but if you get a bad infection of COVID-19, the virus doesn't give you a pass just because you have a view of the Charles Bridge.
csziggy
(34,120 posts)It is very interesting how social mores affect the progress of a virus!
My niece is very bored - she is so used to constant travel or work (a little like you, I expect). She may be doing some work, the NGO she has been working for is centered in Prague so they may have her doing some administrative functions. Her expertise is on the ground refugee assistance so she'd be incredibly bored doing office work.
Usually we only hear from her when she is in the US. She's been calling my older sister and they talk for hours - not normal for my niece but very normal for my sister.
She decided to stay because she did not want to travel on a crowded airplane possibly with infected people, plus she has no permanent residence in the US. She does own a condo in DC but it is leased out. Neither my sister or I have a room she could use, though if we did, she'd be welcome. I believe some of her workmates live in Prague and offered her space during this crisis.
Good wishes to you and your family!