# Found a letter in a bottle



## booboo19

Hello 

Yesterday some pepole at work found this bottle in the sea. (west coast of Norway)
We are pretty sure it is written in Dutch.

The message is very long, 3 pages so I don`t expect anyone to translate everything, but if someone could try and sum up what the message says that would be great!

page 1
uploading dot com/files/KB273UIN/Page

page 2
uploading dot com/files/NF0UFYSE/page

page 3
uploading dot com/files/G7LAHG5V/page

Any help would be greatly appreciated!


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## Frank06

Hi,

It took me more time to download the first page than to actually read it . The website allows non-registered users a download speed of 15 kb/s only and the first page is 11+Mb. So forgive me that I only had a look to page 1.

It's basically a very personal story about what happened to the writer and her(?? the handwriting looks quite female to me) family in the year 2008. It starts with an apology that the letter is written in bad Dutch (with which I do agree), that the story lines aren't that linear etc. Judging from the oddities and constructions, I am quite sure it's written by a native speaker.
It goes on with a sad case of cancer in the family and the organisation of a birthday party for the mother of the writer.

Groetjes,

Frank


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## Sphynxter

I decided to translate the letter for you, I'll translate the other 2 pages later. I tried my best in the translation, Dutch isn't really easy to translate to English somehow. Have fun reading anyways 

Page 1:

Message in a bottle 1    Saturday December 27th ' 2008

Dear reader,

I wanted to write this letter to close/finish the year 2008. Forgive me for potential spelling errors, wrong sentences or mixed up storylines. The time I ment to spent on this letter, was claimed by other circumstances.

I always had trouble to remember some things. So I also have trouble remembering the beginning of 2008. This may be because of my bad memory, but it may also be because nothing happend or was really worth remembering. A sad thought, even though it doesn't seem to me that way _(she/he wrote in bad dutch)_. The fact that nothing really happend or nothing really happend worth remembering, means nothing really bad happend for me (_she/he is still writing about the beginning of 2008_). Perhaps the most challenging _(she/he writes "heavy" as in hard to do)_ in the beginning of 2008 was to organize a mom-worthy party for her 50th birthday.

The summervacation brought something very different. My grandpa who was ill already for a longer time (prostate and bone cancer), he went downhill fast. I saw how my mom was worried, the worries seemed so great, so heavy so unbearable to me. They added by all the other worries she already had. It was very special to take part in. Sorry, this sounds really weird, so suddenly. My mom and her brothers and sisters did everything they could to make the last weeks/days/hours my grandpa had left as comfortable as they could possibly make them (_really weird dutch sentence to translate_). The cooperation/teamwork, the love, unconditional and the trust made a deep impression on me. A father who had to let everything go (_literally she/he writes give everything out of hand_), trusting his kids blindly, for everything. He never complained, even though his pain had to be unbearable. He didn't want more morphine, he wanted to follow, see, understand everything even if it caused him pain. I gained much/deep respect for this man in the past years and especially in this past summer, for a man I never really knew. For the love he put in a/the family, for the love he put in my mom (_literally he/she writes "for the love in a family, for the love in my mom"_). Then he passed away. The sadness/grief/sorrow my mom and her brothers and sisters had was huge/great. My mom almost put....... (_this is the end of the 1st letter_)


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## booboo19

Sorry for bumping this.

First I would like to thank Frank06 and Sphynxter for taking the time to
translate some of the message.

If anyone would like to have a go at the two remaining pages I would really appreciate it!


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## pinkypie

I would love to have a look, but I'm not very technical.  how can I download the pages?


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## booboo19

You have to change the adress to the pages in your web browser.

Put "www" in front of uploading, and change "dot" to "."

Then download the pages and view them with acrobat reader or another program that displays .pdf files.

Hope that made sense to you


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## Sauv

booboo19 said:


> You have to change the adress to the pages in your web browser.
> 
> Put "www" in front of uploading, and change "dot" to "."
> 
> Then download the pages and view them with acrobat reader or another program that displays .pdf files.
> 
> Hope that made sense to you



It says ''reconstruction''. :s


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## Sphynxter

Booboo19 I will translate the other 2 letters later, when I have some spare time


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## Sphynxter

I know it's a bit late, but better late then never  

Page 2: 
My mom almost put... the whole funeral together. It was very beautiful. After this life went on again. Like a train, it stops for a moment, and seems to stop time to eventually departure again. After a while you can't even seem to look back anymore. 

A couple of months later me and my boyfriend (here we find out that it's probably a girl writing this, but you never know...) had to make an important and hard decision. After almost 3,5 years we decided to end our relationship (literally he/she writes "we decided to stop"). I couldn't do it anymore. Maybe the sudden change came that week. THE week. The week where I thought I had processed everything, the week where I thought it was gone, and which suddenly, without warning knocked on my door again. The door suddenly opened again and for a week I felt like 4 years ago (he/she refers to the period where her grandpa died). A period in which I didn't feel happy (he/she literally writes: "Not a period in which I felt happy"). 

And that I still felt this way, after that long made me really scared/frightened. I felt anger (he/she literally writes: "I also felt anger") and picked fights/quarrels with the people around me. Quarrels/Fights! I run away/escape from confrontations... But, stubborn me, I couldn't talk to anyone about what I thought or felt. Even the ones that asked about it (he/she literally writes "Nobody who asked about it"). But with things like this you can't blame other people. The fact that I write about this is a pretty big step for me, so forgive me if I "forget" some of the details. Don't get me wrong, I was always pretty open (as in open-minded) to the deep faith/religion of my nowadays ex-boyfriend. 
Religion is something which always fascinated/intrigued me. The biblical god is a god of love, something worth to search for. But after this week when I told my ex that I didn't feel too happy, he said "Bring it to god". I panicked. I couldn't do anything with that advice at that moment. The week of anxiety/terror only lasted for a week. Thank goodness. But maybe this was a warning. I have to work on a lot of things, if I want to forgive, process and move on. All in good time (she/he literally writes: "Everything at it's own time" which is a dutch saying), I have to be ready for it. Oh well, I'm still pretty young. All in good time (same as previous).


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## Sphynxter

Page 3:

So I stopped with that relationship. A liberation/relief and a loss. It was my best buddy, maybe that the passion was a little lost. Sometimes I miss him, because I could tell him anything. He was actually the only person which I trusted enough or where I felt safe enough to cry (The dutch writing style in this part clearly tell us that the writer of this letter is a girl). But this was the right decision. To both go our own ways, to leave a couple of things of him, us, at rest/peace.

Besides/Above all I think i'm in love (as in having a crush on someone) again with someone else. Strange/Weird, Hard pffff alot / a whole lot! It almost feels like betraying them both, because I mention them both in this letter.

Now it has just been christmas. Beautiful time, but also hard for me. Separated parents. You keep carrying it with you (she literally writes "You keep carrying it"). I wonder if that (referring to the carrying part) will ever stop...

I'm sorry that you (she uses the dutch formal word for "you", which we use for strangers/elderly/parents/people you have respect for) get to read all these problems. But it's pleasant for me to write about it (referring to the problems). And like I said (she uses said even though she writes) before it's a big step in trust etc. for me. Writing is hard anyhow/in any case, but if there is also a chance that a stranger gets to read all this... pfff. Now I can't change anything about it anymore, the decision is made.

I wish you a wonderful/marvellous turn of the year and an excellent 2009! Maybe till next year, if I decide to make this a tradition.

All the good,

M. 19 years.


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