axmom, I did bargain on the rental and got what I wanted. How is that a game?? I was prepared to move on if he didn't come down. Its a buyers/renters market. Tons of places on the market and many sitting for over a year. I realized, as I was looking around there was room for a lot of negotiating. You wouldn't believe what landlords were willing to offer to get their places rented. Trust me, I wasn't playing games. I got a good deal. I am ignorant of the Korean culture, as well as many other cultures. Should I well versed in all cultures before selling my house? How is that 'redneck?' They buyers are lovely people, I allowed a long closing because they are renting and their lease ends in April. I wasn't in a rush to move, but did not want to move in Feb. because I feared weather problems. I was right as we got hit with 2 ft. of snow and no power for 2 days. Had I insisted on an earlier closing I would have saved myself a few thousand dollars. We close Monday, Mar. 1 and I went to see my home today and we have tremendous tree damage which I am responsible to clear up. My allowing a 4 month closing will cost us a lot of money and headache. I'm not even sure how this is handled. Buyers called me daily on both cell and home phones asking to do the walk-thru with some friends and construction people. No matter how I explained we were moved out and the roads were closed, I hadn't cleaned after the move and we had no power (electric and water), they kept insisting they see the house. We moved Wed. because movers were afraid of the impending storm. I was not prepared and had to pay extra to have an man help me box. Took all day to move out and in to the new place. It started snowing that night and by morning my neighbor called to say trees were down and the power was off. We are on well/septic and I had left many plants behind in the house. I thought I had 3 days to clean up before the walk-thru. The roads were closed, my husband and I spent hours yesterday trying to get to our house. Our Town declared an emergency and we were almost stranded on the road. We managed to get to the house today to assess the damage. Luckily the trees did not hit the house or pool but we have huge limbs all over the ground and dangling from the trees. During all this, the buyer and his agent continued calling both me and my agent insisting they wanted the walk-through. No matter how I explained I couldn't get to my own house, how there was no water or electric, he didn't care or he wasn't understanding. I didn't want to be rude, but my nerves were frazzled and I just wanted to see my house and whether it was still standing. This is my first time selling a house. We've lived in it for almost 40 years. I wasn't prepared for the stress and amount of work involved. I did pack in advance as much as possible but we were still living in the house. I was trying to sell furniture and other items which took time and we both work full time. Plus, we love our house and enjoyed the time it was off the market. Those four months before closing were like a vacation. Guess we could have timed it better, but we still would have faced the snow storm because we allowed a long closing. So we pay the price. Tomorrow we agreed to meet the buyers, their agent and construction people at 2pm. My house is a mess from the movers and I will have to try to clean it up before they come. They want to inspect it again and worry it was damaged in the storm. I understand their anxiety, but they don't seem to understand mine. I need to hire a tree service to clear the mess but no one is even answering my calls. It will be Spring before the snow melts and work can begin. We were told money will have to be held in escrow to cover any damages. The tree work will cost us a small fortune. My problems could have been avoided if we closed earlier. Azmon, there was no 'double-standard.' I could have refused any of their requests which was my right. Jane

Speaking as a foreign language teacher of thirty years - if you want to really learn and retain a language, learn to read it. Speaking is the skill we usually acquire fastest, but it's also the skill we lose the fastest. With reading, we have added the visual sense, which reinforces our memory! So even if there's no one around to speak with, one can always go online to a foreign language site or pick up a book, e.g. Languages are primarily related by grammar, even if there are discrepancies in vocabulary. American, Canadian, and British English are virtually identical in grammar and are considered pretty much identical, despite the bonnet-hood and nappie-diaper thingie. I am bilingual in English and Hebrew and also read Arabic. Moni, I can just imagine the difficulty your Chinese friend is having. Hard to think of two more different languages than Chinese and English!

kath, I bet that since your Mom was teaching you when you were a child, the fundamentals are somewhere in your brain still. That would make it easier to pick it up again. It's harder as an adult to learn a new language if you've never studied a foreign language at all. Why not give it a try? I studied four languages when I was in school, but the one that really stuck is Spanish-- and I think that is because when I was about 9 and 10, my best playmate was a little girl my age from Ecuador. The Spanish we spoke to one another was "playground" Spanish-- in other words, the sort of thing kids use just playing, kid's syntax and colloquilisms. But then when I studied Spanish as an adult, it proved to be be a sound foundation to build on. I haven't tried cds yet, but know people who've used them to pick up basics or refresh a language they'd studied in high school before going overseas on business. I'm thinking about trying it to refresh both Spanish and Russian (which I studied in high school). Dayle Ann

elmer - Moni claims that someone asking about her accent equates to telling her that she is flawed. I don't understand or agree with that. You seem to agree with it, and I asked you how you think someone asking another person where their accent is from is telling the person with the accent that they are flawed. You haven't answered that question. Don't attempt to throw my words back at me. I asked you a question. If you are unable to come up with an answer, be man enough to say so. There is not one single person in this entire world who can speak, that can speak without an accent. EVERYONE has an accent depending upon to whom they are speaking, or where they are speaking. I can say, "I don't have an accent," but if I were to be speaking to Australians or to Irish (who also speak English as their main language), they would claim that I do have an accent. If I go back to New York, or to Maine, or to Minnesota, and speak to locals, they would say I have an accent. So, I would have an accent, but I would not be flawed.