Writing Your Own Songs

by Vivian Grunauer, Switzerland

“You don’t need a song, you need a feeling.” This quote is one of the most important aspects if you want to write a song. You can’t just sit down on a sunny afternoon and tell yourself that you are going to write a song now. A song itself is like art. It is complex, beautiful and only the person who wrote it can understand it completely. But if a song is really beautiful, you feel like you are the person who wrote it because you have the same emotions as the writer when you listen to the song. A really good song carries you away, makes you smile or even cry. So if you want to write a song, you need to have a strong emotion or feeling you can write about. vivian

 

Did you know that more than 70% of all the songs in the world are about love? If you ask yourself why, the answer is pretty simple. As I mentioned before, to write a song you need a feeling, and love is the strongest emotion of all emotions. Everyone knows how it feels to have a broken heart or to not be able to stop thinking about this one special person. Many people are annoyed because there are so many love songs and many of them are about almost the same thing. I don’t think there is any reason to be upset because, if you are really sad and you write a song about that, it can be really releasing and helpful to get over a hard time in your life. Or maybe you feel exactly the opposite. Maybe you are so happy that you want to scream your happiness out into the wide world.

vivian 2

I have never been the kind of girl who writes in a diary. I tried to do that a couple of times but I was always too lazy to write daily. My kind of diary was my songbook. Whenever I felt like something was bothering me I wrote it into that book. Sometimes I just wrote a few words, and other times a whole text. I didn’t turn all of those thoughts into songs but all the songs I wrote had their first appearance in this little book. That’s the reason why my songs are really personal. They are my kind of diary.

Last year, I sang at our city festival with my band “Vie and We.” I had sung at this festival before, but this time it felt completely different to be on stage. On the one hand that was because it was the first appearance of my band on stage, and on the other hand it was the first time that I sang my own songs in public. I was really nervous because I knew that all the people that were listening to me that day would know some of my most personal feelings and thoughts after that performance. But it was totally worth it. To see that the audience liked my songs, that they liked my self-made little artwork, made me very happy. I hope that I’ll have another opportunity like this in the near future.vivian 3

https://video-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t42.3356-2/13713873_652971601520680_879089347_n.mp4/video-1468528532.mp4?vabr=255765&oh=f3ddda919c11785d07c585234fdd4d8d&oe=5789D41B&dl=1

All around the world

Dana Lazzaro, Switzerland

Travelling is a way to see new places, learn new things and different cultures. It is a way to see different points of view and to grow up as a person. Every trip changes you a little bit, and when you come back home you’re a different person in some way.

floridaLately, I had the chance to go to lots of places with my family, because they like travelling as much as I do. Last summer we went to Florida for two weeks and we travelled around Florida so that we could see all the different cities. We saw “small” cities, like Fort Myers and Daytona, and also big cities, like Orlando and Miami. I could see the differences between those cities, the small neighborhoods with a lot of lovely houses in Fort Myers and the big ones in Miami with a lot of mansions, the small and empty beaches and the crowded ones.

I liked everything about this trip, I had the chance to see a lot and to see how real life is in the USA. I live in Switzerland and I always watch American movies or tv series, and I’ve always dreamt about going there. So this trip was a kind of dream that became true.

This year I also went to London and Amsterdam for a few days.

I had the chance to see a lot of history and museums and they were really interesting but it was also interesting to see some characteristics of the countries.

For example, did you know that in Britain all the people always stay in line on the escalators on the right side? Because in this way the people that are in a hurry can go on the left side. I was really impressed about that! I’ve also been to Italy and to the seaside of Greece , but that’s more of a relaxing holiday than a real trip.london

I would really like to go far away like in Asia or Africa to see some real different cultures.

Another way to see new places and new cultures is going abroad to learn a language.

You can learn a new language and you can actually live like a native of the place. You can change your life style for a period and I think that this is really a great experience!

I study a lot of languages at school, and I like to travel in the summer and improve my additional languages. I’ve already been to Germany a couple of times to study German and I really liked that experience. So this summer I’m in Santa Barbara for a month to improve my English.

I think that this has been a really great experience, an experience that I will remember forever!

You live for a month away from your home and you are away from your everyday problems. You live a different life and you learn new things. When you come back home you will be an improved person, and maybe you will see things in a transformed way.SB

In conclusion, travelling is a way to change your personality and it is an experience that you won’t   live again, and you will always have it in your heart, because it’s going to become a part of you. This experience is going to become something that you’ll never forget.

 

 

Zero Waste Lifestyle – Why and how to reduce your waste

By Luara Garcia

Understand the importance of reducing waste

First thing: waste doesn’t start in your trash can. It starts before arriving at your home: at the markets, stores, shops, wherever you are shopping.

We are using too much stuff and to have all of these things we are using many resources and quickly running out of them. In the past five decades, more than 1/3 of the planet’s resource base has been consumed. 80% of the world’s original forests are gone.

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The United States takes up 5% of the world’s population, and uses 30% of the world’s resources and also produces 30% of the world’s waste. If everybody consumed at the U.S. rates, we would need 3 to 5 planets.

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In the production process, industries mix toxic chemicals to make our products, and also create a lot of pollution. When we discard our trash, it is dumped in a landfill, which is a big hole in the ground, and most of the time, it is burned and then dumped in a landfill.

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When toxics chemicals (contained in the trash products) are burned, they turn into new toxics, like dioxin, the most toxic man-made substance known to science. Both of the discard processes pollute the air, land, water and change the climate.
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A funny thing to think about is that about 1% of total materials we buy are still in use 6 months after the date of sale. That means that 99% of the stuff we buy is trashed within 6 months.

Each person in the United States produces 41/2 pounds of garbage a day.

These are just some of the reasons why we should stop producing so much waste.

 

Zero waste life style

Zero waste means not producing any trash, not sending anything to landfills, not throwing anything in a trash can.

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This girl in the picture is Lauren Singer. She lives a Zero Waste life in New York. That jar in her hand is all the trash she produced in 3 years.

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She decided to start living like this when she was an Environmental Studies major in college, where she saw this girl taking all her food in a lot of plastic bags and trashing it every day, which made Lauren feel frustrated. Then one day when she got home, she opened her refrigerator and looked at all that plastic. She felt like she was that girl and so decided to cut out plastic from her life.

This was the beginning. Today she composts and recycles; she produces her own tooth paste and other products. She goes into organic markets and places where you can use your own jars and bags to “package” things.

 

Kamikatsu, Japan, is a Zero Waste town. Is it possible?

Well, they are nearly.

Kamikatsu has no garbage trucks, so residents need to compost their kitchen scraps at home. They also have to wash and sort the rest of their trash into 34 different categories, and bring it to the recycling center themselves where workers make sure that the waste goes into the correct bins.

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The town has a store where people can leave their old clothing and stuff and exchange them for others that other people have left.

They also have a factory where women make products from discarded products, like teddy bears from old kimonos, or new kimonos from old flags.

With a population just over 1,700, Kamikatsu recycles about 80 percent of its trash and only 20 percent goes to landfills.

The residents of this city take recycling very seriously. They started in 2003 and actually hope to become the nation’s first zero-waste community by 2020.

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Tips to start reducing your waste

(These tips are not to become a zero waste lifestyle person; they are little things you can do that will make a big difference, but it is not that hard to change your lifestyle. There will be some links at the end of the article where you can find out more about how to become a zero waste lifestyle person)

 

  • Have your own reusable water bottle; bring it with you everywhere so your not going to need to buy one which you are going to trash after the water is gone.
  • Have your own reusable bag for shopping; use it in the markets, stores, so you’re not going to need a plastic or paper one.
  • Only buy things you really need, try to use them until they can’t do their job any longer.23
  • Choose to buy things with less packaging.
  • Recycle.18
  • Reutilize as much as you can.19
  • Prefer to buy organic products when you can; they don’t harm the environment to be produced and you have less to be discarded.
  • Remember: you awlays can do something more.22

 

To know more about Lauren Singer and her lifestyle, here are some links that you might like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYDQcBQUDpw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF72px2R3Hg

http://www.trashisfortossers.com/p/about.html

To know more about Kamikatisu and its plans:

http://www.odditycentral.com/news/kamikatsu-japans-aspiring-zero-waste-town.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eym10GGidQU#action=share

http://www.techinsider.io/kamikatsu-japan-is-a-zero-waste-town-2016-1

To know more about the world’s situation and production process (all 21 minutes worth it):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GorqroigqM

Interview with Juliette Asselin

By Luara Garcia, Brazil

  1. What is your name and where are you from? My name’s Juliette Asselin, I’m from Saint-Lambert, Quebec, Canada.
  2. How old are you? I’m 16 years old.
  3. Tell me one typical food of your country: Poutine, which is fried cheese with sauce.
  4. Do you play any sport? No, I don’t play any sport.
  5. Do like watching series? Which on do you like most? Yes, I like The Hundred pretty much; it has a lot of action.
  6. If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would you go? I’d go to Japan, because is the opposite from where I live (food, life style, etc.).
  7. Why did you choose “Media and Journalism” as your SPIN class? Because it was the funniest one.
  8. Have you ever fall in love? How many times? Just once.
  9. How many languages do you speak? Which? Just 2, French and English.
  10. What do you like most in the United States that you don’t have in your country? Why? I like the beach. Because I like swimming in the ocean, is different from the pool, and I like being under the sun.

 

Passau – The “Three-Rivers-City”

 

Eva Wipplinger, Germany

Passau is located  in the southeast of Germany at the Austrian border. It is confluenced by  the rivers Danube, Inn and Ilz. That’s why Passau is worldwide known as “The Three-Rivers-City”.

The earliest evidence of human settlement dates back to the Neolithic. Passau was part of the Roman Empire for more than 400 years. It became an Episcopal seat in the year 739 AD. Passau was an independent prince bishopric for over 600 years. Finally in 1803 Passau was annexed into Bavaria. The setting of the Old Town, created by Italian baroque masters in the 17th century, shows soaring towers, picturesque places, enchanting promenades and romantic lanes.                                                                                                                                             

 A lot of sights are located in Passau’s Old Town:     

  • many churches

-> St. Steven’s Cathedral

  • New Bishop’s Residence
  • Gothic Town Hall
  • Many museums
  • ‘Veste Oberhaus’ ( in the north)
  • Pilgrimage Church ‘Mariahilf’ ( in the south)

St. Steven’s Cathedral

This Cathedral is located on the Old Town’s highest point with its three characteristic green, onion domed towers. The Building had burnt down almost completely in the devastating town fire in 1662, but it was rebuilt by the famous baroque architect Carlo Lurago. The stucco works were done by  G.B. Carlone and the frescos were painted by Carpoforus Tencalla. All of them were famous Italian baroque artists.                                           With its 17974 organ pipes, 233 stops and the 4 carillons it is the world’s largest cathedral organ. All five parts of the organ can be played from the main keyboard one at a time or all together.

 

University

Founded in 1973, it is the youngest university in Bavaria and consequently has the most modern campus in the state.Nevertheless, its roots as the Institute for Catholic Studies date back a hundreds of years.     After  the university opened to the public in 1978 it has quickly developed into a first address in German academia. The University regularly achieves top positions in academic rankings e.g. in Law, Business and Economics, Computer Science, Communication Studies, Political Science and Cultural Studies. Over 12000 students from over 90 countries are enrolled.

 
The flood in 2013

 

Before the flood

 

                     During the flood

In 2013 central Europe was flooded after several days of heavy rain in early june. The historic centre of Passau, where the Danube, Inn and Ilz converge, was underwater on 1 June. In Passau the water levels reached 12.85 m (42.2 ft), overflowing the highest recorded historic flood level.

After a dike failed near the town of Deggendorf, the  water levels rose to a record-breaking height of  eight meters (26 ft). The town was flooded completly and in some places the buildings were two meters (6 ft 7 in) underwater.

  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymzddtmHmLs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p6OXqZLy0s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOyYqo3WvCI

“Acceptance”

Cenet Durak, Switzerland

Let’ say, you are a teenager who is searching for something in his or her life, something that would make you happy once in your life. A lot of teenagers are searching for kindness in people, others are searching for love and comfort, and others are traveling all around the world to find true friends.

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Holden Caulfield (pg.17) is one example out of 348 million (33,6%) teenagers . I read the book with an unbiased mind. I think, what the author of “The catcher in rye” (J.D.Salinger) tries to explain is that sometimes you can go through trouble, but at the end you end up being in the place you should be. Call me naive, but I think everything we go through in our lives prepares us somehow for something bigger in the future.
Holden Caulfield was in the beginning at a school called Pencey and felt like he did not belong over there. While he was in Pencey, he often talked about his little brother Allie who died at a young age. Holden also described himself as corny, old, and strange, because of his grey hair at early age and his solitary. When Holden left Pencey, he did not go home until Wednesday. Therefore, he went to a payphone and called some of his crushes, friends and frenemies. He did not like to be solitary. It was compulsory for him to have someone to care about.1*UMEB_E073nhNH7e1bXg-jw

The whole story is about the people, he cares about and the ones, he likes to care about, but he does not know how because there is a missing link in knowing them and being friends with them. Generally, his siblings are the most important people for him. His friends. Allie who is dead and Phoebe who relies on him.Catcher-in-the-Rye
Already at a young age Holden saw a lot of bad things. One of his classmates, who lived next door committed suicide in Pencey. His interactions with his teachers and bad grades caused him to drop out of school, which led to the story of the book : ”The catcher in the rye”. Shortly after, he dropped out of Pencey, he took a taxi undecided where he wanted to go. Inside he was thinking to go to New York and he did. In his hurry he changed his mind and told the taxi driver to take him to Central Park, New York. While the taxi driver was trying to figure out, where he could possibly turn. Holden asked him : ”Do you know where the ducks are in the winter, when the lake freezes? I mean, I see them in the summer in the central park, all the time”. The taxi driver is baffled and answered : ”I don’t know where the goddam ducks are.” The rest of the time, while being in the taxi, the driver kept talking and kind of getting sore. All of sudden, he claimed :”They have to be somewhere, God would not let them die“. Holden stayed silent in that moment. I think in moments like these Holden was thinking that, what the taxi driver responded could be true. Subsequently, he arrived at the central park because he wanted to check on the ducks.

Afterwards, he went to a motel or hotel, where he met some hookers (prostitutes) and decided to stay with one of them, at her room, who was possibly his age or younger. Throughout the time in the room with the young girl, he only wanted to talk and someone who would like to listen to him, but in his bad luck, she did not listen at all. Again Holden felt misunderstood and behaved badly after he left the motel or hotel wounded because of the money battle about the five dollars, he should have given to the hooker.002e8026956178ece11c192eab2c9832

Throughout the story, he kept calling some girls out of a payphone like old Sally. He also toyed with the idea of running away with her somewhere into the woods. He slept in a subway in New York for a night, which he had to leave because of the people. Then he saw his old teacher who offered him his couch to sleep on, and at the end he ended up being with his sister who was his true friend. After experiencing all of these in around three days. Holden found comfort in his unusual life situation and decided to stay, where he was.
Finally, I can say Holden Caulfield you are a great guy. I do not know why J.D. Salinger wrote “The catcher in the rye”, but I am glad he did. “The catcher in the rye” is an incredible masterpiece. The book does not describe a life of a teenager, it describes what happens at the end of every story. The people and the things that belong together come together. We end up where we should have been the entire time, but we needed a bit longer to arrive and that is the only bad luck.

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Influence of Social Media on Teenagers

Kirsten Forkink, The Netherlands

Social media, it is a term everybody knows. You cannot ignore it. With the advent of the smartphone you can use social media all the time where ever you want. Teenagers are the heaviest users of social networking. 75% of the teenagers in America have profiles on social media networks. Facebook is the most popular one.

Social media networks are not always good for teenagers. They sometimes create network-induced obesity, Internet addiction and sleep de
privation. Another problem is sexting and cyber bullying on the internkirsten 2et. Cyber bullying can be directly threatening and unpleasant emails or anonymous activities suc
h as rolling. It’s also not good for the school results. The school grades are lower than before. In the long te
rm social media can take care of health problems.

kirsten 3The reason that social media is popular is due to the contact people wants with other people. The quality of this contact doesn’t matter. On the other side friendships become closer. A positive thing from social media is that people can discover. We are living in the time of globalization. The world is getting smaller and you can talk easy with everybody in the world.

Another pokirsten 4sitive thing about social media and teenagers is to create self-confidence. People respond to pictures on profile pages. Most of the time the reaction is positive. This gives the teenager a good feeling and more self-confidence.

In short, social media have two sides of impact on teenagers. Most of the time it is positive, but sometimes it can result in internet addiction and other negative things.

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I found also a YouTube video about this subject:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TWHsiMYSxw

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

racism

~Johannes Enz von Leitner, Hannover/Germany

ˈrāˌsizəm/

noun

  1. the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.
    • prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior.

“a program to combat racism”

synonyms: racial discrimination, racialism, racial prejudice, xenophobia,chauvinismbigotrycasteism

“Aborigines are the main victims of racism in Australia

 

Racism is commonly known by everybody as insulting minorities with prejudice in dumb and silly ways often executed by people with lower education levels and from a more isolated social background. But why do we have to think about racism daily and why do we have to read about racism and racial crimes so often in the newspapers?

Nowadays racism should be outdated and should not exist anymore, because the world today is globalized and modern and should know better. Of course, there are differences in different ethnicities by culture, religion, or certain habits in educating or raising of children and the youth, which we cannot be erased, but do we have to judge people over these simple criterions, like origin and religion? Racism is often against black people, or Muslims, Jews, Turkish people, or even people from other larger countries.People in Europe are prejudiced against people from the USA or from Asia as they have different views and expectations of us European nations and people originating there.

Maybe we can’t change racism because it is deeply rooted in the world’s history,racism2but we have to work harder to make a difference, at least for our children. We shouldn’t have to have racism in a modern and connected world. The internet has a big impact fighting racism by providing everybody with the same rights and possibilities, the ‘judge’ in the internet is the computer, and it doesn’t care if you are black or white, if you are Mexican or American, or about your language. That is the bright side.The opposite of this is that you can simply be very racist and hide yourself through anonymity and not recieve any punishment. It is like many parts in the modern world, on the one side we try to improve our political correctness, but on the other side, I had a lesson yesterday making jokes about political correctness and how people possibly can only screw it up, being “pc”. You cannot say one sentence without hurting someone if you are talking to overly sensitive people or there can be groups who are amused by racist jokes, whilst of course not meaning any harm by laughing about, “the Negro thief”, or “the banker Jew”…

There is a difference between racism and discrimination, in the way that discrimination is gong even further. Racism is a mindset and often can’t be changed easily. Discrimination occurs if a person with that mindset is in control/in charge and has the opportunity to lead or influence the group. Discriminating people is the act of excluding people because of their origin or because of certain customs or appearance.

In sports, they guard against racism, in the German Bundesliga (soccer league) they do advertisements against racism and stand together with the whole European soccer bound to fight racism, because in soccer or in sports in total there is no racism. You get rated by your skills and talent so you can get anywhere with hardworking! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ-63TwoL1g racism3

There are two sides to the whole racism debate and there are many people being overly sensitive and easily offended by any slightest overtone, but they have a point in talking about it and you have to tell people if their insulting comments are too much, otherwise they will never learn. So at every opportunity avoid sticky situations by not making jokes or hints in this direction, but don’t forget about bias by not talking about it! In any circumstance do not forget to talk about racism with your friends or your family; people won’t know if you never tell them! And ignorance is not the right cure, talk openly and tell them when you feel offended, otherwise nothing will change.

We all have to work together to eliminate racism in our future and world!racism4

 

Kumamoto Earthquake

Karen Nakano,Japan

The two big earthquakes hit Kumamoto city of Kumamoto prefecture in Japan. First was April 14, magnitude 6.2 at 21:26 Japan standard time and next was April 16, it was main one and magnitude 7.0 at 01:25. It was midnight so everyone was sleeping when this big earthquake hit, as a result a lot of people were buried alive. There are residences for university student in Kumamoto and over 10 students were buried alive. A lot of students rescued each other but some people are still in destroyed residence. Least 49 people were died and injured about 3000 because of these earthquakes. Also more than 44000 people have been evacuated from their houses in Kumamoto.

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Now big problem in areas affected by these earthquakes is that support materials are very shortage. Absolutely foods and water people the most need, almost houses were destroyed so they don’t have everything need for live such as blankets, paper, towels and diapers for child even houses. Now a lot of companies, volunteer organization and even individual people around Japan send many support materials on the other hand it is not enough. Some people waited 2 hours to get small rice ball. Everyone is on the line to get something with afraid for many earthquakes.

k3 k4

I was impressed by this picture. A woman is protecting her child into destroyed house of rubble. First when rescue team found this mother, they could not realize child into her arm because she wrapped her child in blanket and lied curled up for protect but after they helped mother and her child, mother was died but child was alive yet. One of rescue teammates found phone in this blanket with child. There is one message from mother “If you are still alive, please remember that how I loved you.” This message was read by everyone around there and impressed them.

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Disaster such as earthquake destroys houses, buildings, families and everything and a lot of people are dead. It is really sad and we cannot expect before this but after serious disaster, a lot of people around Japan help for them although it is not enough. I hope many people will be rescued and helped and there will be good condition as soon as possible.

 

RACISM; THE FEAR OF CHANGE

Loes Aartsen,The Netherlands

R ac RACISM; THE FEAR OF CHANGE  R ac

This morning I saw a video of two women, who were in a fight with each other. One was a white woman from Holland and the other one was Muslim wearing a Hijab. The white woman was yelling to the other woman and she said very aggressive things about her Hijab. The Dutch woman wanted her to take her Hijab off. The Muslim woman asked why and the white lady became more and more aggressive. They got into a fight and in the end of the movie, you see how the Muslim is laying down on the ground without her Hijab. Why do people do these horrible things?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8WNp-QLHKw

loesje 1

Since a lot of centuries ago, we have always had the fear of change, not to mention ‘the unknown’. Long time ago a lot of species and groups developed in their own way. The groups were not in contact with each other and everything on the other side, for example their living place, was their enemy. As a result of this, it led to prejudice and racism.

Upbringing and the media are the two biggest causes of racism. Parents start very early with telling things like morals and standards to their children and it will be in their minds forever. Children are very vulnerable for this, because their parents are their great example and they will believe everything they say. Even if they have good contacts or start to change their mind about ‘another’, they will always have it in their mind. The media is also a big cause of racism. If you watch the news, you will hear people say ‘us’ and ‘them’. This causes some kind of feeling that will separate groups. Also in a lot of movies you have stereotypes like the white hero, the black gang or the black corrupt cops.

loesje 2

These things are not good for the society. Everyone must see the other as equivalent. My opinion is that we can’t prejudice ‘other’ people. People who discriminate are just afraid and insecure, because they don’t know anything about it. When I meet people with these same kind of thoughts, I feel happy. Not everyone is a racist.

Loes Aartsen

loesje 3