Are there Finnish native speakers here? :)

Finnish native speakers wanted :)

How do I say «zero-waste shop» in Hebrew?

English practice for a marathon Hi everyone! I'm taking part in a language marathon, and one of the tasks is to speak English to somebody, for whom it's a mother tongue.

I would be grateful if someone could spend 15-20 minutes talking to me on Skype/what's app. If you're learning Russian I will be glad to help you with it, too :)

Could you please correct the mistakes? In the 21st century the humanity embraced the digital age. Its fast-changing nature has significantly influenced our lifestyles: we pursue careers, meet targets and set new goals. The world’s complexity and the amount of information to process can be overwhelming, so more and more people end up feeling anxious and unmoored. We lose touch with our bodies, and our minds drift farther and farther away. As a result we worry too much about the future or keep dwelling on the past. Yet, the only thing that forms our lives, and therefore makes the most sense is the present.

What re-establishes the connection and enables us to stay in the moment is mindfulness. Being mindful implies awareness of what is happening around. It means you are fully present. That may seem difficult in the beginning. However, it’s something natural, and we already know how to do it. One can start with inserting short pauses into everyday life by noticing sounds and smells, observing bodily sensations and keeping track of emotions.

Mindful practices lead us to more effective responses to problems. They also spark curiosity, which is often lost in the hustle and bustle of daily life. So the next time you’re doing the washing up or petting your dog, try to make these activities your main focus for at least 10 minutes.

Your corrections needed :) Every time I’m asked about the most surreal experience I’ve had, I hark back to the night I spent on lake Baikal. By that time I had been backpacking for several years, but never had I ever traveled solo. So one day I thought it was high time to prove myself I could be independent. I chose my destination - the deepest lake in the world - I found all the necessary equipment and set off. Well, at least that was what I thought I did.

In fact, being just an ordinary city dweller with little experience, I didn’t take into consideration some details. The first and most important one was the climate. It was March, and normally the temperature hovers around -15 during the day and falls below -20 at night at this time. That year wasn’t an exception, but I decided to continue at my peril. The situation was exacerbated by the fact that my tent wasn’t designed for such extreme temperatures.

I remember lying there, gripped by fear and frozen to the bone. Every time I heard a noise, I grabbed a knife as my imagination depicted various scenarios of my death. I couldn’t fall asleep. I was cursing the day I decided bravery was one of the greatest human virtues.

Strange as it may seem, I survived! The next morning, on my way to the nearest village, I felt I was the happiest person alive.

Could you correct my mistakes, please? I used to think of myself as of quite an adventurous person, ready to accept changes, big or small, whenever they knock at my door. I’ve moved to different cities 3 times, I’ve lived abroad, I used to hitchhike every summer. Life, they say, starts at the end of your comfort zone. That’s true, but it’s not the only possible outcome, it can end there as well. So I would say there’s some kind of misconception, as comfort zones provide security, and that’s what makes living possible and keeps anxiety at bay.

I’ve come to a conclusion that my cravings for change are basically rooted in boredom. Being stuck in a rut is rightly associated with stagnation. On the other hand, as most people I’m scared of the unknown. It’s not easy to make important decisions right away, cold turkey style. But probably there’s no need to turn life on a dime chasing adventures. Traveling, taking up a hobby, meeting new people, sharing and, most importantly, gratitude can ultimately break the monotony and make the dog days over.

Need your corrections :) Writing has never been easy for me, neither in Russian, which is my mother tongue, nor obviously in English. Nevertheless, I plan on taking one of the Cambridge exams, and the ability to express thoughts clearly as well as stick to the given style is among the key competences that are tested there. The first step is usually the hardest so I suppose, at first it will be mostly a stream of my conscious. Later I'll go on to explore some intricacies and strategies that might be helpful while working on texts of different styles and types.

Writing also helps create context for the vocabulary I'm learning, which generally seems to be the best way to commit new words to memory. As they say, use it or lose it.

And finally, writing in either language enables to structure the chaotic. What starts as vague ideas finds clear forms.

I realize this is no mean feat. Still, I hope to implement my language goals and am prepared to work hard ✊🏻

wish + would Hey!

My course book says one should use "wish + would" if we're talking about things we want to be different about someone's behavior.

I choose "I wish you wouldn't be so over-sensitive about everything", but the only correct variant in the keys is "I wish you weren't so over-sensitive..."

Why so?