Where are you from?

[Paulina]

I`m very happy that you know where it is!
Yessentuki is a very lovely town,but all tourists think that the mineral water
smells like spoiled eggs,but it`s not true!Mineral water has its special taste and I think it is rather tasty.

[Hagger 9003]

as quite a few people kno, i am from amsterdam, famous for, shall we say, liberal attitudes to some plants. but it has loads of culture, and tons of good artists, like vincent van gogh.

btw, who here can pronounce his name? does any1 think they can?

[Phoenix in the Ashes]

That's the dude that choppped off his ear isn't it? Well yeah I know it is lol.
Isn't it pronounced Vincent van Go?
I applyed for a Dutch passport the other day actually. There were lots of people there. I suppose it's a popular country!

[Mistress Siana]

From what I heard, his name is prounounced like that:
A typical dutch 'van', pronounced like 'fun'. And Gogh like go, but with a short o (like in 'gone'), and a typical dutch g, as in 'dag'. It's quite a strange sound, similar to the spanish pronunciation of 'j', the closest english sound would be the ch in 'Loch Ness'. The international key to pronunciation writes it as a x.
Hm...I don't know if that's of any help, it's quite hard to explain.

'Liberal attitudes to some plants', that's good, lol! I've just celebrated my birthday in Amsterdam, I just love the night life. And I found such a good indian restaurant! And I saw a little bridge named after a guy from my hometown, Susskind was his name...did I say I envy you, Hagger?

[Hagger 9003]

lol thanks siana!! nice to hear somone talk about my country without mentioning the rain! i hope you enjoyed your birthday! but personally, i think lots of places in germany have just as much character as amsterdam. what is you hometown like?

about van gogh, as far as i kno, you just make a really harsh "h" sound, with an "o" pushed in. someone described it by saying that , when a dutch friend of his said it, someone offered him a throat sweet. that sounds pretty accurate, because it sounds like you are trying to clear your throat. i think this is right anyway. even though i live here, i do not kno for sure!

[Mistress Siana]

I think I know what you mean...I've always wondered about the first G in Gogh, and why it wasn't pronounced...well, dutch. Maybe the ability to pronounce it correctly is limited to dutch people.

The town I've lived in until very recently is as unspectacular as any town can be, I left it as soon as possible. But as I've just learned, it had a resistance fighter that saved jews in Amsterdam.
True, there are places I love, like Hamburg, for instance. I'm not too fond of Berlin, though. By the way, why did you move to Holland?

[Hagger 9003]

i moved here because my family moved. i still depend on them, so i didnt have much choice. it was a good move. it makes you liberated, living in a new place. its fun . my old hometown was boring. nothing ever happened there. it looked nice, but thats a poor exchange for bein interesting. you couldnt really do anything there, so it wasnt so good.

i wish i could visit more cities. they are so diverse and full of life. they each have a character.

if youve moved away from your town, where are you now?

[Tween_Luv]

i live in Malibu, California, USA!!
my parents immigrated form rusia 12 years ago though so i know russian and i've visited several times. =D

[Phoenix in the Ashes]

I live in Wellington, the capital city of Aotearoa. It's pretty active, it's got heaps of national sport games and stuff, so I'm enjoying it.

[Cedric]

Where exactly is that? I'm not sure I'm familiar with it. Sounds like a name I've heard before though.

[Phinea Rogue]

New Zealand, is it? I'd love to go there once! *sigh*

[Scarlet Lioness]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and I live in the little country of New Zealand in the Capital City Wellington, its an awesome country!!!!

[Phoenix in the Ashes]

yeah it's the Maori name for the land of New Zealand, it doesn't actually translate to it but it's the name nonetheless.
Hey weasly_gurl, so u did sign up after all?

[Scarlet Lioness]

Aotearoa, actually translates to something along the lines of 'Land of the Long White Cloud' or something I think there's another meaning but I'm not sure...

[Un'Anima Persa]

That's the dude that choppped off his ear isn't it? Well yeah I know it is lol.
Isn't it pronounced Vincent van Go?

we leanred about him in art a few years back... we, as in everyone i have ever heard say the name, pronounce it "van go" as you have said... but we here in my parts dont exaclty always know what we're talking about lol...?