| Archive for langcafe2.myfreeforum.org Come in and have your daily cup of languages! |
| Porthos |
I can't go surfing for at least a week!!!I am being deprived of vital youthful fun. Because of a large scale earthquake in Japan, there is a slight chance that the western coast of the U.S. might be hit by a sunami, so I am now foribbiden from going to the beach. |
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
Well your hand and bottom must have got better rather rapidly if you'd be in a position to go surfing already! Anyway, wouldn't it be too cold to go surfing at this time of year? What's the weather like at the moment? | ||||||||||
| Uriel |
California's idea of "winter" is probably not the same as yours. 
Besides, you can wear an insulated wetsuit when you surf. |
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| Pauline |
I didn't never went surfing. Is it fun ? Porthos, you go surfing every week ? When I will visit you in the US you will teach me how to surf  I can swim so it wouldn't matter that I would fall down in the sea.
Is your house nearby the sea ? It would be very nice but if the tsunami will occur then it would be very dangerous. I hope that it don't. |
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
I can't, LOL. Or rather, my official position is that I can't swim anymore. I definitely used to be able to swim, but I was never very good, and it's about seven years since I last went swimming so I don't know if I'd still be able to do it now. |
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| Porthos |
Well my butt feels much better actually and I don't really require much use out of my left hand for surfing. The weather is rather cold actually. It's been about 20 degrees F during the night, and about 45 degrees F during the day. This is extremely cold weather for my area, and definitely not within the norm. Normally the winters are a little chilly, but nothing like you would have in England. It's a mediterranean climate. |
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| Porthos |
Yes, it is very fun. I go surfing every week during the summer and I go on occasion during the winter, particularly when I don't have money for anything else such as at the present moment. You have to be a very good swimmer to surf and play with the ocean. It is nothing like swimming in a pool. The ocean is a raging machine, full of many life-threatening hazards. You do have to be careful. And I would normally be delighted to teach a smart young Belgian girl like yourself how to surf any time, but I think my girlfriend might have a slight objection to it.
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
That's good!
I'm afraid Fahrenheit doesn't really mean anything to me, but according to an online converter, that's about –6°C in the night and about 7°C in the day. That's actually colder than it is here at the moment, and the temperature rarely goes below freezing in England anyway. However, I've been told that I will apparently have to buy a much more substantial coat if I am to move to Scotland later this year. That still sounds rather cold though — I certainly wouldn't want to jump into the North Sea at this time of year! Assuming you're not doing this in speedos (or whatever you'd wear during the summer), how warm does a wet-suit actually keep you?
Except that by the time Pauline comes to visit you, you'd probably be 20 girls later, lol.  So is this the girl you were talking about before, and weren't sure whether or not to go for her? How long have you been with her now?
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| Porthos |
I have a good wet-suit, and it keeps most of the water out, so it's not that bad. I still get a little cold, but it's not as bad as you might first imagine. And I would never wear speedos to the beach. I'm not French.
Perhaps, and perhaps not. I'm capable of being quite the hopeless romantic and I'm not always as shallow as I seem at first glance. And I don't remember talking about a girl here, but maybe I did. If so, she's probably the one. |
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
Lol — I don't really get that though. If you presumably don't mind people seeing you bare-chested at the beach (or elsewhere, like the park, or wherever), what is so embarrassing about the upper part of your legs? They can't be that out-of-shape or unsightly compared to your chest and stomach, can they? Especially on an athletic person like you.
So what do you do with her? Bring her flowers and chocolates every morning, and write her love-poetry? Does she call you Joshie-woshie?
Lol, I'm sorry. I'm afraid I often make fun of people who get involved things which I simply cannot understand, but I genuinely hope it continues to go well for you. I like seeing people happy together, which is why I've been subtly helping my friend attempt to attract the attention of the girl he sits next to in orchestra for the past six months (with limited sucess, lol). What was weird though was seeing 13-year-olds from school snogging each-other on the bus today. To think that people five years younger than me are doing things which I've never done, and seem to have been 'together' for over a year. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
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| Pauline |
Probably (definitely ) i wouldn't be sufficiently courageous. For me, go to school is very scary so I think to the US and surfing is *not* very probable. You and your girlfriend can be calm that I don't arrive to have surf lessons from you LOL
Don't worry !! I didn't meaned it would be like this. anyway, there's a person who I know who I love. I will wait and hope that he will love me also. |
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| Porthos |
Hey Pauline, what do you think of English in relation to Dutch and German? Which one is your favorite and which one has been the easiest for you to learn? And before you learned any of these languages, did they all pretty much look the same to you, or did one of them stand out as being rather different from the other two? | ||||||||||
| fab |
20°F !!! whao that's really cold for Europeans (at least western and southern europeans)... Here (it night) in Paris it is about 48°F... and we consider it cold. Two days ago we had 64°F. Snowing is a rare phenomenon in western Europe outside of the mountains and plateaus areas. curiously, since most mountain areas are in mediterranean régions, it makes those places the most snowy places of Europe. Even in Scandinavia in winter it rains much more than it snows. Eastern Europe is another thing... Winters are very cold there. So, Josh you surf in the pacific. When I went to california I was really disapointed by the sea : it was really much more cold that what I imagine. The media (with series such as malibu) give us the idea that it is a tropical place, while the sea is as cold as the Atlantic in Britanny. If one day you come to France you should go to Biarritz ( Basque country), one of the main European spots. I have some friends that regulary go surfing there. 
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| Uriel |
Ben, honey, it ain't the "upper part of his legs" that Porthos would be embarrassed about displaying in a Speedo -- it's the package. 'Specially in chilly waters....
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| Porthos |
Uriel's right. Not that I'm small or anything, lol. But in America, it is considered very dorky to wear a speedo outside of competitive swimming events. Usually only very old or unfashionable men wear that, and it is often associated with gay men. And in cold water, there would be shrinkage. And that would be misleading and embarrassing.
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| Deborah |
Fab, the California coast is colder than the East Coast of the US. I was surprised to find that the ocean beaches in NYC are much warmer than the beaches in San Francisco, even though NY is further north.
It was still unusually cold in the SF Bay Area last night. I spent the night in the East Bay, which is generally a few degrees colder than the coast, and it went down to around the freezing point. The apartment complex I was staying in was not well insulated, probably because this sort of weather just isn't expected. We had the heat turned all the way up and still had to wear our jackets indoors. It looks as if a few of my outdoor plants have succumbed to the cold. (The Cape daisies are OK, Andre!) |
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| fab |
what do you call a speedo ? | ||||||||||
| Porthos |
Really??? I was always under the impression that it snowed regularly in western Europe. My image of Paris in the winter is one of snow covered streets, and I always thought northern Europe (northern Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, UK, Scandanavia) always had cold, snowy winters. And in order for it to snow, it would have to be below freezing level. |
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| Pauline |
Here in the Ardennes it's snowing every winter and the temperatures can be - 15 C. This year it didn't snowed yet, and this is very unusual. It's the coldest region of Belgium because it's inland and hilly.
I think that the maritime areas it snow not much but when you're more inland there's more snow. Of course, generally in Europe like all the world, altitude has influence as well as latitude. |
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
Oh... I see! So is it mainly that you don't feel that people should be able to see the outline of your penis (because you consider it private or whatever), or is it more that you'd be embarrassed that your penis might look too small? If it's the second, would it be more embarrassing in front of boys (i.e. 'not a real man') or in front of girls (i.e. 'useless for sex')? And can't it still be seen through your board-shorts or wet-suit anyway? I'm afraid I've never really been able to understand the obsession with penis size, lol. And when people talk about it, I never know whether they mean erect size or non-erect size.
Oh no. In England, there will be snow for two or three days maybe once or twice each winter, usually in January or February, but that's it. Most of the rest of the time in winter, the temperature is between just above freezing and 12°C, often with rain, fog and wind.
'Speedo' is actually the name of swim-wear manufacturer, and using the term to refer to the garment above is essentially an American usage. In England, people usually call them swimming trunks — and I don't think they're seen as controversial or embarrassing here either. |
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| Porthos |
No, I'm not concerned about the size of my penis. There's no worries for me in that department. As long as we're talking about it, I'm average sized. And yes, penis size is a major issue for most people, as girls definitely prefer bigger ones over smaller ones. It's sort of the measure of someone's manhood, and to have a small penis is very embarrassing. In cold water, your penis shrivels up, thus giving the impression to girls that you have a very small penis, even though it is obviously not erect. This is one reason why many men are hesitant about wearing something as revealing as a speedo. But it is also considered to be a major fashion faux pas, and the only people you see wearing speedos are usually old men. It's also a stereotype associated with flamboyant gay men.
And no, your genital area cannot be seen through board shorts. Unless you're something like a walrus or orcha whale. lol
They probably mean erect. Size can vary dramatically when not erect, and can be very small at times. Erect is the only way to measure it. It's a common discussion topic at girls' sleepover parties.
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
In that case, what's the problem with speedos if non-erect means nothing?
Well for me, there is almost no difference, LOL. I just don't seem to have enough hormones. I doubt that I'd even be physically capable of having sex, even if I wanted to.
How would you know?
Oh, and feel free to tell me to shut up at any time if you think I'm being too intrusive. I can perhaps be somewhat more 'frank' about this subject than probably most people, because as far as I'm concerned, we could be talking about the size of our ears. However, I find it interesting because it seems to be of such great interest and obsession to many other people. |
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| fab |
Ho my god... that's really far from the reality. It really rarely snows, and when it does about one a few times every two or three years, it rapidely melts before making any durable snow coverage. The last time I saw snow in Paris was two years ago. It is now 52°F (10°C), tomorrow in the day we should have 58°F. Paris in winter is more like this... when it's not raining or cloudy ! :
As Pauline rigtly noticed the temperatures in Europe are mainly a question of altitude and proximity to the sea (making the mediterranean and oceanic climates) - winters in oceanic climates can be as warm as winters in the mediterranean climates but much more wet. In parts of the west oceanic coast of France the climate can be warm enought to host mediterranean vegetation, even in the northern half of France, such as vendée, or in a lesser extend even some parts of britanny. In the Island of "Ile de Ré" in central France, at south of Britanny. 
The oceanic weather is usually warm and wet, could have some violent storms in winter: Here "Ile d'Yeu", close to southern Britanny : 
But this island and the part of the Atlantic coast close to southern Britanny, it has also a very more sunny wheather than the oceanic climate north of Loire. This region is also the start of roman tiles, which gives it a mediterranean ambiance despite being in northern France, a region that some people would consider to be in northern Europe. 
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| Pauline |
It's coincidence : recently I've heared some girls in my class discussing the size penis of the boys they know (what size they *think* I suppose ). They have laughed about it and there was some very insulting comments of how do the boys look like as well, or how sexy others are.
I didn't liked this conevrstaion, and anyway my two friends dont'go to my school, and never I've discused such things with them. If I would talk abuot it then it wouldn't be mean laughing but differently. I don't talk with the people in my school and they don't want talking with me. Also, if a girl will have a boyfirned just because he's a big penis, then probably he is her boyfreind because she's enormous breasts. (I'm supposing it because I havn't a boyfriend now or before ) The person I love is very sensitive, kind and he and I have many similarities for exemple charcater, feelings, life-experiences and philosophies. maybe he think the same but I don't know ; he's very shy and dont talk much. So, it seems that I can better understand Benjamin's thoughts that of those girls because I can't understand at all why discuss the size of boys' penis is interesting except in biology in relation wiht for exemple what for is it, reproduciotn etc... |
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| Pauline |
LOL
This conversation alternates between discuss penis and weather !!! It must be unique for sure. |
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
That reminds me of something just over a year ago. I was on a school trip, and we had to travel by coach from Frankfurt to Poland, which took 12 hours. I go to an all-boys school, so all the people on the coach from my school were boys (although there were also girls in the German school group who were on the coach as well). There were only about four or five of us from my school, although they had all known each-other for over five years, whilst I had joined the school only a few months ago. As you can imagine, they ended up talking a lot about certain girls from the girls school next-door to our school and discussing who they'd have sex with etc. They noticed that I was not participating in the discussion, so they started asking me what I thought about various girls. I wasn't sure whether I should have pretended to have been interested, but I decided to be honest and admit that I really had no opinion. So that was when they found out that I wasn't interested in sex — of course, although they're completely 'tolerant' of it, but they can't seem to really 'accept' it, because they still continue to ask me whether I'd have sex with various people, girls and boys. Interestingly, one evening whilst we were on the trip, one of the boys from our school tried to invite me and some of the others into his room, apparently for a 'communal masturbation'. I declined.  And then a few nights later, one of the German boys pulled the trousers of one of the other boys from my school down in the coridoor, and started shouting in he had a tiny penis... lol.
And in case you're wondering, the trip was basically a conference where we simulated the accession process of Romania, Bulgaria and (not) Turkey into the European Union — students from my school, a German school and a Polish school participated. |
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| Pauline |
It's great that you can be so open and honest. It give nasty feeling, pressurising if it's not alowed be open and you must pretend other thing for conform and for be acceptable /accepted. In my school I'm not allowed telling the truth. But proabbly Iwill change school in the next months and it will be possible. I think that you're courageous and it seems the best being truthful when this can be.
I didn't heared before of some people having a communal masturbation. One time I've seen a boy masturbate but I walked away when I've noticed. he was ill, and for sure he didn't knew that the other people have another perception. I didn't never talked with him so I don't know more.
I was told, that when there's bullying, it tell more about the bully that about the victim.
You like politic ? I don''t like very much, but sometimes I'm absolutly furious because of how some people are treating other people and the actions and methods of the politicians in all the governments. |
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| Pauline |
I will answer this on the dutch threads where you've created this topic This thread has already 2 topics, if it will be 3 we will be confused
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| Fredrik |
Lol, this must be the cutest thread ever. Reminds me of a Norman Rockwell picture title: The kids are all right....
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| Loic |
This is definitely a most unusual thread. A little surreal, actually, as I had this impression that I was eavesdropping on a private conversation. The size of one's manhood is an intensely private thing and it is something to be disclosed only beween the owner and his Maker. Oh yes, and maybe his girlfriend or mother if he's a mummy's boy.
Out of curiosity, Porthos, you mentioned that Speedos are only worn during competitive swimming events. How about recreational swimming attire? What do you wear to the municipal swimming pool? Over here, Speedos are de rigeur once someone of the male species steps into a swimming pool. Incidentally, I read about the unusual climate which California has experienced recently. Apparently, the Governor had to call a state of emergency in response to unusual freezing conditions. I have a mate studying at Berkeley and just a week ago, he was complaining of the weather and I told him point-black -via the electric telephone- not to bitch about it. I was under the impression that he was making a mountain out of a molehill - little did I realise that his complaints were grounded in fact and reality! Deborah, San Francisco is well known for its large itinerant population (read: homeless buggers). Are they freezing their arses out in the streets? Or have charitable organisations bravely picked up the gauntlet lying on the ground? |
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| Uriel |
We would sooo not want you to be guilty of false advertising!
Well, once you've tried a few, you may understand what all the fuss is about. When you're older, of course.
We're far more interested in its ready-to-use dimensions than its packed-away-for-storage dimensions! But we still tend to extrapolate the one from the other, even if that's not always accurate.
It's the same thing with women and their breasts -- you can't help but be aware of your breast size and how people react to it, and some women are happy to flaunt what they got in bikinis, while others would be mortified. And there are all manner of ways to maximize or minimize what you have in that department -- padded or push-up bras for the little ones, minimizing bras for the bigger girls, styles of clothing that call attention to them or call attention away from them, etc. Cosmetic surgery if you really aren't satisfied or they've lead to back problems or other issues. |
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
I hadn't really thought of that incident as 'bulling' as such — just very very silly.
Well, yes and no. The main reason why went on that trip was because I wanted the opportunity to go to Poland. However, I intend to join a political party if I move to Scotland later this year — probably the Scottish Green Party or possibly the Scottish National Party.
LOL — to me, the idea of measuring one's penis and then telling one's mother about it sounds hilarious.
Since we seem to be having a rather random thread... could someone who's interested in women please explain to me what is so exciting or interesting about breasts?
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| Deborah |
A lot of cities have opened up public buildings such as libraries and armories, and in San Francisco, homeless shelters that usually require a person to reserve a bed and be in the shelter by midnight have kept their doors open throughout the night. A friend of mine saw a kind person distributing blankets and comforters to homeless people. |
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| Fredrik |
Perhaps the appeal of both breasts and penises lies in their ability of defying gravity?
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| Deborah |
In youth, at least... As for penile size, my observation has been that there's not that much difference in size between those that are supposed (by their owners) to be large and those that are supposed (also by their owners) to be small. I mean, they all come in a poor second to various other insertable objects. |
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| Shouga |
I loled at that
Perhaps Devon is very different from Birmingham in this aspect then, Benjamin. This is what people in Devon think of when they hear the word 'swimming trunks': 
Speedos are quite embarrassing down here, I know of no boys or men who wear Speedos (apparently from embarrassing old men). |
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
Well, it might be more because I haven't had anything to do with swimming or beaches for at least seven years. Popular styles and naming usage may have changed since then.
I would have called the garment in the picture you posted as swimming shorts or swimshorts. |
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| Shouga |
Well, for me, those in my picture are too short to be swimming shorts. In my opinion, swim shorts would be half way between trunks and surf shorts. (How come you haven't been on MSN in days? I wanted to ask you about your exam )
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| Fredrik |
Since this thread originally was about surfing:
I have to say I admire those people who dare to go surfing! I mean, having nothing more than a little board between yourself and the ocean and all the crazy things that live down there! Even though I love to swim, row and fish, the thought of the depths of the sea really scares the shit out of me. Because the worst thing about the sea is that you can't see very far. You can be just a few metres away from a sea monster without knowing it! Every time I fish in the fjords or off the coast and am about to drag a fish over the gunwale (top edge of the side of the boat) I am quite nervous, because you don't know which nasty monster fish suddenly might appear! And when I read on the nautical chart that the sea below me is e.g. 100 metres deep, it sometimes gives me panic attacks and I need to focus on the deck of the boat and eliminate the thought of the sea. So the idea of standing on a tiny board with nothing than sea to look at is hysterically scary! Though it would be exciting to see the point where the sand of the beach ends and the depths of the ocean start.... |
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| Pauline |
Here's a *very* nasty sea monster fish !!!! 
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| Shouga |
Funny that; I am never scared in this sort of situation Either because I have always loved the sea, or because I can't actually measure things like heights, weights and capacities in my own head...my brain is strange like that.
I do not surf yet, but I'm planning to learn this year; I need to save up some money first, then perhaps go camping at the beach with some friends. The thing that has been holding me back from surfing is a) the thought of wearing a wetsuit (something I won't go into on a public forum ) and b) the fact that I have absolutely zilch money, and always have. Hopefully this year I will be able to start earning my own money...
I love to body-board; it is a real passion of mine, but unfortunately it is also something that I cannot invest too much time in, due to living circumstances. It's probably just as dangerous as surfing, because the beaches that have the best waves are usually packed full of novice bodyboarders, and believe me, there's nothing scarier than looking out to sea and seeing a tidal wave littered with body-boarders, both young and old, heading straight for you at full throttle with only 15 feet or so left between you and the wave... |
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| Shouga |
I love the picture
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| Porthos |
To be honest, I am always very scared when I go out. I just try not to think about it. You have to worry about the undertow, and you have to worry about the sea pulling you out farther from shore than you realize. You have to worry about the rare, although occassional shark that might mistake you for a seal or other prey. And you have to worry about other things as well. For instance, when I lived in Los Angeles, there were a few beaches in the Orange County area that were known for an abundance of jellyfish during the summer. On average, I would get stung about 5 times per day. And that hurts. The scariest part is not being able to see beneath you. You never really know what lurks in the waters. On the American West Coast, there's less of a problem with sharks. Most varieties of sharks are not that interested in eating humans, as for some reason, they don't like the way we taste. They often mistake us for a different creature, and after biting off one of our limbs, soon spit us out. Deeper out in the Pacific, there is more of a problem with sharks, as these waters are home to the infamous tiger sharks, who love to prey on human flesh, and will eat you. 
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| Porthos |
If I'm just going to the pool to swim laps, I'll wear knee lenghth jammers. But at the beach or at a pool party, I would wear board shorts/swimming trunks, which are somewhat baggy and reach past the knee. This might help give you an idea why most North Americans have an aversion to speedos in recreational use. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competition_briefs |
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
Those both sound unnecessarily long to me — is it simply a fashion/style issue that you swim in knee-length or past-knee-length shorts instead of the style that Shouga posted here?
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| fab |
Josh,
Between what temperatures is generally the sea in LA ? |
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| Porthos |
I don't actually Fab. But in the summer, it is warm enough to swim in without a shirt, and nothing more than board shorts, but it wouldn't be as warm as islands in the deep Pacific, and it is warmer than the Atlantic.
In the summer time, in southern California, the average temperature is about 75-85 F. So the water is in the high 60s I would presume. Where I live now, the water is much colder. |
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| fab |
Wao, it is cool... if I make my calculations well, 65°F would be about 18°C... It is about the summer temperature of the Atlantic in britanny. I find usually those temperature too much cool for me to bath. In summer the mediteranean water reach usually about 80°F, with an outside temp around 82-100°F (25-35°C) In winter the Atlantic and mediterranean are much colder, around 62°F, so it is not possible to surf or windsurf without suits. Josh, Is kitesurf popular in california ? In France it has became very popular since a few years, especially in Languedoc because it is very windy. I would like to try one day. 
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| Deborah |
From my experience, the water at comparable latitudes is warmer on the Atlantic coast of the US than the Pacific coast. I have lots of experience being in the ocean around San Francisco and in the same latitude on the Atlantic coast, and it's much warmer on the Atlantic side. I don't have any experience going in the ocean on the Pacific coast at the same latitude as NYC (say, in Oregon), but I found the ocean around NYC to be tolerably warm, which is not the case even in San Francisco, which is further south. And I have been in the ocean in LA a couple of times in summer, and I can definitely say that the water off of South Carolina is warmer. |
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| fab |
That would doesnt surprise me, the water of the ocean in LA was one of the coldest I ever knew when I have been there the first time, I was very surprised because I expected it to be as warm as in Florida. |
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| Julian |
The waters off the US west coast are typically colder than in the east coast because out west the California Current carries polar water from the Gulf of Alaska southward towards Mexico, while the eastern seaboard gets the warm northbound North Atlantic Drift, which is an extension of the Gulf Stream originating in subtropical Gulf of Mexico. In the summer, the Pacific coastal waters can sometimes be even colder because of a phenomenon called "upswelling" where the deep ocean waters are pushed up towards the surface. I took friends visiting from Hamburg to Malibu one summer and they said it was colder than the North Sea!  But because the summer months can be so stifling hot (especially in the Valley), a dip in the chilly Pacific is quite refreshing.
The winter months in SoCal are actually the best time of year to surf because the Santa Ana winds kick in, producing awesome swells. The downside is, it's too fucking cold even with a bodysuit! When I was younger I could take the punishment, but now I'm just a big wuss.
I've seen people kiteboarding from time to time, but I think it's limited to certain areas here, like Seal Beach or Belmont Shores. I'd like to try it sometime too. |
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| Loic |
Porthos: I feel that it is not very aerodynamic to go swimming in board shorts. Wouldn't the accumulated weight of the soaked shorts drag the swimmer down?
But well, different strokes for different blokes - or is it different trunks for different hunks? I can never understand this human fascination for surfing. There are so many other interesting things to do than to ride the wave. Like watching sunkissed girls on the beach, for example. |
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
That was what I'd thought. Other reasons why I would have thought that many people (at least athletic types) might prefer to wear shorter shorts (even if they don't want to wear 'speedos') would be that they'd be able to get a tan above their knees (assuming they were outside) and they'd be able to show off more of their legs. |
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| Deborah |
In honor of this topic, here is a link to the opening scene of one of my favorite movies. (Click on "ES intro...mpg" and don't forget to gasp in amazement when you see "Filmed in the ACTUAL LOCATIONS AROUND THE WORLD"!!!) | ||||||||||
| Porthos |
See in North America, this is considered to be an extreme faux pas for men! If you watch NBA basketball for instance, you will have noticed that while in the 1980s, shorts were above the knee, they have gradually become longer and longer, and less revealing. To wear tight, form fitting shorts, especially ones below the knee is considered to be a major fashion no-no, and anytime a man is trying to "show off his legs" these days in the U.S., one would usually conclude it was because he was gay. And Loic, to answer your question, yes, they do drag you down considerably. In fact, during swim practice we often used to swim laps with board shorts on, to create drag and give us strength in the water. That way, once we were swimming during a competition, we would feel almost weightless and fly across the water. |
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
So when you're in your 'bathing suit' (as I think you'd call it) at the beach or at a swimming pool, and there are girls around, you're really not attempting to show off your chest, abs and arms at all? Even if it may be secondary to the main reason for being dressed that way, you're not also hoping that an attractive girl sees you and thinks you look sexy? Tell me... how normal is it for men/boys to go shirtless at places other than the beach or the swimming pool in California? Where I live is nowhere near the sea, and almost no-one has their own swimming pool, but on hot days you see a lot of shirtless males walking down the road, or on main shopping streets, or in the park etc. — and they'd almost always be wearing shorts which finish above the knee. |
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| Porthos |
It's not so much the upper body that you're not supposed to show off, but the lower body, like your butt and your legs. Girls would like to see your butt and legs in tight pants for instance, but they would actually be turned off by them, because it looks "gay", or womanly, as men are expected to not wear such revealing clothes.
You see, wearing short shorts and walking around shirtless would be perceived as very unfashionable these days in my country. Older men will still do this, but people in my generation would definitely not walk around in short shorts. And it is not very common for you young men or boys to simply walk around town without a shirt on, unless we're by the beach or a swimming pool. |
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
I find that it tends to be younger men and boys people who are more likely to walk around the town shirtless here — especially groups of teenagers. The same is also true when people go on country walks and things. So if you're ever in Britain or Ireland (at least, and almost certainly the Netherlands as well) and you're outside on a hot day, don't worry about taking your shirt off if you want to, because it will be seen as perfectly normal — especially for someone your age. If anything, seeing an athletic-looking teenage boy or young man wearing a shirt outside when it's 30°C would seem more strange in many situations. |
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| Uriel |
I gotta agree with Porthos here -- I don't find speedos sexy at all. Or anything else tight and short below the waist. Maybe it's sexier to presume that they've got needs the extra room! The vast majority of men that I know prefer to wear boxers as underwear, even, which, although it sounds a little uncomfortable to me, they assure me is much more comfy, with nothing constrained. And I certainly prefer that look to bikini briefs or (god knows!) the dreaded tighty-whitey.
But they are certainly welcome to show off the upper body all they want.
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| Porthos |
See Benjamin, even short, tight fitting underwear like briefs (tighty whitey) are considered to be unfashionable. Only older men wear such things. I wouldn't be caught dead wearing tighty-whities. I would rather go commando style than wear those things. |
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| Uriel |
Ain't nothing wrong with going commando! 
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| Loic |
Speaking from personal experience, Uriel? | ||||||||||
| Uriel |
Sometimes I'm not moved to do laundry in a timely fashion.
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
Sorry, what's commando style?
No-one ever sees me in my underwear, so I don't really have to worry about style for that.
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| Uriel |
Sorry -- "going commando" means going without underwear at all. Also called "freeballing", although "commando" allows you to use it for either sex. | ||||||||||
| Benjamin [inactive] |
Ah right, thanks! :)
Lol — well I wear them most of the time, but as I say, underwear fashion is simply a non-issue for me.
You mentioned the issue of fashion, but then you also mentioned that you'd rather not wear any underwear than wear what I'd call 'pants' (i.e. 'briefs'). So is it an issue of comfort as well as style, meaning that you still wouldn't consider wearing them even if others were not going to see you in them? But perhaps your lifestyle dictates that other people will necessarily see you in your underwear on a regular basis regardless — maybe you have to use the sport changing rooms almost every day, or maybe you have a lot of brothers and you all tend to walk around the house in minimum clothing, or maybe you and your girlfriend visit each-other at each-other's homes every afternoon...
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| Fredrik |
LOL, who dresses up for their brothers?
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
Lol — I'm actually an only child, so I wouldn't know.
What I do know, however, is that some people don't wear very much clothing much of the time in their own homes — this seems to be especially true if the home consists of a lot of males. Perhaps being only in your underpants (or at least shirtlessness in generally) with your brothers (and perhaps also with male cousins, male friends, fathers, uncles etc. by extension) has some kind of male-bonding effect, or perhaps they're just lazy.
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| Uriel |
Depends on the climate control in your house, I would imagine!
Without central heating, I certainly won't be running around my house in my skivvies for a while. 
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