A collaborative blog for students of Spanish and English.
Un blog colaborativo para estudiantes de español e inglés.
2013-01-19
Interpreting the Reality
These last days while I was working (in a repetitive and monotonous work, like the majority in a factory) I thought in an issue which lately has been giving a lot of laps in my head (or: has been going round my head) \\ An English speaker, How would tell it?.
Well, the subject matter was the civil servants and the public sector.
In the Christmas season sometimes we met with my wife's family and others times with mine. It turns out that in my "in-laws" there are several civil servants. Some of them in the field of Health and others in Education. Well, their way of interpret the economic measures that the Government is adopting differs a lot of from mine.
I can say that I had the chance of hearing a couple of "philosophical pearls". My sister in law (public nurse) exclaimed: "I passed my professional exam ... "in its moment, evidently"... and this entitles me to all that we had achieved ..."the hard-working trade unionists, of course".
The another, well, actually a series of eloquences, came from a female cousin of my wife. She is English teacher in a Language School and to her all cutting measures in education are a plot against "The Public" by the Government "conservative, of course".
My opinion is that then there was a reality and now there is another very different. Now we can not afford what we could afford before.
The moral of this story is how different can be the interpretation of reality according the "interest of the beholder".
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These last days while I was working (in a repetitive and monotonous work, like the majority in a factory) I thought OF/ABOUT an issue which lately has been MAKing a lot of laps in my head*.
ReplyDeleteWell, the subject matter was the civil servants and the public sector.
In the Christmas season sometimes we met with my wife's family and otheR times with mine. It turns out that AMONG my in-laws there are several civil servants. Some of them in the field of health and others in education. Well, their way of interpretING the economic measures that the government is adopting differs a lot [] from mine.
I can say that I had the chance of hearing a couple of "philosophical pearls". My sister-in-law (public nurse) exclaimed: "I passed my professional exam ... ("in its moment, evidently")?... and this entitles me to all that we had achieved ..."the hard-working trade unionists, of course". (I can't follow this sentence exactly.)
The other "PEARL", well, actually a series of eloquences (nice sarcasm), came from a female cousin of my wife. She is AN English teacher in a language school and to her all cutting measures in education are a plot against "The Public" by the Government "conservative, of course".
My opinion is that IN THE PAST there was a reality and now there is another, very different. Now we can not afford what we could afford before.
The moral of this story is how different can be the interpretation of reality according the "interest of the beholder".
*"Going round my head" or "going around in my head" is a more common expression, but "making laps" is an interesting, fresh way to say it.
I agree with you, Eduardo. It is often an eye-opening experience to hear the views of those whose life circumstances are very different from ours. For example, sometimes the views expressed in letters to the newspaper boggle my mind.
A lot of thanks Matt!
DeleteI recognize it is a (very informal) paragraph:
My sister in law (public nurse) exclaimed: "I passed my professional exam ... "in its moment, evidently"... and this entitles me to all that we had achieved ..."the hard-working trade unionists, of course".
Between " " I wrote my thinking. She passed her exam many years ago, when the situation was very different. Nothing to do with the current. And when she said: "all that we had achieved" I though to my: (yes, above all, what ""You"" have achieved). (the trade unionists have been who have accomplished that our public sector looks like an enormous social monstruosity). We pay to ten people to perform the task that a qualified person could perform and to top they perform it bad and late. That is that we have in this country.