Time-out

Last week I was sitting in my room, refusing to spend more time in the low temperatures on the city streets than absolutely necessary. I was snowed under with work; busy studying for exams. One day, I found myself staring at one of my wallpapers that looks very similar to this picture:

My thoughts started to drift away – to a relaxing vacation I spent in Italy a few years ago…  

I’m lying on a towel on a small, peaceful beach. Unlike overcrowded Italian tourist hotspots like Lignano and Bibione, only a few towels and sun loungers are scattered across the beach. I’m absolutely relaxed, reading a gripping book. My toes are moving in the warm, golden sand and I smell the scent of the pine trees that surround the remote beach. Feeling the sun warming my back, hearing the soothing sound of the waves brushing up on the beach, I close my eyes and slowly drift off to sleep…
When I wake up, the distant cawing of seagulls has been replaced by the chirping of crickets. I open my eyes, sit up and see the sun approaching the horizon. The beach, the pine forest and the sky are bathed in a warm orange and yellow light. I’m gazing at the dark blue and partly black sea that is contrasting sharply with the orange sky and somehow has a relaxing, calming effect on me. I can’t help but stay motionless, drinking in the atmosphere.  As the sun disappears, it becomes chillier and I realize I should probably get going…

My thoughts snap back to reality and reluctantly I turn my eyes away from the picture and continue studying, full of new energy ;)

Who Needs Geography?!

A lot of you are probably busy studying for their midterms right now (or some lucky people might have already finished them). Either way, I think it is time for a more humorous post :) On Friday, we had an English exam for which we also had to study the names and locations of the 50 American states. Last week I came across a survey in which Americans were asked to fill in countries’ names on a blank European political map.  Since I (like most Austrians) had to start memorizing these countries in primary school, I found some of the responses hilarious:

"affordable vacation"

Austria is as big as Germany!! Nice try...

However, to be fair, I have to show the other side of the coin as well… because let’s face it – how many Europeans would succeed in correctly locating all the American states? If I had not had to study them for our recent exam, I would not have been able to do so. So let’s take a look at a survey that tested the Brits' knowledge of US geography:

I hope all of you had a good laugh at one or the other picture. However, I would like to finish this post by thinking about what the gaps in the survey-takers’ knowledge actually tell us. They mirror part of our economical and political reality. While most people, for example, were able to identify powerful and geographically large countries like Germany or France, only few could tell apart the former Soviet satellite states. On the other hand, many British people could locate California or Florida correctly (states that gained a lot of fame through movies) while the Midwest, or “flyover country“ as it is called, remained a complete mystery to them. However, I do not think the smaller countries are any less important.

Come to think of it, I bet neither a lot of Europeans, nor Americans would succeed in identifying African states. Doesn’t it strike you as odd that most high school graduates know the Pythagoras’ theorem by heart but don’t know a lot about the location of countries on other continents? I mean, those who have to deal with countries on other continents because of their jobs or for personal reasons, will have to extend their geographical knowledge sooner or later anyway. Still, I think it would not hurt to be a little more attentive to what the world actually looks like ;)

In Memoriam - Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela. I am sure all of you have heard this name a few times this week. When I heard of his death on December 5^th, I was thinking “I know this name, I know this man had something to do with South Africa and the Apartheid” but to be honest, I did not really know what he was famous for, or why he was referred to as a great man. For this reason, I would like to briefly summarize his life and efforts:

Nelson Mandela is known for having made a “free South Africa” possible. But free from what?

I would like to start with the political situation of South Africa in the first half of the 20^th century, which was marked by racial segregation. Racial segregation in South Africa began in colonial times under Dutch rule. In 1948 Apartheid was introduced as an official policy. It was a system of racial segregation enforced by the National Party (NP) governments.  Whites, who were a minority in South Africa were privileged, while the rights of the majority black inhabitants were reduced. Residential areas were segregated, sometimes by forced removals. The government segregated education, medical care, beaches, and other public services, and provided black people with services inferior to those of white people.

(There is definitely a parallel to the Jim Crow Laws which were enforced in Southern states of the US between 1876 and 1965).

Nelson Mandela was born in 1918. As young man he became involved in anti-apartheid politics and joined the ANC (African National Congress). His central goal was a South Africa led by South Africans. As a result, he was passionately involved in politics and, for instance, led a sabotage campaign against the apartheid government.

In 1962 he was arrested, convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the state, and sentenced to life imprisonment in the Rivonia Trial. This is an impressive quote from his court room speech:

 “I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

Mandela became the personification of opposition to South Africa’s apartheid regime. People demanded his release, but only after serving 28 years in prison, this finally happened. He was released in 1990 and faced a social mess: People protested, violence was common and the established order crumbled, but nobody really knew what the future would bring.

During his final years in prison, Mandela had secretly negotiated with the white government. The white leaders knew that they would not be able to keep up their power, so they tried to find a way to legalize opposition parties and democratize South Africa, but at the same time be able to retreat in an orderly way.

Mandela’s negotiations with President F.W. de Klerk to abolish apartheid were successful. Finally, in 1994 the first multiracial elections were established, in which Mandela led the ANC to victory and became South Africa's first black president. However, in order to govern the country he also had to win over a significant percentage of white people. He had to reassure them that there was a place for them and that it was their government too.

And even though he had been imprisoned by whites for almost 30 years, he managed to rule without bitterness or hate towards them. On the contrary, his dream was a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist South Africa and he did not intend to fight racism with racism.

He won many white people over by appearing at the Rugby World Cup, which was hosted by South Africa in 1995. Until then, rugby was seen as “all-white sport” and therefore had become symbol of the oppressor’s culture. Even so, Mandela presented the trophy to the South African rugby team, wearing a rugby shirt. Mandela won the hearts of millions of white rugby fans and their chanting his name, on the other hand, sent a message to the black people – a message of goodwill and desire for reconciliation.

During his presidency, Mandela worked on renewing the young, free country. True to his promise, he stepped down from presidency in 1999 and in doing so he set another example for his view of democracy. In the subsequent years, he continued to work with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, focused on charity work and fought poverty.

In my opinion, what is so fascinating about this man is his humility and his sense of what is right. As Obama put it in his speech at Nelson Mandela’s funeral, he was a “profoundly good” person. He went to prison because of having fought for the freedom of others, had an unbending will and always stood up for his beliefs. He had an amazing sense of justice, which helped him to negotiate with the “enemy” instead of fighting him. He set an inspiring example of how patience, a strong will, courage, dignity, persistence, discipline and compromise can bring about change in a peaceful way.

The whole world responded to the news of Nelson Mandela’s death and I think a reason for this is, that he embodies all the values we are looking for in a “good person”. He is a role model to many and definitely is an example of how much difference a single person can make.

All in all, I think his words represent his ideas the best, and therefore I would just like you to look at some of his most inspiring quotes and maybe let them influence your own attitude. 

- Because we all can make a difference!

Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYBODY!!!

Today, on the 4th Thursday of November, Americans are celebrating Thanksgiving. To Austrians, this is not a very well known holiday, so I decided to briefly tell you about its history.

HISTORY

The first Thanksgiving Day was celebrated in 1621.  In 1620, the Pilgrims, a group of people who had left England mainly for religious reasons, had come to America on the Mayflower. Initially, they had intended to sail to the Colony of Virginia, where they had already obtained permission to settle. However, they were put off course and anchored in today’s Massachusetts. There, they founded the Colony of Plymouth.

Unfortunately, the Pilgrims did not have an easy start in this new land where they hoped to find freedom and a new, prosperous life. About half of the settlers died within the first winter. The other half would probably have died as well if it had not been for the local Native Americans, who gave them food and taught them how to hunt, fish and grow food.

So let’s fast forward to 1621. In honor of their fist successful harvest, the pilgrims invited the Native Americans to share a meal. This meal probably consisted of birds, seafood, fruits, grains and vegetables, but the key elements of todays Thanksgiving Day meal (e.g. turkey, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes) were missing.

After this feast Thanksgiving was not celebrated for a long time. In 1777, after winning a battle in the Revolutionary War, George Washington announced November 26^th a “holiday of sincere humble and thanks”.  Especially the American Puritans liked this idea of a holiday on which people give thanks to God for all kinds of blessings. However, the date on which Thanksgiving Day was celebrated varied from state to state.

In 1827 Sarah Josepha Hale (the author of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”) started a campaign, promoting a nationwide Thanksgiving holiday. In 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln realized the unifying potential of such a holiday and declared Thanksgiving Day a national holiday on the 4^th Thursday of November.

NOW

Parades
Nowadays, Thanksgiving is an extremely popular holiday in the US. Some famous traditions that have developed throughout the past centuries are the Thanksgiving Day football games and the Thanksgiving Day parades. The most popular parade is probably “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade" in New York City. It involves fleets and giant balloons and is even broadcast on TV and radio. 

Turkey Pardon

Another tradition I found particularly interesting is the Presidential Turkey Pardon. President Kennedy was the first to keep a turkey he was given for Thanksgiving Day, instead of having it cooked. President Bush senior officially started the tradition of pardoning a turkey and sending it to a farm where it can live happily ever after. Yesterday, president Obama pardoned the turkey Popcorn:

 Family

Apart from traditions and entertainment, Thanksgiving Day is most of all about FAMILY. People reconnect with their loved ones and share a celebratory meal with them. Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel holidays, since people drive home to visit their families. The meal are enormous and consists of the staples roast turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie.

Saying "Thank You"

From my point of view, the concept of Thanksgiving Day is great. I think we all have so much to be thankful for and especially in today’s hectic world, we often forget about this. We rush through our daily lives and keep complaining about the stress, our problems and everything that goes wrong in our society. But since today is Thanksgiving Day, I would say we should – to coin a phrase – count our blessings.

In 2011 Austria was ranked 19^th in the world for its Human Development Index. Most people in Austria are wealthier than most people in the world. We should be thankful for having a safe place to live, not having to worry about how to provide food for the next day, having the freedom to travel and basically do whatever we want to do. We have the chance to life our dreams, work for our goals and to actively pursue what makes us happy. We have access to good education, which is the first step to a wealthy future life. We are healthy and have access to good healthcare. 

And what I am thankful for the most are the people I love. I am blessed to have met so many great people and I do not know what I would do without my family and friends.

In my view, consciously thinking of these blessings and giving thanks for our lives is what Thanksgiving Day is all about. Or - as President Obama mentioned in his speech - 

"We have more to be thankful for than we can ever say 

and more to be hopeful for than we can ever imagine!" 

So once again, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!