Welcome to LISBOA

Last year my cousin Peter spent a year abroad in Portugal for his architecture studies and his brother and I decided to use this opportunity to visit him and also get to see Lisbon. Although we went there in February, the weather was nice and pretty warm. Peters apartment was situated in the centre of the city and allthough we had to sleep on mattresses on the floor because there wasn´t much space, it was really comfortable. Just the nights were really cold because most of the cheaper apartments in Lisbon are not fully airtight and the only source of heat was a portable radiant heater. 

The first day of our journey Peter guided us through the city he already had become really familiar with. He told us that he really liked it but the mentality and the lifestyle of this people was an extremely different. They are all really tranquil and don´t ever hurry. Especially the easy going attitude of the women and men at the check out counter in supermarkets could really freak out a foreigner because you have to wait in row like forever.  And there was another thing he complained about: the only thing that opened at 7 am in the morning was the university ;)

The city of Lisbon is really beautiful. It is situated on several hills so its always an up and down, passing through the narrow streets of the city. There are this lovely old trams who bring you up some hills, if your legs already hurt from passing thousands of stairs. 

Another thing I instantly fell in love with was Portuguese pastries "Pasteis de Nata"  You have absolutely try this creamy little cupcake like thing if you ever visit Lissabon. They sell them in the hundreds of  little bakeries around the city and they´re simply delicious. What else can I say about the Portuguese cuisine? Well, they toast everything that might be toastable ;) 

Everywhere we went we could here the traditional Portuguese fado music. It is rather melanchonical and mournful singing often about the sea or the life of poor people.  Especially on the sight seeing busses which we used now and then in every speaking pause a certain fado melody was played. Until now this melody is stuck in my head and I could still sing it to you ;) It was just a real catchy tune. 

Bildunterschrift hinzufügen

One day we decided to rent a car and go to the other beaches of Lisbon. Peter said it takes only half an hour from the city but we got lost a several times so it took us almost 2 hours. But you know, people without a good sense of orientation get to see more of the world and that was just our case. We drove through beautiful landscapes, lovely little settlements. At some points we had to stop the car and just admire the stunning view and take some pictures. Maybe that is the other reason it took us so long, but in the end we arrived at the beach Peter wanted to show us. It was really windy and in the summer many surfers come to the beaches of Portugal, but in February there was not a soule around. We wandered along the beach between huge cliffs. At a lovely spot we made a break to sunbath and make a little picnic. But suddenly we realised the high tide was arriving and about to intercept our way back to the main beach. We had to hurry and got our feet wet but for gods sake we made it in time. 

We continued to drive along the coast and after a while we arrived at  the westernmost point of Europe. 

This is my cousin standing there ;) 

All in all it was a wonderful trip and I´d definitely go back sometime, if it only was for Pastel de Nata ;) 

Register? huhh?!!

Register? huh???!  vs. Excuse me, would you mind telling me what "register" is about?

I bet you have sooner or later in your school career heard something about  "Register". Well, what is register about? In English, as in other languages you use different styles of writing to address different groups of people. There is the formal register, which is reserved for people you want to be very polite to, like your boss or a business partner. The informal register is more conversational, you use it while talking to friends, writing e-mails to relatives etc. There is also a register that is whether to formal, nor to informal, it fits somewhere inbetween and is called the neutral register.
It is important to use the wright register in the right situation. Or wouldn´t it be kind of strange to end a letter to your best friend with the word "Sincerely" and an e-mail to your financial advisor with "Lots of Love" ? This might give the addressee a wrong impression. (Unless you  have a romantic relationship with your financial advisor)
At school we learned a lot of set phrases fitting in the right register, we learned how to write an informal letter, a letter of complaint, an application and so on..

While searching for some background information about this topic on the web I came across an article that is concerned with the problems of many English speaking students when it comes to register. Many don´t understand the usage, since they would rather talk to everyone in the same way. Maybe this is due to the fact, that in English, other than in other languages like German, Spanish or Italian they dont have a polite form to address someone directly. For us German speakers it is only natural to address people you don´t know that well with "Sie" rather than "You".  Nevertheless the concept of register is not that hard to understand, even for English speaking students. And what's more is, that it is really important and only logical that you talk to your friends in a more conversational way than to strangers.

A world without register - a better place? 

But lets do the experiment and just think about it: what if there were no registers ? Would our society be seen as more equal since there wouldn´t be differences in the way we address people? We would talk to a homeless immigrant the same way we would talk to the Queen. Wouldn´t it be a better world? I guess not.
I think equality is rather a matter of respect than of the right register. You should talk to the homeless in the same  respectful way, you would use while talking to the Queen. But I bet many people wouldn´t and I think there is the problem. Don´t just blame it on the register.

Alright, so here are the hard facts summed up:

Formal register

- complex, more likely to use words with Latin roots

- longer sentences, no contractions or abbreviations

- objective 

- used for rather serious topics

- includes:  Business letters, Letters of complaint, some essays,  official speeches, professional e-mails

Informal register

- simple and conversational 

- might use slang

- short or even incomplete sentences

- contractions and abbreviations

- includes: personal e-mails, letters to friends, most blogs (such as mine for example), diaries and journals

Neutral register

- non emotional

- sticks to facts

- includes: technical writing, reviews, articles, some essays

I can resist everything except temptation - the rise and fall of Oscar Wilde

Since we have to write at least one blog entry about  Irish culture, I chose to go a little bit into literature and introduce you to a great Irish writer, Oscar Wilde. I have read many of his plays, fairy tales and his famous novel “The picture of Dorian Grey” and I´m really into his witty style of writing. 

 Oscar Wilde was one of the most noticable literature figures of the last century. Even at his time he was famous for his masterful conversation and his amusing plays.  In London he was in great demand in the most fashionable circles of society. He boasted that he could talk about any subject - and proofed it thousands of time. George Bernhard Shaw ( also an Irish writer) once said that he was the finest talker of his time, maybe of all time. 

 Oscar Wild had a shimmering life, but he died a broken man in exile. So what happened?  

Lets start at the very beginning of his life around 1850 in Dublin, where Oscar was born. Already his parents were gifted writers, his mother was a successful poet and journalist and his father wrote many books folklore and archeology. When Oscar was born, he was a huge disapointment for his mother who  always wanted a daughter. To make up for his gender mistake she decided to let Oscar´s hair grow into curls and ringlets, until he was about nine.

 At university Oscar Wilde proofed himself to be an brilliant poet and an outstanding performer, but the real fame came after his journey to America. He played everywhere, in front of cowboys, miners or of screaming mobs of women. Later he would tell the world that while in America he had to hire two secretaries. One One to write his autograph and to answer the hundreds of letters and another whose hair was brown to send locks to ladies who requested his, he was rapidly becoming bald. 

Back in London he was a Superstar. He married, got two children and gained a lot of money through his popular plays. But Oscar Wildes live changed rapidly when he met the young and attractive Oxford student and poet, Lord Alfred Douglas, called Bosie. He seduced Wilde, who now had to face his homosexuality. They began an affair, often argued and broke up but always came back together. Bosei was a spoiled young man with expensive demands and used Wildes affection for his advantage. Douglas also introduced Wilde into the Voctorian underground of gay prostitution.  

Homosexuality had been Illegal in Britain for hundreds of years and was seen a crime which was punished with imprisonment or worse. When Bosies father found out about the relationship between his son and Oscar Wilde he accused Wilde of Homosexuality.  

The three trials of Oscar Wilde went down in history. Oscar Wilde presented himself in his typical self confident way and really made the dock his stage.  Many of his responses drew loud applause from the audience. But when Bosies father showed up with several male prostitutes as witnesses, that had sex with Oscar Wilde, his situation became helpless. He was sentenced to two years of hard labor. 

 This very famous and sad poem was produced in these two years of prison. 

“And all men kill the thing they love,
But let all this be heard,
Some do it with a bitter look,
Some with a flattering word:
The coward does it with a kiss,
The brave man with a sword.”   

After his release he went in exile to Paris. There he met Bosie now and then, but during the years in prison both had changed and the passionate love was gone. In 1900 Oscar died of meningitis in the a hotel in Paris. Although he was penniless the owner placed him in the best room and he was given the best meal and the best wine. It is told that his comment was: “ I am dying as I have lived. Beyond my meanings” His last words are said to be: “This wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One of us has to go”. 

This is a trailer of a really well made film about the extraordinary life of Oscar Wilde. The film is really worth watching and is nothing like a boring biography.

The Importance of being Earnest was the first play I read of Oscar Wild and I instantly fell in love with his style of writing. It is a really amusing and ironic story and I can only recommend it.

Christmas in Istanbul

This year I spent Christmas with my family at home in Carinthia. Not so last year, when we decided to leave all the Chrismas stress behind and go to Istanbul over Christmas.

We arrived at lovely 20 degree and wonderful weather. From the roof terrace of our lodging we had a brilliant view over the the city and Hagia Sofia. Hagia Sofia once was a Christian church, later a Mosque and today it is a museum.
I was glad we visited Istanbul in winter because there are less tourists. No hot sweaty trips through the city, no standing in line for hours. In December it was really easy-going, but yet there were still more tourits than I had imagined. 

Istanbul is just awesome. The city spans across 2  continents and two culteres, the European and the Asian are bumping into each other, so it is a very diverse place. It´s history goes back to the 6th century, and since then this significant city has had many names. Originally called Byzanz, under Konstantin the I, the city was rechristened Constantinople and today it is known under the name Istanbul. It served as the capital of four empires: The Roman, the Byzantine, the Latin and the Ottoman empire. 

But, back to our trip: here and there we could see a few windows that were decorated in the European manner, but besides there was nothing that made you feel like it was Christmas. Really refreshing ;) On the 24th we went out for dinner in an Asian restaurant. We sat on carpets around a really low table (my dad had some problems with putting his legs somewhere) and enjoyed the delicious asian cuisine. 

* 

Istanbul is a city of cultural diversity and history, and (at least I had the impression) .... of cats. Seriously, never in my life I have seen a place with so many cats. They were everywhere, and in great number. Sleeping in the sun on benches, on parked cars, scaring or pleasing some tourists....

 
 

During our trip we visited as much famous places in Istanbul as possible. 

Blue Mosque

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque also know as the "Blue Mosque" is the only Mosque in Istanbul that has 6 minarets ( minaretes are the spires around a mosque). As a woman you have to cover your hair if you want to go inside and see the impressing interior. We visited the Mosque around midday and dozends of male Moslems were kneeing on beautiful carpets and praying, oriented towards Mekka. 

From the Minaretts men called Muezzin call the Moslem popoation to prayer five times a day. They usually have beautiful voices and you can hear their melodic calls in the whole city. 

Grand Bazaar

To get into the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul you have to enter a tiny, inconspicous stone gateway. But what is behind is simply stunning. Hundrets of stalls one close to the other, selling EVERYTHING you can imagine. Carpets, jewellery, bags, souveniers... anything your heart desires. 

In Turkey it is a custom to negotiate about the price of the item you want to buy. I tried my luck and got a bag for a pretty good price. 

The Bazaar is huge and its not hard to get lost in its labyrithine corridors.

Our trip ended after 5 days so we went back home where  snowy cold weather welcomed us. Istanbul was a city that really impressed me personaly and I will definitely come back - maybe next Chrismas :) 

40 shades of green

Ireland, as I remember it 

 A couple of years ago my dad took me on a business trip to his favourite country - Ireland. He had appointments in Dublin, Cork and Belfast and so we rent a car and just started driving across the Island. 

He had been here many times and he told me a lot about the country and it´s incredibly awesome people. 

Here are some things I particularly remember: 

Bloomsday

We arrived in Dublin about a week before bloomsday and everywhere you could see posters that announced the 16th of July, and as a foreigner you might have got the impression of a national holiday coming up - well, not exactly. 

The Irish love their many famous writers, especially James Joyce. Actually they love him THAT much, they dedicated this certain day to the main character of Joyces novel Ulysses, Leopold Bloom. In his veeeeery weighty tome Joyce describes just one day, the 16th of July. (it is said that noone ever has read the entire novel and so far I haven´t met anyone who has ;)

Here is a picture of me in 2011

 Colorful doors 

Did you ever walk through Dublins streets? If so you might have recognised the colorful  doors. Here's the story my dad told me: I cannot guarantee it is true, since he is a pretty good storyteller ;)

When Queen Victoria died in 1900 England ordered to paint all front doors visible black, as a sign of sorrow. The rebellous Irish, however, who wanted to do everything possible to enclose themselves from England, did the exact opposite - they painted their doors colorful. 

Another  version of this story is,  that the doors were painted in different colors to help drunk people find their homes more easily ;) 

B&B

During our trip we  stayed at so called Bed & Breakfasts (B&B). This is a pretty popular thing in Ireland. Houses offer a room and Breakfast for people who stay a few nights in their town. I was amazed by the hospitality and kindness of all this people at whose houses we were staying. Staying at B&Bs is  really cheap and a great way to get to know some of the really nice people there and to get to hear their storys. (My impression was that they were all really talkative ;)

Gaelic

Even though not many Irish people do still speak Gaelic, it is Irelands official language (with English being a second official language). Road signs and signs in general are bilingual. Also, while in Dublin you will come across this phrase quite often, if you look around in gift shops. (Kiss my ass)

40 shades of green

If you come to Ireland there will be one dominating colour- green. Green, green and even more green. Beautiful landscapes, fresh, grassy meadows everywhere. Thats why it is said Ireland  got forty shades of green ;)  Johnny Cash adapted the term and made it a title of his song referring to Ireland.

Photoshocked!!

A couple of weeks ago I came across this Photoshop video on YouTube. It shows how the image of a model is optimized on the computer.  I was shocked how much they changed, besides  exposure and contrast, because the model was a perfectly beautiful woman before. But obviously not perfect enough. However what was wrong with her? According to this clip, her eyes were too small, her nose was not tiny enough,  her neck was to short, her body to massive. In the end she looks like the fragile Barbie doll we all know - but far from a natural beauty!

Almost every released photo of a celebrity is altered in one or the other way. So are all the pictures commercial uses. Retouching photos in magazines has become a completely must. We have to ask ourselves: Is nothing real anymore?

We are confronted with images of perfectly beautiful (and not real) people wherever we go. This is creating an unrealistic standard of beauty, which, an average citizen can never fulfil. I don´t think every woman and every girl is aware of the extent to which photos get retouched. Many of them may start to feel uncomfortable with their own bodies, even though there is nothing to worry about. If a woman had the measures of a Barbie doll she wouldn´t be able to breathe!!!

Still many girls desire a perfect body and face as seen in the media. As a result the business of plastic surgery flourishes. More and more women get their breasts done, their teeth bleached, a little nose job...  In Hollywood you barely meet anyone who is a "plastic surgery virgin". Isn´t it shocking?

Well I understand, some people are born attractive, some were less fortunate and in some cases I can actually understand why plastic surgery is used. It may improve the person’s every-day life and lift up his or her self-esteem. In other cases plastic surgery goes way too far. I mean, who thinks Double E cups are beautiful? And don´t underestimate the dangers of such a surgery. In the worst case something may go wrong that can´t be fixed any more. 

Also in the world of photoshop mistakes happen (even though the consequenses are not that fatal ). Last I made a collection of photos for you. Find the mistake and enjoy. In the end they are not that perfect ! ;)

Photoshop Gone Wrong

WOW! How is she even balancing with one leg?

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Creepy!!!!!!!!

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                                        Wait! Where did this arm go?

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.... must be some kind of alien ....

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And last but not least...

Come on! Who do you think you are fooling? ;)

No kangaroos in Austria !

In 2009 I spend a couple of weeks with a host family in Philadelphia.  It was a great experience and I learned a lot about the American country and the American  way of life.
I remember one evening when my host sister had some friends over.  Everyone was pretty curious about me and my country and I was asked a lot of questions. It started out really well but the more they wanted to know, the more I realised how little they knew about Austria and that they had a really stereotypical point of view.  One boy actually asked me if I had bought my clothes here in America because he thought in Austria, everyone walks around wearing traditional costumes. Another question was if in Austria we already had braces.   It seemed like "The sound of music" was their most obvious cultural reference!

Remembering my trip and all these question I was asked, I got curious. Is Austria really that unknown? So I searched the web for the most common stereotypes.

AUSTRIAN STEREOTYPES

#1 There are Kangaroos in Austria

Snow-covered hills, snowflakes softly falling on houses, trees and narrow streets, and near the forest, if you look closely, you can see some kangaroos busily searching for something to eat ... what a nice December day in Austria!

No? Austrians might laugh, but Austria gets confused with Australia way too often, simply because of the similar names of the countries. The reaction of the Austrian tourism industry was a t-shirt with a well-known yellow sign and the stroke "No kangaroos in Austria" ;)

#2 All Austrians wear Lederhosn and Dirndl

Many Austrians have traditional clothes at home and wear them for example at special occassons - but Dirdl and Lederhosen are far from being worn every day. Anyhow the "typical" Austrian in Lederhosen is often seen in Austria related commercials.
For example this stiegl commercial -->

#3 Austrians love classic music and ski all the time

Many Austrians love to ski - simply because we have so many opportunities to practice it. Especially people in the western and south regions (Vorarlberg, Tirol, Salzburg, Kärnten...), which are very mountainous, are passionate winter- sportsmen. Children are taught how to ski early. I learned to it in kindergarten and so did many of my friends. 

I´m sure many Austrians enjoy listening to classic music as well ;)

I guess every country has to deal with stereotypes. There are good ones as well as really bad ones. People don't like to overthink their first impression and that's how prejudice is created.