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Post by Dougs on Jun 18, 2023 21:17:13 GMT
Portugal, apparently
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Post by Syrette on Jun 18, 2023 21:32:44 GMT
If the waitors etc understand English is it really that big a problem?
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Post by Dougs on Jun 18, 2023 21:34:09 GMT
I think some effort to converse in the language of the country you are visiting is appreciated though. Generally I only get as far as pleasantries and how to order a beer but that's better than nothing imo.
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Post by minimatt on Jun 18, 2023 21:51:46 GMT
absolutely. "please", "thank you" and - for the advanced student - "two beers please" gets you so fucking far in life precisely because so few fuckers even attempt it
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Post by Danno on Jun 18, 2023 21:54:24 GMT
absolutely. "please", "thank you" and - for the advanced student - "two beers please" gets you so fucking far in life precisely because so few fuckers even attempt it bang on. And if you can manage a 'how are you?' and the appropriate response you'll be first in line when you need a top up
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geefe
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Post by geefe on Jun 19, 2023 7:24:00 GMT
Exactly! I'm trying to do everything in Portuguese. I was absolutely appalled by this American family who so steadfastly refused that they had to bring another waiter to help with the English.
I pulled up google translate, typed in what I wanted and was able to take my leftovers away in a box no problem.
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Post by damagedinc on Jun 19, 2023 7:28:18 GMT
Mrs damaged has finally broke me down and convinced me taking our two kids away (5,3) is a viable option.
Always done uk trips but prob in a good place to go abroad. Anyone here done something similar? Thinking all inclusive so they can put themselves into a ice cream coma whilst I drown in house whiskey.
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Post by One_Vurfed_Gwrx on Jun 19, 2023 10:29:00 GMT
Exactly! I'm trying to do everything in Portuguese. I was absolutely appalled by this American family who so steadfastly refused that they had to bring another waiter to help with the English. I pulled up google translate, typed in what I wanted and was able to take my leftovers away in a box no problem. Japan was bad for (usually) American tourists doing the 'loud voice speaking slowly' thing when people couldn't understand them. As I speak (very rustily now) Japanese if I saw someone who was genuinely trying and struggling I would often ask if they needed any help and assist (happened a few times on my trips there. The noisy rude types I left to their won devices. As a bonus, I remember arriving in KIX and saw the English queue for booking all your JR PASS tickets was massive, the Japanese only queue was empty so waltzed ahead of the lot of them due to being able to communicate. And for random asides, I once had a tour of a historical site in Indonesia in Japanese as the guide I happened to pick turned out to be better at Japanese than English (we got a few peciluliar looks as we walked around). But when I travel to new places I like to learn greetings, thank you, where is the loo, how much is it and numbers at a minimum. And if in doubt out with Google Translate (or itranslate that I used way back on my Trans-Siberian journey in 2014)
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Post by dfunked on Jun 19, 2023 10:41:30 GMT
Yeah, it takes no effort at all to just learn the basic everyday phrases like "please", "thank you", "it burns when I pee" etc
Absolutely does my head in hearing stuff like "TWO LAGERS PLEASE GUV"
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Binky
New Member
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Post by Binky on Jun 19, 2023 11:09:15 GMT
Has anyone dealt with school fines in terms of taking the kids out of school for a holiday?
I'm still hovering over Dom Rep in October - November. It's a grand cheaper in November. 1 kid in primary, 1 in secondary. Do they always fine, even if up until now your attendance is 100%?
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Post by Dougs on Jun 19, 2023 11:13:33 GMT
In my experience, yes. But then, my council are the highest in the country for enforcement. From what I can gather, headteachers have limited scope to not tell the local authority. Using common sense no longer an option.
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Post by damagedinc on Jun 19, 2023 12:11:50 GMT
Still cheaper to take the fine though isn't it?
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Post by Dougs on Jun 19, 2023 12:17:43 GMT
Yup. £60 per child, per parent, per week I think.
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Binky
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Post by Binky on Jun 19, 2023 12:25:11 GMT
Yup. £60 per child, per parent, per week I think. Actually Doug, this is really helpful information. Is the £60 per week or per day? We were operating under the impression that it was per day. If it's per week then that's nothing compared to the saving!
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Post by Syrette on Jun 19, 2023 12:31:50 GMT
I think some effort to converse in the language of the country you are visiting is appreciated though. Oh, I agree. I just think if you're somewhere where the staff can speak English to a degree then they probably (I don't know - I'm not speaking for them) don't really mind someone not making any effort at all to speak their language, but appreciate it if they do, as you say. As such it's not really my place to look down on fellow tourists who are just there for a good time, and don't mean any offence. I learn the basics wherever I go myself, aside from Spanish which I'm semi-decent at so will make an effort to converse in that as much as I can if I'm in a Spanish-speaking country. If it makes sense to, I'll go down the hablas ingles route and if they know mas que un poco I'll chat in English so as not to waste any of their or my fellow customer/tourists' time.
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Post by damagedinc on Jun 19, 2023 13:15:34 GMT
Yup. £60 per child, per parent, per week I think. Actually Doug, this is really helpful information. Is the £60 per week or per day? We were operating under the impression that it was per day. If it's per week then that's nothing compared to the saving! Yeah that was my understanding. My friends always have said pulling them out of school always cheaper than going during the break. Obviously you have to be sensible about it and not do it all the time etc. But the one off I can't see it being an issue.
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Post by TheSaint on Jun 19, 2023 13:18:26 GMT
Remember that it's probably a cheap time as it's still hurricane season until the end of Novemeber.
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dam
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Post by dam on Jun 19, 2023 13:23:09 GMT
That reminds me, I have to dig out my English-Portugese crib sheet and distribute!
I remember being mortified in Greece years ago, when a girl thanked us for making an effort with Greek, when all we asked for was 2 gyros and 2 beers. How could you go somewhere and not learn "2 beers please"?
I made a bunch of old Japanese ladies laugh, with a cheery "Good Morning!" as they were cowering away from the big hairy foreigner approaching them along an alley.
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Post by Dougs on Jun 19, 2023 15:05:51 GMT
Yeah, pretty sure it's £60 a week per parent per child. Alternatively just phone on sick for a week if you can wangle it! Other advice is you should notify the school or they may come down even harder - in reality, spinning them a sob story about needing family time etc will be rejected but at least they'll know what the score is.
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dmukgr
Junior Member
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Post by dmukgr on Jun 19, 2023 16:27:00 GMT
Surely the kid can die their hair, get a dodgy earring or something to be suspended for a week
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geefe
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Short for Zangief
Posts: 8,323
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Post by geefe on Jun 19, 2023 18:01:37 GMT
Don't phone in sick. They know. Just call the head of year and be straight up. They may just not be arsed with the fine.
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Post by Syrette on Jun 19, 2023 18:17:25 GMT
Someone's had a few term time holidays...
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Post by Dougs on Jun 19, 2023 18:19:15 GMT
Tbf, rocking up with a tan is a bit of a giveaway.
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Post by Dougs on Jun 19, 2023 18:21:02 GMT
Oh, also just remembered the wheeze my friends tried to use - they were away one week where there was an inset day. So their argument was technically, their son wasn't absent for a full school week...
[NB: I have no idea if they were successful and avoided the fine...I'll ask!]
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Tomo
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Post by Tomo on Jun 19, 2023 18:27:13 GMT
I don't have kids, but I find it appalling that you get fined for taking kids out of school for a holiday. I mean, don't be cunt parents and go on hols for a month or whatever, but a week or two never seemed that disruptive to friends (unfortunately my dad was a stickler and we usually went during actual holidays) who went away when I were a lad.
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Post by Dougs on Jun 19, 2023 18:36:36 GMT
According to a teacher mate, it was to combat some being taken out of school for 4-6 weeks at a time to visit family overseas for weddings etc. He's since shacked up with a racist though, so not sure I believe any of that.
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Post by TheSaint on Jun 19, 2023 19:25:51 GMT
I don't have kids, but I find it appalling that you get fined for taking kids out of school for a holiday. I mean, don't be cunt parents and go on hols for a month or whatever, but a week or two never seemed that disruptive to friends (unfortunately my dad was a stickler and we usually went during actual holidays) who went away when I were a lad. The impression I get from my wife is that it’s a pain in the arse for the teachers who have to try and help them catch up on a week or two of work. That’s at primary though, I imagine it’s a bit different at secondary.
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Post by damagedinc on Jun 19, 2023 19:58:48 GMT
I just stuck a few dates in for a 7 day holiday.
During term time 240 each
During half term etc it goes up to 780
That's why parents pay the fine lol
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geefe
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Post by geefe on Jun 19, 2023 22:53:46 GMT
I see both sides tbf. It is a massive hassle kids being off but also Eid is just something you can't avoid.
Is a week off going to cause issues, from a learning standpoint? Not at all. But is it a headache because of ridiculous bureaucracy from management and government?
Eg: all learning recorded, homeworks in planners, each week accounted for, etc and all the other bollocks.
Yes. Yes it is.
My view has long been each child gets a maximum of 5 "grace" days a year. They can't be after January for year 11 and not during a coursework period. They must be booked with head of year and the child must do something educational with their holiday, such as a research or writing project about where they've been.
It creates a great bond of respect with school and parents, adds rust and cuts out the awful bullshit of fees for holidays.
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dmukgr
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Post by dmukgr on Jun 20, 2023 9:05:27 GMT
I was pulled out of term as a kid as my dad was a factory worker in Burnley but we lived in Oldham and the wakes holidays wouldn’t match up I.e. factory shut at the time of local schools rather than those elsewhere.
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