I met a fellow BDer!!

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

Originally Posted by A Little Green

Oh no, nine! You evil people broke our record
So true. It would be awesome to get some Downers here also next summer. I think I can speak for all of us silli (sic) Finns when I say that everyone willing to come is very welcome.

I'll try advertising a bit... Come to Finland! We are not evil nor scary. At least, we don't show it if we are

hahaha!
(I feel wonderfully wicked even though I was also part of the previouse record, surely I am still a swine in your eyes)

Anyways is it not obviouse that the downers of the Oxonmoot and of Helsinki should join forces and personaly I think they should meet on the half way. (Denmark)

Actually I would also be up for a meeting in Boston. . . I need to visit some friends in the states before too long and I really want to experience Fenway.

[Brinniel]

Originally Posted by Fea

Take one of two routes:

1) attempt to coordinate schedules

2) wait patiently until next summer when I intend to move to Boston

1) Coordinating schedules could work, depending on when of course. It's always makes things more difficult when you have school to worry about.

2) There's a good chance I'll be living in Boston next summer, and I'll definitely be here in the following fall.

Actually I would also be up for a meeting in Boston. . . I need to visit some friends in the states before too long and I really want to experience Fenway.

Yes! You must come see Boston, and soon (by soon I mean no later than spring 2010). I actually haven't seen a Red Sox game yet (shocking, I know), so perhaps we can experience Fenway together.

[Thinlómien]

Lommy's handy list of attracting Barrow-Downers to your home city/country

1) Convert all your friends and family to Barrow-Downers. This way, the ones you seek to lure to your lair are attracted by not only the thought of meeting just one lovely person, but many lovely people.

2) Invite people personally and tell them you'd love them to come. Also, give them good reasons why they'd want to come.

3) Once you manage to lure one person, it becomes easier to lure others to come too. Downers get jealous easily...

These tactics have proven succesful...

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Originally Posted by Brinniel

1) Coordinating schedules could work, depending on when of course. It's always makes things more difficult when you have school to worry about.

Precisely. I could make it over in late November when I'm on Thanksgiving break, but would you be there, or would you be on your own vacation? December as well, Christmas break, I could probably make it, but my break generally falls exactly at the worst time for anything...

2) There's a good chance I'll be living in Boston next summer, and I'll definitely be here in the following fall.

Much easier. Every grad school I'm looking at it is in or around Boston. So unless something major changes in the next eight months, you can find me in Boston for the year or two following my graduation.

[Brinniel]

Originally Posted by Fea

Precisely. I could make it over in late November when I'm on Thanksgiving break, but would you be there, or would you be on your own vacation? December as well, Christmas break, I could probably make it, but my break generally falls exactly at the worst time for anything...

I won't be here for Thanksgiving...I'm actually heading down south the Raleigh of all places. As for winter break, it's hard to say since everyone's breaks are different. Mine starts December 18 and goes on until mid-January...I'll probably be home for most of that, though nothing is set just yet.

Originally Posted by Fea

Much easier. Every grad school I'm looking at it is in or around Boston. So unless something major changes in the next eight months, you can find me in Boston for the year or two following my graduation.

Perfect. Then I can count on meeting you at least sometime within the next year.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Originally Posted by Brinniel

Perfect. Then I can count on meeting you at least sometime within the next year.

Yes.

Now if only we could get the phantom to travel eastbound... but he so firmly believes that this is where shadows lie...

[Aganzir]

I met Mithalwen, Kath and the guy who be short on Sunday.

Despite some confusion with the times, we eventually managed to find one another. The day was sunny and incredibly warm (22 C according to the weather forecast, but I bet it was more), so mostly we just walked around London. We found a shop that sold foreign candy, and I forced the Brits to try salted liquorice (which is kind of a classic in Finland). They had fun reading the Swedish package labels. In another shop Mith bought fortune cookies. I have lost my own fortune and don't remember the others either, but at least tgwbs's was funny. And when the park we were sitting in was closed, we went to a pub and sat there for the rest of the evening.

They were all very nice people and it was great to meet them. Only I was really tired after a night of four hours of sleep (preceded by a week of seven hours of sleep a night at most, usually not even that much) so I wasn't as social as I might have been otherwise.

Mith was really funny and talkative and sweet, and she brought us white chocolate raisins, yay! She made me laugh more than once.

I had never expected Kath to be quiet, but (and now I join the ever increasing number of people who say this) also she was somehow more talkative than I had thought. She was very nice and funny and easy to talk to. But hey, it's not that difficult to say Hanni!

I didn't know tgwbs very well, but he proved to be a great personality, really funny, a bit crazy and such. He should start visiting the Downs more often again.

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Aganzir

Mith was really funny and talkative and sweet, and she brought us white chocolate raisins, yay! She made me laugh more than once.

It is a bit worrying that I can still be described as talkative when I had lost my voice!!! Clearly I overdid it because on Monday I literally could not speak a word... I am still somewhat silenced...blessed relief for all around no doubt...

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Aganzir

. But hey, it's not that difficult to say Hanni!

I am going to second Kath on this .. it is absolutely impossible :

(after about 7 failed attempts) -

Aganzir "Han-ni"

Mith *whimpering* "Lommie"

Jay was much better but then he is an Oxford linguistician...

After I read Agan's comment at lunchtime I happened to read Treebeard talking about Entish and I think Finnish must be related - "a lovely language, but it takes a very long time to say anything in it". I did feel like I was doing a Treebeard impersonation, sinking into chest voice to get the long pure "a" sound. It doesn't help that most of the languages I have studied are "hastier".