PC2 writing task correction

In PC2 I compared the influence of the Vikings and the Plantation settlers in Ireland, while concentrating on the significant differences. I am pretty satisfied with a high percentage I achieved on my test. I mostly madde some mistakes in using the wrong register, so I am going to focus on that for PC3.

While there is an obvious connection between these two items, there are also a number of significant differences. The Vikings and the Plantation settlers were both invaders who settled on Irish land. However, their goals and ways of achieving them were entirely different. The Vikings came to Ireland in the eighth century from Norway. They plundered towns and destroyed monasteries and therefore were seen as rapists and killers by Irish people. Even though they were brutal and violent, the Vikings eventually started to accept Irish customs and build fixed settlements. For instance, they converted to the Christianity, built Dublin and became intrested in politics and trade. On the other hand, the Plantation settlers had completely different aims. Since Ulster stayed Catholic, it seemed unreliable to English king James I. Therefore, he decided to settle English lords on the lands of exiled Gaelic chiefs so as to bring English language and protestantism to Ireland. In contrast to the Vikings, the Plantation settlers were significantly more nonviolent and passive, but their intentions were just as malicious as the Vikings'. As a result of building an English settlement, Irish language started to decline and English became the lagnuage of power and education. In short, the settlers had different strategies and came from thoroughly disparate backgrounds, but both had great influence on Irish culture and their identity.

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Божић

My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?
                                                                                                                                         Bob Hope

Божић is Serbian name for Christmas. I know Christmas time in Austria is already over, but the Christmas I normally celebrate is just tomorrow. Therefore, I have decided to write about some customs and traditions related to the Orthodox Christmas.

Firstly, Orthodox Christmas comes two weeks later than of Roman Catholics. It is celebrated on 7th January while we celebrate New Year on January 13th. This is because the Serbs follow the Julian calendar and Roman Catholics follow the Gregorian calendar. However, this does not mean that we do not celebrate New Year on 31st of December. In fact, we celebrate both New Years, the international one and the Serbian or Orthodox New Year. As such, January is really fun in my hometown. Like the most people, Serbs eventually officially accepted the Gregorian calendar, but all holidays, especially cultural or religious, are celebrated according to the Julian calendar.

Like for the most holidays in Serbian culture, Christmas is celebrated for three consecutive days. On the Christmas Eve, the family is preparing for the oncoming celebration. On this day, the food is made according to the rules of fasting, which means that milk and animal products are not eaten. Traditionally, early in the morning the head of each family and several male relatives, selects the tree from which a log will be cut for their household. An oak log or branch brought into the house is called the badnjak and is placed on the fire on the evening of Christmas Eve. The badnjak can be also bought at marketplaces or distributed in churches, which is more appropriate for families living in the city. It is kept in the home until next Christmas Eve, while the one from the previous Christmas is mostly placed on the open fire built in the church yard, but also on the other suitable locations.

On the Christmas Day, the celebration is announced at dawn by church bells and guns. People are greeting each other by saying "Christ is Born", which should be responded to with "Truly He is Born". A bunch of food is normally prepared for Christmas lunch. Česnica, meat, sarma, rakija and of course, cakes are indispensable parts of Serbian Christmas. Česnica is the most important part of the Christmas meal. It is a round loaf of bread with a coin put into it. Family members hold the česnica between themselves, rotating it counterclockwise while saying a prayer. The česnica is then carefully broken among the relatives, so that each of them gets his or her own share of the bread. The person whose share contains the coin, will supposedly be especially lucky in the following year.


The upper surface of the loaf is routinely inscribed with various symbols, but mostly with the Serbian Cross. The Serbian Cross is a national symbol and consists of four Cyrillic letters S ( С ). They are the abbreviation for the motto: Оnly Unity Saves the Serbs ( Само слога Србина спасава ).

These are the most essential customs of Orthodox Christmas. By far and large, like in almost every culture, holidays are all about being united with your closest ones, your family members and friends. I really miss mine today!

John Mayer

Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.

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Music has always been a big part of my life. I have never played an instrument (tried guitar, but wasn't enough persistent) or sang very well, but I listen to music every day, whenever I can. Leaving home without my headphones is almost impossible and absolutely weird. I listen to all kinds of music: rock, hip-hop, techno, pop, jazz and so on. However, I mostly prefer listening to slowrock. It relaxes me and the lyrics are usually meaningful and not so shallow like in large number of songs nowdays.

This kind of music is what a guitarist called John Mayer plays. He is one of my favourite singers. He's an American guitarist and songwriter. John sings pop, acoustic, blues and country rock. His virtuosic guitar and writing skills brought him great success and fame. Until now, he has published six albums. His last album is realised in 2013 and is called Paradise Valley. Mayer has won seven Grammy awards from nineteen nominations. The guitarist is also popular for dating the prettiest Hollywood divas, such as Jessica Simpson, Taylor Swift and Jennifer Aniston. Currently, he is in a realationship with Katy Perry with whom he recorded a song "Who You Love". Moreover, John Mayer has an amazing knack for constantly being able to suprise us with new insane guitar faces. His ridiculous facial expressions is what makes this guitarist even more original and extraordinary. Personally, I find his guitar faces extremelly funny and charming.

 

Mayer's songs' lyrics are never dull or plain. Each song represents a whole new story and is entirely authentic. His creative words leaves me breathless. For that reason I can never say precisely which one of his songs I like the most.

  John's quotes are highly inspiring and the one below is my favourite.

Life is like a box of crayons. Most people are the 8 color boxes, but what you're really looking for are the 64 color boxes with the sharpeners on the back. I fancy myself to be a 64 color box, though I've got a few missing. It's okay though, because I've got some more vibrant colors like periwinkle at my disposal. I have a bit of a problem though in that I can only meet the 8 color boxes. Does anyone else have that problem? I mean there are so many different colors of life, of feeling, of articulation. So when I meet someone who's an 8 color type...I'm like, hey girl, Magenta! and she's like, oh, you mean purple! and she goes off on her purple thing, and I'm like, no I want Magenta!

Just dance!

I would believe only in a God that knows how to dance.

The famous German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche did not say this without a reason. He understood the secret of dancing, its goal to move, to touch and to inspire.

Dancing is considered as a type of art that involves movement of body usually to music. People have danced throughout the centuries in nearly every culture in order to express their emotional state, tell a story, perform a religion or just to have fun. As such, dancing represents one of the oldest human arts. It is also often used as a form of nonverbal communication.

Nowdays, there are a variety of different dances. Breakdancing, ballet, tango, hip-hop, step dance and many others are born each day and danced in disparate societies. However, they all have one thing in common. They bring people together and make them feel more satisfied and relaxed. Not only do the proffesional dancers feel this way, but also common people after a fun night out. What is more, dancing to a certain types of music and sounds can bring about a sense of relaxation within the body, spirit and mind. Therefore, dancing is an ideal ending of an exhausting and stressful day.

Needless to say, dancing is a type of pshysical exercise. Given this, our health benefits in myriad ways, such as stress reduction and increased serotonin level. On top of that, dancing is pefect for those who are eager to lose their weight and keep their bodies fit.

The most recent research has showed that frequent dancing can even make us smarter. Stimulating one’s mind by dancing can ward off Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia. Frequent dancing was also proven to be more effective against dementia than reading or any other physical, but also mental activity. In addition to this, major study showed that dancing increases cognitive acuity at all ages.

Despite the fact that this research does not state what type of dancing can make us more clever, dancing should definitely become part of our everyday lives. It is not improtant if you are a good dancer or not, you should just get up and dance! Trust me, it’s hell of lot of fun.



Personally, until I came to Graz I used to dance ballet. Firstly, I danced classical, but later modern ballet. I was always fascinated by the elegant and tender movements of delicate ballerinas. For me, dancing represents something exciting and beautiful. It demands a lot of effort, but also brings wonderful experiences and lasting friendships. But enough about dancing…

Talk about dance? Dance is not something to talk about. Dance is to dance. - Peter St. James

Russian films

It's not what a movie is about, it's how it is about it.

I'm not a big fan of films. Actuallly, I usually consider them as time-wasting and boring. Don't get me wrong, I like films and I do watch them, I just think they are all quite similar nowdays and rarely can they leave us breathless.

However, I wanted to write about few Russian films I have recently watched. Since I have started to learn Russian this semester, I thought that watching some films in this language would be helpful for my studies, but in the end I started to actually like them.

The first Russian film I watched was Piter FM . Its plot is pretty lyrical and interesting. The main characters are young people, Masha and Maxim. Masha is working as a speaker for Piter FM radio and is daily talking to the citizens of Saint Petersburg, including Maxim. Maxim is an ambitious architect, who received an offer to work in Germany and is deciding whether he should leave his country or not. They don't have anything in common until Masha loses her telephone in the crowd and Maxim finds it. From that moment on, they are constantly talking to each other. Even though they have arranged many times to meet, they never seem to notice each other. In their lives, crucial things are happening. Masha left her fiance, she has problems at work, Maxim's girlfriend is with another guy, he has to move out from his appartment... and the only one who is willing to listen is the voice on the other side of the line. During one of their usual conversations, Masha's telephone accidently falls into the river. Maxim is upset, but decides to call his favourite radio station and leave a message for a girl called Masha, who lost her telephone. Masha recongises his voice and the film finishes. In the end we can only guess what will happen. I really liked this film, because it is not a typical commercial film and it talks about faith. Maybe it's not so realistic, but I would certainly recommend it!

Another Russian film that I liked even more is Ne skazhu or I won't tell. I'm not going to write about its plot, because it's far too complicated, but I'll tell you a little bit about it. There are only two characters in this film, Anna and Ivan. The film starts on the morning when the couple broke up. On that morning, they are meeting in their apartment to have a breakfast and talk about their relationship and one particular night. There are many flashbacks, which makes this film quite complicated and hard to understand. In the end, I was totally breatless and shocked. Therefore, I suggest everyone who likes mysteries and secrets to watch this unconventional film!

Banja Luka

I want to introduce you to my hometown, Banja Luka. Most of you have probably never heard of this beautiful town in north-western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since I came to Graz, I've only went there once and then realised how much I’d actually missed it.

Banja Luka is is the largest and capital city of Republika Srpska * and second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina after Sarajevo. It lies on the Vrbas River and is surrounded by many hills. The weather is usually quite weird. For example, last week in Banja Luka was 25 degrees, which is certainly not typical weather for November. Anyway, there is either too much rain or it is too hot or too cold. The city is also famous for Fortress Kastel, ćevapi, rafting, the Orthodox Church of Jesus the Saviour, Banj Hill and many other sights.

* one of two political entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other entity is the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Fortress Kastel was built by the Romans and then fortified again by the Ottomans. It is the oldest cultural monument in Banja Luka. The fortress lies on the banks of the Vrbas River, which makes it even more astonishing. It often hosts outdoor concerts, but it is usually very peaceful place.

Ćevapiii! Well, for those who don't know, there are few sorts of ćevapi. The most popular ones are Banjalučki ćevapi from Banja Luka and Sarajevski ćevapi from Sarajevo area.The main difference is in their appearance, but also in meat content. Banjalučki ćevapi are served in connected tuples of four, whereas Sarajevski ćevapi are served of 5-10 pieces. The dish is usually eaten with chopped onions, but also other vegetables and served in  flatbread called lepinje. Below are the pictures of both sorts.

                                                                             
Raaafting! Vrbas river is a mighty fast mountain river with a numerous wild parts, which makes it perfect for adventure water sport such as rafting. The water is veeeeeery cold, but in summer the temperature is ideal for refreshment.The Vrbas River was home to the 2005 European Whitewater Rafting Championships and World Championship 2009. However, I must admitted I have never went to rafting. It's really a shame, as this is certainly a Must Do in Banja Luka and I actually live there, but I'm definitely planning to try it next summer. Rafting is possible during the whole year, but I'm quite afraid of the cold water.

Gospodska street

The Fortress in winter

This clock is actually not working. Therefore, it is called "The wrong clock". It shows the exact time when there was a devastating earthquake in Banja Luka in 1969.

The song above is called "Good Evening, Banja Luka". I really love this song. You are probably not going to understand it, but there are some nice pictures in the video.

My Indian roommate

Currently, I am living in a double-bedded room in a dormitory called the Kolpinghaus. During my first week here, I was alone in my room wondering who will be my new roommate. I  was pretty excited and nervous to meet her, but luckily, I was positively surprised. I will now tell you about my dear friend Shruti.

Shruti is 28 years old and comes from India. Even though she is 9 years older than me, we get along really well. She is a warm-hearted, open-minded and quite interesting person. Namely, she has been a pilot for almost eight years. Shruti made her driving license in Canada, but came to Austria after her wedding. Her husband is also an Indian, but he grew up in Vienna. At the moment, she is working on her master in aviation. She also made me interested in airplanes and other huge machines, which were certainly not one of my interests. We even regularly watch together a serie called Air Crash Investigation.

I also wanted to write you about some interesting Indian customs Shruti thought me.

The first question I get when I tell people that I have an Indian roomate is: “ Does she has a red dot on her forehead?” Well no, she doesn’t. Anyway, she told me something interesting about it. The red dot is called Bindi and is actually worn by married women. The red colour itself represents energy and passion and brings good luck. Indian women like wearing red dresses or red nail lacquer in order to be positive and happy.

A traditional Indian wedding lasts an average of  three days. Shruti’s wedding also lasted for three days and  

she actually had three weddings. Italian, Indian and Austrian, but that’s a whole different story. Anyway, Indian wedding is pretty expensive for bride’s family. The both sides of family should receive presents and all guests have to be provided with food, drink and usually a place to sleep for few days. Guests are often wearing clothes in vibrant coloures and eye-catching jewelry. Both, the groom and the bride are wearing gorgeous clothes. Brides are additionally decorated with henna patterns all over their palms, hands, forearms, legs and feet. Everyone is supposed to dance traditional dances, especially members of bride’s family.

It is forbidden to kiss in public. On Valentines day, you can often see police looking on happy couples or even famillies.

I bet you’ve seen a symbol like this on the picture below before. As it looks pretty cool, I’ve always wondered what it was. Well, it is called Hamsa or as Indians call it Humsa Hand. It represents a sign of protection in many societies and is one of Indian’s most sacred symbols. Hamsa is believed to provide defense against the evil eye, but also represents the five elements of nature and the five energy centers of our body (chakra). It is often used in jewelry and decorations.

Foooooood! Indian food is really delicious. At least, what I’ve tried until now. Dishes are almost always combined with spicy sauces, which makes them quite tasty. Chicken, patatoes, onions and sauces such as turmeric, chilli or garam masala are often main ingredients in Indian kitchen.

Well, those were the most interesting ones. I hope I will get to now even more of them soon. :)