[laurel]

Hi, Suki-chan!

I read the thread about JapanEx as well; I am sorry that I couldn't see you there, but you don't have to be envious with CPU and other guys. For, whenever you visit Japan, I'll gladly guide you (*ﾟ∀ﾟ)

So when you have just met someone is it politer to call him/her (name)-sama at first?

Yes. Generally, we use "sama" to strangers to show respect; however, if the person is much younger than you, it sounds odd. In such a case, we use "san" instead of "sama". It is quite rare to call someone by his/her first name.

Actually I think knowing loads of grammar isn't that important as long as you can use the language accuratly.

That's the problem with English education in Japan (I taught English a few years ago).
According to the average result of TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), Japanese people achieve good mark in grammar section; but they just know the rules. Most of them can't -- or won't speak English. Maybe their knowledge on English grammar makes them afraid of making mistakes, I guess?

That language you talk about is Catalan (which indeed is spoken only in Catalonia) and it's my mother tongue.

Wow! I thought I was a big fan of Spanish culture; but obviously I don't know so much about Spain ∑(ﾟ□ﾟ)
Catalan and Spanish look similar; if you didn't tell me, I might mistake Catalan as a dialect of Spanish.

By the way, you love Classic Latin! Sweet!! I once tried, but the attempt was not successful -- not at all. In my shelf there lies some Latin text such as "Wheelrock Latin Reader" and "Latin via Ovid"; if you do not mind, can I ask some questions on Classical Latin as well?


I'm sorry for the picture of the soup; I totally forgot that I was not allowed to upload pictures outside.
Well, the picture is in my website:

http://laurel.otogirisou.com/miscellany/spain.html

in the section of "バルセロナ", right below to the picture of The Sacred Family Church.

So, you eat that soup at Christmas? That's so nice, I can have that dish even every day! (￣∀￣*)

In "world history" class, l just learnt about medieval reconquista movement, conflict between Britain during the Renaissance, and Franco's dictatorship. The explanation was rather simple, though.
People say that Almodovar's first movie "Pepi, Luci, Bom" depicts people's life during the rule of Franco, but I can't get that. When you have time, will you tell me about Franco, please? m(._.)m