#and a big world

[potentiallypolyglot]

The world is so big and so small.

Sometimes I get down thinking that the whole world has been discovered. There aren’t billions other planets and places that we can visit and cultures that we can experience like in Doctor Who or Marvel movies (terrible point of reference I know). I was foolishly worrying the other day that once I “master” Chinese I’ll get bored because there won’t be more that I’m excited to learn. (Ridiculous bc I haven’t even scratched the surface as it is and there will be no end to learning, especially with a language so beautiful and with so much history).

For a bit, I lost interest in other languages I used to love and worried I’d never fall in love with another language. I used to want to learn so many and suddenly felt I couldn’t be bothered.

I’d look at Chinese dramas and think these people are so similar to me, what’s the point of another culture if it’s not that different? (Ridiculous, I know) But this is just another part of the big/small earth dichotomy. Of course it’s different! Cultures can be different and still be made of people who are are fundamentally the same at their core. That’s the point!!!

Anyway, I found myself perusing a language development tree and saw Frisian, which is the closest modern language to English. I’d never heard of it! I looked it up and Google ‘helpfully’ told me that it is spoken in Friesland, which I’d also never heard of. It’s a region of the Netherlands, and there are six (6) branches of the Frisian language. And despite being 80% lexically similar, it is not mutually intelligible with English. Nor is it mutually intelligible with Dutch (official language of the Netherlands).

It is such a delight to discover that there is more to the world than the things I already know or am aware can be learned. I know all of this is obvious and some is the product of irrational/limited thinking. But I think that’s sometimes the beauty of it. Being a little blind and finding new light.

So I looked into how to learn Frisian and found this great (and adorable?) resource . It’s a website with a free program to learn Frisian, including audio files and exercises. With their premium program, you can even interact with native speakers via WhatsApp or Telegram.

There are about 500,000 modern speakers of Fresian. And you can learn their language!! There’s probably not much commercial value to learning it and you aren’t likely to encounter a speaker randomly, but it’s theirs! And you can learn it too!

So my search for novelty lead me to the language most similar to my own. And even now I feel somewhat bad that apparently is biggest claim to fame is that it is similar to English (can’t it be amazing in its own right? It shouldn’t have to live in a shadow!!) But it’s comforting to know that when you think there’s nothing to be discovered, you can find something new so close to home.

I know this post probably comes across as naive and narrow minded. And I know I haven’t written eloquently and the ideas expressed are much more profound in my head. But I was delighted so I wanted to share as best I can.

ALSO!!! The first words I’ve seen so far in Frisian are:

Hello - ‘goeie’

Goodbye - 'oan't sjen' or 'sjoddy'

🤯🤯🤯

I know it’s novelty (that’s the point) but those words seem so much more foreign to me now than 你好 and 再见, despite apparently being so similar to English. I’m so glad I have so much to learn. 😁

I’m still focused on and delighted by Chinese and so excited to visit China soon (hopefully) and study there next year (if everything goes amazingly well). But I might just dabble a little in Frisian for fun. At least enough to figure out what makes it similar to English. (The words I’ve seen so far don’t look similar - is the grammar the same?? I have to know!!)

Thanks for letting me be silly.

[doe-prince]

Friendly fellows

[apollos-boyfriend]

so my younger cousin is flying in to visit from brazil on sunday, and will be staying here for like, the entirety of july. which, don't get me wrong, is super cool! i love the kid! but it felt like a super weird move, considering his parents are the SUPER strict and borderline helicopter parents. even the smallest prank/roughousing with him/his little sister would lead to a strict talking to from his parents, he couldn't ever do anything without their clear permission, that sort of stuff. so letting him fly at alone at 16 to a whole different country and stay there for a whole month seemed WILDLY out of character. additionally, it just felt like a super last-minute trip. it's not like we have any plans to do when he gets here, and the flight itself and stuff only got booked like, midway through june.

and i was talking to my mom about it, kind of trying to nudge some answers out of her, and after a while she went, "yeah, i think they're sending him over here to get away for his boyfriend. see if the distance breaks them off." which, first of all, surprised me because last i checked, they didn't KNOW he had a boyfriend. literally everyone in the family did EXCEPT for them because while that entire side of the family being semi-conservative, his parents (mostly his dad) are EXTREMELY old-fashioned. so clearly something already went wrong. and considering the only reason the rest of the family knew is because one person found out and it spread like wildfire, i have a sneaking suspicion he wasn't the one to tell them, either.

and second of all. they're sending him HERE. to try to make him forget his homosexuality. i couldn't do anything but just wordlessly gesture to the multiple pride flags scattered around my room, then to myself, because really? he has like two other cousins in the us and they're sending him to me? honey i am about to introduce this kid to queer scenes you have never even heard of. he'll be returning home with labels only shrimp can perceive

[chloesimaginationthings]

Do any of you remember Scott's games before FNAF?

[lotus-pear]

learning to love

[aniseandspearmint]

I am curious, bc I just ran across one of those, 'everyone remembers where they were when 9/11 happened!' things so-

This isn't meant to be a commentary on the event, just whether or not you remember where you were/what you were doing when the news hit.

As an example, I was home sick, doing dishes, when mom yelled for me to get in the living room RIGHT NOW.

[junotter]

Part 2 of my modern avatar au, The Gaang (part 1)

[pangur-and-grim]

I like when he sits outside with me...... in his own chair, like a proper companion!

[starry-beetle]

[victusinveritas]

[vertyd]

owd wowld bwews

[isolabellz]

in another life

[satoshy12]

It took a while to notice, but Batman, like other heroes, noticed that there were fewer villains? So Batman tried to find out why, but in the end it was the Joker who told him.

The Joker:" Ah, I will not be a cheat like the rest, Batman. They found a new hero and moved on, but I stayed loyal". Batman learns that most of his not-so-evil villains have left their city to join the new hero.

+ Amity Park looked at the new people and just accepted them. They always had them in their city, from day one.

Danny likes to fight them! They're fun, and ironically, they make sure people don't get hurt when he fights Ghost.

+ The Rouge, like the little Hero. He has no idea about the outside world, which the town has made sure stays that way, and people treat him normally. Just don't attack them and we don't care about your past. Get a new job or not. Live well.

[mpregjamesdiamond]

completely based off this post

@samwinchesterstan

[icantspellthings]

Honestly, I don't mind buff and hairless spock in SNW that much because in my mind I just pretend that spock went through a fuck boy gym rat phase in his 20s because he wanted to look like a ~sexy~ vulcan.

And that's why in TOS in his 30s, he doesn't talk about his past starfleet postings that much because he's embarrassed about it.

Like in a "wow I can't believe Pike had to see me in my fuckboy waxing my chest hoe era, better not tell Kirk about this or else I'd be teased about it until the end of times, let's just pretend I was always a proper logical Vulcan"

[1mm4d13]

Some of the best art of these two is literally this