Arosa

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by Nicole Huwyler, Switzerland

My name is Nicole and I’m from Switzerland. I’m 19 years old. I grew up in Zurich with my parents and an older sister and older brother. When I finished my school I went to Arosa for my apprenticeship as a waitress in a hotel. So for the last 4 years, I lived in Arosa and it became my home.

Important Information’s about Arosa

Arosa is in the southeast area of Switzerland in the canton Graubünden. You can only travel by car or train from Chur. Arosa has 3205 inhabitants. The high seasons are in summer and winter. In the spring and fall, only the inhabitants live there. They are two lakes in the center of Arosa called Obersee and Untersee. In the winter you can go skiing, walking and ice-skating and in the summer hiking, swimming in Untersee and enjoy the sun.

 

 

Lovely places in summer

The most beautiful and oldest building in Arosa is the Bergkirchli. It’s a church and they have an organ from 1762. In Bergkirchli we have concerts, marriages, funerals and on special days like Christmas, a religious mass.

My favorite place is by the lake Alplisee. It has a wonderful hiking tour for an hour. The trail is extremely precipitous, but when you are by the Alplisee you can enjoy the fresh air and the sun. Also, you can go swimming, but it’s very cold, like 5 degrees.

In the summer we also have
a beautiful lake Untersee where you can go swimming, playing Volleyball or just relax with your friends.

Winter experience

In the winter it’s common to go skiing. Since 2014 we have about 225 km ski runways together with the Lenzerheide. I love the winter when it’s white everywhere. Also, a fun experience is to go sledding. That can be hilarious but also very dangerous. We have two big events in winter. One is the Humor-Festival that’s always in the beginning of the season and goes 10 days. There are 3 shows in one the day where comedians present their programs. Artists from Switzerland, Germany, England and Austria come to Arosa and present their programs on 2000 meters in a very big tent.

The second event is called “Arosa Electronica”. It’s a music festival for the people who love electronic music. The Festival is always in the middle of March for a week. It has 11 locations for this event like in a skiing cottage, in a club or in a hotel.

Sport

Ice-hockey is the most famous sport in Arosa. We have two teams; one is playing in the first league and the second in the fourth league. In the past, the EHC Arosa was one of the best teams in Switzerland. They won 9 Swiss Championships in the years 1951-1957, 1980 and 1982.  The most famous player from the EHC Arosa was Guido Lindenmann. Now Guido has a bar in Arosa called “Overtime”. My best friend Alex and i go only to watch the games of the second team because my Uncle Bruno, my boyfriend Kevin, and Paul (Alex’s Boyfriend) a very good friend play there. Their team name is Wild Hogs.  

Volleyball

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by Kevin Kahlsdorf, Germany

Volleyball

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Volleyball is a game played by two teams, each one consisting of six players (indoor), in which the players use their hands and other body parts to get a ball over a net. The aim is to make the ball hit the ground within the opponents’ playing area. To prevent this, a player of the opposing team tries to reach the ball and play it towards a teammate before it touches the floor. The teammate then plays it back across the net or towards another teammate. This guy then has to play the ball over the net since a team is only allowed to have three touches before playing the ball back over the net.

History

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Volleyball was invented in 1895 by William G. Morgan, physical director of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in Holyoke, Massachusetts. It was designed as an indoor sport for men who found basketball too violent. The original rules were written by Morgan. The game soon proved to have wide appeal for both sexes in schools and many other people. Many countries then took the American game as a role model and introduced Volleyball in their country.

Game Rules

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Volleyball can be played indoors or outdoors. The court and the rules differentiate a bit.

Indoor

The game is played on a court 9 metres wide and 18 metres long. It is divided by a line into two equal areas, one for each team (6 players). Players may not step over the line during the game. There is another line 3 metres apart from the middle, which separates the front from the back area. Beyond this line back players are not allowed to kill the ball above the net, except they start jumping before crossing the line in the air. A net is placed across the court above the middle line. An antenna extends the net at the outer edge of each side.

The ball must be passed over the net entirely between the antennas. The service area to serve is marked behind each court’s end line. During a point each team is allowed to touch the ball 3 times before returning it to the other team. Blocking the ball or touching it while trying does not count as the first touch.

Outdoor

The game is played on a court 8 metres wide and 16 metres long. It is divided by a line into two equal areas. It is most common to play on the beach or on specially created places with sand to play on. Each team has 2 players and both are equally allowed to play the ball. This means that there are no area restrictions to either of them, except staying on their side of the net. Like indoor volleyball each team is allowed to touch the ball 3 times, but touching the ball during a block-action does count as the first touch. Also there are some restrictions on how to play the first and the third ball, for example, you are not allowed to play the first ball with an upper pass. The ball is also different in weight and shape.

Free Time-Volley

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If you are thinking right now ‘rules and more rules…I cannot play volleyball’, do not worry, there is a place for everybody. If you just want to play with some friends, you do not need to pay too much attention to the rules. Most often people only use the rules for the court and the net, but do not look closely at mistakes when playing the ball. This is just the way to do it because it is pretty hard to learn how to play the ball correctly and not practical for “just for fun players”.

Visit Stockholm

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Travel is one of the greatest and most important things you can do on your leisure according to me and one of my favorite cities to travel to be one very close to me in my home country. I’m going to tell you why you should visit the beautiful capital of my home country Sweden, Stockholm. It lives 10 million people in Sweden wish 1, 5 million of those lives in Stockholm. Stockholm is the biggest capital of people in the Nordic area wish includes countries Norway, Finland, Denmark and Sweden. Stockholm isn’t one of the biggest capitals but I would say it’s one of the most beautiful capitals because of the position. Stockholm is built on fourteen islands by the Baltic Sea.   There are plenty of things to see and do in Stockholm and the optimal time to go is in the summer so you can enjoy being outside and maybe take a dip in the sea? One of my favorites is to walk around in the old town (Gamla Stan) where Stockholm was founded in 1252 and maybe go into a coffee shop and buy a Swedish cinnamon bun or go to a nice restaurant. There are also a lot of museums to go to about old Stockholm, it’s really interesting. The old town has interesting architecture with all the nice old apartments around which are nice to go around and check out. One of the most famous attractions in the old town is the Royal palace which is one of the biggest palaces in the world with more than 600 rooms which in some you can visit. Lastly, you can see Riddarholmen and Riddarholmen church, which is a very old church with a lot of history.   As I’ve already said, Stockholm is a very beautiful capital and it’s perfect to take sightseeing by bus or by boat to see every part of Stockholm. Stockholm is one of the best cities to sightsee because of its location of fourteen islands connected by fifty-seven bridges. Don’t miss out on Djurgarden while in Stockholm! You can find a lot of great experiences there. There are great restaurants and a lot of great museums for both kids and adults there. There’s something for everyone. Liljevalchs is the museum for the people who like art and then there’s museums for the kids like Junibacken which is where the stories of Astrid Lindgren comes to life. But my favourites are definitely Skansen, Grona Lund and ABBA the museum. Firstly at Skansen there’s an old village with old pretty houses and animals but the most famous place of Skansen is the stage Solliden where they every summer have a show with artists and celebrities who sings with the audience and it’s recorded to tv, it’s really fun to be in the audience but also to see it on tv.   Secondly, Grona Lund is one of the biggest tivolis in Sweden and they also have a stage with big artists every summer. Lastly, the ABBA museum is a fabulous museum surrounding the swedish pop group ABBA. You can see pictures of their music videos, costumes, the background story of their lives and more. The ABBA museum also has the Swedish Hall of fame where you can read about other swedish artists and swedish music history.  I think I could write about Stockholm and all its amazing places for so much longer but I will have to end by giving a last advice and it’s by saying that you should not miss out Norrmalm/City, you will find great shopping and restaurants and more. Visit Stockholm! You will not regret it.

The diversity of being a make-up artist

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A makeup artist is an artist whose medium is the human face and body. He or she applies make-up or other items to create certain effects. The great thing about this job is that you have so many different options to express your creativity. There is a wide range of employment possibilities such as for television, film making, fashion, magazines, weddings and so forth.  The most important thing is to be creative and brave because when, it comes to make-up artistry, there are no limits. Only if you push through the boundaries and are not afraid to try out new ideas, there’s a chance that you will make the big business. As the more skills you have, the more options you have when it comes to jobs. In this article I would like to tell you more about this amazing job and it’s different ranges.

 

 

Show your creativity

A good way to show your creativity in this job is through body painting and/or airbrushing. Bodypainting is a kind of body art. It means painting something temporary, painted onto the human skin. Most of the artists combine body painting with airbrush make-up. Airbrush make-up is a make-up sprayed onto the skin using an airbrush gun instead of brushes, sponges, fingers or other methods. Airbrush make-up is also used as wedding make-up because it lasts very long. To do a full body painting can take up to seven hours or more. Each year the best body painters of the world show off their skills during competitions at the world bodypainting festival.

The fascination of SFX make-up

SFX make-up also called special effects make-up and FX prosthetics is the process of using prosthetic sculpting, modeling and casting techniques to create advanced cosmetic effects.

Special make-up is often used to transform someone into a totally different character or to create realistic injuries.

The options range from are full body transformations to just small parts like a scar or a cut. The most important thing for a realistic result is to study detail of the end result you want to reach. For example when you have to do an injury you have to know how it happens and when it happens. A bruising looks different on the first day than on the fifth.

Be the one who makes a bride’s day perfect

To make someone happy is the best feeling you can have. Especially brides are so thankful and it is a great experience to accompany them on their way to getting married.  A bridal make-up is maybe not the most creative one but it’s also challenging. It’s all about organization. A very important thing is to do find out what the bride’s wishes for and will be wearing so you can find the perfect make-up for her.

Make-up artist and hairstylists

It’s also highly probable that you are not just doing the make-up but also the hair.  Maybe just an easy braid or some waves but as more skills you have the more jobs you get. But most of the time there are special artists which are trained just in hairstyling. Then you work together as a team, someone does the make-up, someone the hairstyling and also stylists choosing the right dresses.

It is the combination of teamwork and the skills from the particular that makes the perfect picture, editorial, film, runway look or whatever. To meet this entire people is also a big part of this wonderful and exciting job. It’s more than just apply some colors onto the skin. It’s the creativity and the diversity of all the people in this industry what makes it interesting. To be a make-up artist is not just a job, it’s a lifestyle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quidditch, Real Sport?

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By Jade Olivier, Belgium

000000001Do you know the movie, Harry Potter? Do you know the game of Quidditch? Yes, you can play this sport in the true life. Some explanations:  How do you play this sport? “To score points, chasers or keepers must get the quaffle, a slightly deflated volleyball, into one of three of the opposing hoops which scores the team 10 points. To impede the quaffle from advancing down the pitch, chasers and keepers are able to tackle opposing chasers and keepers at the same time as beaters using their bludgers—dodgeballs—to take out opposing players. Once a player is hit by an opposing bludger, that player must dismount their broom, drop any ball being held, and return to and touch their hoops before being allowed back into play. The game is ended once the snitch is caught by one of the seekers, awarding that team 30 points.”[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quidditch_(sport)]. Don’t believe you can fly on broomsticks! You have to run with it between your two legs. It’s difficult, but, with a little bit of exercise and training, it becomes easy. What equipment do you need to play this sport? Is it a physical sport? Quaffle (from volleyball), bludgers (from dodgeballs), snitch (from tennis ball), brooms, hoops. It is a physical sport because it is a mix between different sports: basketball,  volleyball and American football. Where is this sport from? Where was the first team in the world? Sure, this sport comes from the movie Harry Potter and the origin of this movie is British. So the first team to play to this sport were British people. The sport was created in 2005 at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont (USA), by Xander Manshel and Alex Benepe, who later became the first commissioner of Quidditch. So, this sport is 12 years old. It is now an international sport, played around the world: in Europe, in the USA, Australia and China. Each year there is an international competition and this year it will happen in Oslo in Norway. About my experience? I have already played this sport when I was studying Dutch in Antwerp before to come in Santa Barbara. I played this sport with my host-family in one of the best clubs in Belgium: Dodo’s. I played it for only 4 months and a lot of people told me that I was really good at this sport. Now I’m going to Oslo inside the Belgium’s national team of quidditch to play a very big competition: international competition (I think). At the beginning, to run with a broomstick between my legs was really strange and really ridiculous, but everyone runs like this so I did the same. I felt better because I saw that everybody looked ridiculous to run like that but it didn’t cause any problems for anybody.

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TRAVELLING

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By: Manuela Idarraga, Colombia.

Travelling has become part of our lives. Everyday more and more people have the chance not only to visit another part of the world but also to learn about a new culture; we all feel curious about what is outside the box we live in. Most of us do not even like our lives, but at the same time we refuse to explore and try new things because we are     afraid of making mistakes.manuela 1

One of the main reasons for people to travel nowadays is because it is economical; also it is easier to get a ticket and a place to stay in because of the internet. We can be richer by travelling because we can become an open-minded society and that is all we need to stop being prisoners in our own minds and start being happy in our own ways. Just imagine the world without stereotypes!

Gone are the days when people used to spend all their lives in the same city and “tour” was a word for rich people only. Now, with the technological advancements, cheaper flights, and an ever-increasing awareness towards other states and countries; the world has become a smaller place. I can definitely say that the tourism industry is changing fast and this is attracting a lot more travelers.manuela 2

People have started to work more and earn more compared to earlier days. Also, with the amount of information the internet has brought; globalization has made our lives easier than ever before. These things have influenced the number of people who prefer travelling as a holiday.

It is helpful to know other people from all around the world. By travelling, humans can understand other cultures and socialize with foreign people and this lets us identify their needs and become aware of different situations. Also, science and knowledge can be global and then humans can advance faster than ever before. Worldwide village causes human-kind to think globally and solve global issues.manuela 3

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” – Saint A.

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The Richest Person in Saudi Arabia

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By Abdulmajeed Alfrayan, Saudi Arabia

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Sulaiman AL-Rajhi is the richest person in Saudi Arabia.   When he was 16 he started selling the water in the street. He was working at the same time in a restaurant to earn the money for his family. When he earned some extra money he went to trade  in fruits and other things until he reached what he is now, the richest man in Saudi Arabia.

 

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Sulaiman AL-Rajhi has the largest bank in the Middle East. He has more than 50 thousand employees.

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Sulaiman Al-Rajhi was born in Al Bukairiyah, located in Al Qassim province in Saudi Arabia, and grew up in the Nejd desert with his brother, Saleh. Sulaiman Abdulaziz Al Rajhi holds the largest individual stake in his family’s Al Rajhi Bank.

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Sulaiman AL-Rajhi invested more than his half money to benefit kids and the poor people.

A “Little” of the American Culture

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     By Louana Fancello, Belgium

When I say “America” what are you thinking about? Big country, celebrities, movies, big cars, famous cities, …? But what is the most famous topic in this country? The FOOD of course! In the United States, a lot of people come from various countries, bringing their traditions and food.

     Before I left to come here, I was really afraid of gaining a lot of weight. Actually, you just have to find a balance between the foods, your free time and sport … For example; you can follow a healthy diet during the week, and allow yourself to eat any kind of junk food on the weekend.

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     Also, the most important thing when you have free time is to move and do something. If you stay at home and watch movies, you will be tempted to snack between your meals.

     Then, one of the biggest problems here in The United States is the constant exposure to food. Wherever you go, you can see that the food is unnaturally shiny and perfect; I mean you always want to try something which is different from your country. Most of the time, the color of the food is attractive. For example, the arrangement of the fruits and vegetables in the supermarkets will make you hungry.

     As The United States is a big country, the size of the portions is proportional. Everything is really big everywhere and it is difficult to refuse.

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     They are not only difficulties about following a healthy diet. Another problem is the price. The prevalence of obesity here is awful. Why? Because healthy food is really expensive so we can say that it is not only the people’s fault. When you compare the prices and the time that you spend to buy food, it is easier to choose the junk food like hamburgers,hot-dogs, tacos,… than a salad or something healthy.

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     To conlude, as it is my first time in this country, I don’t really pay attention on what I eat, I just motivate myself to go to the gym in order to enjoy my stay here. We are always criticizing people who suffer from obesity, but when we take a closer look at the situation, we can see that the rate of obesity is relative to the country. How people can eat healthy if the see publicities for fast-food everywhere, which are so attractives? Fran Lebowitz, a journalist said: “If you’re going to America, bring your own food.”

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