Wood, impregnation and translation

My family has a company and we impregnate wood. As this may not make sense to everyone I looked up for the definition which says:

impregnate (CAUSE TO ABSORB) - to cause something, usually a solid substance, to absorb something, usually a liquid:This cloth has been impregnated with special chemicals for cleaning computer screens.

We do this with wood which absorbs creosote oil. The purpose is to extend the lifespan of wooden items like garden furniture, fences etc. But the most important articles are wooden poles and sleepers. As you can imagine the glossary I have to know to help my parents is not quiet the same I could learn or hear anywhere else. I must confess that I don't know the names of many trees in my mother tongue let alone in foreign languages (German or English). But a nice daughter as I am I tried to do my best. I found a website which has a glossary of wood terms- very useful (at least for me) maybe someday you'll have to deal with a similar topic too and you can have a look at it then: http://www.woodbook.co.uk/glossary

Expat blogs

I prefer to read a newspaper to discover some new private details of lives of strangers (mainly celebrities) to satisfy my curiosity. But blogging will do it also and the authors stories are probably more genuine anyway.

I will briefly present you the blogs- the people- I will follow:


http://www.drakkart.com/eire2/

Krystian Kozerawski is a polish emigrant who lives and works in Ireland. He is an all-around man having gained some experience as a foreign correspondent writing articles for a newspapers, in Computer Graphics and Web Design and as a TV Fixer besides having a M.A in Archaeology. His biggest interests are in guitar playing and the iron age. I believe I can learn a lot about living as a foreigner in Ireland and handling all the problems that can arise from reading his blog. It can give you a basic overlook of the Irish culture.



http://www.nerdseyeview.com/

The »nerd« is a young American woman who moved from Seattle to a small village in Austria- reason, love. She is a freelance technical writer and has very unusual hobbies as playing the ukulele and snowshoeing. Her writing skill are extraordinary what makes her blog fun to read. By following her online diary you can get a fairly realistic overview of the American culture colliding the Austrian culture- all the differences and similarities.



http://www.carniola.org/

Michael Manski hosts his own radio show at the RSI (radio Slovenia international). He moved from New York to Maribor, Slovenia, God knows why. If you want to know how it feels to emigrate to Maribor, Slovenia I highly recommend you to read this blog. Manski has a brilliant sense of humour and his descriptions of the Slovenian culture are accurate and genuine. To conclude, good fun!

To be spoilt for choice

Reading is a good way to kill time in long winter evenings and while lying on the beach having a sunbath (at least in my opinion). We can choose between several books all of which the topic is expats. As there are many with a promising story and good reviews I decided to buy more than one. If not earlier, I have something to read during the summer. I've come to the decision to read McCarthy's Bar, A house somewhere and maybe Last of the donkeys pilgrims. Probably I won't manage to read them all but I'll try. So, let's buy them.

Expats

This semester we are reading David Monagan's book Jaywalking with the Irish because of the theme expats. We are going to have presentations of each chapter and learn about Ireland and its culture. Wish you all a good start!