Today I browsed on TED.COM again and I came upon a video of Aziz Abu Sarah who is a Palestinian activist. He presents an unusual approach to making and keeping peace: Being a tourist. He says that tourism is the best sustainable way to bring down walls of anger, hatred and ignorance that separate us. In 2009, Aziz and two of his Jewish friends founded MEJDI TOURS. The aim of this social enterprise is to connect people of different cultures and religions and to create friendships between them. Its idea is definitely not to organise usual things such as bus sightseeing tours or all-inclusive hotels, which isolate tourists from natives - quite the reverse! To convey the special quality of Mejdi Tours, Aziz holds up a Muslim group from the UK as an example of peace. He brought them to a Orthodox Jewish family. Together they had a Jewish dinner, called Hamine. These groups of different cultures, religions and opinions got to know each other, which is amazing, considering the fact that conflicts have driven a wedge between Palestine and Israel, Muslims and Jewish!
Mejdi Tours provides tours that are currently available in countries such as Egypt, Ireland, Indonesia, Spain, Palestine, Israel, Turkey, Jordan and Iraqi Kurdistan. If you want to learn more about MEJDI TOURS, check this link: http://www.mejditours.com/
Aziz Abu Sarah on TED.com:
Although I am not a fan of tour guiding, because I rather explore places and new things on my own, I think Mejdi Tours is a great chance to get to know new cultures and people. What I mainly admire about Aziz is his ambition to create cultural openness and to make it accessible to everyone. In my opinion, it is necessary to spread this positive kind of view of the world. We live on a globalised, connected planet and it is time to overcome prejudices against different cultures, if we want to gain peace! Who knows, maybe I let myself be talked into a Mejdi Tour at some time in the future. :D
As I concern myself with US history at the moment, I decided to familiarise you with a special anti-Vietnam War protest song: The "Fish" Cheer / I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag byCountry Joe and the Fish. The singer of the influential San Francisco psychedelic rock group, Country Joe, gave an unplanned solo performance of the song, also known as the Vietnam Song, on the stage of the legendary Woodstock Festival, in 1969. Due to his nervousness, he was a bit reserved, but when he noticed that the vast audience did not seem to pay attention, he gave his all: ,,Listen people, I don't know how you expect to ever stop the war if you can't sing any better than that. There's about 300,000 of you fuckers out there. I want you to start singing. Come on.’’ Suddenly like changed, the audience got up and started to sing the anti-war lyrics with him:
The song is a satire towards the US government. Country Joe blames the politicians and leaders of the US military and the industry that makes its money from war. However, he does not pass judgement on the soldiers. Joe considers them as the leaders' victims. Soldiers are the means of achievement, or let us say: the government's means of achieving money.
The lyrics are an ironic invitation for American men to fight in the Vietnam War:
Come on all of you big strong men
Uncle Sam needs your help again
He's got himself in a terrible jam
Way down yonder in Viet Nam so
Put down your books and pick up a gun we're
Gonna have a whole lotta fun
(CHORUS)
And it's one, two, three, what are we fighting for
Don't ask me I don't give a damn, next stop is Viet Nam
And it's five, six, seven, open up the pearly gates
Ain't no time to wonder why, whoopee we're all gonna die
Come on wall street don't be slow
Why man this war is a go-go
There's plenty good money to be made by
Supplying the army with the tools of its trade
Let's hope and pray that if they drop the bomb
They drop it on the Viet Cong
Come on generals, let's move fast
Your big chance has come at last
Now you can go out and get those reds
Cos the only good commie is the one that's dead and
You know that peace can only be won when we've
Blown 'em all to kingdom come
Come on mothers throughout the land
Pack your boys off to Viet Nam
Come on fathers don't hesitate
Send your sons off before it's too late
And you can be the first ones on your block
To have your boy come home in a box
In my opinion, Country Joe did a great job. If you really want to fight for your or somebody else’s rights, it is important to get up and to say something. Furthermore, I think songs are a great tool to deliver messages. At the same time, songs are a product of art and they are able to have a lasting effect!
As promised, today I want to tell you something about Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the reason why I fell in love with this City. One special thing about Sarajevo is that it is a combination of different elements. Firstly, religion plays a key role in Sarajevo, which is steeped in history. Throughout a number of decades, different religions were brought to that area, which was inhabited by Illyrians before. The Illyrians became converted by Christian missionaries and the Muslim Ottomans. Today, the capital is mainly made up of Muslims, followed by Orthodox Christians, Catholics and even of a few Jews. So it is no coincidence that Sarajevo is also known as Europeans Little Jerusalem. Within a 500-metre radius, tourists can admire a Mosque, an Orthodox Church, a Catholic Church and a Synagogue, which is unique in the world, considering the distance between those buildings! Furthermore, you can find a diversity of styles of architecture, which leads me to the second point. On the way from the outskirts of the city to its centre, you can find a variety of buildings in different parts of the town, such as industrialised apartment blocks of former communist Yugoslavian times, a few skyscrapers which were build in the last ten years, apartments and buildings of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and architectural styles of the Ottoman Empire. Furthermore, you cannot overlook the run-down buildings and the countless bullet holes, caused in the 90ies, when Sarajevo was engulfed by war and occupied for three years.
The river, called Miljacka, which is known to be the place of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, who was killed by the later condemned Gavrilo Princip in 1914, flows through the city. Next to the river is the Old Townof Sarajevo. The Old Town is a picturesque part in the heart of Sarajevo. Every time I go there, I immerse myself in a world consisting of narrow paths of white stones, many bazaars and a wide range of small restaurants. Those restaurants provide traditional Bosnian food. Almost every menu offers Burek or Ćevapi which are considered as the most popular national food. I really love this food, although it sometimes turns out to be too stodgy. After a meal, I often enjoy the spirit of the Old Town witha cup of turkish coffee and a piece of Baklava, a sweet cake made of flaky pastry and nuts. Unfortunately, the spirit of Sarajevo is more than such a dreamlike place. The streets are full of begging, ravenous children and miserable inhabitants who need to budget every day to make sure they can make ends meet for the rest of the month. The high unemployment rate of Bosnia is the result of the bloody disintegration of Yugoslavia and the consequent politics. While corrupt political leaders line their own pockets, a lot of the rioters act out of desperation and anger because the government is not addressing their needs in any way. Due to the war and political circumstances, Bosnians, such as my family, moved away. Today, they are still better off in other countries. Nevertheless, in summer holidays, a vast multitude of emigrants return to Sarajevo to spend time in their homeland. Besides, more and more tourists and backpackers visit the City, which boosts the economics. It makes me happy that the interest for the city rises every year. I can only recommend to visit Sarajevo. For me it is like an open book, full of incomparable, historical pictures!
The Old Town's Center
Bazaars of the Old Town
Sarajevo
That's a link to an interesting page providing pictures of the 90ies and its desrcriptions.
Today is the 13th of January, 2015. This very day, 47 years ago, was the point in time when one of my favourite singers and songwriters set up a milestone in history of music: His record of an live concert in the Folsom Prison was published.
Who am I talking about? Some of you may already know it. This blog post is about JOHNNY CASH, a country icon of the 20th century. Furthermore, he was more than that. He is considered as one of the most influential American musicians. Besides being the man, with the remarkable deepbass-baritone voice and a famous country singer, his music also contains elements of Folk, Rock and Roll, Rockabilly, Blues and Gospel. Not only had the different types of music genre formed his songs, but also his life which was full of incidents had an influence on his songs. His childhood in Kingsland, Arkansas left its indelible mark on Johnny Cash. Johnny’s mother taught him how to play the guitar and to sing religious folk songs at an early age, whereas his father treated him badly throughout his childhood. He had always made Johnny feel unwanted and he even wished that the 12-year-old Johnny had died instead of his elder brother Jack, who was killed in an accident with a circular saw. Cash’s further successful life consisted of divorce, drug addiction and escapades which often ended up in prison cells overnight. Only one person could save him from misery and that was the country singer and songwriter, June Carter. In the early 60ies she started to perform at Johnny side and he immediately fell in love with her. Later they got married and June gave birth to their son John Carter Cash. Johnny Ray Cash died in 2003, a few month after Junes death.
Johnny Cash felt great compassion for prisoners, since he was in similar situations. In the late 50ies he began performing concerts in prisons. These performances finally led to a pair of highly successful live albums, which were the result of Johnny’s powers of persuasion. The record, Johnny Cash at Folsom Prisonin 1968, was followed by the album Johnny Cash at San Quentin in 1969. The final live album was called På Österåker, which was the outcome of Cash’s performance at theÖsteråker Prison in Sweden in 1972. Johnny Cash had an great effect on the prisoners and he left them with an overwhelming feeling. Prisoners celebrated him as a hero. One thing is for sure, Johnny Cash is one of the biggest music legends of all times!
Cash's performance at Folsom Prison
The lyrics explain why Johnny Cash is known as the Man in Black:
Johnny Cash and June Carter
Sunday 11 January 2015
hello everybody :)
Now, this is my 6th Block Post and I realized that I still have not introduced myself. Where do I start? Well, my name is Amina and I live in Leibnitz. It is in the South of Styria, the Green Heart of Austria. The name fits good because of its forests and green areas. Besides, Southern Styria is famous for its wine-growing areas which are located in the rolling countryside near to Leibnitz. These areas include lots of Buschenschänke which are traditional, Styrian restaurants. A Buschenschank ispopular place to visit. Not only provides it home-made wine and delicious snacks, such as the Brettljause, but visitors can also have a great few over the beautiful landscape from there. One special Buschenschank is the Kitzeckmüller, in Kitzeck, ten kilometers away from Leibnitz. It has the best view over Kitzeck and the best food there, but I would not write about it, if I would not work there! After all, this post is about me and, yes, every autumn, the peak season of a Buschenschank, I do work there as a waitress. I really like this job! The owners are kind and I can drink and eat whatever I want after work. I am a lucky person! Another fact about me is that my parents are migrants. My mother is from Montenegro and my father is from Hercegovina. Both had crossed the borders, seeking refuge from the war in former Yugoslavia back in 1992. After arriving in Austria, my parents and my sister lived at several families who were willing to open their home to refugees. One year after my birth, my parents had worked hard enough to gain independence and to move in a small house to Leibnitz. In the next couple of years we moved from one house to another. From time to time my parents improved in German and the chance to get a better job raised. Twelve years ago, we finally moved into our current house. I think it is remarkable that my parents managed to build a secure existence for our family, although they had nothing when they arrived in Austria. I am very proud of them! Throughout my life, I have often visited Bosnia or Montenegro, particularly Sarajevo, which is a really special city for me - in another post I am going to write about it! Now that you know where I work, live and where I am originally from, it is time to go to bed! Maybe I will tell you more about me at a later point in time!
Lately, I asked myself what the differences between Chinese, Korean and Japanese culture are. Actually, many people outside Asia cannot distinguish between these three countries. That is mostly a result of ignorance and prejudice, whether unconsciously or not. → The same goes for me! There was no way for me to answer this question completely, not nearly. Due to this lack of knowledge and uncertainty, I did some research on this issue. As a result, I realised that in some cases, Chinese, Korean and Japanese people are as different as chalk and cheese!
Well, the aim of this post is to familiarise you with a part of Asian culture and to show you what I have found out:
For untrained eyes and ears, the Chinese script and the language probably looks and sounds the same as the other two languages. After showing you the differences, you will see that it is quite easy to distinguish.
Chinese is the origin of all East-Asian languages and it has many forms. The most widely spoken form is Mandarin. The complex Chinese characters mostly consist of a semantic element, which focuses on the study of meaning, and a phonetic element that indicates the pronunciation. At least, you have to learn about 3,000 necessary characters to be able to understand the newspaper, out of around 40,000 in a Chinese dictionary.
If you want to learn Mandarin, do not confuse the four distinct tones! Otherwise native speaker will get you wrong. For instance, ma has, according to tone, more meanings: mā (媽 – mother), má (麻 – hemp), mǎ (馬 – horse) and mà (罵 – scold) - Do not end up calling your ma a horse, or worse!
how to introduce yourself:
Japanese is written with a combination of three scripts: Kanji(漢字)which are characters of Classical Chinese; Hiragana (ひらがな) for native Japanese words and Katakana (カタカナ) for foreign words → together they are called Kana
In comparison to Chinese, Japanese pronunciation is not that complex. It has relatively few sounds. Therefore, pronunciation does not present a problem to learners. The real difficulty are the large number of local dialects and the honorific suffixes such as -sanwhich is a title of respect: e.g. you can add it to a person’s name in both formal and informal contexts, but you can also attach it to names of animals, workplace nouns and so forth...
how to introduce yourself:
The Koreans are one ethnic family speaking one language. The language is somewhat easier to read than Chinese because of its existing alphabet, called Hangeul. It contains 24 consonants and vowels. The letters are grouped into blocks, such as guk 국. This syllable consists of three distinct letters: ㄱ= g , ㅜ = u , ㄱ= k (, g)
In South Korea, the language is most often called Hangungmal. However, in North Korea, they call it Chosŏnmal.
China ⟶ A simple and kind salutation and a handshake, with only a slide head nod are common. Eye contact, a smile and politeness are the most important thing when you start a conversation. It expresses sincerity. The Chinese greeting is actually pretty much the same as the way you greet people in the Western culture.
Gong Shou 拱手 is the traditional practice of greeting among the Chinese:
Japan ⟶ People greet each other by bowing to express appreciation and respect. The deeper the bow is, the more respect is shown towards the opposite person. How deep somebody bows depends on the situation. You give a slightly bow when passing by someone of a higher social status or exchanging a casual greeting. That kind of bow is called eshaku. The keirei bow is deeper than the eshaku and is usually used in business interactions. The saikeirei is at the same time the deepest and most polite bow, and it expresses feelings apology or deep gratitude.
Korea ⟶ The Korean greeting manners are similar to the Japanese. At this point I would simply like to show you this video because I think this girl has such a delightful and cheerful appearance! :D
MANNERS IN PUBLIC:
China ⟶ The Chinese do not have the cultural custom of quietness in public spaces. Therefore you will often see Chinese people laughing and raising their voices.
Japan/ Korea ⟶ Natives of both countries tend to behave quietly in public. In trains, for example, it is not polite to speak in a loudness that is audible and understandable. They even keep their laughter to a minimum.
EATING MANNERS:
China ⟶ A typical Chinese eating manner is that people in China usually sit around a table and share a large plate of food with each other. While it is rude to leave a part of the meal, it is impolite to take the last piece of food on the plate. Furthermore, not only is China the origin of the Japanese and Korean language, but it is the inventor of the chopsticks. The most interesting fact about their manners is that they have no manners! It is allowed to eat and drink noisily or to belch and leaving part of a meal is polite! :D
Japan ⟶ For Japanese it is common to say before every meal itadakimasu - I humbly receive and after the meal they say gochisousama - thank you for the good meal. Both words express appreciation for being able to eat foods and a person who cooks meals. Japanese hold the dish while eating and they even touch their lips on the soup-bowl.
It is impolite to eat or drink something while walking down the street.
Aaaaand….Always clean your plate! Japan is not in China!
Korea ⟶ In contrary with Japanese eating habits, in Korea it is not recommendable to touch your lips on the soup-bowl. Apart from that, they do not leave the table while eating.
While Japanese and Chinese only eat with chopstick, Koreans use both spoon and chopsticks.
TOWARDS FOREIGNERS:
China ⟶ Chinese people are really curious about foreigners. They often come up with questions such as ‘How old are you?’, ‘Which University do you attend?’ or ‘Are you married or planning to get married?’ and so on. In addition, Chinese like to compliment foreigners on their look or their pronunciation after they have said ni hao. Sometimes, it seems as if Chinese want to soft-soap foreigners, but actually they place importance on harmony and politeness, less on honesty. In our cases Chinese may do not lie when the say such things, because many Asians really fancy the Western look!
Japan, Korea⟶ Both countries generally seem to be less enthusiastic about foreigners. They even have more or less nationalistic tendencies. In opposition to North Korea and large parts in China, the Japanese and South Korean lifestyle is similar to the Western lifestyle, but they still avoid the contact to foreigners. Nevertheless, this kind of ignorance does not apply to all Japanese and Koreans! There will always be open-minded and frankly Japanese and Koreans who will appreciate people, no matter where they are from.
Each of you may have an idea how the Asian fashion looks like, but can you distinguish between Chinese, Japanese and Korean clothing, and do you even know how they are called? Actually, I did not know it. :D
Now, after you saw the slight differences in fashion, are you also able to say who is who? Here you see three average faces, Korean, Japanese and Chinese. First guess, then look above to the headline which is the right order!
For those who are interested and accurate in every detail :D That just wraps it up today!I hope you are now more familiar with this topic.
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