Great sights to see in New York, Australia, London and Israel - but could you live there? Comic song

I was wondering about this and wrote a comic song to sum up my feelings, putting the case for and against the frenetic city life and buzz of New York city contrasted with the laid back lifestyle of Australia.

In America and Singapore (and Asia - where the hard-working Chinese run businesses) you often see people working late at night and weekends.

Singaporeans can enjoy a giant waterfall for free at the Jewel shopping mall by terminal one at Changi airport. Within the city there's the peaceful, free Botanical Gardens and the Night Safari.

Singaporeans travel to Malaysia to shop and to Australia to relax. The Aussies might stop work at five and go off for the beach and beer party.

Australia
Ayers rock is no longer a free for all. Many start with Sydney, its opera house and bridge, a dinner joining in the chorus of Waltzing Mathilda. Others prefer Perth. Or drive along the Great Ocean Road to see the 'Twelve' Apostles, mis-counted pillars in the sea. 

Israel's Attractions
In Israel the city people often have two jobs to make ends meet. But the religious people stop work for the Sabbath. However, the majority of the world's Jews are in the USA and are secular.

Israel has the antiquities in Jerusalem with its museums and sacred places of all religions, See the old city of Jerusalem with its quarters for Arabs with the great mosque, Below the mosque is the Jewish Wailing Wall, all that is left of the great synagogue, the tunnel, Christian Armenians, and Roman remains, mosaics of old synagogues from the time of Jesus, churches galore,biblical memories of Abraham and Solomon, David and New Testament's Jesus.  You stay in cities such as see the art deco (actually Bauhaus) white Thirties city of Tel Aviv.  Or out to visit a hotel on a green kibbutz, the pool and waterfall oasis of Ein Gedi or the rust coloured desert and tall Pillars of Solomon, Masada, or the beaches of Eilat and float on the Dead Sea.

Malaysia
Malaysia, Singapore's northerly neighbour, is much more laid back than Singapore. The Malays are not Arabs. They are party people. An American expat told me her husband was sent to manage the opening of a factory in Malaysia. They took on staff and the first week all went well. Friday the staff all got their first week's wages.

Monday nobody turned up. They were happy to sit around until the money ran, out and then go back to ask for a job.

You have the city of KL with the twin towers familiar from the movie Entrapment featuring Catherine Zeta-Jones.


American flag

USA
Of course, having lived in the USA I know that not all America is the same. New York, New York. The UN, the twin towers memorial, the spiral Guggenheim gallery of art, or to Ellis Island and the statue of Liberty on a ferry.

The south is more relaxed. They speak slower, too.

The West coast is more relaxed than the East with coastal LA and misty, artsy hilly San Francisco, or off to the wine country. The real cities or the fantasies of Disney in California or Florida. You have a choice, cities or scenery.

At the weekends we used to drive off. You can go out of the cities to see the blue ridge parkway along the east coast, or over to the the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Monument Valley and numerous national Parks.

Here is my Song:

We went for a walk around New York and I said, 

Let’s talk about New York

I said, 'The skyscrapers are a mile high ..!'

But he said, 'You can hardly see the sky!'

I said, ‘This is the place I want to live!’ but he said;

 ‘One of us has to give

'I want to live in Australia, 

the place where I was born

'I want to see the sunset

 in the place where I saw dawn

'You would love koala bears

And you'd love the kangaroos!'

But I said, "And be eaten by crocodiles!

But to you this isn't news.'

He took my hand and with a smile
Said, 'Florida has crocodiles'

Yes, take a tour of them, alone
This land has troubles of its own

I shrugged, though I was broken-hearted 

But bravely smiled as he departed

But every year we meet again 

and we repeat the same refrain

I say, “Let’s walk around New York, 

Don’t you love it? Let’s have a talk,’

I say, ‘This is the place I want to live,’

But he says: ‘One of us has to give

'You’re the only thing I lack and 

That’s why each year I come back

'Yes, my dear, I love it here

But I'm going home to the beach and the beer

' 'cos I want to live in Australia,

 The place where I was born

'I’m going back, to see the last sunset, 

In the place where I first saw the dawn.’

...

D'you want to know the moral?

I know that you're not thick

But I assure you others are

Thick as two short planks and a brick

The lover's moral is think before

'Cos war brings love but love brings war 

Before you pick a foreign love

Decide if you're prepared to move

If not, the moral's plain to see

You'll end up single just like me.

I'd be the one who you forget
If it wasn't for the internet 

'I know you've a good memory

But others are a pain

'You tell them once, tell them twice

Then have to tell the story again.'

'Yes, I have a great memory

But I love to hear your voice

'I listen to the same old stories

Old friends don't have a choice

"I'd rather hear about old times

Than hear of other men

'So you tell me about our love

I'll hear it once again.'

We went for a walk around New York and I said, 

'Let’s talk about New York,'

I said, 'The skyscrapers are a mile high ..!'

But he said, 'You can hardly see the sky!'

I said, ‘This is the place I want to live!’ but he said;

 ‘One of us has to give

I have nothing more to say
But can't you meet me half way?

And so we went to London
Met on St Pancras station



But that was neither here nor there
Just a brief vacation

We went for a walk around New York and I said, 

Let’s talk about New York

I said, 'The skyscrapers are a mile high ..!'

But he said, 'You can hardly see the sky!

'I want to live in Australia, 

the place where I was born

'I want to see the sunset

 in the place where I saw dawn.'

'So you stay there - and I'll stay here
And we must meet again - next year!'

-ends-

Copyright Angela Lansbury
The penultimate verse sounded like he was about to commit suicide if young or die if old. I decided to give it a happy and humorous ending. The song structure is 'a round'.

I hope you like the pictures I picked. The Israeli sculpture has the @ sign in the man's head as well as the wheels.

Photos
USA
I love New York

AUSTRALIA
The 12 apostles, on the Great Ocean Road, AustraliaBeer photo in Wikipedia under beer article, photo by kgbo.

Koala bear, Australia

Koala and Kangaroo road sign, Australia

'Crocodiles, no swimming' warning, Australia

US flag

Beer, Australia

Ayers Rock, Australia

Internet sculpture in Israel.

Date	15 June 2013
Source	Dr. Avishai Teicher via the PikiWiki - Israel free image collection project
Author	Dr. Avishai Teicher
Permission (Reusing this file)	This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license. Attribution: Dr. Avishai Teicher Pikiwiki Israel

New York street scene

St Pancras station, lovers meeting or farewell, sculpture, London, England, UK. In Wikipedia, photo by Oxyman.

Useful Websites
Singaporeair.com

About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Where To See, Hear, Preserve and Learn Unusual Languages

How many words do you know from dying or dead or minority languages? If you speak English you know a smattering of words from languages all over the world. For example, you know the word safari, from  Swahili. You also know kangaroo, from Australia, from one of the Aboriginal languages. Yes, there are several, not just one.

What's Happening In Australia?

Over in Australia, the BBC reported, an Israeli is working to restore Aboriginal language s. 

Hey - I know this man. I met him in Singapore. At least once, two or three times. I think I must have met him at a Friday night dinner at the Synagogue which I went to when I first arrived. (When I knew nobody, I tried everything, writing groups, bridge clubs, Freends of the Museum, American Women's association, Australian Women's Association, sewing clubs, visits to museums, temples, everything and everywhere. Eventually I fastened on Toastmasters International whose members are multi-cultural.)

Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic and Yiddish

I remember talking to him about Hebrew and Arabic and the linking language Aramaic. Aramaic is still spoken. Hebrew was revived from the the bible, by Israel. (I would have preferred Yiddish to be the main language, or at least one of the official languages of Israel.)

If you speak or learn a language, it is upsetting to find that your skills are no longer of use, no longer needed. I learned Latin at school. It is occasionally handy for understanding a quotation. Veni, widi, wici, said Julius Casear, Supposedly, when he landed in England, and tripped over. I can trnslate that. I came, I saw, I conquered. That's very handy for understanding that Italian, Spainish, Portuguese, and some Asian languages, do not need first person pronouns, but use the suffix, or word ending, instead. 

Latin Is Useful

I was disappointed to learn that Latin had been dropped from Catholic mass. It is handly, worldwide, to be able to follow the Latin at a cathedral in a country like Romania or Vietnam. I read l

Latin on stones and captions when I see Roman remains on archaelogical sites everywhere, England, Italy, Greece, Israel, Jerusalem, Jordan.

Hebrew Is Useful

I occasionally find myself recognizing Hebrew at a Jewish wedding or funeral. Hebrew pops up again when I am touring a Jewish museum or a Jewish trail, taking in a Holocaust memorial and a synagogue or graveyard.

Australia

So, what progress has the Israeli made with his language revival. Apparently what started out in Australia as a fun, interesting, kind, and a worthy endeavour, is also bringing benefits to minorities and thus to the economics of the country as a whole by restoring morale and preventing suicides.

If you are Australian, or fascinated by Australian languages, like the Israeli, that could be of great interest. If you are miles away, what's in this idea for you and me?

I must admit to an alternative dream. I dream that all the minority languages will die out so that eventually everybody will be able to speak at least one common language. I don't mind people going off and pursuing minority language interests. that is not incompatible with my dreams. You could have a group of a hundred people singing the national anthem, to the same tune, even if one likes opera and another like Country music, another likes classical music and another likes rap, or a folk song in a language which few people speak.

Esperanto

I know the word Esperanto, which means I hope in the Esperanto language. I am learning Esperanto online. This pursuit, just a hobby, say my family dismissively, is pointless. Learn a language that huge numbers of people speak, such as Spanish, or Chinese. I am doing that too. But the Chinese is going to slowly that I retreat into Esperanto which gives me a daily encouragement of lessons completed, words learned, grammar rules recalled, and achievement.

Esperanto

Esperanto is a made up language. It was designed to be a culturally neutral go-between language with simple grammar. The language and its advocates were suppressed by Stalin and Hitler. After World War II its supporters failed to win over the United Nations and the European Union. However, it has an annual get-together. Speakers of the language can register for a homestay programme and stay with each other and practise the language and use it to communicate both in mainstream language countries and in others where you are unlikely to know the local language.

It is available to learn for free on the Internet. I started learning it years ago. Now that it is on Duolingo I have come back to it and the numbers of learners and speakers are growing.

What Can You Learn Online?

You could learn one of the mainstream languages. Or one of the lesser spoken languages. For example, Welsh.

Welsh dragon, Welsh flag.

Welsh

Useful Websites
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190320-the-man-bringing-dead-languages-back-to-life

To learn languages for free including Welsh and Esperanto:
duolingo.com

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have several posts on Welsh,  Welsh language, Esperanto and learning languages. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Australian 12 Days of Christmas | Christmas Songs For Children | Aussie ...

Australian version of Twelve days of Christmas. I found this on Wikipedia when I was researching all aspects of Christmas around the world including Christmas carols.

You can sing along, like karaoke, or copy down the words. The words appear in white on black at the bottom of the screen. You can also slide back the yellow oblong on the red line to repeat any part you want to hear again. Or leap to the end to twelve to hear/recap the song from 12 downwards.

1 An emu up a gum tree.
2 pink galahs
3 kookaburras l a u g h i n g.
4 k o a l a s  cuddling
5 kangaroos
6 brolgas dancing
7 possums playing
8 dingoes digging
9  wombats working
10 lizards leaping
11 numbats nagging
12 parrots prattling

I must admit I had to look up a couple of the creatures. A bralga is a crane, like a flamingo but not pink, just black and white with a touch of pinky red on the back of the neck.

A galah is a pink parrot, very common in Australia. You can keep them as pets and teach them to talk.  See videos on YouTube.

A numbat is a striped anteater.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, speaker and author.