Culture Days

The Culture Days are over and I have to say that I really liked the presentations. 

I watched the following presentations: 

• GAA outside Ireland
• Willie Daly - Matchmaker 
• Gaelic and its use in Northern Ireland 
• Driving habits in the U.S.
• Walt Disney (Mickey Mouse: how a mouse conquered the world)
• Oprah Winfrey: perhaps the most influential woman in America
• Basketball 
• The big four: Sports in the USA
• Why on earth would anyone live in Tornado Alley?!
• Painted America: American culture represented in paintings

In general I really liked them all. I chose to see these 10 because I thought they sounded interesting. And I have to say they were really good. I learned new things about Ireland. Before I saw the presentations for example, I had never heard about the fact that there is a profession called matchmaker. I am not a really big sports fan, nevertheless I also liked them and in addition I know more about sports in the States and Ireland now. 

The five topics I would like to be tested on in the KGP are: 

• Driving habits in the U.S. 
• Walt Disney (Mickey Mouse: how a mouse conquered the world) 
• Oprah Winfrey: perhaps the most influential woman in America
• Why in earth would anyone live in Tornado Alley?!
• Painted America: American culture represented in paintings

I chose these topics for my final exam, because I have heard about them before, but I didn't really know much about them. I always thought, for example that many more people own a car in the States, or that Mickey's original name was Mortimer mouse. As the topics were really appealing and well presented and I wanted to know more about them, I thought it would be a good idea to choose them for my final exam, because it is easier to memorize things you are interested in. 

Good people still exist

http://mihaelaterzieva.deviantart.com/art/Saint-Dobry-327114414

I recently came across an article about a 98-year-old man from Bulgaria. Dobri Dobrev is one out a very small amount of people who does something most people are not able to do – not only think about himself. This man who is said to have lost most of his hearing during WWII as a shell fell nearby him, has travelled for decades 25 km from the village he lives in to Sofia in order to raise money for the restoration of churches and monasteries throughout Bulgaria. In this vein, over the years, he has collected almost 40,000 lev (approximately 20,000 euro). He didn‘t spend one cent for himself. All Dobri needs for a living, he produces himself. His clothes, for example, are homemade, as well as his leather shoes. Until recently he did the 25 km a day on foot. But due to his old age he can‘t rely on his legs anymore. Nevertheless he didn‘t give up and now he covers the distance by bus. As almost all people in Bulgaria have heard or read about Dobri and know what he is doing, he usually doesn‘t have to pay for the tickets, though. Despite this, many other people from Soria and other parts of Bulgaria that know him give him food or other things he might need. A nice gesture in a big cold word. Or as Elin Pelin, a famous Bulgarian writer, would put it: “It is my native village, it is good but very poor.” 

Let‘s stay a little longer in Australia :)

While reading some sources for my last blog entry, I came across an article about a unusual colored lake. Lake Hillier is a lake on Middle Island, the largest of the islands and islets that form the Recherche Archipelago in Western Australia. What makes Lake Hillier different from other lakes is its color. From above its surface appears a solid bubble gum pink. It is such a significant distinguishing feature that air passengers often crane their necks to take a glimpse of it.

http://nexttriptourism.com/pink-lake-tourism-australia

There are also other pink lakes in the Goldfields-Esperance region in Western Australia, but Lake Hillier is the only one that stays pink all the time. It lies about 3 kilometers west of Esperance and is bounded to the East by the South Cast Highway. Scientists are not sure where the color comes from, but they assume that a special species of algae and prawns give the lake its color. Another hypothesis is that the pink color is due to red halophilic bacteria in the salt crusts. That the color is not a trick of light can be proved by filling water from the lake in a container: the color of the water doesn‘t change. 

http://nexttriptourism.com/pink-lake-tourism-australia

Lake Hillier about 600 meters long, and is surrounded by a rim of sand and a dense woodland of paperbark and eucalyptus trees. A narrow strip of sand dunes covered by vegetation separates it to the north from the Southern Ocean.

http://www.kabavoyages.com/es

One of the first evidence of Middle Island's pink lake dates back to the journals of Matthew Flinders, a British navigator and hydrographer in 1802. Flinders had climbed Middle Island's highest peak, now known as Flinders Peak, to survey the surrounding waters, when he came across this remarkable pink lake. Until a few years ago, before they started to produce salt, the island and its pink lake were almost untouched. Now it has turned into a tourist attraction and its uniqueness and the amazing view fill its visitors with wonder. 

Outback adventurer in Australia? – Count me in ;)

Today I am going to write about the six best jobs in the world. I am sure you have all heard or read about them before. So did I, but I have never known what exactly the people working there have to do and how much money they really earn. 

In 2009 Ben Southall, from Hampshire, beat 34,000 candidates to become the “caretaker“ of Hamilton Island and the Great Barrier Reef. Now the competition has returned again. The only difference is that there is not only one, but six amazing six-months jobs, which come with a stipend of A$ 100,000. The campaign is particularly focused on countries where people are eligible for the Australian working holiday visa, such as the U.K., Ireland, the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. Andrew McEvoy, managing director of Tourism Australia, believes these job opportunities will especially appeal to youths facing high unemployment and tough jobs markets in their home town.

http://www.funmag.org

The six jobs include: 

• Chief Funster in New South Wales – professional party-goer living the life of a Sidney-VIP: planning and attending the coolest gigs in the area.
• Outback Adventurer in Northern Territory – having the best adventures in the Australian outback by sleeping under the stars and getting to know the indigenous culture and traditional bush foods.
• Park Ranger in Queensland – protect and promote the wildlife in remarkable rainforests, waterfalls and on untouched beaches.
• Wildlife Caretaker in South Australia – care for kangaroos and koalas, and sunbathe with seals on Kangaroo Island.
• Lifestyle Photographer in Melbourne – create city and country photo shoots and encounter local identities, designers and artists.
• Taste Master in Western Australia – sample the finest wines, eat your way around the state and catch some of the freshest seafood on Australia’s undiscovered coastline.

http://www.twip.org

This year there have been over 40,000 appliers. They had to create and upload a video in English in 30 seconds or less, explaining why they are the best person for the job, and why there’s nothing like Australia. The top 25 entries and video clips for each of the six jobs have already been nominated. The 150 short-listed candidates have now two weeks to submit references to support their application. Among all these nominees there is only one Austrian. 23-year-old Stefan J. from Graz applied for the position as outback adventurer and is still in contention for one of “The Best Jobs in the World“.  The finalists will be announced on 15th May.

http://de.wikipedia.org

Finally, it‘s spring again :)

http://www.graztourismus.at

As I was abroad last summer semester, it‘s the first spring for me in Graz again in a year. Don‘t get me wrong I am more than grateful that I got the opportunity to go abroad and get to know a new culture, live another life and cut my teeth by doing so. Wouldn‘t want to miss a second of it. I can only recommend spending some time abroad, because it‘s a whole new experience. Okay, I could go on ages just telling about my time in Spain, but that‘s not what I am writing this blog entry about. The point is, that because of my semester abroad I missed the most beautiful time in Graz: spring. If I‘m honest, the other seasons (fall and winter) are just horrible and summer doesn‘t count, as we don‘t have classes. There is nothing better  here than spring. It is starting to get warm again, the color of the grass changes from disgustingly brown to "England-in-spring-green" and you can use your leisure time to relax in the "Stadtpark" or in the park "Herz-Jesu". It‘s just awesome ;)

The Shoes on the Danube Promenade...

During the easter break I spent a couple of days in Budapest. In the course of my sightseeing “marathon“ I also came across the shoes lined up along the Danube bank. These 60 iron shoes represent the shoes from the jews that were killed during the Second World War (1944/45) by fascist Arrow Cross militiamen. They were ordered to take off their shoes, as shoes were valuable belongings at that time, before being shot at the edge of the river, where their bodies fell into the water were drifted away. The monument consists out of iron, but it looks very realistic. You have to look twice until you can tell that they are not real. 

“The Shoes on the Danube Promenade“ was completed on April 16^th 2005 by the sculptor Gyula Pauer and the film-director Can Togay. The monument is located on the Pest side  of the Danube Promenade, about 300 metres south of the Hungarian Parliament and the Hungarian Academy of Science.  

Did you know...

http://losmitosdedaniellefer.blogspot.co.at

...that in Pennsylvania exists a city called Centralia that is literally built on coals? Centralia is also called ghost town as beneath her surface a mine fire has constantly been burning since the year 1962. Many residents had to give up their live in this place during the 60s, as living there is too dangerous. As a result its population declined from over 1000 people to 12 people (in 2005). Despite the fact that the town is considered of being uninhabitable, due to the poisonous gases that rise from beneath the ground, some inhabitants refuse to leave their homes. 

Many people think that the fire started when the waste disposal site was set on fire, but it‘s also possible that it inflamed itself, because when coal and oxygen meet heat is created which is going to light if it can‘t be diverted. Since the time the fire has started many attempts to extinguish it have been made. It is said to have cost more than 70.000.000 $ so far - without success.  The fire is still burning and there is no end in sight. Scientists expect the fire to burn another 100 to 200 years.