Group Text Project

We wrote our essay on the statement "The EU has had a number of benefits on Spain". Here is our first draft:

According to the EU expenditure and revenue data published on the European Commission homepage, Spain receives more money from the EU budget than they contribute to it. With around 13.6 million euro revenue Spain is the second biggest beneficiary in the Union, after Poland. It can be argued that with approximately 46 million inhabitants Spain is also the fourth biggest country in the EU. However, the contribution to the budget being only 9.9 million euro in 2012 leaves a difference of 3.7 million euro as net profit for the country. Further research conducted in 2006 by the Elcano Royal Institute and the Office of the European Parliament in Spain shows the difference between expenditure and revenue since Spain had joined the EU. This clearly depicts that from the beginning Spain has been one of the few net recipients in the union. The only thing that has changed over the years is the difference between contribution and revenue, which has been growing since 1987. These statistics appoint to the conclusion that from a monetary point of view Spain is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the EU.

In particular with regard to the recent financial crisis Spain has benefited from being in the EU and the eurozone. Spain was one of the first-wave countries to adopt the euro on January 1st in 1999. The euro was adopted as the official currency but was only used as “book money” while the national currency remained in circulation for a period of three years. This period came to an end on February 28th in 2002 and the Spanish peseta was withdrawn from circulation. Since then Spain had benefitted from being a member of the Eurozone, in particular after the financial crisis. One major benefit for Spain was the ESM – the European Stability Mechanism. In 2012 granted the Eurogroup financial assistance for Spanish banks for the first time. In the time between July 2012 and February 2013 Spain received in total €41.4 billion for the recapitalisation of their banking sector. Due to this aid money Spain was able to reestablish financial stability. Progress in budget consolidation has been made and the federal deficit is, according to the European Commission, expected to decline this year to 6.8 percent. In 2012 there were still 10.6 percent. The recent economic model suggests a growing economy and positive developments on the financial market. These figures underline the increasing confidence of the market and would not have been possible without the ESM.

Another problem Spain would not be able to resolve without the EU is youth unemployment. According to a database from the European Commission 5.6 million young people within the European Union were unemployed in September 2013. Countries in recession like Spain are seriously affected. Every one in two Spaniards between the age of 15 and 24 is not employed nor in education or training. It is impossible for these people, also nominated as NEETS (young people not in employment, education or training), to find jobs. Data showed that in Spain the youth unemployment rate has even increased to 57.4% having the second highest rate within the Eurozone after Greece. This fact depicts today’s problems young people living in Spain have to face, but width of support for Spain by the EU is rarely discussed.

The European Union has taken measures to tackle the youth unemployment issue. It generated a programme called Youth Guarantee in order to combat youth unemployment especially in economically weak countries like Spain. For this programme € 6 billion will be mobilized to offer job training and apprenticeships starting 2014. Besides the Youth Guarantee programme, the EU promotes job mobility. It does so by facilitating job opportunities for Spaniards in other EU countries through the EURES job search network . The Council and the European Parliament also developed the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI). The YEI funding supports regions particularly struggling with youth unemployment like Spain. 


The feedback we got from our classmates suggested:
-we look at some of the "this", "these" and "that" again, because it was not always clear what they refered to
-we change the linking words
-we look at specific sentences again, regartding word order
-we make sure the connection between the individual paragraphs improves

This is our second version. The one we submitted:

The purpose of this essay is to emphasize the positive impact the EU has been having on Spain. Even though, huge debates whether or not Spain should leave the European Union have been taking place recently the country undoubtedly benefits from being a member of the Union. Spain joined the European Union in 1987 for democratic, economic and social reasons. Since then, the positive impact the EU had on Spain can be found in many areas. Even before the financial crisis, which would have meant the financial ruin of Spain without help of the EU, Spain had been profiting financially. Also regarding one of Spain's most pressing issue, high youth unemployment, the EU is helping the country to deal with it. Those arguments, together with many more, are the reason to state that Spain has benefited massively from being in the Union.

As mentioned before, already in the years leading up to the financial crisis Spain has profited financially from the EU. According to the EU expenditure and revenue data published on the European Commission homepage, Spain receives more money from the EU budget than they contribute to it. With around 13.6 million euro revenue Spain is the second biggest beneficiary in the Union, after Poland. It can be argued that with approximately 46 million inhabitants Spain is also the fourth biggest country in the EU. However, the contribution to the budget being only 9.9 million euro in 2012 leaves a difference of 3.7 million euro as net profit for the country. Further research, conducted in 2006 by the Elcano Royal Institute and the Office of the European Parliament in Spain, demonstrates the difference between expenditure and revenue since Spain had joined the EU. The results clearly depict that from the beginning Spain has been one of the few net recipients in the union. The only thing that has changed over the years is the difference between contribution and revenue, which has been growing since 1987. These statistics appoint to the conclusion that from a monetary point of view Spain is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the EU.

Particularly regarding the recent financial crisis Spain has benefited from being in the EU and the eurozone. Spain was one of the first-wave countries to adopt the euro on January 1st in 1999. At that time the euro was implemented as the official currency but was only used as “book money” while the national currency remained in circulation for a period of three years. When this period came to an end in 2002 the Spanish peseta was withdrawn from circulation. Since then Spain has been benefitting from being a member of the Eurozone, particularly after the financial crisis. One major benefit for Spain was the ESM – the European Stability Mechanism. For the first time in 2012 financial assistance for Spanish banks has been granted. In the time between July 2012 and February 2013 Spain received €41.4 billion for the recapitalisation of their banking sector. Due to this aid money Spain was able to reestablish financial stability. Progress in budget consolidation has been made and the federal deficit, which has been 10.6 percent in 2012, is, according to the European Commission, expected to decline to 6.8 percent this year. The recent economic model suggests a growing economy and positive developments on the financial market. These figures underline the increasing confidence of the market and would not have been possible without the ESM, without the EU.

Another major issue Spain would not be able to resolve without the EU is high youth unemployment. According to a database from the European Commission 5.6 million young people within the European Union were unemployed in September 2013. Countries in recession like Spain are seriously affected. Every one in two Spaniards between the age of 15 and 24 is neither employed nor in education or training. It is impossible for these people, also nominated as NEETS (young people not in employment, education or training), to find jobs. Data demonstrates that in Spain the youth unemployment rate has even increased to 57.4 percent, being the second highest within the Eurozone, after Greece. This numbers are the reason why the European Union has taken measures to tackle the youth unemployment issue as a whole. A programme called Youth Guarantee has been generated in order to combat youth unemployment especially in economically weak countries like Spain. For this programme 6 billion euros will be mobilized to offer job training and apprenticeships starting 2014. Furthermore the EU is promoting job mobility, by facilitating job opportunities for Spaniards in other EU countries through the EURES job search network. Without this measurements taken by the EU alleviating youth unemployment would be significantly more difficult.

These arguments clearly demonstrate the EU’s benefits on Spain. Being a net recipient certainly has advantages for the country and without the aid of the ESM Spain’s economy would not be able to recover. Additional to these financial benefits the EU had a positive influence on social areas, in particular regarding Spain’s youth unemployment. These were just some of the many arguments that can be stated as examples how Spain has profited from being in the EU.

This is the final version of our essay, after we implemented the corrections made by Fiona and Melissa:

The EU has had a number of positive impacts on Spain. Even though several debates whether or not Spain should leave the European Union have been taking place recently, the country undoubtedly benefits from being a member of the Union. Spain joined the European Union in 1987 for democratic, economic and social reasons. Since then, the EU has positively influenced Spain in many ways. Even before the financial crisis, which would have meant the financial ruin of Spain without help provided by the EU, the EU had been supporting Spain financially. The EU is,  furthermore, assisting the country to deal with its most pressing issue, high youth unemployment. These are some of the arguments that demonstrate how Spain has had an advantage from being in the Union.

Spain had already in the years leading up to the crisis benefited financially from the EU. According to the EU expenditure and revenue data published on the European Commission website, the EU supports Spain with more money than the country contributes to the unions budget. With around 13.6 million euros revenue, Spain is the second largest receiver in the Union, after Poland. In 2012 Spain contributed only 9.9 million euros to the budget, which leaves a difference of 3.7 million euros as net profit for the country. Research conducted in 2006 by the Elcano Royal Institute and the Office of the European Parliament in Spain, demonstrates the difference between expenditure and revenue since Spain has joined the EU. The results clearly show that, starting from the moment when Spain joined the EU, it has been one of the few net recipients in the union. The only thing that has changed over the years is the difference between contribution and revenue, which has been growing since 1987. These statistics point to the conclusion that from a monetary perspective Spain has only had advantages from being a member of the EU.

During the financial crisis Spain has profited significantly from being in the EU, particularly from being in the currency union. Spain was one of the first-wave countries to adopt the euro on January 1st in 1999. At that time. the euro was implemented as the official currency but was only used as “book money” while the national currency remained in circulation for a period of three years. When this period came to an end in 2002 the Spanish peseta was withdrawn from circulation. One major advantage Spain has had from being in the Eurozone was the European Stability Mechanism. For the first time in 2012 financial assistance for Spanish banks has been granted. In the time between July 2012 and February 2013 Spain received 41.4 billion euros for the recapitalisation of their banking sector. Subsequently to receiving the aid money, Spain was able to reestablish its financial stability. Progress in budget consolidation has been made and the federal deficit, which were 10.6 percent in 2012, is, according to the European Commission, expected to decline to 6.8 percent this year. This suggests a growing economy and a positively developing financial market. These improvements would not have been possible without the ESM or the EU.

An additional major issue Spain would not be able to resolve without the EU is high youth unemployment. According to a European Commission database, 5.6 million young people within the European Union were unemployed in September 2013. Countries in recession like Spain are seriously affected. Every one in two Spaniards between the ages of 15 and 24 is Not in Employment, Education or Training. It is impossible for these NEETs to find jobs. Data demonstrates that in Spain the youth unemployment rate has recently increased to 57.4 percent, which is the second highest rate within the Eurozone, after Greece. These numbers are the reason why the European Union has taken measures to tackle the youth unemployment issue all over Europe. A programme called Youth Guarantee has been launched in order to combat youth unemployment, especially in economically weak countries like Spain. For this programme, 6 billion euros will be allocated to offer job training and apprenticeships starting in 2014. Furthermore, the EU is promoting job mobility by facilitating job opportunities for Spaniards in other EU countries through the EURES job search network. Without these measures taken by the EU, alleviating youth unemployment would be significantly more difficult.

These arguments clearly demonstrate the EU’s benefits on Spain. Being a net recipient certainly has advantages for the country and without the aid of the ESM, Spain’s economy would not be able to recover. In addition to the financial support, the EU has had a positive influence on Spain’s society, in particular regarding youth unemployment. This shows how Spain has profited from being in the EU.

The Concil of Europe

The Council of Europe is the most important organisation besides the European Union in Europe. It was founded in 1949 by ten European states in order to promote democratic stability, human rights, the rule of law and fundamental freedoms all over Europe. The Council further strives to raise awareness of Europe’s cultural identity and diversity. Currently there are 47 members, including all EU member states as well as several other European countries. The general requirements for a country to join this international organisation are to be at least partially located on the European Continent and to share the goals the ten founding countries stated. However, countries that are located beyond European borders can join too, as observer or partner, provided they accept the Council’s guiding principles. These states are permitted to send representatives to the meetings of the Committee of Ministers and intergovernmental committees in order to observe these assemblies. With the Parliamentary Assembly, which consists of 318 men and women from all the member states,  they may attain observer status, meaning that they are authorized to engage in Assembly sessions, only without voting rights. Furthermore the Council also partners up with organizations such as the EU, the UN and a variety of international organizations, including the Arab League Educational, Cultural, Scientific Organization (ALECSO) or the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The main purpose of the Council, with it’s members, observers and partners, is to assure democracy in and cooperation between all European countries, which makes this organisation one of the most important on our continent.

The European Year for Reconciling Work and Family Life

The European Union decided to designate 2014 as the European Year for Reconciling Work and Family Life. As their main reasons the increasing conflict between family and work life with whom families all over Europe have to deal was stated. Throughout the year a special focus will be on social integration, child and family poverty, quality employment and, of course, work family life balance. The main aim is to rase awareness among the EU Memberstates for this cour themes and initiate them to support families. This should be done not just by encouraging already existing programms but also change policies in order to make life easier for families and creaty a family friendly work environment. In the End all of the European citizens should profit from this aggenda. But it is expected that specially women who are often the ones to manage a family are considered to be among the bigger benefiters. At the End of 2014 the EU anticipate an increas in quality of life and a better work life balance for it's citizens. 

Brainstorming:
Aspect of the EU that interest me:
Beeing able to move to (nearly) every EU country and live and work there.
 

work life balance got worse 
focus: social integration, child and family poverty, quality employment, work family life balance
initiate support for families, make life easier 
profit woman

necessary for mental health

prevent burn out 

family friendly work environment

labour market

change in policies in order to make it easier for families

Feedback No. 1: Register and Topic Sentence:
- Cut the "but"s
- don't say the same twice
- topic and Conclusion sentences are okay


Feedback No. 2: Vocab and Kohesion
- Change second sentence (confusing)
- look at initiate again
- expect and consider - saying twice the same thing
- benefiters not a word - beneficiaries
- by encouraging - by changing
- work family life balance does not exist
- the EU anticipates

Revised paragraph:

The European Union decided to designate 2014 as the European Year for Reconciling Work and Family Life. As the primary reason the increasing conflict between family and work life, with whom families all over Europe have to deal, was stated. Throughout the year a special focus will be on social integration, child and family poverty, quality employment and, of course, work family life balance. The main aim is to rase awareness among the EU Member States for this cour themes and to inspire the individual governments to support families. This should be done not just by encouraging already existing programms, but also by changing policies in order to make life easier for families and creat a family friendly work environment. All of the European citizens should profit from this aggenda. However, it is expected that especially women, who are often to manage the family, are to be among the bigger beneficiaries. At the End of 2014 the EU anticipates an increase in quality of life and a better work life balance for its citizens. 

Final paragraph:

The European Union has decided to designate 2014 as the European Year for Reconciling Work and Family Life. It was stated that the increasing conflict between family and work life, with which families all over Europe have to deal, has been a primary reason for this decision. Throughout the year the focus will be on social integration, child and family poverty, quality employment and, of course, work-family life balance. The main aim is to raise awareness among EU Member States of these core themes and encourage the individual governments to increas family support. This should be done not just by strengthen already existing programmes, but also by changing policies in order to make life easier for families and create a family-friendly work environment. Women, who are often the ones to manage a family, are considered to benefit most from these changes. In the End, the EU expects 2014 to bring an increase in quality of life and improvement in work-life balance for all European citizens.
 

Culture Presentations

Wow! I really have to say, I was impressed by the vaste range of topics we carried together for our culture presentations. Listening to my colleagues I learned plenty new stuff.

Anita Bhatti introduced me to the art of Newgrange, the oldest artwork in the world.
From Diana Skof I got some shocking facts about Psychiatry in Ireland in the middle of the last century.
Irish Dance is no longer this big secret to me, thanks to Katharina Luttenberger.
I was stunned by the story Bianca Brandtner told about Donal Walsh's fight against suicide in Ireland.
Thanks to Carmen Loderer, I'm now jeallous of Irish students for their opportunity to do a transition year.
The stories Katja Wallner told about animal symbolism in Irish Mythology captivated me.
Until Verena Praschs presentation about Whiskey I didn't even know there is such a thing like Austrian Whiskey.
Next time I'm in Dublin I will pay the Dublin Docklands a visite, beeing curious about them since Sowannry Em introtuced them to me.
I do now have a deeper knowledge about the GAA, thanks Alexandra Perfler.
Me and my sisters will send our 40-years old single cuisine to Willie Daly, hoping he can help. Natalie Riedl
Next time I'm invited to a Dinner party in one of the southern states of the US I will bring a cake. Thanks to Julia Rauch for giving me all this information about Southern Hospitality.
Should I ever get arrested in the US, at least because of Livia Pershy I do now know which society threat group I have to become a member of, in order to not get beat up.
And the San Francisco bay arrea is no longer a stranger to me, after heaving heard Marina Margeta's presentation.

All in all it was a really fun afternoon with lots of fun new facts to learn.

The presentations which most ceptured me, which I'm really curious about and which I'm choosing to be tested on in the KGP are:


Irish Dance
Transition year.
Animal symbolism in Irish Mytholog
Whiskey
The GAA

"The Awful German Language" by Mark Twain

Just in case you don't know who Mark Twain is/was:
Whoever heard about Tom Sawyer and Huckleyberry Finn, has heard about Mark Twain too. Samuel Langhorn Clemens, how Mark Twain is actually called, is the author of this two fabulous books. He lived in the second half of 19th century and is an important American Author. So important that William Faulkner called him "the father of American literature" once.

Maybe you already knew who Mark Twain is. Maybe you even know all this information already. But I am pretty sure that there are not so many people out there to know this about this great man:

somewhen between is birth in 1838 and the publishing date of his book “A Tramp Abroad” in 1880 Mark Twain payed Heidelberg a visit. Staying in Germany for several months he took the effort to learn our complicated language. After wards he wrote about it in his book mentioned above. He wrote about all the little quirks of German.

First is frustrated by the many exceptions to every rule. Next he is completely lost in the cases-jungle. Later tells about him being taken aback by the, to english ears/eys, unusually long sentences. And at somepoint he talks about the very strange habit of us german speakers to talke about little girls in the neutra.

Should you now be as curious about looking at our language from the perspective of this great American Author. Please be my guest and check this out.


Have fun!

ASL - American Sign Language

For many, many years I thought, like many, many other people, that Sign Language is an international the same. By now, I know that's a ridiculous idea. When my friend started to work at a kindergarten for children with hearing disabilities, I first got in touch with signing. Together with her I started to learn some useful signs and it got very funny pretty quickly. When we were on a night out we would start to signin in discos. I acutally thought about taking sign language as my second language. But it was not until last week that I really dug in deeper into this matter.

I discovered this new TV-series "switched at birth" where many deaf and hard of hearing people act. One of those Actresses caught my attention and I started researching. Marlee Matlin lost her hearing nearly completley when she was 18 months old. Nonetheless, did she manage to start an acting career. Today she is the first and only deaf Actress to have recieved the Acadamy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Moreover, she acted in more than 15 movies and several Television productions. In her book "I'll scream later" she writes about her interesting life.

Thanks to this TV-series I now found out that in the US there is actually the world wide first, and unfortunately onliest, University for deaf and hard of hearing students. The Gallaudet University in Washington offers both undergraduate and graduate programms. I also tried to find out something about the educational situation for deaf and hard of hearing people in Austria and Germany. But all I could find, was that people in Germany try now already for several years to start a similar University in Bad Kreuznach. Unfornuately they still didn't manage to do that. 

Global Village

We all know that there are many ERASMUS Students in Graz. But how many do we actually know? Besides the exchange students in our courses of cours.

I didn't know many, but a few weeks ago my friend tragged me to this event.Global Village. I hadn't heard about it before and didn't know what to expect. The moment we arrived at the Meerscheinschlössl I noticed, it had to be something special. There was a long cue lining up outside waiting to be let in.

At the entrance we had to pay € 3,50 entrance fee and than inside there was a big room full with food. Many exchange students who are currently studying in Graz had prepared meals from their home country. The had set up tabels and the visitors could walk arround, taste the food and talk to the students who prepared it. It was really great fun. I tasted stuff I had never even heard about. Sometimes it was delicious and sometimes I just realized that if I am ever going to vist this country, I will have to make a big circle around this meals.

All in all it was a wonderful evening. I talked to people from many different countries like: the Philipines, Jordania, Mexico and many moor. They were very eager to tell me about their country and I was very curious to find out what an impression they have from austria.


I found out that this kind of event takes places two times a year, so once per semester. Next time I'm going to be there as well and I kan just recommend you try it.

Russian How I Met Your Mother

This post is for all How I Met Your Mother fans and my fellow russian students. For those of you who are not that into HIMYM it is fun too.

First of all I am pretty sure everybody at least knows what HIMYM is... And now I am happy to announce that a small russian TV-Channel has made a hilarious low-budget remake from our favourite TV-Series. In the russian version our five friends Ted, Marshall, Lilly, Robin and Barney turned into Dmitri, Pawel, Lucy, Katja und Jura who no longer live in New York but in Moskau. The Bar they spent most of their time in and the upstairs apartment look a lot like the original. Even the camera angles seem similar if not the same. The script follows an exact translation from the english version with a few jokes that had to be addapted. Thanks to working together very closely with the producer of the original series the costumes, accessoires and furniture look very alike. All in all, even without speaking russian fluently it is possible to follow "kak ya vstretil vaschu mamu" if you know the original. And more than anything else it is great fun. See yourself!


For those who would like to have a closer look on this, here is a link where you can watch "kak ya vstretil vaschu mamu" online. Have fun!

Irish Philosophy

I found this printed on a postcard when I first went to Ireland. Ever since that moment this is kind of my pazifier. Whenever something does not work out the way I want this saying tells me not to worry about it.

I hope you like it as much as I do!

Wallis Bird - an extraordinary Irish singer

"The sheer visceral energy could kick-start an entire economy…” - The Irish Times

 I decided to start this blog with a guote because this is just the most striking way of describing Wallis Bird I have ever read. And I am pretty sure however saw her on stage just once will agree.

Wallis Bird (31) is an remarkable singer and songwriter. She grew up in Wexford, Ireland but later moved to Berlin, Mannheim and currently is living in London. From childhood on she was really into music. Nothing could stop her from going her own way and creating amazing music. Neither that she once had all the fingers of her left hand cut off by a lawnmower (four could be sawn back on, only the pinky is missing today) nor that she, a born left-hander, is playing a right handers guitar upside down. All this are feautures to her unusual, extraordinary way of making music.

Until today she has released 3 Albums (Spoons, New Boots, Wallis Bird). In all three of them you can hear and feel the many different styles she is combining. In her songs you can find traces of traditional folk music, jazz and funk but also an energetic handmade rock sound. Her extraordinary voice makes her songs what they are.

Listen yourself:

 

Thanks to the fact that her Manager is a guy who grew up in my neighbour village and studied in Graz she is in town for concerts every now and than. I'll let you know the next time she is here.

Irish Easter

First of all, welcome back after the easter break.

I am sure we all enjoyed the days off and most of us have spent the holidays with their familys celebrating easter with many traditions.

In Austria there are a number of different traditions connected to easter. Some of them are the same but of course every family has a couple additional traditions just for themselves. In Ireland I am pretty sure it is the same. Curious about Irish easter traditions here is a short overview about what we have in comon and what is different in Austria and Ireland.

As we all know easter already starts 40 days before Easter Sunday. This period is called Lent. In the traditional way one should not eat meat during this time (many people try thesedays to go without something else they really like, for example chocolate). What I did not know is, that Irish people usually eat fish every friday in Lent in some kind of fish soup and they also do not eat eggs until Easter Sunday. In both countries eggs are a symbol for easter and the will get painted in different colours.

Of course the most important week in Lent is the last week also known as Holly week starting with Palm Sunday. On Friday, Good Friday, just like in Austria people try not to do any outside work and prepare themselves for Easter. Then comes Easter Saturday with the Easter Vigil in the evening. Which is the same in both countries again. Apparently we Austrians are the more unpatient folks and so we already have our easter Dinner on Saturday. It usually consists of homemade white bread, smoked meat, horseradish, vegetables, wine and off course eggs. All this food will previously be blessed by the priest. Irish people wait patiently until easter sunday for their special Easter meal. In Ireland this would usually includes potatoes, vegetables, meat, stuffing, bread and anything else that makes up a good proper Irish feast. All together the Irish Easter is not that different from the Austrian.

I hope you all had a Happy Easter. :-)

Shepherd's Pie

As one of our main topics this semester food is going to be the thing our life revolves around. So this is my first post about it:

I first heard of and ate Shepherd's Pie in Great Britain. Now I found out that it is also very well known in Ireland. I do not know much about the history and the origin of this simple and delicious dish. Most certainly I do not know whether it was first cooked in Ireland or Great Britain.But what I do know about it, is that it came up at the very first beginning when the potato was introduced as an edible and cheap crop for the poor. Since than it spread and is now a very well known tradition in both countries.

From the very beginning this delicious disch was meant to be made from leftovers and that fact didn't change until today. Ofcourse you can prepare it with fresh ingredients, and I think many people do that. But for me it is really a great way of using upt leftover meat loaf, roast or mashed potatoes. That are basicly all the ingredients you need: Some kind of meat that is turned into some kind of sauce with vegetables, especially tomatoes, and mashed potatoes that come as a crust on top of it.

If some of you are now hungry for Shepherd's Pie, here is a very good recipe I can recommend.

New York City

Some people - actually quite a lot - think of "the big Apple" as the best city in the whole world. To me it is just another place I'm on war with. Last spring when I went to Honduras I had to change planes at JFK Airport. A six hour stay was scheduled and after some research my plan was fixed. 

Being stranded in the city that never sleeps between 8 pm and 2 am has to offer me something. I had found out, that with no form of transportation I will need more than an hour from the airport to the Empire-State-Building. I had already booked an online special VIP-ticket so it would not take me more than twenty minutes to reach the roof top. In total this whole exursion would not have last longer than three, maximum four hours what would have left two hours for all the other stuff. 

We landed half an hour earlier than scheduled and leaving the plane I was really enthusiastic about the next view hours. This enthusiasm only lasted until I saw the long, long, long cew at the customs service. Together with all the other passengers of our flight and of three different I had to wait for two hours until I could pass the customs service. Just to find out that against several affirmation from the check-in staff, the cabin crew and even the pilot my luggage was not beeing transfered automatically to my next plane. I had to take it, cary it threw customs services and find my next check-in counter to get rid of it again. At the check-in counter the next surprise was waiting for me: not only that it didn't open until 45 minutes before take off, no there were not any sitting possibilities too. All I wanted was have one great trip to the roof top of the Empire-State-Building and all I got was one really anoying and uncomfortable night on the floor of the JFK Airport.

I have to addmit, maybe I don't like NYC anymore because we got off on the wrong foot but I am sure I will not go back that quickly.

The Union Jack

Have you also been wondering why the british flag is called "Union Jack"? Or why it looks like it does? Here are the answers:

The Union Jack how we know it got it's looks in 1801 when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland was formed. All in all it practicaly unites three national flags. The red cross on white background of St. George which still is the flag of England and the white altire on blue background also known as St. Andrews cross that still is the flag of Scotland already formed the first union flag beginning from 1606. Later on in 1801 the the red saltire (x-shaped cross) on white background of St. Patricks flag that used to be the flag of the Island of Ireland joined the other two.

The name Union Jack first came up in 1674. Before that the word "Jack" was used to refere to the maritime bow flag. After 1627 this usually was a small version of the union flag. So while it officially was called "his Majesty's Jack" people started calling it simply "the Union Jack".

Movember

Since today my brother in law arrived at home looking like an '80ies film star I started researching on the phenomenon "Movember". This is the period of time formerly known as "November" during which men all over the world at least try to grow a moustache. They don't do it just for fun, but to raise money and awareness for prostata cancer and other serious men deseases. This man with the moustaches can be called Mo Bros and the women supporting them Mo Sistas. Some of them really celebrate the "Movember" really big. For example by throwing a Movember-Party by the end of "Movember" or crowning a Miss and a Mister Movember. All this had it's orrigin in 2003 in Australia and since that the idea of the "Movember" has conquered the world.
Happy moustache-growing! :-)

Brits vs. Austrians

Inspired by our lesson about stereotypes I started to browse through the internet a little bit. Here is my result:

 Daily routine of a common Brit:

He/she get’s up in the morning and after the first cup of tea he/she leaves the house. At the bus stop is everybody waiting in a queue until it is his/her turn. Then finally in the office he/she is having the second cup of tea and starts working. At lunch time he/she goes to the nearest pub to have fish and chips and a third cup of tea before it goes back to work. In the afternoon he/she either just has a fourth cup of tea or goes to a local tearoom to have a traditional English tea party with cucumber sandwiches and cake and tea of course. On his/her way back home he/she chats politely with his/her neighbor about the weather (usually the rain or drizzle that occurred during the day) before he/she enters the terraced house and has a nice roast for dinner. Afterwards he/she either goes to the local pub to have some beers or they stay at home to watch a nice Monty Python film. In the weekend they go out to the local pub and drink until the barkeeper calls last round at around 11 and then they lurch home. On Sunday they watch or take part in traditional cricket or football games before in the evening right before they go to sleep they have their fifth cup of tea just to fall sound asleep and dream from Marry Poppins.

An ordinary day for a Homo Austriacus: 

First of all everybody is called Maria, Heidi, Lisl, Rolf or Friedrich. He/she get’s up and first thing in the morning:  he/she climbs into th e Lederhosen/Dirndl. Afterwards he/she goes out to the pasture to milk the cows. During that work he/she either listens to Mozart or starts off yodelling. At a later time he/she starts his/her job which usually is skiing-instructor or hiking guid. At lunchtime he/she enters the local Inn also known as “Wirtshaus” and while having his/her beloved Wiener Schnitzel they complain together with everybody else in the room about everything and everybody. In the Afternoon after a view more hours of hiking or skiing he/she enters a cafè and orders a “Melange” – a typical Austrian coffee with milk – and a Newspaper. The waiter of course is particularly grumpy. In the Evening he/she goes out to dance Waltz and the men are giving the women kisses on the hand before everybody climbs back up his/her mountain. Later in the bed we are all dreaming from Maria and 'raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens'.

 

My great british summer

As my title already hints I spent the last summer in Britain.

From May until September I worked as an Au-pair for a very nice family in Winchester, Hampshire. But I did not just take care of the two sweetest an loveable kids ever I also tried to get to see as muchfrom the country as possible.

For this purpose I couldn't imagine a better time than the past few months.
Not only was I allowed to celebrate the queens Diamond Jubilee together with her and all the citizens I also was able to be in London when the Olympics where there. I was engrossed in britains battle for the European Football Cup, I saw the Olympic Torch on it's way through the country and I at least "tried" to see the great Thames Pageant.

Beside the big and historical events that took part in the UK this summer I also visited Oxford, with it's important and well-known colleges, I stroked wild pony's at the new forest, I explored some of the old castles, I took part in a real british tea-party, by bathing in the ice cold water of the british channel I got an idea about how Jack from Titanic must have felt and I learned a lot about the british history by visiting many other places.

All in all I have to say, that it was not only a great summer for britain but also a great one for me.