Europe is a state of mind: Is Croatia there yet?

On July 1st 2013 Croatia became the 28th country to join the European Union. It was the end of a long road that Croatia has been on for over a decade. Even though Croatia had to make many reforms to be able to become a member state, certain countries argue that Croatia was ready to join. Europe is a state of mind, being part of the Europe Union needs to be felt as a privilege by every Croatian citizen. Also, it is important to embrace differences between cultures and people and respect them. Lately Croatia has been struggling with the latter. LGBT and minority rights have been in the focus of the Croatian public in the last months. The implementation of the Cyrillic alphabet on signs of state institutions in Vukovar brought up the ghosts of history. Vukovar, a city completely devastated by war, after it underwent a three month long occupation by the Serbs, feels as if it is not ready to accept the Cyrillic alphabet, which is the alphabet of the Serbian language. The people of Croatia decided on a referendum that was conducted on Sunday that marriage is a bond between a man and a woman and as such should be written down in the constitution. What does that tell us about Croatia respecting the rights of homosexuals and minorities? Another important issue is corruption on all levels. Though reducing corruption rates was one of the requirements on joining the Union, tremendous progress has not been made. All these examples lead us to the question whether Croatia has left its past behind or is it still affecting its present and future? The aim of this academic paper is to bring closer the Croatian culture to other people, to explain why Croatians are behaving the way they are and how that is affecting their progress as a country. I hold this topic very dear to my heart because I am Croatian and because I sometimes feel ashamed of how my fellow citizens are behaving, but on the other hand I can see why that is so. Many people dealt with this problem before me and have published papers on it so finding the sources for it should not be a problem. All in all, I think that this is an important topic since it can give the reader a different perspective on the youngest EU member and its struggle to become a true European state.

"Croatia is an amazing place" Jean Reno

XOXO A.

Stuffed mushrooms *.*

Although pasta is my favorite dish ever, I cannot deny my love for stuffed mushrooms. I discovered my love for mushrooms a couple of year ago. Before that I did not really enjoy eating them. The pizza I had for lunch in school was always covered with mushrooms, but the mushrooms looked bad and dry. Then one day my mom made stuffed mushrooms at home and practically forced me to try them. That is the moment I started liking them. Today I want to share a recipe with you, my mom's recipe. The recipe is very easy to make and it does not take a lot of time to do. It is really convenient for us students who live alone and have little time for cooking. I also like to make them when my friends come over since we do not need plates or forks to eat them.

You will need (the amount depends on the number of people you are cooking for):

1) mushrooms

2) ham

3) cheese

4) half an onion

5) 1 egg

6) salt 

7) pepper

8) cooking cream 

9) oil

Method:

1)  Clean mushrooms with a paper towel (do not wash mushrooms!) Carefully break of stems. Chop stems extremely fine.

2)  Put oil in a frying pan and wait until it gets warm. Chop one half of an onion extremely fine and put it into the pan. Add mushroom stems to it. Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often.
3)  Meanwhile shred the cheese and chop the ham into small pieces.

4)  After the mushroom stems and onions are done mix the shredded cheese and ham into it. Add cooking cream, 1 egg, a little salt and pepper. Mix it all up.

5) Fill each mushroom with the stuffing.
6)  Bake for 20-25 minutes on 220C.

I hope you find this recipe as easy as I do and that you will try it out. Let me know if you have any questions. Bon Appetit :)

“I cook with wine; sometimes I even add it to the food.”   W.C. Fields

XOXO A.

Why Serbia should join the EU?

Hi!

Me and my friends Tiana and Dajana had to write an essay about Serbia and its relation to the European Union. We chose to write about why Serbia should join. If you are interested in politics, the European Union and its enlargement process, take a look at it. You can find it on Tiana's blog. I hope you will find it interesting. :)

http://tiana-afterglow.blogspot.co.at/2013/12/serbias-requirements-for-joining-eu.html


"You're not to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it." Malcolm X

Anonymus summary

Anonymus summary:

Ambrose Evans-Pitchard’s article in The Telegraph of the 23rd October 2013 analyses the

approaching European deflation in connection with debt.

At the beginning of the text, the author mentions that deflation had already occurred before.

Deflation can influence the economy of countries positively if they are not too heavily in debt.

This, however, is not the case in Europe: As many countries are overburdened with debts,

repaying it becomes more and more difficult if the inflation is too low. This problem does not

only affect national but also private debt.

It is argued that the ECB should try everything to maintain an inflation of at least 2% in order

to prevent from an economic disaster, but according to the author Europe seems to be

paralyzed. Italy, France and Spain should gang up on Germany and dictate a new policy,

which combats deflation and could therefore help restoring the damaged economies. Yet, they

fear that Germany might leave the EMU and leave it up to the rest to solve the debt problem.

Summing up, Europe is far away from a proper solution. It still seems to be in recession but

prefers to wait for an economic miracle instead of taking the initiative.

[201 words]

Dear anonymous writer,

What I like about your article is that you have a topic and a concluding sentence. I also like how you divided your summary into paragraphs; it makes it easier to read. However, your first sentence in the second paragraph makes no sense to me. Of course deflation happened before; it would be kind of naive to think it did not. Furthermore, in your third paragraph you are saying that Italy, France and Spain should gang up on Germany. Why Germany? Why not the UK for instance? I think that you should have explained it better. I do understand what you mean by that but someone who has not read the original article and is not familiar with the European economy might ask the same question. I know that we had a 200 words limit but I think you could have done a better job with explaining why Germany is to blame. Also, there would be no “rest to solve the problem“ if Germany leaves the EMU. Something like that would probably lead to the collapse of the EMU. From a perspective of someone who read the original article I think that your summary is fine although certain changes should be made. Please, do not take this personally. I am only doing my homework.

[217 words]

XOXO A.

"It is well to read everything of something, and something of everything." Joseph Brodsky

The council of Europe

Good morning!

I just want to inform you that I and my colleagues had to write a paragraph about the council of Europe. If you are interested in reading what we wrote, check out Cat's blog (link below). Thank you and have a nice day!

XOXO A.

http://sparklyzombiecat.blogspot.co.at/2013/11/the-council-of-europe.html

"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time" Abraham Lincoln

The European Year of...

Hello!

Our topic for SUK3 is the European Union. In class we had to get into groups and write a paragraph about "The European Year of..." Check it out, maybe you will learn something you did not know before.



 The concept of the European Year was first introduced in 1983, and each year since, the EU has picked a 
specific topic to discuss within the member countries of the European Union. The purpose of the European Years is to concentrate and debate on subjects that are currently important to the EU in order to change certain policies to improve the standard of living for its citizens. Each year, a specific theme is proposed by the Commission and approved by the European Parliament. 1997 was named the “European Year against racism and xenophobia”. As a leader in protecting human rights, the EU wanted to raise public awareness of the dangers of racism and xenophobia and stress the importance of equal rights. Languages are of great importance for the EU as well; hence it was proposed to promote them and their impact on our everyday life in form of a “European Year of Languages” in 2001. The aim was to encourage the citizens of the European Union to take interest in learning foreign languages. As a sort of extension to the 2001 project, 2008 was named the „European Year of Intercultural Dialogue“. It was a year of projects, campaigns, debates and festivals all aimed at increasing mutual understanding and dialogue between different cultures. In a nutshell, the European Year focuses on important topics and works towards bringing forth positive changes.


"Each day you learn something new, and just as important, relearn something old." Robert Brault

XOXO A.

Summertime sadness...

Hey guys, 

I am really sorry for not posting anything in such a long time. I suck with blogging this semester, I know. It is just that this semester is so exhausting. I have literally no time for eating, let alone blogging. Every now and then I want to scream and cry at the same time because the amount of work for this semester is crazy. Summary writing, pronunciation diary, Proseminar paper, German exams, the list of tasks seems to be endless. I cannot wait for Christmas, and especially for February when this crappy semester will finally be over.

What keeps me going are the great memories from Lisbon this summer. I remember how hard I worked last year to be able to award myself with an awesome trip, and that is what I want to do next year too. Let me give you a brief description of why you should visit Lisbon!

1) Tiles or "azulejo" in Portuguese

There are very few places in the world that can pride themselves of maintaining the tradition and artistic use of tiles. They are used to decorate interiors or whole facades of houses or churches. Azulejos are present in so many corners of the city, at viewpoints, metro stations, church fronts, or on walls of important buildings. In Alfama, the “azulejos” show the images of saints. They are placed at the entrance of houses as a form of protection. Throughout the Bairro Alto or the Chiado areas, some of the facades of houses are filled with this Portuguese form of art. Each group of them tells a story. Azulejos are a big part of Portuguese history and culture. They are the symbol of Portugal and hence are found on every corner in the city. „What the ...., are those azulejos? This looks fabulous“, this was something I was saying to my friend almost every day.

2)  People

My friend Jasenka and I were staying at a hostel on Praça dos Restauradores (city center). It was our first hostel experience. We were skeptic in the beginning but it turned out to be the best place we ever stayed at. Our hosts were amazing young people from all over the world who made us feel at home, when I say home, I really mean it. They would make pancakes for us every morning, organize typical Portuguese dinners, sing karaoke or take us out to Bairro Alto to experience the nightlife in Lisbon. People in Lisbon are in general very nice and will try to help you as much as they can and as much as their language skills let them (their English language skills are not the best) Oh before I forget, that is the hostel: http://www.goodmorninghostel.com/

3) Beaches
Swimming in the ocean was on my “To do list in Lisbon”. I almost did not do it because one week was not enough for everything me and Jasenka had planned. The last day of our trip we managed to arrive at the beach around 6 pm. Even though the sun was still out, there were not many people there. Jasenka refused to go into the water since it was really cold, around 12C. The only people in the water were surfers trying to catch a good wave. Without hesitation and without listening to Jasenka, who was screaming at me because I might get a cold or a bladder inflammation, I ran into the water like Pamela Anderson does in Baywatch hahaha :D. The minute I was in, I was happy. It did not bother me that the water was freezing or that the sun was going down, I did what I came for. Portuguese beaches are in general very beautiful because they are sandy; the problem though is that the water is freezing in comparison to the Mediterranean Sea.

4)  Food and beverages

I do not think I need to talk about Portuguese wines, do I? They are world famous for a reason. I could easily get used to drinking them every day ;) Then there is Ginjinha or simply Ginja, a liqueur made by infusing Ginja berries (sour cherry) in alcohol and adding sugar together with other ingredients. Ginja is served in a shot form and is relatively cheap. Only one euro per shot!!! What is really cool is a little shop that sells Ginja in chocolate cups. After you drinking your Ginja you eat the chocolate cup. Delicious! A must try while in Lisbon!

5) Nightlife

Oh my gosh, what do I tell you about the nightlife? I cannot put into words what a great time I had in Lisbon. Prior to flying to Lisbon we didn't really inform ourselves about the nightlife, we just wanted to get surprised by it and boy did we get surprised! The first night we went out, we ran into a Croatian bar. Can you imagine our surprise? The guy that worked there is from Serbia and his name is Kristijan. Kiki is the party king of Lisbon. He knows everyone and everyone knows him. Not only is he fun to be around and a great host but also a wonderful person. He took us to the best places in Lisbon, introduced us to many interesting people and gave us the time of our life. We also met Tom and Maxi, two brothers from Germany, Andreas and his friend from Switzerland, a lovely gay couple from Russia, two French guys who are models for Gucci and Marc Jacobs and the owner of the best nightclub in Lisbon. I want to thank every single one of them for making our holiday unforgettable. They are a great bunch of people who have the heart in the right place. I truly hope to see them all again next year. If you are ever in Lisbon you should visit Urban Beach Club. It is a club above the ocean with a breath taking view of Lisbon. While dancing through the night you can see the skyline of Lisbon and the stars and the moon and in the morning you see the sun coming out and greeting this amazing city. An experience I will never forget! 

I highly recommend visiting Lisbon. It is a city with rich history that offers so much to its tourists. In my opinion it is not as beautiful as Vienna but it is certainly a city worth visiting. Lisbon, as well as whole Portugal, was hit very hard by the global economic crisis. Poverty is visible on every corner. High unemployment rates caused many people to leave their homes in the center of the city resulting in lots of abandoned buildings. They are rotting away because no one is taking care of them. Another thing that was rather disappointing to me was the fact that Lisbon is dirty. People throw trash on the streets and no one cares about it, no one will pick it up. It is not something I am used to. In Austria you could get punished if you throw something just like that on the street. There is so much more I would like to tell you about Lisbon but I do not want to bore you out and I think you should all check it out by yourself. TAP Portugal offers really cheap flights (mine was 140 euros from Zagreb) to Lisbon and hostels in Lisbon are also very cheap and comfortable. According to one survey Portugal has the best hostels in the world! My trip motivated me to start learning Portuguese. The grammar is not that hard but I am still struggling with pronunciation.  But I can do it.

Now, I need to get back to my English homework. Oh joy. You gotta do, what you gotta do.

Have a great week guys! :)

XOXO A. 

"Once a year, go someplace you have never been before..."  :)

The European Dream

Have you ever thought about the hardships that African migrants face in Europe? The majority of them come to Europe looking for a better life without having any idea what is really out there. Their dreams and hopes are shattered once they step on European ground. Our reporters interviewed a group of migrants who were willing to share their stories.

Mopi and Emmanuel are African migrants. Both were educated as draughtsman in their home countries, but they are unable to find a job in Europe in that area because they are not educated well enough for European standards. After arriving in Europe, they were faced with many obstacles, such as having no place to live. In order to earn some money and get back on their feet they started parking cars. They usually earn four to five Euros per day, on good days even six. Most of the time, their first meal of the day comes after work. Their friends in Africa think they have money now that they are in Europe and are feel let down by at them for not sending some anything home. Emmanuel on the other hand says that people expect too much from immigrating to Europe and recommends everyone who is doing well in Africa to stay there because of the hardships they might face in Europe.

Another impressive story is about Sylvia from Uganda. She has been living in Amsterdam for 15 years, constantly facing housing problems. She moves like an outcast from one place to another. Even after she obtained her legal papers, she could not find a permanent stay. She says, “When people come to Europe, they think they will pick up money like mangos from trees, but reality is, of course, different”. When people from Africa have problems, they do not have anyone to ask for help, and when they do, it does not mean that someone is going to help them. “We grew up knowing that any person is a sister or a brother, but in Europe no one wants to help you”, Sylvia’s words cut to the heart. The issue is that it is illegal to rent a house to people without papers in Holland. Moreover, when Sylvia was broke and could not pay for the rent, her landlady implied that she should sell her body in order to earn money. After her refusal she was kicked out of the house without any of her belongings. These are the real challenges which people from Africa face every day. After this situation Sylvia wanted to commit suicide. She went to a lake with her little Bible, she was thinking and crying, but then she heard a barking dog. She supposed the owner of the dog must be near, and if he sees her, he will take her to the police and she will be deported. Why do you think people from Africa do not want to be deported? The truth is because it is embarrassing to return home without any savings and without having accomplished anything. Fortunately, Sylvia overcame her crisis and became a stronger person. Now she has a daughter and is looking to the future with confidence.

The new coming migrants are astounded by some peculiarities of European culture, where being broke means there is no use in expecting any help from other people. For example, when a street singer came to a so-called “friend” of his, he was never invited into his house, even though they knew each other very well. Back home people are more open-minded to welcoming friends into their homes. From his point of view Europeans are selfish and too self-concerned. The same conclusion was drawn by an African reporter who claims that people in Denmark are concerned with petty issues, like providing passports for their animals and the amount of money they cost. However, there are of course examples of relatively successful migrants, such as professional football players. Abu did not only make it to the main squad of FC Utrecht, he is now about to open a football Academy in Uganda, which will allow to enrich European football with talented African players. This proves that African migrants, once being accepted can provide a valid contribution to society, not only sell their bodies and park cars.

To sum up, we all want to be happy and we all deserve a better life. However, is it possible for migrants from Africa to find their happiness, is it in their own hands or is Europe being too selfish to respond to this burning issue in modern society?

EU individual paragraph

In 2011 the European Commission decided to make 2013 the “European Year of Citizens”. Exactly 20 years ago leaders of 12 member nations signed the Maastricht Treaty removing all barriers to the movement of people, goods, capital and services across national borders, as well as establishing a single European currency, the euro. By signing the Treaty lives of millions of Europeans were affected. To honor this event and the citizen, the one who started it all, the European Commission decided to dedicate the whole year to it. Every citizen of the EU has certain rights and over this year they want to encourage us to inform ourselves more about them. Approximately 48% of Europeans feel that they are not well-informed about their rights and in order to change that the Commission will host various conferences and events across Europe. Besides having rights, Europeans also have responsibilities. In order to be able to understand both, we need to know what the EU is doing for us and what we can do for it and what better way than to enjoy our year?

(181 words)

XOXO A.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has"       Margaret Mead

Paragraph brainstorming:

-> 2013 "European Year of Citizens"

-> Maastricht Treaty

-> European Commission proposed the idea

-> Rights and responsibilities we have as EU citizens

-> European citizens can make a difference for they are the ones who started it all

Feedback summary 1 (Topic sentence, Register):

I was given positive feedback on my paragraph. Thanks to my colleagues, Cat and Monika, I was able to look at my paragraph from a whole new perspective. I like getting feedback because it shows me what still needs working on. In my case, it is the commas. I make comma mistakes often. I simply forget that they even exist. I think I will have to read through rules for comma usage. My colleagues liked my topic sentence and the high register I used but suggested to change my last sentence in order to connect better to the rest of the paragraph.

Revised paragraph 1:

In 2011, the European Commission decided to make 2013 the “European Year of Citizens”. Exactly 20 years ago leaders of 12 member nations signed the Maastricht Treaty, removing all barriers to the movement of people, goods, capital and services across national borders, as well as establishing a single European currency, the euro. By signing the Treaty, lives of millions of Europeans were affected. To honor this event and the citizen, the one who started it all, the European Commission decided to dedicate the whole year to it. Every citizen of the EU has certain rights and over this year they want to encourage us to inform ourselves more about them. Approximately 48% of Europeans feel that they are not well-informed about their rights and in order to change that the Commission will host various conferences and events across Europe. Besides having rights, Europeans also have responsibilities. In order to be able to understand both, we need to know what the EU is doing for us and what we can do for it and this is exactly the point of the „European Year of Citizens“.

(184 words)

Feedback summary 2 (Topic sentence, Register):

The second feedback I got from my colleagues was again very positive. My friend Cat pointed out that I should make two more changes in my paragraph. Instead of saying “over the year” I should use more sophisticated words and write „throughout the year“. She also noticed another mistake. In my paragraph I wrote “To honor this event and the citizen, the one who started it all,...”. This might confuse people as they would think that I am talking about a specific person, which I am not. That is why Cat suggested changing it into „To honor this event and the citizens, those who started it all,..“. I am very thankful for the feedback I got from my colleagues because they taught me valuable lessons about my style of writing.

Final paragraph:

In 2011, the European Commission decided to make 2013 the “European Year of Citizens”. Exactly 20 years ago leaders of 12 member nations signed the Maastricht Treaty, removing all barriers to the movement of people, goods, capital and services across national borders, as well as establishing a single European currency, the euro. By signing the Treaty, lives of millions of Europeans were affected. To honor this event and the citizens, those who started it all, the European Commission decided to dedicate the whole year to it. Every citizen of the EU has certain rights and throughout the year they want to encourage us to inform ourselves more about them. Approximately 48% of Europeans feel that they are not well-informed about their rights and in order to change that the Commission will host various conferences and events across Europe. Besides having rights, Europeans also have responsibilities. In order to be able to understand both, we need to know what the EU is doing for us and what we can do for it and this is exactly the point of the „European Year of Citizens“.

(185 words)

Final paragraph-teachers's correction:
In 2011, the European Commission decided to make 2013 the “European Year of Citizens”. Exactly 20 years ago leaders of 12 member nations signed the Maastricht Treaty, removing all barriers to the movement of people, goods, capital and services across national borders, as well as establishing a single European currency, the euro. By signing the Treaty, the lives of millions of Europeans were affected. To honor this event and the citizens, those who started it all(?), the European Commission decided to dedicate the whole year to it. Every citizen of the EU has certain rights and throughout the year they(?) want to encourage us to inform ourselves more about them(?). Approximately 48% of Europeans feel that they are not well-informed about their rights and in order to change that the Commission will host various conferences and events across Europe. Besides having rights, Europeans also have responsibilities(?). In order to be able to understand both, we need to know what the EU is doing for us and what we can do for it and this is exactly the point of the „European Year of Citizens“.

(183 words)

Final final paragraph:
In 2011, the European Commission decided to make 2013 the “European Year of Citizens”. 20 years ago leaders of 12 member states signed the Maastricht Treaty, removing all barriers to the movement of people, goods, capital and services across national borders, as well as establishing a single European currency, the euro. By signing the Treaty, the lives of millions of Europeans were affected. To honor this event and the citizens who make up the EU, the European Commission decided to dedicate the whole year to it. Every citizen of the EU has certain rights and throughout the year the Commission wants to encourage us to inform ourselves more about them. Approximately 48% of Europeans feel that they are not well-informed about their rights and in order to change that the Commission will host various conferences and events across Europe. To conclude, the goal of the “European Year of Citizens“ is to increase awareness and knowledge of EU citizenship.

(158 words)

My five EU topics!

Hi guys!!

I am BACK! Sumer is over(unfortunately) and I am back to serious business. This blog post is mandatory and the topic is already given so I will not be able to write to you about my summer adventures but I promise I will do so soon. Our task is to choose five topics connected to the EU. Out of those five we will have to choose one for our academic paper. I gave it some thought and these are the ideas I came up with.

1)The role of the EU in the Balkans (Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Kosovo)

The European Union has been considering elargement in the Balkans since at least the late 1990s. Slovenia joined it first in 2004. Croatia, my country, joined it on 1 July 2013 and the other ones are on its way, more or less. Since Croatia has been trying to join the EU for more than a decade I am really familiar with the EU and its politics in this region. I am also currently following the situation Serbia is in. 

2) The advantages and disadvantages of joining the EU

What does a country get with joining the EU?  What are the disadvantages of joining it? Fees? What about EU funds?

3) Is the Euro really the future of the EU?

Since the global economic crisis ht the EU in 2008 a common currency brought nothing but trouble to the EU. Maybe Greece would have been better off if they stayed with their drachme. Countries like Spain and Italy requested bailouts. Those countries are too important to the European economy to just let them go bankrupt. For instance Italy, the fourth-largest in Europe and the tenth-largest economy in the world.

4) Why Iceland does not want to join the EU anymore?

For a long time Iceland wanted to join the EU and then suddenly the Government of Iceland has announced it will suspend its application to join the European Union. Why? What happened in Iceland that they decided not to join the EU? I want to take a better look at the reasons why Iceland refused to join the EU.

5) Neo-Nazi parties on the rise in the EU

Neo-Nazi parties are on the rise in the EU again. More and more people in the countries across Europe are protesting about the EU migration policies. They feel as if the immigrants are taking away their jobs and are trying to take over their countries. Also since terrorism has become more and more so, many people are scared that immigrants are going to terrorize their country. Many Neo-Nazi parties are growing in support among the people such the Golden Dawn in Greece, the NPD in Germany or the Front National in France. I think that this topics would be really interesting to research as we all know what happened during the rise of the Nazis in Germany in the 1940s. 

XOXO A.

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."  Martin Luther King, Jr.

Culture presentations...

Last week was scheduled for the culture presentations me and my colleagues at the ITAT were working on.  We had to choose a topic from the Irish or American culture and write an 800 word essay on it, make a presentation and a handout. Someone also made a Facebook event for our presentations. The introduction to the event was a short story written by one of my colleagues (I am sorry I don’t know your name otherwise I would have given you credits). The intro is really awesome and it is definitely worth reading!

"Once upon a time the American Eagle accidently bumped into the Irish Leprechaun. The Irish Leprechaun was furious and shouted “You’re so full of yourself! Just because you’re huge, doesn’t mean that you don’t have to pay attention to the small things!” The American Eagle raised his eyebrows in surprise and responded “For a small fairy, you have a big mouth. Don’t you know how important I am, Tinkerbell?”.

Enraged, the Leprechaun shouted “You're going to regret saying that! Ireland is at least as important as America. I will call Fiona and she will teach you that Ireland has more to offer than the US!” “Oh yeah?”, asked the American Eagle. “I know Frank and he will impress you with facts about our awesome country!”

From this day on, Fiona and Frank summoned their SUK-superheroes and superheroines to inform the world the cultural aspects of both countries. Every year, their armies of superheroes gather to tell the world the most interesting stories about Ireland and the US.

Meet these heroes on Wednesday, 19th June and Thursday, 20th June on neutral territory in the ITAT headquarters.“

 I have been to twelve presentations, even though we were only asked to go to ten.  I listened to 9 American and 3 Irish presentations. Here is a short info about every presentation:

1)      Ireland vs. Austria - Whiskey Distilleries - Challenge accepted!

This was the first presentation I listened to. Two distilleries, Jameson Whiskey from Ireland and Waldviertler J.H. from Austria, were compared. Verena told us something more about their history and about the process of making whiskey.

2) American High school & its reputation in Austria

The second presentation I took a look at was from Katie. She was talking about the American and Austrian school system. I decided to listen to this presentation because I myself was going to an American high school for 6 months. Katie was talking about the general reputation of American high schools in Europe, extracurricular activities and peer class. She also compared the teacher-student relationship in Austria and the US. 

3) Walt Disney (Mickey Mouse: how a mouse conquered the world)

Max from my group was talking about Mickey Mouse. I loved his presentation. The idea to play "When you wish upon a star" as the intro to his presentation was simply brilliant. The song has like Mickey Mouse become an icon of The Walt Disney Company, used in the opening sequences of Disney anthology television series and in multiple versions of Walt Disney Pictures' opening logos (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqvF85T4vCg) . You could really see on Max that he liked his topic and that he knew what he was 

talking about. 

4) Reality TV - Jersey shore and beyond

Manueala presented two reality shows to us. She brought the concept of a reality show, especially Jersey shore and Big Brother, closer to us. Manuela also played a short clip from Jersey shore. This gave us the possibility to once again see what kind of idiots these people are.

5) Fort Knox

Patricija talked about Fort Knox. Fort Know is used to refer to the United States Bullion Depository, a building near the military base, which is a vault housing a large percentage of the United States’ gold reserves. It was very interesting to listen how it is protected and how often guards and codes change. What I especially liked was when she talked about the conspiracy theories. Even though we heard a lot about fort know the majority of it still remains a secret.

6) Witchcraft in Ireland

Another Irish presentation that I chose to listen to was about witchcraft. I really find it interesting how people could believe that someone has magical powers or is worshiping the devil or whatever just because someone else told them so. The period of witch hunting can easily be labeled as one of the darkest periods of our history. Hundreds of thousands of innocent women were burned at the stake or hanged. Even more were tortured till admitting they are “witches”. I don’t want to get into the details here but witch hunting and the witch trials are really fascinating, at least for me. I learned more about it in school  while in the US by reading The crucible from Arthur Miller. A movie was made based on the book. I highly recommend watching the movie (the 1996 film). It really shows how a community was dealing with witchcraft back then.

7) Delta Blues

Lejla introduced us to Delta Blues. The Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. She mentioned famous musicians and played us their songs. I really liked the last song she played with which she let us go home called „I am going home“.

8) The Integration of Islam in Ireland

Islam was the third choice of mine that was connected to the Irish culture. Alexander was talking about the growth of the Muslim communities in Ireland. He explained us how Catholic and Muslim children go together to school and how that works and told us something about the ICCI (Islamic cultural center of Ireland).

9) Oprah Winfrey: perhaps the most influential woman in America

One of our Spanish Erasmus students admires Oprah; therefore she decided to make a presentation about her. Oprah being one of the most influential women of today inspires hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. She is to be admired for everything she achieved in life considering where she comes from and what her childhood and teenage years were like.

10) Scientology: A Religion Made in America

Harald from Hungary tried to explain scientology to us. Most of us know it only as something Tom Cruise is fanatic about. But Harald told us more about the history of scientology and what they believe in. 

11)  Racial Segregation as depicted in 2 movies

Racial segregation is a big part of American history. Tiana wanted to show us what it was like by talking about two movies, The Help and the secret life of bees. These movies clearly show how hard it was for African American back in those days. Tiana made a great connection to the audience by asking us questions which I think is great.

12) TV shows depicting social issues

Christine informed us about social issues depicting from TV shows. She took 5 very well-known shows and explained on their example what she means. In the end we even got to see a short clip from one of her favorite shows - Breaking bad.

The five presentations I chose for my KGP are:

1) American High school & its reputation in Austria

2) Walt Disney (Mickey Mouse: how a mouse conquered the world)

3) Reality TV - Jersey shore and beyond

4) TV shows depicting social issues

5) Oprah Winfrey: perhaps the most influential woman in America

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."
Nelson Mandela

XOXO A.

:)

Why don’t they read?

I love modern technology. I really enjoy being able to walk around listening to music or have internet connection in almost every place in the world. I think it’s great that my family and friends in Zagreb are only a phone call or Skype video chat away from me. Modern technology has brought us so many good things but it has also made us dumber. And that’s a fact. When I was a kid I remember spending my time by reading books, drawing, riding a bike or playing with other kids on the street. I and my neighbors would play with Barbie dolls and plush toys the whole day and we would never get bored. No matter what we did we always had fun. But when I look at the kids of today I don’t see that. I don’t see girls playing with Barbie dolls or boys chasing the ball on a soccer field. All I really see them doing is playing on their gadgets. Every single one of them owns an iPod, iPhone or iPad. At home there is a Wii, Xbox or PlayStation waiting for them. I see girls dressing up a Barbie doll on the screen of their iPad or boys chasing a ball in a PlayStation video game. What the heck? Can this really be more fun than actually going outside to play with your friends? I don’t know. I really can’t understand the kids of today. Their whole world revolves around their phones and Facebook and how many likes they will get on a picture they post. It’s just sad. They call and text each other constantly even though they are sitting only meters away from each other. I remember us always knowing where our friends are even though we didn’t have cell phones. You could always find your friend either at home or at the playground. What worries me a lot is the fact that I don’t see books. I don’t see books in the hands of the kids. Why? Reading opens up a whole new world to us. It encourages creativity and imagination and takes us to places we have never been before.  Reading from an early age is also important for developing better social and language skills. So why in the name of God are these kids not reading? Probably because their parents don’t have time to read to them and think that buying them a gadget will do it. Little do they know how wrong they are. I really consider myself lucky to have been born and raised in the ‘90s and for my parents to have showed me the importance of reading and socializing. I know that if there is a power outage one day I will now how to entertain and help myself. Can these kids say the same for themselves?

This is what I am talking about! This guy is brilliant!

XOXO A.