When I was little I used to spend a lot of time in my primary school library. I used to borrow a new book as soon as I finished a previous one. I enjoyed every story and lived each one as if I was there. I still remember some of the images my head created while reading. Funny thing, a vivid memory from something that happened in my mind.
One of my favourite writers was and is Elsa Bornemann. I won't write here her bio, it's not my intention, you can google her. I just want to share with you my experience with her. I want to share this poem with you. Romance del País que No Conoci
Elsa Bornemann writes books for children, and is amazing how she can understand us, I'm including myself, because she understood me when I was one.
Back on my primary school days I was always in love with someone, always. Once in sixth grade I fell for a 7th-grade boy, and he was my boyfriend for a while -the only one my mother really liked. To make a long story short, it didn't end well -we stopped holding hands. That was the first time someone broke my heart, or that I got my own heart broken. At that time, I was reading this book by Elsa, in which this beautiful poem was included. I felt it was written for me, to put into words everything I couldn't say. So I copied the poem on a beautiful paper, and I gave it to the boy. He never said a word about it. Now, I look at those days and I laugh, I've always been a bit melodramatic, I have to admit, but those were my feelings, right?
A few months ago, I read this poem again. I still find it absolutely beautiful and I hope you like it too.
Friday 2 July 2010
Thick as Thieves
This another expression I found.
It's actually the name of a film, which I haven't seen yet. In fact, I had never heard of it until a month ago or so. The thing was like this. My brother in law started to tell me about this movie he had seen, and when I asked him for the name of the movie he mumbled "The Code" and this little phrase. Of course I needed to know what its meaning was, and here it is: Cliché very close-knit; friendly; allied. It makes reference to the closeness and intedepence existing in gangs of thieves. The word thick is used in its sense of 'densely arranged' as in thick hair, grass (from: http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/sayingst.htm).
I don't see myself using this phrase, but I found the combination of words interesting. I think it shows how creative we can be with the language. Everytime I come across these idiomatic expressions, in Spanish or English, I wonder who said it for the first time, and how it became popular. I think that this phrases are legacies from other times. Someone sharing a little piece of their present with us. Some become outdated, and lose popularity, but it is funny tosee how language is recycled. New generations take older expressions, assign new meanings or not to them, and bring them back to life, bridging the gaps between generations.
It's actually the name of a film, which I haven't seen yet. In fact, I had never heard of it until a month ago or so. The thing was like this. My brother in law started to tell me about this movie he had seen, and when I asked him for the name of the movie he mumbled "The Code" and this little phrase. Of course I needed to know what its meaning was, and here it is: Cliché very close-knit; friendly; allied. It makes reference to the closeness and intedepence existing in gangs of thieves. The word thick is used in its sense of 'densely arranged' as in thick hair, grass (from: http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/sayingst.htm).
I don't see myself using this phrase, but I found the combination of words interesting. I think it shows how creative we can be with the language. Everytime I come across these idiomatic expressions, in Spanish or English, I wonder who said it for the first time, and how it became popular. I think that this phrases are legacies from other times. Someone sharing a little piece of their present with us. Some become outdated, and lose popularity, but it is funny tosee how language is recycled. New generations take older expressions, assign new meanings or not to them, and bring them back to life, bridging the gaps between generations.
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