“Oh, you’re researching the untranslatable? Like hygge?” was the most common reaction. The second most cited example was “schadenfreude”. Those untranslatable tokens also were very popular with what looked like an infinite series of listicles invariably titled “Ten Untranslatable Words You Should Know” whose argument always seemed to be “Wow, foreigners are weird lol.”
Cardiff will always hold a special place in my heart. As I was telling you in a previous post, I fell in love with it as soon as I got off the London train on a cold and dark December. In my mind, the name will always conjure up a memory of a frozen nose and red cheeks on evenings at the Bay. I was so cold that I could no longer feel my fingers and Mermaid Quay sparkled with fairy lights. We stopped at the (now defunct) Café Rouge. I remember the warmth of the onion soup bowl around which I wrapped my hands and afterwards, the icy wind as we walked back to our hotel. I loved that winter, as I have loved every winter there ever since (though it is of course very nice in the summer too).