more postcards from ny

Radio Zet is definitely not my favourite radio station, but today it's so freezing cold that they can provide some heat with their lively music. So, tapping on my keyboard another translation of a lengthy text, I heard about some photos of the Big Apple from one of the radio's journalists. I liked two of them especially, the ones that somewhat remind of the Americans' mythical "no problem" attitude. And our last lesson with the OLC group. Enjoy.

and

Both photos by Marzena Chełminiak.

the Big Apple - nickname for New York

One of my on-line students asked if the texts here might be accompanied by sound, and I've been exploring this option for the last twenty minutes or so. I've already found the mike on my notebook and I'm wondering why it's so tiny.
Anyway, reading your own writing is surely an act of the utmost courage. I'd even risk saying, it's shameless.
For the last couple of weeks I've been listening to an audiobook by Sebastain Faulks, On Green Dolphin Street - "read by the author". Whenever I hear Faulks's unwavering voice, especially while reading his own complex metaphors and insights into the characters' minds, I admire his capacity for self-publishing.
I still have the excuse of not being able to upload the sound files.

mike - infml for "microphone"
utmost - najwyższy
shameless - bezwstydny
unwavering - pewny, niezachwiany
insight - wgląd, spostrzeżenie

nobody's perfect

To finish this teacher's voice on teaching and learning, I would like to be sure I've made peace with all the readers who might have felt insecure when reading the previous entry.

Foreign language is a particular kind of tool.

Take for example some of the instruments you might need at work: typically, the better the instrument, the better the outcome. A graphic designer needs professional software to produce a high-quality website layout. A neurosurgeon will call for a sharp and sterile scalpel, or better a high-tech microsurgical laser scalpel, to be more precise. Even your kids will soon claim that in order to communicate with friends they must have at their disposal a state-of-the-art cell phone. Striving for perfection of tools is omnipresent.

Unlike other instruments, your second language does not have to be perfect to be used.
Or, in other words, you don’t have to know all the structures and vocab to start speaking, reading and writing. And it’s a bad news for all the perfectionists: you can only improve your command of foreign language when you use it, imperfect as it is. There’s definitely no other way.

You can start practicing with writing comments here. I've changed the settings so that this option is now available for everybody.

make peace - pogodzić się
insecure - niepewny/ie
entry - tu: notatka
particular=special
outcome=result
layout - szablon, makieta
state of the art - najnowoczęsniejszy
striving for perfection - dążenie do doskonałości
omniprsent - wszechobecne
in other words - innymi słowy
definitely - zdecydowanie, z pewnością