Used Dressage Saddles

3 Responses to “Used Dressage Saddles”

1. a ppcc representative says:

   September 12, 2010 at 9:17 pm

   Still haven't seen this, but loving the discussion on Orientalism! I'm predisposed as well to dismiss some MerchIv fare as gratuitous Orientalism, though, to be fair, I've only seen In Custody so far, and that was hardly Orientalist in any way I could determine. But the whole “Everyone in India speaks English all the time to each other” gives off a bit of an Orientalist vibe. (Though it's still better than Alec Guinness playing a Brahmin uni professor with an Apu accent in A Passage to India!)
2. dethbunny says:

   October 17, 2010 at 12:52 am

   Everyone loves the South of France. I speak Spanish and French (and still taking classes for both)… I’ve spent much time in France and lived in Spain, so I understand the appeal. That being said, your main obstacle (unless there is something about you I don’t know) is definitely going to be your lack of citizenship/visa. In rural areas in both Spain and France, you better have pretty flawless French/Spanish because English is RARE. Also, people in the smaller towns are very welcoming and kind, but still harbor a bit of distaste for foreigners, unless you’re moving to one of the “little Englands” where the expats have taken over a particular town in Spain or France. IMHO, I think you may as well move to the U.K. if you’d like to hang out with the English all day long. Just thought I’d mention that unemployment and lack of money are a much larger issue in the rural areas than they are in the cities. Spain is currently fucked at the moment, and is grappling with massive unemployment. Their median wages are some of the lowest in the EU even if you are able to get a job. Spain would only be my 1st choice to live if I won the lottery, because even though my Spanish is pretty good and I am an EU citizen I don’t think I could survive there via normal employment without a massive lifestyle change. The main challenge to opening a shop or restaurant in France… well, anywhere for that matter is that you really need to be massively capitalized. Shops require a decent amount of capital to buy all the goods and a lease, and even more so for employees. Restaurants… well, lets just say that France is the gastronomic capital of the world and you had better damn well know what you are doing if you are going to open a restaurant there. Better have a niche, be clever and figure out how you’ll compete against the great offerings they have there. I don’t say these things to discourage you, I say them to give you a dose of reality. A new life is definitely sexy in many ways, but moving somewhere where: 1. You can’t legally work 2. You don’t understand the culture, language, locals and market 3. Your home currency is like monopoly money and you’re aren’t prepared for the shock of a higher cost of living and tax regime after your currency has been converted Will not be sexy at all. You will go home (or maybe forcibly repatriated) flat broke and very sad. I’m a dual EU/US citizen. I can’t tell you how many idiot cousins of mine (whom I love dearly) have traveled from Ireland/England/Scotland to France to “work and live”, and even though they had the right to work just couldn’t make it. They refused to speak or learn French, showed up with very little money, and just magically thought everything would work out. It didn’t. They all ended back in their host nations with not a penny in their pocket, saying “I hate France” because they were too stupid to make the effort to learn even a few words in French and were actually surprised that the locals didn’t take to kindly to it. They acted as if they had the rights to not only assistance from strangers, but assistance in English! Now if it is hard for other EU citizens to move to France, just imagine how much tougher it will be as an American to move there. I highly suggest that if you are serious, and do indeed want to just make a living in France you’ll start working on a serious and legal plan now to make it there. Because without planning and some serious intestinal fortitude, you’ll never make it. Start working on a visa (read about it online), raising money, and working on that French. A good resource to get you started:
3. rekonstruksjon says:

   January 25, 2012 at 11:38 am

   Ačiū