Onze vader
Onze vader die in de hemel zijt
Uw naam worde geheiligd.
Uw rijk kome.
Uw wil geschiede op aarde zoals in de hemel.
Geef ons heden ons dagelijks brood.
En vergeef ons onze schuld,
zoals wij ook aan anderen hun schuld vergeven.
En leid ons niet in bekoring,
maar verlos ons van het kwade.
Amen.
And if you understood that, then je spreekt nederlands. I'm learning it myself via the Duolingo app, and finding it quite easy to do. Dutch (and German, which I'm also "acquiring") is rather close, in a lot of ways, to English. It's just a slightly more guttural, phlegm producing (e.g., spitting) language. If you can understand this, you probably could read Dutch or German (I can, at least moderately well, though ik spreek Engels en Frans). Yes, there is some "spontaneous" speaking of this newly acquired language. I also listen to music in the language-- Disney- Lion King 2-- Love Will Find a Way-- Reflection-- Disney's Mulan-- Dutch Subs and Translation and if I could FIND a print newspaper in Dutch, I would SO be in my element. One can only say, "ik heb een krant" so many times before one WANTS a newspaper!
I've also learned the "Holy of Holies" as far as swears goes-- "klootzak", which is as versatile as the "m-word", e.g., "merde", "merda", "mierda", etc. is in the Romance languages. And of course I taught my Dad, who speaks the language somewhat (his Frisian is better) so now whenever our illustrious Leader comes on TV, I hear some muttering under his breath that is less than polite (he's added a couple of words to "klootzak"-- and they're even less polite. Something about someone's mother having questionable morals and a certain someone's sexual proclivities towards said mother). FTR, that word literally translates differently than the common meaning.
The fact that I'm ALREADY looking up the swears is pretty much par for the course. I was a week into my French class before I already knew the "Unholy Six" and how to conjugate the worst of the bunch (see The worst French verb-- BAISSER). Hey, what can I say? I was under the influence of a Y chromosome, a 16 year old boy. We then learned-- because our French teacher, Madame Ditewig (who goes to my parish church, BLUSHES) apparently thought we were "amusing", a few other somewhat impolite phrases. For the record, the Harper Collins Robert French Dictionary... is the best of the bunch.
The fact that I'm ALREADY looking up the swears is pretty much par for the course. I was a week into my French class before I already knew the "Unholy Six" and how to conjugate the worst of the bunch (see The worst French verb-- BAISSER). Hey, what can I say? I was under the influence of a Y chromosome, a 16 year old boy. We then learned-- because our French teacher, Madame Ditewig (who goes to my parish church, BLUSHES) apparently thought we were "amusing", a few other somewhat impolite phrases. For the record, the Harper Collins Robert French Dictionary... is the best of the bunch.
The swearing in this post probably necessitates a trip to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which I normally avoid like the Plague. Needless to say that I barely remember when my last confession was is cause FOR a trip to the booth.
By the way, I asked a Lebanese priest friend of mine if social media confessions were a "thing" yet. Unfortunately for me and unfortunately for my priest, they are not.
For the record, I am a Catholic Christian, if it was ever a doubt in anyone's mind. I have an immense respect for followers of other religions-- including those who believe in none. We are all in this journey called life on Earth together. We need to respect one another's choices religiously. We need to KNOW about other religions, other faith practices, to know why we practice our own faith as we do. There should be no compulsion in religion, no punishment if someone chooses to follow a faith differently than we ourselves choose to, no classism, elitism, etc.
You are not a better Christian because you tithe more than I do. You are not a better Muslim because you pray more than your sister does. You are not a better Jew because you keep kosher and your friend does not.
In the eyes of God, we are all the same. From dust we came, to dust we shall remain.
And yeah, I know, Ash Wednesday was 40 days ago and Lent has now passed until next year.
I try to challenge y'all-- and if I could do one thing-- it is to encourage you to reach out to someone you've never met before. Have it be someone who has NOTHING in common with you. Have it be someone you really honestly don't want to like because of whatever reason. It could be that Mormon woman you meet at a great restaurant (Peace Bakery, run by Palestinians, great hummus and awesome toum; their bakery is THE BEST in these United States; ) in Austin. It could be the Muslim woman you meet at your college library in Longview, WA. It could be the Buddhist you see practicing Tai Chi in the park in Arcadia, CA.
Don't let your fears or prejudices keep you from making a friend. Or even stepping outside your comfort zone. Capiche?
Once again... may God be with us all. May He bring us peace and prosperity, love and laughter, and all the things we, as humankind, desire.
I'm about to watch "Iron Eagle" and its very finely veiled references to "Bilya", which, of course, is reminiscent of the diplomatic issues our two countries faced in the mid 1980's. For the record, YES, the country IS "supposed to be" Libya. Yes, it should have caused a North Korea style incident like the movie "The Interview" did. But thankfully, our leaders back then were less child like. Um... wait... Reagan was, welllllllllllll... half senile and followed the Republican mantra of "start a war to distract from the shoddy state of x, y, z" in this nation. Or so my Dad says, and he's almost never wrong politically. Except when he is, and then it's a Charlie Foxtrot of epic proportions.
EDIT: another movie with finely veiled references to you know who is "The Dictator". Just don't, if you haven't. Sasha Baren Cohen movies are immature to the max, and best done when you need a real laugh.
By the way, I asked a Lebanese priest friend of mine if social media confessions were a "thing" yet. Unfortunately for me and unfortunately for my priest, they are not.
For the record, I am a Catholic Christian, if it was ever a doubt in anyone's mind. I have an immense respect for followers of other religions-- including those who believe in none. We are all in this journey called life on Earth together. We need to respect one another's choices religiously. We need to KNOW about other religions, other faith practices, to know why we practice our own faith as we do. There should be no compulsion in religion, no punishment if someone chooses to follow a faith differently than we ourselves choose to, no classism, elitism, etc.
You are not a better Christian because you tithe more than I do. You are not a better Muslim because you pray more than your sister does. You are not a better Jew because you keep kosher and your friend does not.
In the eyes of God, we are all the same. From dust we came, to dust we shall remain.
And yeah, I know, Ash Wednesday was 40 days ago and Lent has now passed until next year.
I try to challenge y'all-- and if I could do one thing-- it is to encourage you to reach out to someone you've never met before. Have it be someone who has NOTHING in common with you. Have it be someone you really honestly don't want to like because of whatever reason. It could be that Mormon woman you meet at a great restaurant (Peace Bakery, run by Palestinians, great hummus and awesome toum; their bakery is THE BEST in these United States; ) in Austin. It could be the Muslim woman you meet at your college library in Longview, WA. It could be the Buddhist you see practicing Tai Chi in the park in Arcadia, CA.
Don't let your fears or prejudices keep you from making a friend. Or even stepping outside your comfort zone. Capiche?
Once again... may God be with us all. May He bring us peace and prosperity, love and laughter, and all the things we, as humankind, desire.
I'm about to watch "Iron Eagle" and its very finely veiled references to "Bilya", which, of course, is reminiscent of the diplomatic issues our two countries faced in the mid 1980's. For the record, YES, the country IS "supposed to be" Libya. Yes, it should have caused a North Korea style incident like the movie "The Interview" did. But thankfully, our leaders back then were less child like. Um... wait... Reagan was, welllllllllllll... half senile and followed the Republican mantra of "start a war to distract from the shoddy state of x, y, z" in this nation. Or so my Dad says, and he's almost never wrong politically. Except when he is, and then it's a Charlie Foxtrot of epic proportions.
EDIT: another movie with finely veiled references to you know who is "The Dictator". Just don't, if you haven't. Sasha Baren Cohen movies are immature to the max, and best done when you need a real laugh.
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