Make Your Way 6, Schulbuch mit Audio-CD und CD-ROM

Sayeed My father left Palestine when the war started and fled to Kuwait. He met my mother there, although she’s English, and I was born there. They sent me to school in England when I was 10, which I quite enjoyed. It was vastly different from life in Kuwait; there were so many rules and it seemed so alien to me. But I tried hard to fit in. We spoke English at home, so the language wasn’t a problem when I came to England. Nowadays I wish I had learnt Arabic while I was little and not been so against learning it. I had a private tutor, but I’m afraid I was a horrible pupil. One day, I really upset him so he wouldn’t come back and teach me any more! It would have been nice to speak two languages fluently, but I think I’m really not talented as far as languages go. I’m hopeless at French, in spite of learning it for years at school. What I miss about life in Kuwait is the big family gatherings. There’s much more to family life than in England. But I like the freedom you have here too. Too much family can get annoying. Maika I came from Poland in 1999. I was married to an Englishman, and he was brought back here by his company. There are lots of differences, for example, there’s a bigger variety of food here, with the Indian and Chinese restaurants, and so on. I had learnt English in school, but when I got here, it just wasn’t the same. Some of the accents, like cockney, are so difficult to understand! Apart from my family and friends, I don’t really feel I’m missing very much. It’s important to keep in touch, and I do mix with Poles when I can. If I had children, I would want them to learn Polish and keep up the I love Arabic food, and I suppose I just copied my Dad when it came to eating Arabic style. My brother and sister and I were not like typical Kuwaiti kids, and he would always joke about us being “weak from the English side”, although I know he was very proud of us too. If I had a family, I would want my children to belong to both cultures. I think it’s important not to deny your origins and to continue being Palestinian. I think of myself as a “double-caste” not a “half-caste”! During the Gulf War, I felt threatened, a bit less confident. But apart from some bad experiences when some people reacted badly to me, I’ve never really been discriminated against. The only racist experi- ences I’ve had were in my head. In fact, London especially is a very tolerant place. I like how the English are straight with you, they don’t like airs and graces. They can be a bit too conservative for my liking, and I can’t stand being patronised by some of them. But the variety of cultures is great; it makes London a great place to live in. cultural traditions. Families in Poland are much closer than in Britain. I was amazed how some people here don’t see their sisters or brothers ever! In Poland, it is more like it used to be here. They take care of the old people, and there’s more discipline. Families help each other more. People here in England dress more casually, different than in Poland. They don’t care what they look like. But I enjoy the differences. The British are very tolerant and friendly. But I’ll always be Polish. I think it’s impossible to change deep down, and I don’t see any advantage in changing. alien: hier: fremd, ungewohnt half-caste: abwertend für Menschen von gemischter Herkunft airs and graces: arrogantes Getue/Gehabe cockney: Dialekt von London und Umgebung, ursprünglich Dialekt der Unterschicht im Londoner East End casually: hier: zwanglos 82 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv