ugo

hay where u from

Hi there, Ugo

For practicing English for just a year and a half you're not bad at it at all. Like I said (I think) before, its not an easy language, even for some for whom its their primary language (JK--well, maybe there's some truth there, LOL). I am always happy to see someone jumping right in to learn something, and especially pleased with someone who does it all her- or himself. I took Spanish in high school, but that's nothing compared to the way you're learning English, my friend. I am really very humbled by your dedication to the subject.

Have fun with the tree Ugo...I think that's one of the best parts of Christmas, decorating the Christmas tree.

I do something similar, Ugo. I usually, when I post to you in Italian, use the translated version (from an online translator). Usually I'm pretty far off, but I file my mistakes away and try to do better next time. English is a difficult language to learn--its a little Germanic, a little Romance and I understand there is even a little Celtic in there. Actually, when I was in grade & high school I took German and Spanish for a short time, and found Spanish a lot easier to learn than German. More words in English were similar to Romance words, but the way the sentences are structured was a little closer to German I think. For me, now, its a puzzle, and I am always looking for something that will engage my brain and make it stronger (it used to be stronger a few years ago, but is more cluttered and less organized and less efficient now). One thing is trying to read foreign languages (I use Wikipedia, but not just the English one--I also check the French, Swedish and other versions, too, and compare what is written there with what is written in English), use that online translator to take a sentence or paragraph I wrote and see how it translates into Italian, German, French, and so on. I also do some genealogy which I look at as a large jigsaw puzzle, and it helps me research (especially with Google books). And after about a year taking a break from photography I picked my camera up again a few weeks ago. I rarely take photos of people, but I love taking photos of sunrises and sunset (oh, that's right, you saw some a few weeks ago--I almost forgot). And I'm always watching the news (mostly CNN, but also MSNBC, CNBC and BBC, not all of which are available in Europe). I used to play chess and Stratego, but haven;t had anyone to play with for a long time, but now one of my nieces is interested so I might have a new way to exercise my brain (Joy!). Anyway, your English isn't bad at all (its better than some native speakers I can think of!), so keep up the good work, Ugo, not only with learning English but also with your art! Cheers!

Aw, give me a break Ugo (). If you can improve your English here, can't I reacquaint myself with the Romance languages? I used to speak Spanish almost fluently with a very good accent, and Italian is close so maybe from time to time I'll try to see if I can get things sorted out with online dictionaries, going from English or Spanish to Italian to try and teach myself something new. But I do take your point, and I'll write more often in English so you get more practice. Anyway, have a great day, Ugo!

Well Christmas is going to be great...I'm so excited. Plus I will get to meet my future step-brother this Christmas, so that's pretty exciting.

Ed una molto buona sera a lei, il mio amico, Ugo. Spiacente non ho avuto molto tempo per conversare, ma con le vacanze qui, e con l'osservazione di mie nipoti, l'ho trovato difficile si tenere al corrente di molto. Comunque, il suo sempre grande che le inviando note avanti e indietro, il mio amico! Evviva! !!

(And a very good evening to you, my friend, Ugo. Sorry I haven't had much time to converse, but with the holidays here, and with watching my nieces, I've found it difficult to keep track of much. Anyway, its always great sending notes back and forth, my friend! Cheers!)

It's rather mild in the north west edge of Germany. More to the east and more south the climate gets more extreme. We profit very much from the Gulf Stream heating us up.
If it wasn't for the Gulf Stream we probably could switch of our freezers in the winter time.

And you're living in the Heel of Italy, then. I was thinking of that expression, but didn't know if it would insult you.

Hi Ugo, I think it's time to become officially forum friends. Oh, I see you already accepted my friend request. Thanks!

So you live near the north coast of south Italy so to speak.
I can imagine very warm summers there. Some people I know would like to spent their summer vaccation in your area.
I live in the north west of Germany, short of 700 km north of the alps, about 100 km from the North Sea.
It's not very hot here in the summers, but not very cold in the winter time eiter. Usually it's around -5° - 25°C, with exceptional days / weeks above or below.

I hope you get some showers during summer, not like Portugal or Spain, whitch had problems with their water supply in the last years.