Welcome to the blogspot of Melbourne writer, Elizabeth Jane

Welcome to the blogspot of Melbourne writer, Elizabeth Jane

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Gwaith Cartref

Am ein gwaith cartref ni, ro'n ni'n gofyn i ysgrifennu am ein teulu ni - for our homework, we were asked to write about our family. Dyma fy nghwaith cartref i - here's my homework. Dw i'n sicr fy mod i wedi gwneud llawer o gamgymeriad - I am sure I have made lots of mistakes. Ond, mae rhaid i ni siarad Cymraeg yn ddrwg, cyn i ni gallu siarad Cymraeg yn dda - but we must speak Welsh badly before we can speak Welsh well.  

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Fy Nheulu i

Symydodd fy nheulu i Awstralia pan ro'n i'n pump oed - my family moved to Australia when I was five years old - Mae fy mam i, Linda, a fy nhad i, David, a fy mrawd i, Ian, a fi - my mum, Linda, and my dad, David, and my brother, Ian, and me.

Ar ôl symydon ni, ro'n ni'n deulu niwcliar - after we moved, we were a nuclear family. Doedd dim modreb neu ewythrod gyda fi yn Awastralia - I didn't have aunts or uncles in Australia. Doedd dim cefndyr neu gyfnitheroedd neu hen rieni gyda fi chwaith - I didn't have cousins or grandparents either.

Ar y dechrau, roedd e'n anodd - in the beginning, it was difficult. Sut oedd Sion Corn yn mynd i ddod yn'r haf - how was Father Christmas going to come in the summer? Pam doedd y goed ddim yn gollwng ein dail nhw - why didn't the trees drop their leaves? Ond, dros y flynyddau, dysgon ni i garu Awstralia - but over the years we learned to love Australia.

Pan ro'n i'n pedwar ar bymtheg oed, ro'n i'n priodi i Andrew- when I was nineteen years old, I was married to Andrew (ie, dw i'n gwybod, rhy ifanc - yes, I know, too young). Ond dyn ni'n dal yn briod - but we are still married.

Mae pedwar plentyn gyda ni - dau mab a dwy ferch - we have four children - two sons and two daughters. Mae hena ddau plentyn yn briod - my two eldest children are married. Felly, am mab yng nghyfraith gyda fi - therefore I have a son in law. Andy yw ei enw e - his name is Andy. Mae merch nghyfraith gyda fi hefyd - I have a daughter in law too. Vanessa yw ei henw hi - Her name is Vanessa. Yn mis Ionawr, bydd fy mab ifanca yn priodi - In January my youngest son will marry. Bydd merch yng nghyfraith arall gyda fi - I will have another daughter in law.

Mae fy nhad i wedi marw nawr - my dad is dead now. Ond mae fy mam i yn fyw - but my mum is alive. Mae teulu mawr gyda hi nawr - she has a big family now. Teulu mawr Awstralian - a big Australian family. Dydy ein teulu ni ddim yn niwcliar nawr - our family isn't nuclear anymore.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Ar y diweth y diwrnod cyntaf

Wel, dyma fi ar y diweth o'r diwrnod cyntaf - well, here I am at the end of the first day.


Dw i ddim yn teimlo pell o gartref heno - I don't feel far from home tonight.


Dw i wedi cwrdd llawer o bobl o dros y byd - I have met lots of people from around the world - America, France, Brittany, England, Wales, Japan and even another dysgwr o Awstralia.


Dyn ni'n dyma i gyd am y un bwriad - we are all here for the one purpose - i siarad Cymraeg - to speak Welsh. Mae'n gyfforus yawn - it is very exciting. 

Dw i'n yn y dosbarth pellach - I am in the intermediate class. Dw i'n deal popeth yn yawn - I understand everything. Ond dw i wedi blino iawn heno - but, I am very tired tonight.

Mae rhaid i fi fynd i wely nawr - I must go to bed now.

Hwyl

Sunday, July 29, 2012

It pays to speak Welsh

Dyma fi yn Aberystwyth

Dw i wedi mwynhau aros dros y nos gyda fy nghythnifer, Joyce - I have enjoyed staying overnight with my cousin, Joyce.

Heddiw, dyn ni wedi gyrru i Aberystwyth - today, we have driven to Aberystwyth. Roedd y wlad yn hyfryd - the countryside was lovely - ac roedd yr tywyth yn braf - and the weather was fine.

Dyma fi yn y llety prifysgol - here I am in the university accommodation. Mae'n dawel ac unig - it's quiet and lonely. Mae ofn arnai - there is fear on me. Ond bydd e'n iawn pan dw i'n cwrdd pobl arall yfory - but it will be fine when I meet other people tomorrow.

Dw i'n gobeithio - I hope.

Noswaith 'ma dw i'n teimlo fordd hir o fy nghartref - this evening I feel a long way from my home.

Dw i ddim yn gallu peidio â - I can't stop thinking - beth ydwi wedi gwneud - what have I done?

Taswn i'n ysgrifennu nofel basai hyn y eiliad tywyllwch - if I was writing a novel, this would be the dark moment.

Ond, paid â becso - but don't worry. Dw i'n iawn - I am fine. :-)

Friday, July 27, 2012

Dyma fi yn Prydain Fawr eto - here I am in Great Britain again.

Dyma fi yn Prydain Fawr eto - here I am in great Britain again (sorry, too tired to work out whether Prydain needs a soft mutation). I must say, it feels freakishly normal to be sitting at Heathrow airport sipping a cappuccino.

The flight over was marvelously uneventful. I had a window seat on the Singapore leg, right at the back, with a spare seat between me and the next person. As an introvert, I would have say, this is the ideal economy location. No one behind, no one beside, just tucked in the corner with no one else to worry about.

I watched a movie: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. It was pleasant. But over-rated and entirely predictable. But Maggie Smith played Maggie Smith with her usual aplomb. I also watched an entire season of Big Bang Theory. This was an infinitely more satisfying experience -Oh to create a character as memorable as Sheldon Cooper.

On the London leg, I requested an aisle seat and, I must say that with regular walks and my new black airline socks, my ankles are not at all swollen. The worse part of the whole twenty four hour flight was my food restrictions. I decided to start out as I mean to go on this holiday - with a fructose friendly diet (I will allow one pork pie and one Welsh cake as a holiday treat). On an airline, this proved a bit tricky.

'We don't cater for individual dietary requirements,' the lady at Qantas told me, 'you have to select one of our standard allergy options.'

For me this meant glucose free, lactose free, yeast free, and generally without flavor. For breakfast I had rice cakes with canola spread and a bowl of fruit. Yum! Just what I needed after twenty-two hours flying. People all around me were eating cornflakes, yoghurt, and continental pastries.I could have eaten all these things on my diet, apart from the pastry. But due to a general lack of self control where food is concerned, I had to take the drastic menu option. After twenty-two hours in economy, I would have scoffed down that croissant without a moments hesitation.

To console myself, I watched another nine episodes of Big Bang Theory. With the aid of modern medicine, also managed to get a few hours sleep.

Arriving in London, I faced a first time, momentous occassion. I entered the UK on a British passport. I've been meaning to get my UK passport ever since my son Jack waved his under my nose eight years ago.

'Looks at this,' he said, with all the arrogance of nineteen years, 'I'm more British than you Mum.'

That's not the sort of comment you allow to pass unchallenged.

I approached the customs counter, heart pounding. Would they brand me an imposter? Clap me in leg irons? Send me back to the antipodes?

No, I entered the land of my birth, as a citizen. At last , an acknowledgment of my dual identity. I felt like turning round and announcing it to everyone in the queue.

First thing I did after getting my bags was to buy a SIM card. Now my iPhone is operational, I feel like a modern, fully functional human being again.

I dropped a bottle of wine in the baggage claims area - actually I dropped two but only one of them broke - as a consequence (seriously dripping bag), I left my folder with my Australian SIM card and my National Express ticket and all my travel documents at the tourist information counter. Never mind, I had copies of all my travel documents and, as it turned out, the very kind girl at the counter put it aside for me.

Why do the let me out? It's a good question. It just goes to show - anyone can travel. 😊

So, here I am sitting at Nero's cafe. You have to pay an extra 10p to drink inside the cafe and I suspect I have already out stayed my ten pence worth of welcome. But, Shh! No one in the cafe knows I have a UK passport. I can, therefore, sit in the corner hogging this seat under the guise of an ignorant Australian.

My bus to Wales goes in less than an hour and I am beginning to feel tipyn bach nervous. My aim is to speak as little English as possible in Aberystwyth. A noble aim. Maybe a tad idealistic? But seriously, it can only go two ways.

1) I take myself to the next stage of my language journey, finding reserves of strength and endurance hitherto unimagined while making new meaningful Welsh language friendships.

2) I will pass a silent holiday without connection or basic human fellowship.😊

The reality will probably fall somewhere in between. God, I hope so. Meanwhile, if you watch this space, I will keep you posted.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Morning pages

Welsh tapestry a candle and a Portmeirion mug - perfect inspiration for my morning pages.

Saturday, July 7, 2012


Gwelwch! Mae'r ardd yn gwybod bydda i'n mynd i Gymru eto yn chwech dydd ar hugain - not sure if that's the correct way to write twenty six days (that's why I'm going to Aberystwyth). But even the garden can't help telling me I'll soon be back in Wales.