Hey, I'm Shreyass from Dubai

[Shreyass]

I'm a 16 year old student studying in Dubai. I've given two SAT Reasoning Tests, the Dec 2 and the Jan 27th 2007 one. My Dec Score:

Math: 680
Critical Reading: 800
Writing: 700

I'm reasonably confident that I will improve this time around, mainly on the forum for SAT II and to help people with Critical Reading.

[Conchita]

Welcome aboard, Shreyass!

Confidence is half the battle, so keep up the good work and never lose your enthusiasm.

Good luck!

[Yankee]

Welcome, Shreyass.

Your December scores are impressive. Well done. Good luck with the January set of scores.

Why don't you tell us a little bit more about yourself.

Amy

[prezbucky]

Shreyass, good job and good luck.

I espouse Amy's opinion that you should definitely describe yourself.

I'd like to know, for instance:

What are your favorite foods/entrees/desserts (etc.)?
What are your favorite sports?
What are your favorite cars?
What would you like to do with your life (vocation-wise), if you already know?

etc.
_________________
Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Shreyass]

Foods : Chinese and Lebanese (stuff like arabic bread with hummus etc), plus, pretty obviously nearly all Indian food.
My favorite sport would have to be Football, and I support Arsenal.
Favorite cars : Tough one, but I think I'm going to go with the Veyron
With my Life: Do something on a journalistic line I think

And yes! I improved

Jan 27th SAT:

Math : 700
Writing: 760
Critical Reading: 780

[Conchita]

Well done and keep it up, Shreyass!

PS: It seems we have nearly identical tastes in food.

[prezbucky]

very good

Foods I don't like:
- Mushrooms
- Cottage cheese
- Olives (well I can eat them.. I'd just rather not)
- Most fish, unless fried in batter of some sort and served with plenty of tartar sauce

Of the cuisines I've tried, not one has let me down. My favorites are Italian (numero uno), Mexican/Tex-Mex, Indian (Massala!), Chinese (Szechwan!), French (butter and cheese!), Thai and American (what cuisine we have...).

As an American -- and a native Wisconsinite, at that -- I've eaten plenty of types of wursts... which are (right?) german in origin. So I suppose I also enjoy German cuisine.

(that was for Torsten. hehe)

Conchita, I still am a tapas novice. I cannot comment on Spanish cuisine at this point.

---

Sport: Football (American). I support the Wisconsin Badgers (college football) and Green Bay Packers (NFL).
Car: Aston Martin
Vocation: Business; natural affinity for music (vocalizing and writing)
_________________
Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Torsten]

Hi Tom,

You are right, wurst originates in Germany. I've been told that Americans like Bavarian weisswurst, especially when they visit the Octoberfest. As for German cuisine, I'm not so sure we have that good a reputation in that department ...
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[prezbucky]

hehe

I especially like knockwurst (or knackwurst, however it's spelled)... seems to me to be a cross between a brat (bratwurst) and a hot dog (frankfurter).
_________________
Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Torsten]

Hi Tom,

So there are actually selling those German sausages with German names in the states? I mean, how many people would know the terms knackwurst and bratwurst? How many more German wurst types can you name?
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[prezbucky]

Torsten

Bratwurst is popular here. We call them "brats" (brots/brahts, rhymes with "lots"). Bratwurst is readily available supermarkets/grocery stores throughout the USA.

Knackwurst is not nearly as popular, but then it isn't really mass-marketed. One can get it in select restaurants and probably at a butcher's shop.

- Bratwurst
- Bockwurst (giant hot dog/frankfurter, right?)
- Liverwurst (Braunschweiger)
- Knackwurst
- Frankfurter/wiener/hot dog (technically a "wurst" right?)
- Polska Kielbasa
- Italian sausage
- Smoked sausage (general)

...and other sausages. Would you call the last three "wursts"? Does "wurst" mean "sausage" in German?
_________________
Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Torsten]

Hi Tom,

I'm impressed by your wurst expertise. You even know bockwurst which used to be the fast food item number one in the country where I grew up.

Yes, all the items on your lists are wursts (sausages). What do you think of starting a new business -- a chain of stores where people can try all kinds of international food, practice their language skills and make friends. A combination of food, language and cross cultural experience. It goes without saying that these places will be hooked up to the Internet and there will also be a kitchen where customers can cook meals themselves. In addition, people like you will be able to present their books to an audience and get immediate feedback.

The first of these stores will be opened in Nashville and you'll be its manager. Maybe, we should start brainstorming ideas for the name of the chain?
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[prezbucky]

That idea could fly in a large metropolitan area with a diverse citizenry.

In Nashville, for instance, there are immigrant/new citizen populations from (at least) Mexico and the Middle East.

I don't think it'd be a good idea to allow people to cook their own food due to the prospect of liability. "My eye! My eye! The bacon grease burned my eye!"

hehe

Seriously, we should hire our own kitchen staff.

But an international cafe/reading/Internet shop could work, if (of course) marketed properly.

A side benefit would be that different people would become more accustomed to one another, more accepting of one another, more understanding of, and amenable to, their differences in language/country of origin/native culture/dress etc.

It could be called:

T-n-T's International Cafe & Coffee Haus

Okay, menu (generally):

- Wursts (at least hot dogs, knackwurst and brats)
- Sandwiches/burgers with fries or chips
- Burritos/tacos (etc.) with rice & beans
- Pizza
- Simple pasta dishes (spaghetti, ziti, etc.)
- Chicken Massala (as the Indian dish)
- Chicken Satay (as the Thai dish)
- Fried chicken w/ mashed potatoes
- Meat loaf w/ mashed potatoes

etc.

Good food at a good price -- above all, top-notch value.

There would be a large room with tables at which people could sit down and eat.

There could be a small stage in a corner, on which people could read their books out loud.

There could be a few bookcases of books and some reading tables, where people could read at the store. And we could perhaps have a sort of library service through which people could pay $1 (or something) to rent a book. We'd have to get names/addresses/phone numbers to help fight thievery, but this service would be nice to offer and potentially rewarding for the business owners.

And then there could be a few computers for those who wish to surf.

So that'd be three main revenue streams (and selling points):
- Food service
- Book rental service
- Online rental service (they pay for their time)

When people are there just to read/go online... well people get hungry and thirsty... so the longer they're there, the better the chance that they'll order something to eat or drink from us.

neat

We'll have to hire a bouncer to check book rental receipts at the door.
_________________
Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[prezbucky]

There could be special events... we could try to lure authors to the shop for book-signings and/or readings.

We could have a weekly poetry night, where people bring in their own (or others' as long as they're cited) poems to share with other customers.

We could have a weekly reading, where one of the owners/managers picks a book and reads one chapter. So in the course of a year, you'd go through a book. "And so ends chapter four. Join us next Thursday night for chapter five."
_________________
Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.