Aljaz Bedene

A131 · Intermediate Club Player

RE: Aljaz Bedene

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

I know people who've lived in France 20 years and still celebrate New Year at 12 midnight UK time.
And one, same length of time, who had a phone call from the hospital to say his wife had died (she'd been very ill) and he couldn't understand.
And one (again same length and very 'posh' guy) who refused to go to a 'clinic' and insisted on going to a 'hospital' because he thought a clinic was just a UK-style clinic (minor stuff) without realising that clinics are 'private' hospitals (all mod-cons, the best - all French use them because insurance is compulsory) and hospitals are public and only used for out-of hours A&E by most French. Would be funny if it wasn't so sad . . . and, yes, those ones all harp on about giving benefits to 'immigrants' while claiming what they can and refusing (illegally and claiming its completely justified) to pay French tax.

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

A131 wrote:
Bob in Spain wrote:
indiana wrote:
Always a bit ironic when those who have such a problem with other folk's views are those who often choose to be rather vocal about tolerance / equality etc etc. I am not particularly talking about this forum, though it does happen occasionally.

One of my really big pet hates in Spain is the British expats who sit around in bars and moan about the immigrants who move to Britain and make no attempt to learn English. When I ask those expats how their Spanish is coming along, the answer is usually "But that's different. We don't need to learn Spanish to live here". The hypocrisy never surprises me but seems to go straight over their heads.
Totally agree Bob - and it sounds as though you have made the effort to learn Spanish and hopefully succeeded which I'm sure the native Spanish people will appreciate - well hope they do. Should be made a rule that if you decide to emigrate to a foreign country for whatever reason, whether it be Spain, France, Italy - whatever - at some point you should make some attempt to learn their language.

I now we are getting someway off topic here but I always believe that the skill you need most when learning a foreign language is the ability to laugh at your self when you make a mistake. My classic during Spanish classes went as follows:

I tried to say

Cometí un error y me sentía embarazoso

I made an error and felt embarassed

What I actually said was

Cometí un error y me sentía embarazada

(stop laughing Spanish speakers furious )

I made an error and I was pregnant.

Three little letters can make such a difference disbelief

Ho Hum. But I survived and pretty much got there in the end with my Spanish. However, Bob in Brazil is finding Portuguese more difficult but he is working on it.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Ok. Mine was worse . . . far worse . . .

After a year or so living in France, I had decided in that ALL the verbs were reflexive - just sounded so much more French somehow. And I listened to what other people said and tried to emulate. So... helping out at the school (they needed volunteer parents), I heard the teachers always using the word 'bousculer' - looked it up - and it means 'to jostle'.

Now you'd think you could go through life without using the word 'jostle' but the French use it for 'push and shove' as in 'stop pushing and shoving' when you've got kids lined up to go into class or wherever.

So, helping out on a weekly basis with 'library' duty, I'd file the kids over to the library, periodically shouting at them to 'stop bousculing' - but making it MORE French by making it reflexive

good plan, huh?

Until I learnt a GOOD time later that to 'jostle yourself' equated to something QUITE different and that basically I'd spent 2 months shouting at the kids to stop 'doing things that your grandma said might make you go blind' . . . in full voice, across the playground . . . my only hope was that the kids were quite young and never listened to a word I said anyway so they probably didn't quite get it . .. I hope . . . .

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

Coup Droit wrote:
Ok. Mine was worse . . . far worse . . .

After a year or so living in France, I had decided in that ALL the verbs were reflexive - just sounded so much more French somehow. And I listened to what other people said and tried to emulate. So... helping out at the school (they needed volunteer parents), I heard the teachers always using the word 'bousculer' - looked it up - and it means 'to jostle'.

Now you'd think you could go through life without using the word 'jostle' but the French use it for 'push and shove' as in 'stop pushing and shoving' when you've got kids lined up to go into class or wherever.

So, helping out on a weekly basis with 'library' duty, I'd file the kids over to the library, periodically shouting at them to 'stop bousculing' - but making it MORE French by making it reflexive good plan, huh?

Until I learnt a GOOD time later that to 'jostle yourself' equated to something QUITE different and that basically I'd spent 2 months shouting at the kids to stop 'doing things that your grandma said might make you go blind' . . . in full voice, across the playground . . . my only hope was that the kids were quite young and never listened to a word I said anyway so they probably didn't quite get it . .. I hope . . . .

I feel so much better for reading that. biggrin biggrin biggrin

Mervatron · Masters Series Champion

A131 wrote:
Bob in Spain wrote:
indiana wrote:
Always a bit ironic when those who have such a problem with other folk's views are those who often choose to be rather vocal about tolerance / equality etc etc. I am not particularly talking about this forum, though it does happen occasionally.

One of my really big pet hates in Spain is the British expats who sit around in bars and moan about the immigrants who move to Britain and make no attempt to learn English. When I ask those expats how their Spanish is coming along, the answer is usually "But that's different. We don't need to learn Spanish to live here". The hypocrisy never surprises me but seems to go straight over their heads.
Totally agree Bob - and it sounds as though you have made the effort to learn Spanish and hopefully succeeded which I'm sure the native Spanish people will appreciate - well hope they do. Should be made a rule that if you decide to emigrate to a foreign country for whatever reason, whether it be Spain, France, Italy - whatever - at some point you should make some attempt to learn their language.

This exact same situation happens in Wales. People move from England to areas were Welsh is the language spoken but refuse to learn Welsh as 'everyone speaks English anyway'. And yet the reason they have moved here is to 'get away from foreigners who don't speak English'. The hypocrisy is laughable.

I think this is a hang up of being born and bread in an English speaking country where it's not really necessary to learn another language and therefore you have no comprehension of the multilingual world that is out there. To be frank it's ignorant and shows a complete lack of understanding of the world where 2/3 of people use more than one language everyday.

A1 tennis academy · Satellite level

Coup Droit wrote:
Ok. Mine was worse . . . far worse . . .

After a year or so living in France, I had decided in that ALL the verbs were reflexive - just sounded so much more French somehow. And I listened to what other people said and tried to emulate. So... helping out at the school (they needed volunteer parents), I heard the teachers always using the word 'bousculer' - looked it up - and it means 'to jostle'.

Now you'd think you could go through life without using the word 'jostle' but the French use it for 'push and shove' as in 'stop pushing and shoving' when you've got kids lined up to go into class or wherever.

So, helping out on a weekly basis with 'library' duty, I'd file the kids over to the library, periodically shouting at them to 'stop bousculing' - but making it MORE French by making it reflexive good plan, huh?

Until I learnt a GOOD time later that to 'jostle yourself' equated to something QUITE different and that basically I'd spent 2 months shouting at the kids to stop 'doing things that your grandma said might make you go blind' . . . in full voice, across the playground . . . my only hope was that the kids were quite young and never listened to a word I said anyway so they probably didn't quite get it . .. I hope . . . .

lol

wimdledont · Challenger level

A short BBC interview (and handy pronunciation guide to his name) on Aljaz, down this link...

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b05x7vwf/saturday-sportsday-23052015

...it's the last item.

Spaced · Lower Club Player

Thanks for the link. Seems like a really nice guy, I hope his appeal is successful and we see him turn out for GB in the Davis Cup, sounds like it would mean a lot to him.

GBJ · Club Coach

It just struck me last night that our players are now gathering points to try to qualify for the Olympics.

Anyone know whether Aljaz is eligible for us yet (and if not does the appeal in November decide this too)? He seems likely to be ranked highly enough - given that Spain, France and the States all currently have more than 4 men in the top 56 the cut off (on June 6th) will probably be more like 63 (hoping we can see a breakthrough for one or two of the other men by then too - I'd say we have 3 with the ability but it seems unlikely more than maybe Kyle will make it by then if ever. I hope to be proved wrong).

RJA · Hall of fame

GBJ wrote:
It just struck me last night that our players are now gathering points to try to qualify for the Olympics.

Anyone know whether Aljaz is eligible for us yet (and if not does the appeal in November decide this too)? He seems likely to be ranked highly enough - given that Spain, France and the States all currently have more than 4 men in the top 56 the cut off (on June 6th) will probably be more like 63 (hoping we can see a breakthrough for one or two of the other men by then too - I'd say we have 3 with the ability but it seems unlikely more than maybe Kyle will make it by then if ever. I hope to be proved wrong).

I am almost certain that he is eligible to represent Great Britain in the Olympics.

savva0122 · Intermediate Club Player

I don't think he'll have the Davis cup representation/experience.
Think players have to play in at least 2 rubbers in separate years in the DC.

RJA · Hall of fame

savva0122 wrote:
I don't think he'll have the Davis cup representation/experience.
Think players have to play in at least 2 rubbers in separate years in the DC.

Forgot about that, so technically eligible but in reality not.

GBJ · Club Coach

From www.google.co.uk/search

'A player could only participate if he or she has made him- or herself available to be drafted to represent the player's country in Davis Cup or Fed Cup for two of the following years: 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016, with one of the years being either 2015 or 2016.'

I think he has tried to do that right? Though it makes it an interesting situation with how some have said he will sit out the DC final even if eligible to let the others finishthe job -he'd have to make himself available then ask Leon not to pick him - possible quite discretely.

GBJ · Club Coach

Sorry that link should be en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_at_the_2016_Summer_Olympics