Montag, 30. April 2007

nerd's eye view

Today, thanks to Mandel, you can inform yourself here about the WTO riots in Seattle in 1999 and about Canada, the second largest country by total area in the world.For starters here is a synopsis of what the WTO 1999 Seattle riots were all about. On November the 30, 1999 the WTO (World Trade Organisation) Ministeral Conference took place in Seattle.

The conference was accompanied by massive street protests from anti-globalization activists. The lowest estimates say that 40,000 people thronged Seattle streets opposing neo-liberalism in what was later nicknamed "The Battle of Seattle."

However, what caused great distress to the police and the town fathers weren't those who protested peacefully, but those who committed civil disobedience by being violent. The most violent clashes took place in Mandel's neighbourhood, Capitol Hill, the second most densely populated neighbourhood in Seattle.

Not only was the taking place of the conference under threat because of the riots, but also the talks because the developing countries couldn't take it anymore to be patronised and bullied by the USA and their like. The only thing the Americans wanted was to expand their agressive trade policy further not even stopping to think of its consequences to the cultures of the developing countries. Accordingly, the talks collapsed. Alas, after this 1999 WTO conference, the American policy of pure economic interest didn't come to an end.

Although I certainly do not support protesters who restore to violence while voicing their opinion (violence only provokes violence-a vicious circle), I do hold it to be of the utmost importance for people to fight for a fairer democratic system. Coming myself from a developing country, I'm sick and tired of the attitude of the USA towards any country which isn't as developed as them. Unfortunately, although protes
ts certainly sensitise the public, not much can be done against America's policy as all the developing countries are dependent on America if they wish to become developed country. This is the curse of the poor.

Two compelling sites about the riots are:
http://www.answers.com/topic/wto-ministerial-conference-of-1999-protest-activity
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/global/story/0,,525093,00.html

Let's move on to a less riotous topic namely Canada. As I had known laughably little about this magnificent country before deciding to research, I was positively surprised by just how much I found out about it.

Canada is the second largest country by total area in the world and it is bordered by three oceans namely the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Ocean respectively. The country was founded in 1867 as an union of British colonies and it remained so until 1982 when Canada became independent. Today, Canada is part of the Commonwealth of Nations as a constitual monarchy with parliamentary democracy and Queen Elizabeth the II is the head of state of Canada.


The name Canada has its roots in the language of the St. Lawrence Iroquoian
s and it means "village" or "settlement". The country is made up of ten provinces namely Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. Canada also has three territories (Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon), but they enjoy a smaller degree of autonomy compared with the provinces.

As far as geography is concerned, boreal forests (taiga) permeat the country, ice is common in the Arctic, throughout the Coast Mountains, and the Saint Elias Mountains. The relative flat Prairies in western Canada are suitable as agricultural ground and the territory surrounded by the St. Lawrence River is were the majority of the population lives. The density of population is in Canada amongst the lowest in the world- 3,5 people per square kilometre.


Economically speaking, Canada is one of the world's wealthiest nations with a high per capita income and low unemployment. What's more, Canada is one of the world's largest exporters of energy as it has vast natural deposits of gas and oil.

As far as the population is concerned, its number is steadily growing due to immigration and it amounted to 31,612,897 according to the 2006 census. Canada is also highly multicultural with 34 ethinc groups living there and with two official languages (English and French) which enjoy equal status in the state institutions.

All in all, a country worth visiting.

To find out more, visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada


Ireland from a Polish perspective

Follow me today as I continue my journey around the bewitching Emerald Isle with Krystian.

Our first stop is Nenagh, the largest town in North Tipperary. While it once was a small market town, today it is a busy commercial one. The chief attraction is the Nenagh Castle (picture above) which took 25 years to built (1220-1225) as a Norman keep by the royal Butler family. Currently, a project is under way to redecorate the castle and its surroundings, advertising it as a major tourist attraction.
To find out more, visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nenagh


After Nenagh we find ourselves in the etherally beautiful Howth and the Howth (pronounced to rhyme with the word both) Peninsula. Howth was originally a tiny fishing village, but today it is a lively suburb of Dublin which spans most of the north part of Howth Head Peninsula.
The past of the town is shrouded in legends. Like the story of the female pirate Grace O'Malley (left in the picture) who was denied entry to Howth Castle in 1576, so she abducted the Earl of Howth's grandson and as a ransom extracted from the Earl the promise that unanticipated guests would never be turned away again.
To find out more, visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howth


As Krystian is an archaeologist, our next stop are the scenic ruins of the monastery of Clonmacnoise in county Offaly (in Irish Cluain Mhic Nóis; meaning "Meadow of the Sons of Nós). The monastery was built in 545 by Saint Ciarán and at that time it bristled with buildings and high Irish crosses, but today, few of them are still intact. One of them is the Cross of the Scriptures, one of the most skillfully executed sandstone crosses.
If you wish to find out more, visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clonmacnoise


Our last "port" of call for today is Killaloe, a town in the midwest of Ireland known as the birthplace of Ireland's famous High King Brian Boru. Although his exact date of birth is shrouded in mystery, he was reportedly born in 941 to a royal family. As both his father and his brother passed away untimely, he became the King of the kingdom of Munster in 1002. By 1011, he was the ruler of all the kingdoms in Ireland then. However, other kings rebelled against his rule and although the rebels were defeated in 1014 in the Battle of Clontarf, Boru died. He is burried in the grounds of the St. Patrick Cathedral in Armagh.

To find out more, visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killaloe%2C_County_Clare

All in all, after this magnificent journey from my armchair, I can safely say that pictures convey more than thousand words.

life with a French man


In the last entries I've read by Kim she was talking about the shopping frenzy surrounding Christmas and what she wrote made me rethink my feelings about one of the most important holidays of the year.

It didn't take me long to realise that for most people today Christmas has boiled down to shopping sprees and the greed of receiving gifts, casting a shadow over its spiritual aspects. It has turned into a holiday which celebrates the Gods of money and shopping and where people go to considerable lengths to buy the best present for their near and dear.

I, however, mainly because of my family's economic situation, haven't become a victim of the Christmas shopping disease. Nor, if I had the cash necessary, would I wish to fall prey to such a trend.

For me Christmas has a much deeper meaning than for most consume-oriented people. It is all about the Christmas spirit namely the celebration of goodwill, compassion, and about spending quality time with my loved ones. During Christmas time, when we celebrate the birth of Jesus, I'm catapulted to my childhood because of the smells that waft through the kitchen, the hand-made gifts and the Christmas carolls which are a must in my family.

Thanks God, while surfing the net, I came across many sites where my like-minded write about some aspects of the "real" Christmas spirit, like this two:

http://www.shawneedispatch.com/section/opinion/story/3690
http://www.soon.org.uk/christmas.htm

I hope that you all have similar feelings about Christmas and that when December the 25th comes again, you won't be to busy shopping to forget what Christmas is all about.


Almost French (pages 167-184)


As these particular pages in the book have been a mine of information for me, I'm going to present you with all of the topics that were brought up by Turnbull and which are so intriguing that I had to inform myslef better about them.

I'm going to start off today by filling you in on feminism in France and Croatia. I thought this to be a noteworthy topic to research because in the case of France I wanted to find out if the French feminism is in such a bad state as Turnbull perceived it to be and in the case of Croatia because of the trite reason that I do not know much about the feminist movement in my homeland.

1. FEMINISM IN FRANCE SINCE 1970 source-http://www.well.ac.uk/cfol/feminism.asp

Although the feminist movement had existed in France long before 1968, its full impact was felt only then with the creation of the Mouvement de libération des femmes.

Despite the fact that this movement was centered around an umbrella organisation, the common goal of all the groups it consisted of was the same-the fight against injustice towards women, who had been designated to play the subordinate role, in the French society. One of the main intentions of the movement was to give women the right to choose themselves what they wanted to do with their bodies.

As all good things must come to an end, the movement ceased to exist in 1979. In the aftermath of it breaking up, both feminists and the public in general reflected on the achievements of the movement. Although its negative aspects mostly came to the fore, some feminists stressed that feminism had lead to changes in the behaviour and attitude of people.

After the victory of Socialists in France in 1981, feminism in France was lead to a new era. It became part of mainstream politics. This evolution led to the assumption that feminism was dead and replaced by its "weaker" form namely postfeminism.

The truth is that feminism is still present in France, but an reformed one. In 1995 the UN identified 1700 feminist groups in France which were at that time trying to combat poverty, exclusion and violence against women.

Even today, contrary to Turnbull's allegations, feminism is there in France, attempting more than ever to fight against the growing sexism in the French society.

2. FEMINISM IN CROATIA since the 1980s
source-http://www.the-declaration.com/1999/02_11/features/distance.shtml

In the 1980s there was an active feminist movement in former Yugoslavia. However, although it had two major centres namely Zagreb and Belgrade, it was only ever an academic trend and never became as firmly rooted in society as was the case in France. Accordingly, there aren't many feminist groups today in Croatia and those which do exist have to cope with restrictive laws towards women and their low legal status compared with those of Croatian men. For instance, if a Croatian woman requests an abortion, she has to take pains in talking to a priest, a social worker and a psychologist respectively before any other measure can be taken. (this answers the question Ms Joyce asked me on Thursday)
What's more, feminists in Croatia also have to find a way to break the ethnic and religious divisons between women which stem from the war. Still, not all is lost. There are places, like "The Centre for Women Studies", were Croatians can inform themselves on feminism and its goals, so as to become knowledgeable individuals with the power to change something.

3. HOW I FEEL

I was perturbed by what I found out about feminism today, especially in my home country, while researching for this entry. It is sad that as feminism isn't that militant and newsworthy as it used to be, people have almost but forgotten all about it. Especially nowadays, where the discrepancy between men and women has reached enormous proportions, we should have known better than letting the feminists' ideas ebb away. I hope that someone will soon put these ideas back on the map before it is too late and irrevocable steps against womens' rights had been taken.
















Samstag, 28. April 2007

Americans talk about their jobs


Hello all and let me introduce you to Michelle Passoff who had worked in the particularly stressful world of PR until, turning forty, she decided that she desperately needed a change of scene.

So she asked herself the big question- What kind of business does the world need today?


The answer, which sprang to her mind, was that the world is in need of clutter consultants. So, she has become one and a really famous one on top of that, consulting private clients on ways of getting rid of their memorabilia.

Passoff even wrote a book on the topic of clutter management entitled "Lighten Up! Free Yourself from Clutter" which readers on amazon.com describe as inspirational and life-changing.

Anyway, let's move on to the description of Passoff's working strategy for each hour of which she charges 75 dollars. First, she gives the client homework where he/she has to contemplate about his/her goals. Bearing in mind the goal which is most crucial to the client at a certain time, the house is freed from clutter.

What's more, she even reveals to each and every single client the nine principles for cleaning clutter:


1. Handle one item at a time
2. Create a path for everything
3. Once you've cleaned an area, don't stow away clutter there anymore
4. Remember that like-kind things go together
5. Take breaks
6. Be thorough in cleaning one area at a time
7. Dispose of things with some ceremony
8. Don't be afraid of the empty space your cleaning has created
9. Congratulate yourself when you make progress

What I could deduce from the text is the fact that Passoff is really keen to help people who need her and satisfied with her job both professionally and personally. However, although clutter consulting is gathering momentum as a business niche in the USA, teaching people the basic skills of organizing, it is beyond me why people would pay extortionate sums of money to a perfect stranger so as to get something done they could easily do by themselves.
I guess, this is the way the world goes nowadays where people cannot even deal with their own chores by themselves, let alone with some more monumental problem.

If you wish to read more about clutter consulting, visit these two sites:
http://www.theclutterconsultants.com/pages/about.htm

http://working.canada.com/toronto/resources/career/atoz/story.html?s_id=zpbHOU3Kj4X24IvnMKqlSA2L6uIRLMkCIvESNJK7OemagRtW4VoBIQ%3D%3D

famous people

(Sorry, I needed to publish it again because the first time around I've published it too soon, so this is the end version)

Ruth Barbara Rendell was born on seventh February 1930 in London to a family of teachers.


After high school she worked as a journalist for Essex newspapers. In 1964 her first mystery novel featuring the enduring Chief Inspector Reginald Wexford "From Doon With Death" was published.

Parallely, she started to write her psychological crime novels, exploring the dark sides of the human nature, like in the novel "Live Flesh"which was adapted for film by Pedro Almodovar.

Her third strand of writing is published under the pseudonym Barabara Vine. The style of these novels is akin to her psychological crime novels yet barely any crime is committed in them.

Ruth Rendell is credited for her elegant writing style, her sharp insights into the human mind and her convincing plots. She is believed to have upgraded the traditional whodunnit into a why dunnit. Several of her works were adapted for film and television. Since she has started writing in the 1960s, she has won innumerable awards like the Sunday Times Literary Award.

Apart from being a prodigious writer, she has also been a member of the House of Lords as a life peer, who is campaining against slavery, torture and female genital mutilation, since 1997.

My source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Rendell (biography and bibliography)

Other absorbing sites on Ruth Rendell:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2005/04/11/barendell11.xml&page=7

(a first-class transcript of an interview with the strict vegeterian Ruth Rendell)

http://wiredforbooks.org/ruthrendell/

(an compelling audio interview with Ruth Rendell about her writing on CBS Radio, New York)

The French presidential election

As this semester I've been reading two books about expat life in France and as this was last weeks' top news item, I focused my attention on the French presidential election. In the manner of an investigative journalist I've spent this week collecting information on all that is worth knowing about France, the one-time president Jacques Chirac and his potential successors in office.

1. FRANCE: KEY FACTS AND FIGURES

France is the second largest country by area in continental Europe. Two-thirds of the country is made up of mountains, the highest being Mont Blanc (4,808 m).

France has a number of territories overseas which together with mainland France and the island of Corsica form the 26 administrative regions of the country.

The history of France after World War II w
as marked by the painful period of decolonisation the culmination of which was the creation of the Fifth Republic in 1959.

The French economy heavily depends on the service industry, manufacturing and agriculture. Especially tourism is an economic branch that brings France astronomic sums of money as 75 million people visit France year after year.
Currently, though, the economy is ailing and France has one of the highest unemployment rates in the EU namely 9,8% of the population is without a job.

The economy is in a historic low partly because the government controlls the key industries (public transport, power) and partly because the French laws are rigid and the tax burdens high, so many businesses have great difficulties coping in an increasingly globalised world.

As far as the French society is concerned, France has the fifth largest population rate in the EU (63 million inhabitants). Those who are employed enjoy a high standard of living in comparison with other EU countries and free healthcare. The state also offers subsidised childcare to women wh
o want to start working again after having been pregnant. Accordingly, France has the highest rate of female employment in the EU.
France is also a very popular destination amongst immigrants (4.9 million are currently living in France). However, the immigrant population has been facing grave problems in France in recent years as the government has been unsuccessfully attempting to make them "French".

2. JACQUES CHIRAC'S PRESIDENCY

The office of president is a coveted one in France as the president, unlike in many other EU countries, plays a significant role in implementing the policy of the government. Jacques Chirac was able to hold it for twelve years.

His political care
er began some 40 years ago when he first became a government minister. From 1977 to 1995, when he had to step down because of financial scandals, Chirac was the mayor of Paris. His presence was such that from the moment people met him, they fell under his spell.

In 1995 and again in 2002 Chirac was elected Fre
nch president and entered the Elysee Palace, his residence.

What kind of France is Chirac leaving behind?

On the international stage he was successful in repairing the French relations with former colonies. He was also an outspoken opponent of the war in Iraq which gained him sympathies in France and some other countries, but this opinion of his also frailed the French relationship with the USA and the UK.

On the home front his policy failed on many fronts. The unemployment has reached enormous proportions, the economic growth is extremely low and because of his suspicion of globalisation, the contemporary French economy is gradually falling apart. What he failed in completely is to bring France in tune with modernity.

3. WHO MIGHT BECOME HIS SUCCESSOR?

The results of the first round of voting, which was held on the 22 of April, say that the second round will see a battle between centre-right candidate Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Segolene Royal.


Opinion polls in the aftermath of the first round of voting show that Sarkozy, who wishes to cut taxes and illegal immigration, will win the second round on the 6 of May. Still anything is possible as Royal, who wants to raise the minimum wage and cut French dependence on nuclear power, is only a few points behind Sarkozy.

I promise I'll keep you posted on the French presidential battle whose outcome might come as a great surprise to the French citizens.

My sources:
1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6582479.stm (about the election and France in general)

2. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6578581.stm (about Jacques Chirac)

3. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6582479.stm (the candidates' profiles)








an idiom a week

This weeks' idiom sounds most peculiarly to me:

it's no skin off your nose

Meaning:
it's none of your business
I don't care if he doesn't come to the wedding. It's no skin off my nose.

As luck would have it, while I was trying to decipher the meaning of this idiom, I stumbled against a website where the origin of this curious idiom is made clear.

The story goes something like this:

In sixteenth century England there was a cloak-and-dagger group of cabbage worshipers who practiced a variety of peculiar cabbage rituals in the disreputable neighborhoods of London. As their worship places had to remain secret, a very small hole was cut in the doors of the places of worship, so that the identity of the worshipers could be verified.

However, electric lights were unknown at that time, so the worshipers had the ingenious idea of marking a small mark on the left side of their nose which was then searched for by the high priests before granting the worshipers entry. If the mark was missing, the priests would take a sharp knife and slice a long stripe from the swindler's nose.

This "painful" story goes again to show how rich the history of the English language is and how it is important accordingly to learn about the culture a language is part of.

To read the whole story, visit:
http://pastimesandrags.com/writings/skin.html

jokes


Boss to employee:
Experts say that in this time of downsizing, humour relieves tension at work. Knock, knock!

Employee:
Who's there?

Boss:
Not you anymore.


Signs that you've grown up:

1. You hear your favourite song in a supermarket.
2. Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.
3. Your plants stay alive.
4. Dinner and a film are a whole date instead of just the beginning of one.
5. More than 90 per cent of the time you spend in front of the computer is for real work.


Freitag, 27. April 2007

What they said

Mark Twain quotes:

"Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."

"Do something every day that you don't want to do; this is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain."

"Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with."

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."

"Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow."

Many more of his witty and sarcastic quotes can be found at:
http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Mark_Twain/31

useful websites


This week an extremely beneficial page for speaking has come to my attention. The site is full to the brim with links of interest, many of which are a barrel of fun to look at, for students of English as a second language.

The site is:
http://iteslj.org/links/ESL/Speaking/

new trends


Fitness

In its May issue Marie Claire looks at ways to get and stay fit without going to the gym.

If going to the gym, where each piece of equipment reminds you of a monster and where you feel like an oddball between all that sweaty, perfectly fit bodies, makes your hair stand on end, here is advice on how to stay in form, gym-free:

1. Try to increase the intensity of your everyday activities which can range from vacuuming to walking your dog. Especially if you are going to walk your dog, take your MP3-player with you so as to remain motivated.

2. Instead of taking the lift, settle for the stairs as they are a great strengthener and calorie-burner.

3. You can even burn calories when you stand. The only thing you have to do is to imagine you're attempting to hold a pencil between your shoulder blades, while carrying a book flat on your head and you'll have your posture improved at once.

4. Use your shopping bags, loaded with all sorts of groceries just imaginable, to intensify your muscle mass.

5. Everyone who sits often in front of his/her computer or notebook should get up off the chair every hour and do some light gymnastics.

6. Finally, while you are waiting for the kettle to boil etc, get up, stretch or do any chores you have to do.

All this small thing listed here do make a difference if performed regularly.




back to basics


This week the time is ripe for a grammar chapter that doesn't seem to get into my pretty head namely the use of the verbs lie and lay. Whenever I come up against this verbs, the only thing I know is that I'm forever asking myslef in which context I should use which one.

Here comes the "blatantly obvious" answer to my perplexing question:

1. lay

-lay, laid, laid-
to put something in a horizontal position
She laid the baby on the bed.

2. lie

-lie, lay, lain-
to be in or move into a horizontal position on a surface:
to lie on a beach
-
lie, lied, lied-deceive
Can't you see that she is lying to you.

Ways of walking-part 2


2. Walking in a way that shows your feelings

-to strut- to walk with your head up and your chest out to show that you are high and mighty:
He strutted past us like a peacock without even saying hello.

-
to frogmarch someone-to force a person to go somewhere by holding his or her arm tightly:
He was frogmarched out of the room by security stuff.

-
to pace- to walk up and down in a small place because you are nervous, angry or impatient:
He paced up and down outside the delivery room, waiting to hear if it was a boy or a girl.


Before I forget, all of this entries about walking are from the last years' August editionof "Spotlight". I'm writing this because the last thing I could wish for is a plagiarism accusation put against me.

hot books


This weeks' recommendation is a book I've purchased for a song in Croatia some time ago, but which richness lies in its content:

"Friends, Lovers, Chocolate" by Alexander McCall Smith

Synopsis:

The book is a part of a series featuring the character of Isabel Dalhousie, a middle-aged philosopher, who in this novel tries to unveil the mystery surrounding a heart-transplant recipient. Alongside with attempting to help a person in need, Isabel explores the universal themes in life namely the pursuit of love and the bonds of friendship.

My opinion:

What struck me most about this book is the portrayal of the main characters as they all leaped off the pages as very real. What's more, "Friends, Lovers, Chocolate" has a myriad of philosophical questions which make one contemplative about life and all that.
I would prescribe this novel, a hot chocolate and a cozy couch to anyone as a means of pondering about life.


Almost French (pages 139-166)

On this pages Turnbull writes about a topic anyone can identify with-the fervour for your birth place.

Frédéric, who comes from an, in his opinion, idyllic part of rural France
(Boulonnais; picture above), had been hoping that Sarah would find his birth place as arresting as he does.

Regrettably, Sarah believed Boulonnais to be gloomy and depressing as she had no childhood memories of any kind attached to it.

The same cultural clash occurs as Frédéric visits Sydney (picture on the left) for the first time in his life. Sarah had been expecting him to almost immediately fall for her urbanised birth place. Sad to say, he initially held that the water is too cold and the buildings too American style-wise.

In the end, what they did was get the hang of France and Australia first. Only then did they start to construct their own web of memories so that they could more easily feel sympathy for each others' home countries.

As time is allegedly the best healer, their initial preconceived believes were transformed into love and deepening knowledge about France and Australia.

It was compelling for me to read this chapter as I myself am an expat who has just begun to understand how puzzling it is to be torn between two countries. While Graz has been my actual home for a year and something now, Lovran is my history. I learned to walk, talk and swim there, I had my first best friend there etc. Lovran is were all my cherished memories lie.

Nevertheless, akin to Turnbull and Frédéric, I have started to create my own memories of Graz which will aid me in understanding this quaint Austrian city better. In other words, I've begun to pave the way for an deeper awareness of my chosen university place.

New vocab:

1. chasm
a)a large difference
b)a gap
c)a rock formation

2. no-nonsense
a)easy
b) practical
c)immediate

3. evanescence
a)blithe
b)serendipity
c) sth. lasting for a short time

reading


This week I read an article in the May issue of Marie Claire which is worrying beyond belief.

It is about the mushrooming of child spas around the USA where children as young as three years go to have a cosmetic treatment.

What appalled me even more than the story itslef, which is shocking enough, is what girls from the spa the journalist visited said about their looks and being popular. One fourteen-years-old said that being popular is the biggest thing and that it solely depends on your looks. Another ten years old girl was lamenting over her body saying that she would like to get surgery and change it entirely.

My immediate thought after reading the text was to ask myself if our world has really transformed into a place where your looks dictate your whole life. Sadly, but true I hold that our world has become such a place, especially after being confronted with this article where young girls think of themselves as sex objects, as pieces of meat which have to be in perfect shape before being consumed.

Small wonder that in this world of ours anorexia is budding as well as depression. The more I mull it over, the less I understand why our society is so focused on the appearance, which is known, after all, to be deceiving.

Maybe because it is easier to change your looks than your inner-self. No, the reason has to be much more complex than that. Nevertheless, whatever the reason for our appearance obsession might be, I sincerely hope that people will come to their senses again and that this situation isn't past redemption. If it happens to be beyond redemption, then we are heading towards self-distruction and our future looks bleak.

speaking


Yesterday the time was right for another outing to the Stammtisch at the "Prince Charles" where you can put your English into practice with native speakers, or people who speak as good as though they were native speakers, still your insatiable curiosity for new cultures and fire vocabulary questions at the British.

Just yesterday I committed to memory that you say a face is numb if a person has had to many Botox injections and cannot move the face muscles anymore.

Moreover, as the evening progressed, a bunch of us was engaged in an intense discussion about food in the UK. Having the preconceived idea that UK food isn't tasty, I was relieved to learn that this is just another lousy stereoytpe. In fact, the British assembled there were singing the praises of their mashed potato pies.

Talking about British food, I came across a brilliant internet page where the British freelance journalist Graham Holliday, who is living in France, reveals the truth behind the notion that British food is bad.

Here is the link:
http://www.seriouseats.com/2007/02/in-defence-of-british-food.html

Donnerstag, 26. April 2007

listening


This Monday evening I was bored to death at home, so I decided to do something good for my listening skills and headed to the Royal English Cinema to watch the film "Notes on a Scandal."

Like numerous times before, the cinema was almost empty, but this made me relish the film even more as there were no people chit-chatting.

In hindsight, I must say that this film with a superlative storyline and three amazing actors (Dame Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett and Bill Nighy) who do the story justice is the best I've seen in some time.


"Notes on a Scandal" is premeated with a sensationally tense atmosphere showing the viewers the deeply disturbing faces of the human nature namely the desperate things loneliness and social envy will drive us to do.
The film takes a chilly and dim view on humanity, but such films are the ones which depict the real world and not the chick flicks with a happy ending.


All in all, I would highly recommend this film to anyone who wishes to listen to English how it is spoken on the street and watch a riveting portrayal of the lenghts to which a friendless person in pursuit of happiness would go.

To read the summary of the plot, visit:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465551/plotsummary




writing

This week we received back our homework from Ms Welland and had a look at the most typical mistakes we had made.

Doing this was for me the best exercise in what seems like an eternity because your writing can enormously benefit from it. If you become increasingly aware of your mistakes, you are bound not to make them anymore.

Anyway, I wish to feature here exactly the mistakes Ms Welland pointed out to us, so I also have an online version of them.

1. Commas

Under no circumstance should you use a comma in these sentences:

I have to say that……. Subject+ object

Another thing which I liked………… (defining clause- can I leave the which out?)

What I liked about it was………

One organisation which I liked was………..(One organisation I liked was……..)

I think everybody- subject, verb, object

The most interesting thing I discovered was………..

Due to the fact that...........(defining clause)

2. Tenses

I had never thought about volunteering projects before.

It was fun to see what organizations we’d have if we worked abroad.

Not only did I learn, but I also…… (negative adverbial; inversion)


3. Vocabulary

Possibility: used-slight possibility of rain

Possibility I’ll come

Not used: There are so many possibilities to volunteer. (opportunities, ways, options etc)

Offer: used-The shop has a great offer on men’s jeans this month.

I’ve had a good offer on the car.

A special offer

Not used: There’s a great offer of voluntary jobs. (variety, selection, wide range)

Almost French (pages 96-138)

On this pages Turnbull touched upon my two best-loved topics namely journalism and fashion.

Let me start off with journalism. Being a journalist herself, Turnbull was at this point in the book taking pleasure in the course "Journalists in Europe" where she both got to immerse herself into new cultures and explore new worlds through the stories of ordinary people.

As my overriding ambition has always been to become a journalist, I delighted in what Turnbull wrote about the "toughest of all jobs." What's more, I came to the conclusion that I desperately wanted to find out more about the daily routine of a journalist.

After what seemed like forever, I stumbled across just the article I needed. Here is a summary of its main points:

Since the different kinds of journalism are as multifarious as the colours of people's eyes, it is difficult to pin down the daily routine of a journalist. Generalising, however, one may be safe in saying that professional journalists have to be quick and succinct reporters with an objective view. On top of all that, they have to take stress and long hours into account, making it almost a mission impossible to have a family life. Most journalists have a bachelor's degree in journalism, communications, English, or political sciences and an ever increasing amount of them enters this profession on a later stage in life. Excellent writing skills are a must, as are computer word-processing skills.Persistence, initiative, stamina, and the desire to tell real stories about real events are critical to the survival of the budding jour
nalist.

Although the job description of a journalist may seem to an outsider less than promising, I would adore to be one. I already can picture myslef taking pains in writing and proofreading stories about the ordinary people on the streets and feeling an incomparable thrill whilst doing it.

Maybe, one day this dream of mine will become reality.

To read more about it, visit:
http://www.term-papers.us/ts/ia/smu15.shtml

The second topic on hand is the French dress code. Being one of the capitals of fashion, Paris doesn't forgive people who aren't highly sensitive to aesthetics.


Turnbull learns this precious bit of information the hard way namely by being critisised for wearing shorts in the summer. Only tourists do that in France, but not the French. It is a great blow for her when she learns the truth as she was used to the Australian laid-back attitude to clothes wich allows any eclectic combination just imaginable.

However, in France where the art of dressing discreetly, seductivly and elegantly is inculcated into people from an early age on, Trunbull feels lost in fashion.

Finally, she realises that she would never "look French" and continues developing her own style.

In my opinion this is the best decision she could have possibly taken as I hold that any person should have his/her own style and not in the least be bothered by what the fashion magazines say. After all, the beauty of a person lies within.

To find out more about the French dress code, visit:
http://wikitravel.org/en/France#Dress_code

http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=182&story_id=25305
( a hilarious story of an Paris expat trying to reason with a friend who wishes to wear shorts in Paris)

Vocab quiz:

1. adamant
a)unshakeable
b)uncertain
c)stubborn

2. be beyond/past redemption
a) dead
b)too bad to be saved
c)old

3. overcast
a) dirty
b)old
c)cloudy

4. benchmark
a)standard
b)pigeonhole
c)praise







Mittwoch, 25. April 2007

Mother Love


Last week I read the book "Mother Love"by L.R. Wright which had cordially been lent to me by Ivana.

MY SYNOPSIS:

At first I found the book to be a huge page -turner as the story about a woman who disappears, leaving a family and chaos in her way is usually electrifying. The book became more compelling still when the woman's death body was traced down and the realisation came that she had been brutally murdered.

What unfolded after that discovery was a vividly told story filled to the brim with twists and turns.

What came as a huge surprise to me though was the fact that the end of the book was less than satisfying. Actually, to be more precise, it was trite and it spoiled my intial fondness of the book.

All in all, this book is good for picking up useful vocab, but it isn't such a huge page- turner after all.

What shocked me even more is that when I tiped in the name of L.R.Wright, I learnt that she passed away in 2001 of breast cancer. If you wish to read the interview with this crime writer who died untimely, visit:
http://www.januarymagazine.com/profiles/lrwright.html

some useful vocab explained:

escalate; escalation-
to make or become greater or more serious:
The decision to escalate UN involvement has been taken in the hopes of a swift end to the hostilities.

fraud; fraudulent; fraudulently; fraudulence-
intended to deceive:
They claim that the fall in unemployment is based on a fraudulent manipulation of statistics.

surreptitious; surreptitiously; surreptitiousness-done secretly, without anyone seeing or knowing:
She seemed to be listening to what I was saying, but I couldn't help noticing her surreptitious glances at the clock.

iron-clad-adjective [usually before noun]
very certain and unlikely to be changed:
iron-clad rules

mull sth. over-to think carefully about something for a long time:
I need a few days to mull things over before I decide if I'm taking the job.

incessant; incessantly-never stopping, especially in an annoying or unpleasant way:
incessant rain/noise/complaints

Almost French (pages 61-95)


Month after month went by for Sarah in Paris and she became increasingly aware that the "real" France is far away from her romantic dreams.

While she once had believed that the French were passionate and progressive, she knew now that they were, actually, much more socially inhibited. It was through a series of "to put one's foot in one's mouth" accidents that she came to this realisation.

It was a mix of being ill at ease at French parties and going stir-crazy sitting at home all day that made her look out for English-speaking people in Paris. Before long she met Alicia who was also an unemployed freelance writer and they hit it off immediately. After all, you know the saying- A problem shared is a problem halved.

After feeling apathetic for what seemed like forever, Sarah finally sees an opportunity coming her way. It is the course "Journalists in Europe" she is desperate to enroll for. The only difficulty- Such is the cost of the course that she feels dizzy whenever she reads the numbers aloud.

Just as the problem of cost is snowballing a most peculiar thing happens that helps her come up with the money necessary. The newly elected French president Jacques Chirac makes a decision which shocks the world yet aids Sarah not to be in a jam anymore.

On June 13, 1995 the French president decides to resume nuclear tests in French Polynesia (a French overseas collectivity in the southern Pacific Ocean).

WHY?

Chirac sites three reasons for this step which made France at that time the most unpopular country in the world namely the security of their nuclear deterrent, the life in an uncertain world (!) and the test of the reliability of existing French weapons of mass destruction. Although 60% of the French population, the South Pacific, the Commonwealth countries and the UN opposed the tests, their opposition fell on deaf ears as France carried out six tests before calling a truce.

THE CONSEQUENCES

A 2007 report confirms what is common knowledge amongst scientists around the world- there is no such thing as safe nuclear testing. The report goes on to say that the the Maruroa and Fangatanfa atolls in French Polynesia have witnessed an increase in cancer.
If you wish to find out more about the French nuclear tests in the Pacific, visit:http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?menu=c10400&no=339393&rel_no=1

The consequences for Sarah weren't at all that horrendous. On the contrary, as Australia was one of the fiercest opponents of this French project, six French companies decided to cover the costs of her course wanting in return nothing more than objective journalism on the issue of nuclear tests.

Anyway, just as Sarah thought nothing could backfire anymore, she was proven wrong. Days before her course was due to start, the French went on the allegedly largest general strike in France since May 1968, opposing the PM Juppé's decision to implement an extensive programme of welfare cutbacks. To read more, visit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_strikes_in_France

Vocabulary quiz:

1. be ill at ease
a) be anxious
b)tired
c)ill

2. despondent
a) tired
b)unhappy
c)broke



Almost French


Yesterday I scrutinised the first 60 pages of "Almost French" by Sarah Turnbull.

If the prologue of the book were a Hollywood script, it would read something like this:

Follow along as the heroine (Sarah, BTW), a free-willed Australian urbanite, and television reporter, falls head over heels for a gorgeous French lawyer (Frédéric, BTW) from the city of love, Paris. Such is Sarah's attraction towards Frédéric that she accepts the invitation of this beautiful stranger to spend a week in Paris.

Once there she realises that there is more to Paris and Frédéric than meets the eye and eager to expand her horizons she stays in Paris for good.

See what happens as these two try to stitch together a life divided between two totally different yet appealing cultures.

Anyhow, before arriving to Paris, Sarah had been of the firm belief that adapting to French culture would be as easy as drinking water. After all, she had both learnt about the French culture and language at school and had been there several times on holiday. All in all, she had been confident that her preconceived ideas about France were all that there was to know.
Just how wrong she had been, she realised a few weeks after coming. France was not only different from what she thought it would be. It was poles apart from her believes.

For instance, take the contrast between the Australian and French education system into consideration. While in Australia the focus is on developing each child's individuality, in France education is all about instructing and discipline.

To find out more about the Australian and French education system respectively, visit:
http://www.alochona.org/magazine/2002/april/special2.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_France

Far more important for Sarah was,however, the huge dissimilarity between the French and the Australian language, which made talking with Frédéric very often a hilarious adventure, like when she offered him a blow job in front of all of his colleagues.

Another thing that was extremely problematic for her was the French etiquette, which she got to know first-hand at her first dinner party. Being used to the Australian laid-back parties, where you have welcoming people on tap , it came like a bolt out of the blue to learn that French people are not so friendly when they meet a perfect stranger. Throughout the night people talking to her where as rare as water in a desert. Sarah felt completely alien.

To cap it all, she didn't have a job and she was stuck all day in Frédéric's apartment, feeling like in a gilded cage. As doubt started to fester, it hit her home that it might be much more challenging to settle in Paris than she had initially predicted.

My opinion of what I've read so far:

I must say that what I've read so far impressed me. Turnbull's writing style is very readable and you soon get hooked on it. What's more, she gives insights into two cultures, which had both been exotic to me before, namely the French and the Australian culture. All in all, the book augurs well and I can hardly wait to continue reading it.

The vocab quiz:

1. oblivious (adj.)
a)unaware
b)unpleasant
c)unfriendly

2. cocoon (v)
a) save
b)protect
c)help

3. broach (v)
a)damage
b)fulfill
c)begin


Montag, 23. April 2007

the American in Croatia


In April, just a few months after he had come to Croatia, Fred was in two minds over the question- "Should I stay or should I go?"

One part of him was getting confident again due to having a job at Berlitz and knowing that there is more to Croatia than meets the eye, which he was willing to explore.

On the flip side, his relationship with Luka was going through a bad patch. Fred felt that his lover was selfish while Luka held Fred to be too depressed and culturally shocked. It wasn't a great help for their relationship to being looked at suspiciously by Luka's relatives during a baptism because they were gay.

Talking about being gay in Croatia, it is still not something people perceive as "normal". On the contrary, many regard it as a disease which should be cured somehow. Not that there aren't sufficient gay people in Croatia, but they mostly hide their preferences due to the public being so homophobic.

I just wish for my fellow citizens to realise presently that being homosexual is a normal way of living and that they start to respect it. The younger population is already on the right path, but the older is still lagging behind. We'll see what the future holds.

Back to Fred. In the end he resolved not to buckle under the strain of living in a foreign country and give both Croatia and his love life a second chance. It still wasn't time to get itchy feet.


Almost French


Today Slavica lent me "Almost French" by Sarah Turnbull to read as my third book about an English-speaking person trying her luck abroad.

Before starting to read the book, I went to amazon.com and looked at some reviews about the book, so that I would be able to see what the others think about it.

All in all, I can say that I was taken aback by the myriad of negative reviews there are about the book. Many readers say that they were only mildly impressed by the book at best, or that they hated it at worst. The reasons listed for such an opinion are:

- the genre of the book is not defined (it is not exactly a romance book, nor it is a characteristic travel book)
-the characters are only sketchily portrayed
-the book is full of the self-indulgencies of Turnbull, who many readers believe behaved like a spoilt brat throughout the book

The positive reviews state that the book is :

-humorous and informative
-very light-hearted and fast to read despite being 304 pages long
-a mine of information on cultural differences and clashes

life with a French man


It is winter again and for Kim it is a winter which brings a wind of change with it. Not only is she living in a fabulous new house and driving a stylish new car, but she has also her own hairdresser's business now.

As life is all about swings and roundabouts, although she has gained so many new material things, she feels she has lost time for herself. There is her eight am to nine pm job, the kids, Thomas (who has to be
picked up from Montreal each week), and there is the day which only has so many hours.

Aren't you also sometimes conscious of having so many material possessions, but not having time to enjoy them properly. I mean it seems so paradoxical to me that although nowadays we live and work in this high-tech world, we are working our ass off more than we used to.

I guess the only solution is to steal time from your "working time" whenever a possibility crops up. I did exactly that during my Easter break when I visited a tourist destination not far from where I live (it is called Rabac BTW) and where this picture was made:
Thomas, on the other hand, contemplated about his arrival to Canada in 2004 and how it has moulded him. He says that he is just starting to understand the Canadian and American culture (Kim is from America) and adapting to it. Moreover, while he does miss so much about France, he has gained so much from moving that has made him a "new" man.

What he said about moving to Canada is analogous to how I feel about moving to Austria. I do often pine for my mum and my grandparents, but nothing can compare to what I've been able to take in life experience and knowledge from my stay in Graz so far.

nerd's eye view

This weeks' entries from Mandel's blog are going to be about cultural difference and American politics.

Let me start off with the cultural difference between America and Austria. As Mandel rightly observed, it is difficult to break the social barriers in Austria. Whereas she can visit any friend or relative in America when she feels up to or vice versa, this is not done in Austria where you have to either phone or write an e-mail to that person asking if you are welcome before you even start seriously contemplating about going.

When I first came to study to Graz I wasn't in the least surprised by it as I had known about the Austrian social graces beforehand. The only thing that was awkward for me, as it is unheard of in Croatia, was the fact that you even have to call your parents to ask them if they can babysit for you.

Be that as it may, one has to respect the culture of a foreign country and adapt to it no matter how strange you find something from your perspective.

Let me move on to the second topic on hand-politics. Mandel was talking about being once a stalwart supporter of the Democratic Party, but feeling now let down by that party and turning to the Greens.
Anyway, I figured it it would be quite useful to know more about these two parties as a way of gaining new insights into a country I know laughably little about. So, I did my homework and here are its results:

1. the United States of America Democratic Party

BASIC INFORMATION:

-one of the two major parties in America
-it traces its origins back to the Democratic-Republican Party, founded by Thomas Jefferson and other influential men in 1792

THE PARTY'S PRINCIPLES:

-liberal
-it favours civil liberties, social freedom, equal rights and opportunity, free enterprise with government intervention (mixed economy)


to read more, visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_of_America_Democratic_Party

2. Green Party of the United States

BASIC FACTS:

-the third party in American politics since the 1980s
-has won elected office most at local level

THE PARTY'S PRINCIPLES:

-emphasizes environmentalism, decentralization, local autonomy, social justice (commitment to put an end to poverty)

to find out more, read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Party_%28United_States%29

Before I finish this post, there is just one more thing on offer-a useful word I've learnt from Mandel's blog:

1. in the interim
a)in the time between
b)after
c)before





Ireland from a Polish perspective

New week, new report about what Krystian was doing in September 2006. He was out and about exploring the Irish landscapes, skylines and monuments, which is archetypal for an archeologist.

His chosen destinations were:
1. the Ring of Kerry (if you wish to find out more about this tourist trail in county Kerry, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_of_Kerry
2. the Ring of Skellig (
if you wish to find out more about the hidden gem of the Ring of Kerry, visit http://www.myderrynane.com/skellig_ring.htm
3. Ballina (if you wish to find out more about the home of the famous river Moy, visit http://ballina.mayo-ireland.ie/)

As usual, he made the most breathtakingly beautiful pictures of the raw beauty of the Irish countryside, which cannot be pinned down. My all-time favourite picture of this journey is the one of the Skellig Islands:
How much mightier are pictures than words.

Anyway, he updates in these entries also his view of the situation in Poland. Poland has been facing a brain drain since joining the EU. The young high -fliers emigrate chiefly to Ireland, Germany, Italy, England and the Netherlands as Poland does not offer them any noteworthy possibilities to live a fulfilled life.

Krystian says that Poland is not a state created for the citizens as the citizens are its servants rather than its guardians. Red tape and corruption are as perennial to Poland as Polish is. To cap it all, the big fishes who constantly break the law aren't punished while the ordinary people are.

While reading about this topic, I felt anew that the state of affairs in Poland is similar to Croatia. I mean, it is proof positive that Croatia is also infected with unefficient red tape, unscrupulous politicians and the young fleeing away as soon as an opportunity comes their way.

The question which poses itself is: "Will anyone come back?"

I am dead certain that the successful young people won't. Why should they? Ok, because of love for their home country, but you don't live from love. You do from money and as everything evolves around money these days, why should anyone abandon a place where he/she earns twice as much as back home. After all, it is not the end of the world to live apart from your family. You would part from them sooner or later, so why not sooner to a place where you could imagine some of your dreams coming true. The only one who loses from you going is your home country as it is certain to face the young population withering away.


Sonntag, 22. April 2007

Americans talk about their jobs


(Sorry, but I have to post this entry once more because the first one is brimful of mistakes)

This posts, as you may have guessed from the picture above, will be all about the book "Gig-Americans talk about their jobs".

Why do I want to write about it?

Ever since I first read a few excerpts from "Gig", I have been captivated by its topic namely the unscripted stories of American people going on about their jobs. This book has something illuminating as well as something charming about it.
The real stars of the book are the interviewers and the editors who have done a wonderful job tracking down people from all walks of life.
"Gig" lets the people from the street be heard and unearths a often forgotten
truth-work defines who we are.

Anyway, each week I'm going to write entries about a job description in "Gig" that intrigued me, saddened me or made me explode with laughter.

This week let me introduce you to the complex world of software
engineers, or, to the world of Dzeudet Hadziosmanovic.
Dzeudet emigrated to the USA from Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) during the war for independence in former Yugoslavia as software.
For me it was absorbing to gain an insight into the world of software engineering thanks to the text. Dzeudet says that all of the s. engineering market is in American hands and that his work is basically to translate real world into numbers, which is hard to do most of the time, but even harder it is to complete software as you must imagine every single thing the user could do on a keyboard. (especially if he/ she is as clumsy as me)

What I also found remarkable about the text is the way Dzeudet juxtaposes Bosnia and the USA which are a far cry from each other. While in Bosnia he worked less and earned less, in America the situation is the opposite. In Bosnia he was living under socialism and health services and education were free and the retirement secured. None of it is the case in capitalist America which is for him more efficient, but takes too much of your life.

Still, judging by his own example, he holds the American Dream still to be living.