"anyone have any idea how riverbend writes such fluent English? There's never a mistake to be found and she writes like a native speaker...just curious.
i know it's possible (we have yoshie here as evidence of that), but it's pretty rare..."
I dont know how rare it is. There is such a thing as a talent for languages and a love of writing, which translate into good writing. English is my third language, though I have spoken it most of my life, so I don't count. I have run into other non-native English writers who write very well. For example Hakki, who used to write to lbo, wrote beautifully and idomatically.
But, I agree, riverbend writes beautifully. Perhaps the lack of mistakes is due to the excellence of Iraqi schools. She seems to think they were very good. I can tell you that when I came over here from France/Romania in the early sixties, it was like going on permanent school vacation -- because American schools were so easy.
Joanna