Even females get it

[Okiebollweevil 0]

As to the Russian accent, wait until Alla starts speaking more English you will find yourself enthralled. Children will assimilate faster and their accents will be cute, but coming out of the mouth of the woman you love-well all I can say is you will see what a wuss you can be made into.

All I can say is it will drive you crazy as well because, like children, there will be many things "I not know because I speak Russian language." Ah, what's the language you speak have to do with paying rent?

Sure, there will be funny and cute moments, but there will also be those very trying times when she knows exactly what you're talking about but plays the ignorance card.

(All the more incentive for you to speak Russian. If you understand and speak her language there's almost no way she can pull a fast one on you.)

I really haven't had that problem of "no understand" Julia had pretty good English skills when she came, and has thrown herself into school. I told her she didn't have to work, but she went out and got a part time job through the middle of december while in school. so as harried as she is with studies and work, not too many opportunities to play the nicht verstehen card. But I do hear a litany of complaints about the folks she works with, mostly about back biting. I tried to explain to her that state government work usually attacts the LCD of the working populace. But she does understand why when I come home from work I am not too eager to run out to eat, now the shoe is on the other foot! And staying on topic just deleted an e-mail from Helen. Most of the ####### I see comes with a man's name on the heading.

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

Thanks! "Mr. Kind Eyes" is walking on the dark side this month!

Well... we probably won't do our holiday tradition for Election Day. We usually stick to the most popular tradition of the month so that would be Thanksgiving. I think I might land in hot water if I put a Palin mask on my Alla. "Jeffery, seems to me you want this woman." She would not like that joke!

Alla's spoken English is not bad already. It's more her spelling that gets her in trouble. Her daughter's English has evolved tremendously in the past two years. I'm thinking her cute accent is going to cause me to lock her up in the shed on weekends from the out of control, hormonally driven, high schoolers! Her young son has almost no accent, what so ever, when he speaks English. I have a feeling he might not ever really have one after a few years.

Hey, I'm man enough to admit, I can be a wuss from time to time when it comes to Alla. But I do have my limits (and Alla tells me where those are!)

Love the Masks Jeffrey! Now we won't see "Mr. Kind eyes" references for awhile. I am certainly looking forward to the November masks as there are haloween masks with the hopefuls available, so are you going to be McCain or Obama? Alla in a Palin mask? We are dying in suspense. As to the topic-I ge these e-mails all the time at work (like AK a govt. worker) I don't even open them even tho I would like to see the "hot" photos. Had some come with photos within the body of the letter, can see the appeal to us lonely older guys. As to the Russian accent, wait until Alla starts speaking more English you will find yourself enthralled. Children will assimilate faster and their accents will be cute, but coming out of the mouth of the woman you love-well all I can say is you will see what a wuss you can be made into.

I agree he was too naive. Personally, I would have tossed her the first time she started smoking. I could not tolerate that.

By the way, a friend gave me a copy of "Birthday Girl". I may have been naive at first, but never as bad as the guy in the movie. But, I guess if my life was as boring as his, I just might have done the same thing.

Thanks comrades. Yeah, I've been doing the holiday thing since last Christmas. Keep an eye open for our different views to return.

Now I feel like Halloween is really around the corner. Nice one!!

[1HappyGuy 45]

Yes, the spelling can be troublesome, especially concerning the S and C. One thing that has become apparent to me is the type of English most of them learn. It is the British English, not American English. There is quite a difference between these similar languages. Of course, in America we use so much slang that at times you can be speaking to a person from another country that speaks English quite well and they won't understand a word you said.

My stepson had a problem when he first took the written test for drivers permit. One question asked about blocking an intersection and he didn't know that definition of block.

But, overall the experience has been very eye opening for me. I found that phrases I have used most of my life, I had trouble explaining. I'm going to have to find a book on the history of some of these phrases. We had one last night while watching the VP debate. Lena asked, "What does windfall mean?" It took a few minutes for me to think how to explain it too her. In the end a dictionary gave her an answer she understood. "So, it means to pick up fruit blown off a tree?"

[Brad and Vika 129]

Yes, the spelling can be troublesome, especially concerning the S and C. One thing that has become apparent to me is the type of English most of them learn. It is the British English, not American English. There is quite a difference between these similar languages. Of course, in America we use so much slang that at times you can be speaking to a person from another country that speaks English quite well and they won't understand a word you said.

My stepson had a problem when he first took the written test for drivers permit. One question asked about blocking an intersection and he didn't know that definition of block.

But, overall the experience has been very eye opening for me. I found that phrases I have used most of my life, I had trouble explaining. I'm going to have to find a book on the history of some of these phrases. We had one last night while watching the VP debate. Lena asked, "What does windfall mean?" It took a few minutes for me to think how to explain it too her. In the end a dictionary gave her an answer she understood. "So, it means to pick up fruit blown off a tree?"

The funniest question about slang I ever got from an Eastern European was after overhearing two young men at the next lunch table use the phrase "taking a s#%t". I can't remember the context of the statement (other than thinking - hey! people are eating here), but I could not explain where he was taking it, or why we don't say we are leaving it instead.

[Brad and Vika 129]

For those that have seen "Birthday Girl", that was a point made in the film. Guys "fall faster and easier" when there is not perfect communication. The fact that the female lead pretended she could not speak English caused the male to grow sympathetic to her situation. The trap was then far more easily set.

Hey, I will admit, my Alla's not so perfect e-mails made her "cuter" and, yes, I'm a sucker for her accent!

men are likely to be led along thinking that it is just poor English that is making the letter sound interesting.

Then, add in a couple of very lovely photos of a woman and you have some guy really interested.

So.... hot chick plus accent equals dumb guys?

(Story of my life, by the way!)

Now I feel like Halloween is really around the corner. Nice one!!

So, are you going out as a hot chick, or a dumb guy?

Well, I can't really pull off the whole hot chick look believably, so I guess it will be the other. Arguably though, that one doesn't qualify as a costume for me. Maybe I will just go with the traditional axe-wielding homicidal maniac look.