Culture Presentations

Last week we had our Culture Presentation Days and everyone of us gave their presentation on a specific topic of American or Irish culture. My presentation was called "Two More for Mount Rushmore" and was about two American presidents - Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson - that should also have a place on Mount Rushmore because of their achievements and their impacts on American culture and society.

The other presentations I watched were:

• Things You Might Not Know About San Francisco and the Bay Area - Marina Margeta
• Danger of Society Threat Groups in American Prisons - Livia Perschy
• Southern Hospitality - The Southern Way of Life - Julia Rauch
• Monty Roberts: an Extraordinary Communicator - Melanie Wimmer
• America as a Nation of Narcissm - Maria Dorner
• Does Race Still Matter in the US? - Lisa Ziermann
• Ellen DeGeneres - A Modern Women and Her Influence in America - Johanna Schreilechner
• Sacagawea - Bianca Stadler
• The Navajo Code Talkers - Using Language as a Weapon - Laura Rossberg
  
• Newgrange - A Treasure of Art - Anita Bhatti
• Psychiatry in Ireland in the 1950s and 1960s - Diana Skof
• Beyond Riverdance - A Glimpse into the World of Irish Dance - Katharina Luttenberger

And here are the five presentations I want to be tested on in the KGP:

Things You Might Not Know About San Francisco and the Bay Area
I've been to San Francisco myself and I absolutely loved this beautiful city. That's why I want to know more about it!

Danger of Society Threat Groups in American Prisons
Before Livia's presentation I was only vaguely familiar with the name "Aryan Brotherhood", but she has totally woken my interest in this topic.

Southern Hospitality - The Southern Way of Life
I've already been to some of the western US states and next time I'd really like to go to the South. Therefore I want to know a little more about the customs and habits there.

Does Race Still Matter in the US?
Although the situation has improved a lot over the past decade racism is - unfortunately- still a big issue in the  US and also in many other countries.

The Navajo Code Talkers - Using Language as a Weapon
I'm very interested in everything that has something to do with languages, so Laura's presentation was one of my favorites and I'd like to learn more about this topic.

Elisabeth

Last week, on May 1st, I went to Vienna to see the Musical "Elisabeth".
Now, some people might wonder why I would have done that. Let's just say it wasn't an entirely voluntary decision. My boyfriend "gifted" me the ticket and the fact that he had paid some 90 euros for it made it hard for me to reject.

My expectation was that I would have to waste three hours of my precious life watching a hopelessly historically incorrect kitsch piece about some anorexic bitch that died more than a century ago.
Luckily, it didn't turn out to be that bad. I was positively surprised that historical facts weren't completely ignored and that the picture painted of the empress wasn't all too positive and sweet, like in those horrible movies. The Musical is about Elisabeth's relationship with death that is portrayed as a male human being.

I really liked the scenery on stage and the costumes that had lots of nice details. Also the actors (are they called actors in Musicals?) were great and most of the songs were good. The part I liked best was when Elisabeth's assassin, who acts as the narrator, sings about how people prefer legends and pretty illusions over the truth. But I still can't relate to the topic and that's the reason why I probably wouldn't watch the Musical again. I am not a fan of royalty or monarchies altogether, but I can recommend "Elisabeth" to anyone who is.

St. Petersburg

As some of you may know, the third language I'm studying (after English and German) is Russian. I started learning Russian in High School where it was an optional subject. We had a great teacher who travels to Russia with her students every other year, and last year we've been to St. Petersburg.

I organized the six day trip myself, together with two of my classmates, because it was our graduation project. It took us months to select a destination, to book the flights and the hostel, to apply for the visas, etc. and the closer the date of our departure came, the more excited we got.

Russia is a really cool country, although I admit that it's probably not to everybody's taste. The first time I've been there and saw the run-down suburbs of Moscow with their shabby Soviet-era buildings, I thought "Why did I even come here?" But only a little while later I had fallen in love.

The Russian people are unique, some of them in a crazy way, but I like (most) of them a lot. Going out at night is always great fun, because everybody drinks a lot, dances, and even sings. The Russians really know how to party!

We finally left for St. Petersburg in the last days of March of 2012, together with about 20 other Russian students and our teacher. Our hostel was located in the very center of the city, so most of the famous sights were within walking distance, like the Hermitage, the Winter Palace, or the Admiralty. And see a lot of sights we did.

One of the many things I love about Russia is the food. Many dishes are prepared with sour cream and taste really good, the meals are good and solid, and the servings are not too big (this may be a seen as a negative point by some people, but I'm a small person and like to still have room for dessert after the main course.)

Our teacher is very laid-back and gave us lots of time to explore St. Petersburg on our own. She also didn't mind if we went out at night, as long as we didn't wake her up when we came back. And we went out to party every single evening. Usually we went to small bars and clubs near our hostel, and one night we went to the Metro Club, the biggest club of St. Petersburg and one of the biggest of Eastern Europe. Needless to say our mostly female group had a great time there, after the entire club had four or five stories and male strippers to offer. The ride to the club had already been adventurous. Six of us plus the driver squeezed ourselves into an old Lada, but the driver only asked for half of what the official taxis would have charged us, so it was a good deal.

Our graduation project was a huge success, because everybody enjoyed the trip and had a great time. During my time in St. Petersburg I decided that I would study Russian instead of Spanish, because I love this crazy country and its people. I'm already looking forward to my next vacation in Russia, either next summer or in spring 214 at the very latest.

California Dreaming Part Two

After our brief stay in Monterey we went on to our next to last destination: Los Angeles. The first thing we did was to venture out of our motel in the Hollywood Hills to discover the north of the city. The sun shone on our heads while we strolled down Sunset Boulevard and enjoyed the sights, like the famous Grauman's Chinese Theater.

On our second day in LA we went to see Disneyland. At first I hadn't really wanted to go there, because I had rather spent the day exploring the city, but my boyfriend eventually convinced me to go. In the end I was glad that we went there, because we did have a lot fun.

After dusk we drove to Mulholland Drive from where we had an incredible view over the whole city. We stood next to the street in the chilly night-air and enjoyed the vista over the sprawling city beneath us. I was surprised that there were hardly any people up there, but on the other hand we wouldn't have gone there either if a waiter hadn't tipped us off. Another great viewpoint is the top-level of the Los Angeles town hall, from where we could see for miles in every direction.

In Malibu we finally managed to spend a few hours on the beach, although the water was too cold for me to go for a swim. Instead I lay down in the warm sand and watched my boyfriend getting nearly crushed by the huge waves.

After getting tired of (sun) bathing we decided to check out another one of our waiter's suggestions, the Santa Monica Pier. It's a long pier leading out into the Pacific Ocean with a fun fair on it. It also houses shops that offer milkshakes, ice cream, and other delicious food stuff.

That evening we followed the Sunset Boulevard in the opposite direction, and there was a surprisingly high number of tattoo- and sexshops to be found. Needless to say that we soon turned back.

Our last full day in LA led us to the Universal Studios. I was rendered speechless by how realistic and cool some of their rides were. I especially loved the Simpsons ride, because I'm a huge Simpsons-fan.

On our last day we drove to Griffith Park in the early morning, but unfortunately it was the day they flew the space shuttle to LA, so what felt like the whole city was up there trying to see the plane carrying the shuttle. Therefore the roads were closed and we didn't have enough time to walk up, because we had a six hour drive back to Phoenix ahead of us. 

California Dreaming Part One

In the course of my absolutely fantastic journey through the southwestern states of the USA last September I also spent a week in California. This post is about the towns of Bishop, Monterey and Carmel, as well as the Yosemite NP, the next post will be about Los Angeles. San Francisco has its own post, so I won't write about it again :)

After Las Vegas we originally wanted to go straight to San Francisco, but that would have been a long and hard drive, so we decided to spend the night in a small town in the east of California called Bishop. It was a nice town, not quite picturesque, but pretty. In the evening we had dinner in a Steak House that the receptionist of our motel had recommended to us and there I experienced the happiest moment of my life. They offer a dessert called the "Brownie Monster" (picture below), and that thing keeps what it promises. The Brownie Monster turned out to be a huge bowl filled with brownies that had an estimated gallon of chocolate syrup and whipped cream on top of it. I managed to eat about three quarters of it, then I was hopelessly sick but I can't remember being any happier in all my life.

The next morning we left for the Yosemite National Park and on our way there we "accidentally" discovered a gem of the Eastern Californian Mountains: the Mammoth Lakes. Around a dozen small and crystal-clear lakes are embedded between green hills and we watched people in little boats or kayaks while we were strolling along the shores. Unfortunately we couldn't spend too much time there, but the next time I'm in that area I'll definitely go there again.

The Yosemite NP is a beautiful place too, but when we got there the Yosemite Falls had already dried up because there had been little snow in the past winter. We tried to see the Nevada Falls instead, but the road leading to them was closed and we decided against walking there, because we still had to drive on to San Francisco. So we just enjoyed the gorgeous panorama of the mountains and that of a few more lakes before we pressed on.

After our three days in San Francisco and the not-so-nice weather there, we finally went south again. We followed the Highway No 1 to Monterey where we spent the night. Monterey is the home of the world's biggest aquarium, but we rather took the 17-Mile-Drive to visit the neighboring town of Carmel. Actually, we had planned to spend a day on the beach, but the bad weather had followed us from San Francisco, and so we visited an old Spanish monastery instead. I was quite impressed that the four-century-old building was still in such a good state.

Monument Valley

Before we even left for the USA, Monument Valley was one of the sights I looked most forward to, because it is one of the things that first come to you mind when you think about America. Well, I wasn't going to be disappointed.

Our motel was located in Kayenta, the town that's nearest to the Valley. The town itself was pretty run-down. Two or three motels, a McDonald's, a Burger King, and a supermarket were the main attractions there. Moreover, it was awfully hot there, so my first action was to go and buy SPF 50 sun protection that kept being useful in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. According to my boyfriend though, the worst thing about Kayenta was that it's located on Navajo land, where the sale and purchase of alcohol - including beer - is strictly prohibited.

Monument Valley itself is a must-see! Everybody knows one or two of the rock formations from western movies, but there's so much more, like ancient pictograms or pueblos.

We did a three-hour jeep tour in the evening and luckily we had an awesome guide who showed us a lot of marvelous hidden places. One of the best things was that we had our guide completely to ourselves, while other groups consisted of 10 or more people. In the end of our tour we met up with a second small group in a huge dome of rock. There our guide played the flute and the guide of the other group sang traditional songs. That was one of the most beautiful moments of the whole journey!

For the next day we booked a horseback-riding tour that led us around some of the large buttes on Mustangs. It was my first time sitting on a horse, and although it was a great experience my back still hurt three days later. Nevertheless, I would do it again right now if I could. Riding by the famous rock formations on horseback like John Wayne did in his movies is a unique and indescribable feeling, and once more we had an excellent guide. We started the tour in the early morning so we could see the sunrise after we had already seen the sunset the day before. The different colors the sun paints the rocks in are absolutely breathtaking! And thanks to my newly acquired sun protection I survived this adventure without third degree burns.

Viva Las Vegas!

Las Vegas is one of the most amazing places I've ever been to. We arrived there in the late morning and I was already pretty impressed, but Vegas during the daytime is nothing compared to Vegas by night! Everything is basked into bright, colorful lights, people crowd the streets and there are so incredibly many possibilities that you'd need weeks and weeks to explore the whole town.

During my stay in Vegas I wasn't 21 yet and therefore I couldn't legally drink or gamble, but maybe that wasn't too bad after all, because I'm a poor student and who knows how much money I would have lost. However, the Casinos are really impressive; some are even picturesque with their different themes and the entire beautiful decor. We stayed at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino and they had memorabilia of movies in all the rooms, but their casino resembled a somewhat classy brothel. I preferred the Bellagio or the Caesar’s Palace.

I also liked the dry heat there and with SPF 50 sun protection I didn't even burst in flames. But on our second day, Las Vegas experienced a record precipitation - our good luck!

But if you travel to the USA then DO GO TO LAS VEGAS!!!