1. Sounds you grew up with

[Maarit]

Hi again,
I was born and lived my childhood in a detached-house in the countryside of Finland. Many of our relatives lived at the same area and I played with my brothers and cousins after school. I remember very well the sound my mother’s car made as she came from doing the grocery shopping. One of my friends heard this sound as well and he ran to our home because he expected to get sweets which my mother bought. It was nice time.
Best regards Maarit

[Admin]

Thanks for your evocative description Maarit. Playing outside alone, I think fewer and fewer children grow up that way now. In Spain at any rate kids are supervised quite a lot. Until they are teenagers and then suddenly they start going out until 4:00 in the morning... I think parents suffer quite a lot!
One thing: we live in an area, rather than "at".
I'll take a look at your other texts soon!
Pieter

[Maarit]

Hi Pieter,

Thanks for your letter.
Well, times are changing also in the countryside. This autumn we have been worried about our 10-year-old daughter who bicycles alone 2,5 km to her school because there in our city have been some men who have disturbed young girls. Fortunately our daughter and her friends have got to be in peace. Actually I do want that these men will be arrested very soon.

By the way, our eldest daughter has stayed this autumn in China by studying and travelling. She has nearly completed 4 courses there in China and now she is travelling around China: Shanghai, Nanging, Peking, the southern part of China… She stayed one week in Malaysia and in December she will travel to Hong Kong and Macau. In addition she has planned to make a 3-week-long visit to Thailand. Mainly she travels alone. Oops…

Yes, it is not always easy to be a parent. But perhaps I will learn to trust that I can only give some advices and then my children make their own decisions.

See you,
:-) Maarit

[Sonia]

When I was a child we lived in a flat in Barcelona. I can still hear the sound of my father's soft and happy double whistle when entering at home. It was his way of saying “I’m home”. It was part of my day for so many years, the sound of my father arriving home.

[Admin]

What a nice memory Sonia - but what is a double whistle? I can't quite imagine that!
See you,
Pieter

[Sonia]

Hello Pieter,

He whistled twice. I don't know how to transcribe it... It sounded like some sort of birdsong: "fiiii, fiiiiiiiiii". :)

Regards.
Sonia.

[Admin]

OK, I think I understand it :) My father had a special whistle too. If we got lost in the supermarket or something like that, he always whistled it so we could find each other.
See you,
Pieter