Inconsiderate Universe

It's kinda hard to describe this visually...
...but...
...the road we take from our house runs straight on at/towards the big road we take to go everywhere... (ya?)... and at the point of intersection the big road turns off to the right and follows the hillside... (ok)... whereas if they were to go straight onto our smaller road they would go down the hill... (huh?)...
...This means that when we drive up the hill to get to the main road our car has to wait on an incline before making the turn..
... and this means that every car coming at us gets our headlights elevated about 15 degrees and assumes that we have our brights on...
... and THIS means that every car that passes us while we're waiting to turn flashes their brights at us...
... AND THIS means I think nasty thoughts about... the Universe or something... you know!?... because who's at fault really?... the hill?... (well in truth maybe the contractor)... but it's the system...

...it's a situation of misinformation and intractibility that inadvertantly caused such an aggregious miscarriage of justice when both actors, within a similar set of moral principles, according to their limited knowledge and abilities over the situation, malign the other...

... like... we both acted the way we should (or had to)... the rules of the road all agree that if I DID have my brights on that they SHOULD flash my car... so in their mind they're right... but I, with the greater knowledge, know I'm in the right... either way we both got more light in our eyes than we should have and both feel hurt... and in turn feel anger... and in turn a desire to cause hurt in the name of justice... otherwise known as retribution...
... and ya it's small... and in this case it's not worth it to do something like flash my brights (blinding them and potentially causing worse damage)... or chase them down and try to explain Pythagorus theory of angles to them with the help of my middle fingers... so I take that little small flash of lights and pass it off as just one of life's little injustices... but I tell you wars have been started with all people acting in the right when it becomes coupled with inadvertent miscommunication and/or misinformation.. it's eventual outcome of hurt.. it's offspring of anger.. and its eventual cycle of retribution...
... like... in the awful thing that is the news... who is at fault in Israel?... language and cultural barriers is a start... scarcity of land and resources plays a role... all of the above and everything is probably the best answer... but how DO you fight a situation where everyone involved is acting exactly the way they think they should?... it's one of those Hobbsian situations where, everyone acting in the right according to their set of rules, is forced into conflict anyways... and it's easier to accept injustice and fight... than try to make it better at the risk of death (if the other side doesn't play along)...
... Because on the one side constantly fighting for vengeance is not going to work... It didn't help either the Montague's or the Capulet's... niether did it help the mob bosses in the Godfather... not to trivialize reality into a play... but to draw on an ultimate reality of the consequences of revenge... pain, hurt, anger, strife... and where does it stop?... it's like fighting fire with fire...
... but on the other side backing down might be worse... because if you back down and be the bigger person the other guy might just walk all over you.. in the case of a war maybe kill you.. (see most of the history of the human race, most recently WWII and Hitler, which, inadvertently is the prime cause for this present conflict)... so either way you're screwed... and what kind of messed up Universe is it that has a built in Catch-22?...
... how do humans cope with it all?... maybe in some sort of weird dissociative way we play a toned down version of this in our culture with sports... two teams with no real animosity towards each other are forced into conflict because of the situation that only one team can win... you play by the rules.. do what we're supposed to do... and it naturally progresses, from no real animosity towards the other person outside the rink, to enemies... and the repeated ritual within the regulated and relatively more safe arena of sports lets us accept the situation of strife and dissociate it from it's history of animosity and violence... maybe that's why we shake hands after the whole thing is over...
... Or maybe sports is a way to train the next generation of children exactly how to compete and overcome in a society with limited resources...
... Either way I think it's a little messed up?... isn't there any way we could design a system whose natural outcome didn't place people at odds with each other?... and idolizing sports is probably not the best way of getting our minds thinking on the right track?... just saying...
... But so... in the system we have... we won our game against Pontebba at Pontebba 9-5... it took a little luck and the fact that they had their backup goalie in because their regular goalie was hurt... And even though we won there was nothing about that game that was all that pretty that could tell us we can win on skill... and nothing about the game that you could say it was a greasy, hard-nosed road win that could tell us we're ready for playoffs... it was simply nothing... with 9 bad goals... and 5 bad goals against... and a win...

5-2 Over Fassa

There are maybe a handful of goals in my whole career in which I've actually been completely conscious... really!?... ya, in all seriousness... (and I know a lot of people will take the time right now to sit back and wonder if I'm ever actually conscious... and I forgive you for that...)... but by conscious I mean a goal where I'm actually thinking about what I'm doing... where I can read the play... know what's going on... do something... and the result is a goal... these might even be moves that I practice over and over on the off chance that, say, I do get a break down the left hand side... and thus... fake a shot five-hole, move the puck a foot to the right, and shoot over the glove into the guaranteed open top-right-shelf... trust me... it works in the NHL and thus must necessarily work everywhere else as well...
... The rest of my goals... and by enlarge the vast majority of them... are completely blacked out, complete luck, never to be repeated shots/tips/bounces that somehow found the back of the net...
... Sure, maybe I helped the possibility of a goal by being in the right position (in front of the net)... sure, maybe I shot the puck or tipped it with my stick... in the general direction of the net... check, check... and so a goal... but I constantly find myself... after the game (and more especially before the next game) wondering how I ever scored any goal in my life... and how in the world I'm going to score a goal next game...
... this may be a sports phenomenom where I am the only one that deals with it... I don't know...
... Fassa was another example of 2 goals with absolute no hope of repetition at all... maybe ever... by anyone... at least in the exact same way... and that's maybe the best and worst part of sports... maybe...

Fire is Never an Easy Master...

... so don't invite it into your house and on to your tablecloth full of napkins and what nots...
... I learned this lesson graduating from grade 8.. when, after one too many punch drinks, we played the game 'how close can you drag our napkin over the candle without it getting burned'... until... surprise... fire!?... whoa!?... on!!... fire!?!... 'YES, what did YOU expect?!'... ... ... panic... drop it on the table... (table lights on fire)... everyone panic... and like a bunch of lame ducks we all stare at each other doing nothing... (fire grows)... stare... (plastic cups are melting... stare... and finally my buddies Dad rushes over with a pitcher of water and doused the table to put it out... ... .... phew!... haha... pretend not to be embarrassed... hahe?... but, ha, my buddy got in trouble because... always the class clown... everything just assumed it was his fault... hehehe...
... but there is a free lesson in here... it's what I tell everyone when asked what good is a Hist and Lit degree... that... those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it... sounds smart, doesn't it...
... and fast forward to yesterday... add.. a whole bunch more punch... keep.. candles on table along with napkins of the paper variety... also keep.. stupid unsafe (not me) fire person... and voila... debacle... panic... blank stare... 'whoah!'... throw napkin on table... 'blow on it' (fire blazes to 2 feet)... extreme panic... 'Wha!'... blank stares... 'quick, throw it out the window!'... fire moves to table cloth... more blank stares... 'Use the wine!... NO, not the wine!'... 'put a plate on it!'... 'suffocate it'... and finally from the other room a saviour... jug of water in hand... and it's over.... breathe.... breathe.... breathe.... now laugh... .. ... HARD... ... ...roll on the floor... keep laughing... ROFL if you will...
... Now everyone talk at once...
... 'you should have used the wine'...
... 'I didn't want you guys to use the wine because it is too good to waste!... better the house than the wine I say'...
... 'Who said throw it out the window!? Look down there... If you had thrown it out the window that bush would have probably gone up in flames!'...
... 'I can't believe you blew on the fire... what were you thinking!'...
... 'he wasn't... don't you know that by now'...
... 'Wouldn't the wine have been fuel for the fire and made it worse?'...
... 'no, not enough alcohol percentage I don't think, you need like 70% or something'...
... 'well... sambuca has 40 and that lights on fire... but pouring it on would have suffocated it anyways I think'...
... But it all got settle eventually... and we ate the rest of the meal with the bread roll basket covering up the burnt part of the table cloth...
... Fire was not the end of the mishaps however... Mid-way through the meal we had our first glass of wine get knocked over... no worries... it only happened two more times... dessert saw the coat rack get run over... dessert also saw the first ever refusal of apple pie when served as a dessert... After dinner had a guy put his head in front of the dart board and joke at Danelle to throw a dart... Danelle didn't think he was joking... and suddenly a dart stuck right beside to his neck... 'Hoah!... what if that hit you in the eye!'... 'Ya! what if that hit me in the eye!'... '(Danelle) THAT was a chance I was willing to take'...
... The walk home was even a disaster as an errant foot met with black ice and ended up with the side of his head on a garbage can and his jeans all soaked in a puddle... 'Just get me home please?'...
... ok buddy...

Secret Santa

Santa really wouldn't have gotten that far as a hockey player... Because hockey player gifts are not like Santa gifts... and even a stocking full of coal leaves a lot to be desired by a hockey player...
... hockey player gifts are mean... and cruel... and hurtful... and ... ... ... funny... ? ... hockey player gifts pick apart any and every small difference or odd unusualness about a person and... ummm... tear it to absolute shreds... they're intended to cross the line so far that it eraces the line altogether by the end... nothing... and I mean nothing... is off-limits ... and the only reason I can think about, besides the lullz, is to see if the other guy is strong... if, based on his reaction to a present, you know if you can count on him to stand his ground and take it everywhere else... a test to see if in the heat of a game you know he's not going to fold under the pressure...
... maybe...
... I don't know... or maybe it's a tough love thing meant to tell the person all the things about him he should really think about changing... asap... like yesterday... and doing it in an incredibly public place, because the pain of squirming in front of a crowd really makes it sink in... and for everyone else... in some sort of evolutionary time lapse back to our days as vultures or something... it's fun...
... Or maybe it's just about getting a person what they need... instead of what they want... if... for say... what they needed was a muzzle because they talked to much... or gum because their breath smells like... or a pinochio nose to offset their inordinately large real nose... or diapers if they're a goalie that's afraid of the puck... or an Obama t-shirt if they're a Bush fan... or a crash test dummy outfit for a guy that totalled his car and left it in 2 separate pieces...
... you know... the kind of stuff Santa would give if he wasn't such a wuss...

Also... I've decided that, when I have the time, I'm going to put a link on to some other person's blog that I randomly like. I found this one to from clicking 'next blog' (or 'blog succesivo') again and again until I saw something I liked. Today the blog has 2 great posts that, judging by the rest of their English, were copy and pasted from somewhere else... but... one is on China forcing dissidents into mental institutions (where they lose all rights)... and one is Obama's winners speech on election night... pretty cool...

http://kaka19870430.blogspot.com/

That world will always be cruel - is reality...

... That world is out to get you - is an illusion...

... The whole first half of this year I would have wondered if this was even true... Because it just seemed like any break that could happen against us just consistently happened... against us... right at the most important time... right when the game would be decided... in that instant... the planets all aligned... the clock struck 12... just in time to give the other team an off-the skate, off-the-helmet goal for the win...
... But lately things have swung around and given us a couple breaks... a couple fluke bank-shot goals... a puck bouncing the right way... a really bad ref but this time in our favor... and we finally win those games we used to lose 4-3 in overtime...
... Case in point Yesterday... where we had our backup goalie in... and saying nothing about him... the result was that we won 6-3 against the best team in our league...
... I'm not sure what this means, but I do know that since I have him as my Secret Santa tonight I might have to change my gift... right now it's a roll of duct tape... to tie him up to the net (like in Mighty Ducks 1) so he stops being afraid of the puck... But with the stores all closed on Sunday... I'd say I'm screwed...

Your Foot is a Long Way From Your Heart...

Yesterday was a great game for a lot of reasons... and ended up with us winning 7-0 to get our goalie his first shutout of the year... the problem about last game was in the second period where I blocked a shot from the point... no big deal... it didn't hurt and I skated the rest of the game without the least bit of difficulty...
... So what's the problem?...
... Well... I'm glad you asked...
... you see...
... when you're playing your foot has the pressure of the skate to keep it from swelling... but once you take your skate off the pressure is gone and so many bad things can happen... Pain being the biggest of these bad things...
... and in the shower I started feeling it a little bit... and walking out I felt it a little more... and in the car it was throbbing just a bit...
... and then I did the worst thing I could have done for a bruise... and that's have a glass of beer with some guys on the team before we went home... And it was like a switch got flipped... and 20 minutes later the small pain in my foot... became a big big problem to walk on... I honestly couldn't walk to the counter to pay for the drink... I couldn't put any weight on my foot at all...
... and so in the midst of people making fun of me one of the guys realizes this and piggy backs me all the way to our car... stopping a few times on account of my weight and his shape... this all combined to one of my worst sleeps all year... and nights of all year...
... So lesson learned... blocking pucks is bad news...

Let it Snow...

The weather report for Italy the past week showed a big circle of low pressure hovering over the whole country... and it wasn't moving... just staring... sitting there... awkwardly... chatting... lingering... and raining on things... like the last couple at a dinner party.. .. even after you go get your watch out of the bedroom (that you never actually wear but that you bought because you thought it would make you look sophisticated) and put it on.. just so right after you can glance at it in hopes that they see it and register the universal (non-rude, yet completely obvious) form of saying sorry, but please, if you can, get the heck outta dodge... and thankyou for the bottle of wine... It's never actually happened to me but it has happened on enough sitcoms that I've watched to make me think that this is actually quite common...
... But ya... what a low pressure system... So much of a low pressure system that it's rained days on end in Italy... So much of a low pressure system that the Tiber is a couple of inches from flooding... So much of a low pressure system that higher elevations saw 70 mms of snowfall in a night... and counting... So much of a low pressure system that it cancelled all hockey games for the league last Thursday...
... because the only thing connecting these northern towns are high passes... passes that are 180 degree turns up and down the side of a mountain... that are way too slippery for our bus (sans chains on the tires)... and that are way too narrow for bus to pass bus on opposite sides... same thing goes for bus passing snowplow...
...
... and so Tuesday with the passes open again we travelled to make up the game... and we saw snow piled as high as our bus on each side of the road... roads still chalked in ice... and a bus slipping and swerving all the way up and down... ... ... It was surreal... in a very... crazy... scary... cool if we were on a GT and not on a bus... kinda way...
... We got to the rink over an hour later than we should have... nervous... tired... dazed... and with 28 minutes to get ready before warmups... Our best hope was that Alleghe would take us for granted... on account of us getting to the rink so late... and thus would come out... well... different in a much worse way than they actually came out...
... And I can honestly say that this was the first game this year our goalie won for us... sorta... as in he won a period for us... and then we woke up and started playing hockey... And after blowing 2, 2 goal leads we cemented it in the third on another first... a fluke goal... for a 5-3 win...
... Thankfully, on the way home, we took the extremely long, yet safe, way around the mountains on the highway...

Medium.... Rare?

We lost our game 3-1 on Saturday in a show of futility against a team that actually plays as a team... Simple... Direct... They scored on a 5 on 3... a 5 on 4... and a turnover... and I scored and didn't get credit for the goal... ugh!... refs!?... I hate'm...
.... What keeps me up at night though is that... you see... I watch NHL highlights... and 9 of 10 goals are simple, point shot, screen, rebound... goal... and we don't do that... we try the pretty... the slot shot one-timer... the end to end rush... the cross-crease pass... and it hasn't paid off yet... but I can still be positive because I see it... so close... happening...
... Today I tried an Italian Steak House... and here's a tip about Italian Steak Houses... Whatever you order... medium... for example... will come a level and a half more rare than the American version... So... today... for example... medium... meant extra, extra rare... and is still sitting in my stomache 4 hours later...

Of Course... I'm in a Hurry...

... that's the best time to try to parallel park and block traffic... and miss... ... ... twice...
... It's not like I'm characteristically late for things... At least... I don't live my life racing with the clock... I try to be early for things... because early is relaxing... early is great... early does so many good things for you... there's no better feeling than relaxing earliness... and early keeps you far far away from the 'if you're not 10 minutes early, you're late' logic of coaches and the necessary bag skate aftermath to hammer it in your head...
... But really, there is no worse feeling being late... it's a nightmare I sometimes get... and a nightmare that sometimes happens... because life happens... the power goes out... you didn't check the schedule... you turn off the alarm clock and lay back down because you'll for sure get up in five minutes anyways... just a little bit more... zzzZZZZ...
... And then... phone call... pick up... jump up... rush... food... frantic... clothes... shoes... jacket... stairs... ... ... snow on the car... ... ... brush it off... (forgot your gloves)... (freeze)... warm up the car... scrape off the frost... get in... care door is frozen... it won't close... slam harder... nope... threaten it... haha... works... what th-!?... frost on the inside?!?... can't be... scrape... scrape... scrape... frost going everywhere... back out... into an unplowed foot of snowfall... stuck... push... rock the car... somehow at the very top of the rocking jump in fast, push clutch, put in first, push gas, gun it... and freedom... downhill... watch out for ice... watch it... sliding... sliding... car... car... car... okay stopped... must go slow... real slow... are you really turning left with this line of traffic... right now!?... another phone call... don't answer... it's a trap... coach probably listening... turn... turn... turn... roundabout... turn... light... go... STOP!... snowplow... snowplow... horn... MOVE!... no?... okay... my bad... park... run... right past the GM... STOP!... I have to sign this?... ok... there too!... ok... late?... me?... naw!... coach is at the door waiting... nope... no... ... ... no... no excuse (never have an excuse, that's a trap too)... and walk in...
... out of the frying pan into the fryer...
... Cause... when early... sipping coffee... stretching... dressing... there's no better feeling than knowing about and eventually seeing someone that is late... it's the vulture in us all... the big phew, it's not me! feeling... the uh oh what's coach gonna say?... and the figuring out of the chirp to use when they do eventually walk in...
... And it's him coming in... head down... darting eyes... guilty face... getting laundry... getting dressed... that just begs for such a chirp to be used...
... 'Sleep at night Bernie'...

Same old same Old

We're driving down the road and Danelle says, "Wait... are you sure this is the right way?... I've never seen this way before... This isn't right... is it?... oh... well maybe it's cause it's dark and the street lights are on... they don't usually have these lights on you know... in the day... I don't think... Cause this seems so new... Did we go this way on the way here?... Honestly?... Cause this is like Deja Vu!... I mean... not Deja Vu... it's like... the opposite of Deja Vu... you know?..."
... ... ... in a weird way... I kinda do...

The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns

My parents flew out today after 10 days of hockey games and Christmas markets... Though it was 6 days more than my dad's 4 day rule (for staying at one place)... it's cool... seeing as their both a) family and 2) staying a block away in a pension (bed and breakfast), 10 days is almost too short for all the good times we had...
... Shopping... Talking... Reading... Perusing... Hiking... Walking... Cappucinoing... Gluvining (Tea, cinnamon, and red Sangriaish wine)... Sampling... Chocolating... and pre-opening gifts given earlying... which led to painting... drawing... eating... crocheting... and hugging
... The last day my parents even went on our 2 hour hike up the mountain... talk about young at heart... so positive... so upbeat... through the whole thing what an encouragement... even went sledding for the way down...
(My Dad said that as he's thought about it, every truly succesful person he's ever known has a knack for turning any situation into a positive... IE. 'Man it's so early'... "I KNOW, I JUST LOVE MORNINGS"... 'And it's cold!'... "THE COLDER THE BETTER!!")
... I want to be successful too... So... I'm trying to be more positive... even insanely so... because... why not...? I even went online and found some amazing quotes to get me started:

Real life is not always going to be perfect or go our way, but the recurring acknowledgment of what is working in our lives can help us not only survive but surmount our difficulties

“We don’t see the things the way they are. We see things the way WE are.”- Talmund

The secret to success is to start from scratch and keep on scratching.”- Dennis Green

Hard work spotlights the character of people. Some turn up their sleeves. Some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all.”- Sam Ewing

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life’s about creating yourself.”- George Bernard Shaw

“Success is what you attract by the person you become.”- Jim Rohn

“You have to ‘Be’ before you can ‘Do’ and ‘Do’ before you can ‘Have’.- Zig Ziglar

“You can have everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people to get what they want.”- Zig Ziglar

So now... instead of yelling at the ref because he only gave us 2 minutes of power play time all night (that's 1 penalty the whole game)... So they could hook and hold and interfere their way to a 2-1 win... I'm going to smile instead... smile... and think... that's good... it's good we have the biggest idiot for a ref I've ever seen... good because... because... cause... cause... uhhh...

... because “You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”...?... right... thankyou Christopher Columbus... for that...

Sledding

I have mixed emotions about it... and probably... will continue to have mixed emotions about it until tomorrow morning when I get up for hockey... when I will finally know... at all... if I
... regret...
...seriously regret...
... the most amazing sledding experience of my life...
...and Yes... experience... EXPERIENCE... because that's what you call something that takes 2 hours to hike up and 15 minutes to sled down...
... 15 minutes...
... Danelle's makeup has been put on in shorter time...
... This blog might be written in shorter time...
... Lots of things get done in shorter time...
... It was a really long time...
... And fun... we went for the four seater huge sled that was impossible to steer or control going down a severly windy 10 foot wide trail dodging all the hikers on their way up... and racing the rest of our team on the way down...
... We ended up getting fourth... which is a respectable spot... and only wiped out.. I want to say.. 3 times?... one of which was full speed into the side of a snow bank that succesfully soaked all my clothes for the rest of the ride...
... At the end of the run we did well at being the fifth best crash landing (off the last huge hole/jump placed 5 feet before the sleds all set up)...
... The best crash we didn't get to see... only hear about... 1) as J went too fast, didn't see the jump till too late, didn't have time to stop after it, and crashed hard into the sleds knocking them down like dominoes... 2) the second crash... with all of us down already standing around talking some guy (going too fast) goes off the jump, misses the sleds, misses the fence, and heads right for our group... heads up!... right for Danelle... uh oh... most everyone can go either right or left and jump out of the way, but Danelle, trapped, turns around and runs down the hill, with the guy on the sled right behind her for a good 15 feet, twice unsuccessfully picking the same direction to go as her attempt to dodge left and his attempt to dodge left, and then her attempt to dodge right and his attempt to dodge right start looking like a slow motion chase seen from a B-rated movie... before she dives left and he swerves right... I was rosl (rolling on the snow laughing) and Danelle, after composing herself, had to jump on me to regain some public image points... 3) The third crash B tried to get off a moving sled, fell, grabbed R's shoulder, pulled her back, fell again and pushed her forward... boom... snow, glasses, camera, gloves... everywhere... 4) fourth was W and C who also went too fast, right into the sleds, but only after Watty got off and laughed as C couldn't stop herself... and fifth was us 5)... who completely stopped just before the sleds.. everything fine... until momentum pushed me forward... trip, and knock over all the sleds in front of the 10 people and their dog that were watching us come in...
... And now I'm cold, sore, and happy... any regrets?... I don't know... will I be too sore to skate tomorrow?...

Ummm... hello?

Yesterday we drove to Innsbruck, Austria for the serious business of Christmas shopping. Good times. Good food (Mcdonalds). Good hotel (4 stars). I even bought something (one thing) believe it or not.
Just before we were leaving I went to the bathroom... nothing out of the ordinary... nothing blocking the door... no sign or anything... great... walk in... except... ... ... there's a female janitor ... ... ... mopping the floor... ... ... so I stop... ... dead in my tracks... literally mid-stride... I can't move.... and even though my body is still in 'going to the bathroom' mode my mind just won't let that happen... not until I deal with this never before seen, unable to register, incapable of handling... situation... and so for the 10 second train of thought process that gets me through this situation I'm stuck... mid-stride... a little off balance... middle of the bathroom... blocking traffic... half moving half stopping... confused...
... hmmmmm... wha!?... girl with a mop...where am I?... let me see... bathroom... guys bathroom?... yep!... other guys around here... good... what else?... here's something... there's no soap to wash your hands with at the sink... oh ya I'm obviously in Europe... co-ed things happen in Europe... sex blatant and exhibitionism encouraged... this woman-janitor -bathroom thing must be normal... ok... ok... normal... so act normal... go to the bathroom... don't worry... she's mopping right behind you right now... it's cool... all normal... now wash hands... who needs soap anyways... walk out... normal like... haha!... victory... in normalcy... just the usual routine of life at the Dez shopping center in Innsbruck... not Awkward at all...

Last year around this time Joel visited me in Holland...

... and we, in turn, visited Amsterdam. Walking around we noted all the differences we saw around us.. no-door Public urinals, coed bathrooms, legalized prostitution and drugs, stop lights before and not after the intersection, language barriers... and I said something along the lines of... "man, I wish they saved us all the trouble and just switched over to English already... it would save so much time, confusion, money, and probably war in the long run.. you know how many wars started from mis or lack of communication?... and the language is probably doomed anyways... they admit it themselves that it's confusing and hard for even them to understand the grammar... less and less people in the world are speaking it to begin with... Why, thousands of people a year are stopping using German and Dutch is like a smaller, step-child version of German... why not just pre-empt the trend?"... ... ...
... well, even though I was only half to half and three quarters serious I hit a nerve... so we full-fledged culturally debated.
Joel said that "it's important to learn and adapt to the culture you're in because you learn so much by doing it. Who are you to be so arrogant that you think everyone should just change for you?
...
You would never have an appreciation of snow unless you learned all the 12 different words the Inuit people had for it.
...
You would never understand the nuances of love until you realize the different ways it is used in different cultures... Greek has 4 different words for it as most everyone seems to know. But Dutch, for example (I've heard) is not simply the static "I love you.." but the moment by moment "I am loving you.." which carries a lot more weight because it is an action rather than the pathetic and overused word love that can mean anything you want it to mean from a feeling to a thought to an action and thus, until you define it, means nothing.
...
Or peace, which in English is used in a negative sense to mean the absence of trouble or hostility is better as... Shalom, which in Hebrew carries a positive connotation (you have to do it yourself)that means to bring into place absolute wholeness - full, harmonious, joyful, flourishing life. Wouldn't the world be different if we had Shalom-keepers instead of peace-keepers?
...
And I think a frenchman who (instead of the quick and unthinking please in English or Bitte in German) has to spend all that extra .8 seconds of s'il vous plait could never be completely selfish because who would waste their time with such a long sentence on someone they didn't care about? Well... at least you would have to think about them for that little bit more and hey, it's more time spent not thinking of yourself!
...
... ... ..."

And so ya, (ME) "...ok, maybe it's good to learn all the different nuances and, in turn, enhance your view of the world and hence your life. But then I think about the cost of a language barrier and wonder which risk is bigger - the risk of losing a fuller life or the risk of exclusivism, miscommunication, hostility, and war... of losing life itself?..."
...
(Joel) "...Okay, but think about another problem in language.. and that is... if, when brought together, it becomes too small... the situation is just as tragic. Yes learning a different language or different words can enhance your life... but a smaller and smaller vocabulary does so much more than a smaller life?
...
The more I think about it the more I'm convinced that the language a person uses is a trap to actually limit the way they look at the world. And what if the only words you know were taught to you were in a literature of hate, hostility, and an us vs them mentality then how could it be possible to step outside of it? The book I just finished reading talks about how refugees in the Middle-East were only ever taught one thing... a very strict and intolerant version of the Koran called Wahhabism... and suddenly the only way you will relate to the world is by hostility and fanaticism..."

WINNER?