Hello lovely family and friends
Chilly Antarctic winds, clouds blowing over the hills, gleams of sunshine, and showers of rain in beautiful Wellington, which is all very lovely and scenic, but tricky to play soccer in. That was yesterday. Today it has been blowing and chucking down with rain, even better sporting conditions. The weather is significant because New Zealand and Australia are currently co-hosting the Women’s Football World Cup. We’ve been watching some games on TV, and Jack has gone to watch a couple of games at the stadium with his bestie.
He even got to take a photo with Mama Joy from South Africa, a lady who travels around the world watching any SA women’s soccer game happening. Now that is dedication!
WELL!
Respect to those football ladies!
I did not know gals could play soccer like that! I feel kind of wrung out just watching them.
I think they must be a different species to me, because I have the ball skills and hand eye coordination of the average sloth. Yet another reason that I found school a trial. You know the people who get picked last in a ‘fun’ school game where the captains take turns to pick their team? Yes, I was down there in the dregs. I do remember doing quite well once in an egg and spoon race in kindergarten, one of my few moments of sporting success. I did play a bit of soccer with my kids when they were very little and slow, which was quite fun, but got less fun as they got older. Then they tried to get me to play table tennis, but since I missed the ball every time and had to bend down to pick it up off the floor after each serve, we gave that up pretty quickly. Thankfully, they have a father who is not a sloth. My oldest actually asked me the other day if I wanted to come and shoot some hoops with him, and then he remembered who he was talking to…
Thinking about school sports/P.E. when we were forced play sport, I think they should have included ballet – “Right everyone, today we are going to have a fun game of the ballet called Swan Lake. Captains, pick your Corps de Ballet.” I’d like to see how well they did at that. But I’m not bitter or anything.
Here is some more Kiwispeak (spelled phonetically) for our current international visitors, (and for those of you who will be coming to visit us in the future) and the closest Southern African equivalent for the Kiwis to use with the visitors:
‘’Yeah, yeah” – Yes
(“Eh heh” – Yes in Botswana)
“Yeah, nah” – No
(“Nyaa” – No in Botswana)
“Yeah, nah, yeah” – Yes
(“Oaacchh, no, yah, probably, but yah” – Yes in South Africa)
“Nah, yeah, nah” – No
(“Ayiwwa” – definitely No in Zimbabwe. This one is great, if you draw it out, go up in pitch with the ‘i’ and down for the ‘wwa’ it becomes a whole sentence, very useful with demanding children.)
“Rats Oy” – that’s a pity
(“Ah, ah, ah” – that’s a pity in Botswana)
(“EEesshh” – that’s a pity in Zimbabwe)
(“Oaacchh, shame!” – that’s a pity in South Africa)
At least, I think that’s what they mean… Something may be lost in translation, so feel free to correct me.
And to help you put them into practice:
(From the classic book and movie (the only known case in the known universe when the movie is better than the book) The Princess Bride. Ah, Buttercup and Wesley, “Wuv, true wuv!” And No, Jack did not like this movie either.)
After reading one of my blogs, my husband commented that he can follow my train of thought, but only just, because we have been married 23+ years, but that he wonders how the rest of you manage. Thank you for trying. Another friend commented that reading it is like an adventure, because you never know what will come up and where you will be taken – welcome to my brain! This is why I am never bored. Even I don’t know what it will be about, and I write it.
Art studio:
Step 851) Finish painting a glass
I’ll have to show you the bird bit next week as I’ve already put too many pictures…
And I feel like putting in another art meme instead!
So, dear friends, this weekend may you enjoy watching some ballet (or football if you can’t find any ballet), may you make an international friend, and may you laugh!
XX Barbie
P.S Great News towards Saving the Planet! Scientists are even more awesome than soccer ladies!
https://phys.org/news/2023-07-renewable-infinitely-recyclable-plastics-bacteria.html
Barbie, absolutely LOVED your blog a month ago about ChatGPT – sorry I didn’t write a reply. Alex discovered ChatGPT before it was even released, tried to use it for coding in physics (he’s doing astrophysics), and was blown away by it – even a bit frightened of the implications. His physics professor basically looked at what it could do, and shook her head and said, ‘I fear this is the end for education’. Students are of course using it to write essays, and AI as a whole has suddenly crossed the threshold to becoming something that could easily get out of control. I was astonished at its ability to ‘copy’ your artworks – actually I thought the ice was pretty impressive, but the polar bear definitely needs work.
Anyhow, as to this current post…. I love your critiques (and reminiscing) on sports, including egg and spoon race and ballet, though I do envy you getting to watch the Women’s world cup live. But most particularly I enjoyed the meme of ‘women are amazing and can do anything – but personally I don’t want to do anything’. I’m sending that straight to Rosie – that’s essentially her motto in life!
Dan, yes, I do feel for teachers and lecturers with the event of ChatGPT. It’s become so hard for them to know what work their students have actually done, and for the students themselves because it would be so tempting to cheat. And what quality of education will they imbibe? Will they be able to do it for themselves? Mind you, C.S. Lewis would have found most of us today to be pitifully inadequate in logical thinking already.
We went to watch SA vs Italy women’s soccer live, it was really fun, but freezing, literal hail falling on us. Didn’t seen to affect the players though!