It's neat how one little word opens the door to learning and experiencing a little bit of life, even if through someone else's experiences. The well educated Luxembourgers speak quite good English. Even my 97 year old neighbor apologizes for her English at the start of each conversation, but I can understand everything she says.
There was famine here in 1918 that drove many Luxembourgers to the US to "work hard and make millions". That is the American dream, or at least it was. That's how the women I met on the bus had so many relatives in the US. She told me all about her post collegiate travels in California and the East Coast years ago. She had a funny story about an old racist man and wanted to know if it was still like that.
My neighbor, Marc told me about a town in Wisconsin, named Belgium, where some of his ancestors migrated and everyone was from Luxembourg, spoke Luxembourgish and even built their houses and towns the same way as they did here. He said he went into the pub and everyone spoke Luxembourgish as if he were back here. I looked it up and look what I found... http://www.village.belgium.wi.us
Following the famine came the booming (or roaring) 20's. That's when my neighborhood was built. I'm told it was the first upperclass neighborhood to be built up outside of the city center. It is also why all of the big old schools are located nearby. A friend of mine lives in a really cool house built in 1920 with original stained glass and very interesting architecture... Apparently on the most desirable street in our neighborhood. Before hearing this, I knew that street was standout in that the houses are especially beautiful and much of their original details have been well-preserved.
That's all for now. I have to get back to taking care of sick kids!
There was famine here in 1918 that drove many Luxembourgers to the US to "work hard and make millions". That is the American dream, or at least it was. That's how the women I met on the bus had so many relatives in the US. She told me all about her post collegiate travels in California and the East Coast years ago. She had a funny story about an old racist man and wanted to know if it was still like that.
My neighbor, Marc told me about a town in Wisconsin, named Belgium, where some of his ancestors migrated and everyone was from Luxembourg, spoke Luxembourgish and even built their houses and towns the same way as they did here. He said he went into the pub and everyone spoke Luxembourgish as if he were back here. I looked it up and look what I found... http://www.village.belgium.wi.us
Following the famine came the booming (or roaring) 20's. That's when my neighborhood was built. I'm told it was the first upperclass neighborhood to be built up outside of the city center. It is also why all of the big old schools are located nearby. A friend of mine lives in a really cool house built in 1920 with original stained glass and very interesting architecture... Apparently on the most desirable street in our neighborhood. Before hearing this, I knew that street was standout in that the houses are especially beautiful and much of their original details have been well-preserved.
That's all for now. I have to get back to taking care of sick kids!
No comments:
Post a Comment