Crepes and obscure languages
We were hoping to go to the Exploratorium, but my brother woke up too late for that. So instead, we went to SF, to the Mission, and ate at this nice crepe place there, Ti-Couz. It was very Breton, even though most of the writing on the menus and such were French. Ha ha, I could read the French writing. Really good crepes, although my lemonade arrived with a Nutella-covered spoon stuck in it. Mmm, and chocolate mousse for dessert.
Also, we found we could read some of the signs on restaurants written in the Arabic alphabet. We were standing there for about five minutes saying "f-a-l-f-l... oh, that's falafel!"
Afterwards, we found a nifty used bookstore just down the street. They had a section of "Teach Yourself" language books from the 60s, with some really obscure language choices: Welsh, Latvian, Norwegian, Finnish, Turkish, Swedish, Serbo-Croatian... I really wish I'd gotten the Swahili and Modern Greek ones. Instead, I ended up with Colloquial Arabic, Icelandic, and Modern Persian.
The Arabic book is especially amusing. It doesn't teach you the alphabet; it's basically a phrasebook for Englishmen traveling to Cairo in the 60s. It includes the most astonishingly, uselessly specific phrases I have ever seen in a phrasebook:
"There is a traffic jam on the corner of Suliman Pasha Street."
"In Alexandria there are both single- and double-decker trams."
"The walnuts and almonds are too dear. I'll take some peanuts instead."
"Could you please weigh this chicken for me?"
"Can you give me the number of Mr. Muhammad Salim, of 10 Station Road?"
"We have pleasure in sending you herewith invoice for two hundred pairs of best-quality men's shoes bought for your account and to be shipped to you on the 22nd. We hope you will be pleased with the goods, as the make is strong and serviceable and the manufacturers guarantee the goods to stand any climate."
"I have a gumboil."
"Do you sell lipsticks and nail varnish to match?"
"The hat with the black feathers does not match your brown coat."
"I know you know the plot, but please don't tell me."
"Would you like to hear the gondola-song of Abd al-Wahhaab?"
It really really amuses me. Really.
I haven't looked much at the Persian or Icelandic ones yet, but the Persian looks fun -- ooh, an Indo-European language using a slightly modified Arabic alphabet! I'm such a geek. And look, the book teaches you the Persian alphabet and explains how it differs from the Arabic one! Ooh!
Also, we found we could read some of the signs on restaurants written in the Arabic alphabet. We were standing there for about five minutes saying "f-a-l-f-l... oh, that's falafel!"
Afterwards, we found a nifty used bookstore just down the street. They had a section of "Teach Yourself" language books from the 60s, with some really obscure language choices: Welsh, Latvian, Norwegian, Finnish, Turkish, Swedish, Serbo-Croatian... I really wish I'd gotten the Swahili and Modern Greek ones. Instead, I ended up with Colloquial Arabic, Icelandic, and Modern Persian.
The Arabic book is especially amusing. It doesn't teach you the alphabet; it's basically a phrasebook for Englishmen traveling to Cairo in the 60s. It includes the most astonishingly, uselessly specific phrases I have ever seen in a phrasebook:
"There is a traffic jam on the corner of Suliman Pasha Street."
"In Alexandria there are both single- and double-decker trams."
"The walnuts and almonds are too dear. I'll take some peanuts instead."
"Could you please weigh this chicken for me?"
"Can you give me the number of Mr. Muhammad Salim, of 10 Station Road?"
"We have pleasure in sending you herewith invoice for two hundred pairs of best-quality men's shoes bought for your account and to be shipped to you on the 22nd. We hope you will be pleased with the goods, as the make is strong and serviceable and the manufacturers guarantee the goods to stand any climate."
"I have a gumboil."
"Do you sell lipsticks and nail varnish to match?"
"The hat with the black feathers does not match your brown coat."
"I know you know the plot, but please don't tell me."
"Would you like to hear the gondola-song of Abd al-Wahhaab?"
It really really amuses me. Really.
I haven't looked much at the Persian or Icelandic ones yet, but the Persian looks fun -- ooh, an Indo-European language using a slightly modified Arabic alphabet! I'm such a geek. And look, the book teaches you the Persian alphabet and explains how it differs from the Arabic one! Ooh!