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Lucija Krmpotic, Germany

“There is no need to do what others are doing. You must do what truly matters to you” (Unknown) is something we have to keep in mind to live happy lives.

There are more and more people all over the world thinking that they have to be like someone else to be accepted and loved in this world. That is the reason why so many of us are pretending to be someone else and not truly who we are. When we open our social media profiles we just see a perfect world with perfect pictures of perfect looking people living a perfect lives. We start to think about ourselves and how much we would like to be like one of these “perfect” people. This is a big problem nowadays because it can and actually leads to many dangerous trends and lifestyles. Some of these dangerous trends are the Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge where people have to suck the lips in a glass until having a vacuum inside to get lips like Kylie Jenner or the Sunburn Art Challenge where challengers have to create a pattern on an area of your body and let the sun burn the unprotected skin. By following all those trends and doing all those challenges you get nothing for yourself but dangerous risks about your own life.

In my opinion, it is totally the wrong way to live your life by pretending to be someone you are not and you will never be. In reality, nobody’s life is perfect and there is no “perfect” person. So before you start pretending to be someone else, you have to ask yourself if this is the right way to live. Is it really worth it to spend your whole time thinking about who you want to be like and what you want to pretend to like? But wouldn’t it just feel better to be the person you really are doing things you really like? Every person is unique on its own way. So why wouldn’t we just stay what and who we are and start enjoying our lives with things that truly matter in life? I really hope that people will realize that it is not worth it to spend the time you have to do nice things on thinking about how you could change your life for everybody but yourself. You just have one life so do the things you love and try the things that really interest you.

Virginia Carrara, Italy

Before talking about positive and negative aspects of social networking sites, I would like to explain what a social networking site is.

A social networking site is an online platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career interests, activities, background or real life connections.

Today, using social networking sites is becoming for many people, especially for the new generation like me, a daily activity. Through them, we can make friends with people from all around the world, sharing their cultures and learn about the other ones.

So, in my opinion, there are many positive things about social networking sites: I think it’s good not only for people who are too shy to make friends, but also to stay in touch with friends met on internet or face to face, and with relatives who live far away from us.

In my personal experience, for example, I’ve met people from many different countries thanks to EF, so I’ll surely keep in contact with them when I go back to my country, and that’s only thanks to social networking sites, such as Whatsapp, Instagram and Facebook.

But, of course, there are also some negative things to keep in mind. For example, when you meet a person on Internet, she might not be who she says she is, so you might be the victim of antisocial behaviour or bullying. Another negative thing, but less important in my opinion because it all depends on you, is about the time spent on networking sites that might interfere with work or studies.

In conclusion, I think social networking sites are a very good way to make friends and keep in contact with them, but at the same time we have to be careful knowing all the risks.

Lotte Michiels, Belgium

When people travel to Belgium, they all visit Brussels. People who live in Belgium know there are more beautiful cities than Brussels.

Belgium is a very small country. When you stay in Brussels you can easily take the train to every part of Belgium. If you want to go to Ghent, you travel 30 minutes. To Antwerp, you travel 50 minutes. You can even get to the Belgian coast.

When you go to Brussels, there are many things to visit. Manneken-Pis and Grand Place are the thing everyone goes take a look at. You also should go to the Atomium and mini-Europe. When you want a beautiful view and see the city, you should go to Mont des Arts. When you want to eat something you should go and get some french fries and for drinks you should drink a good Belgian beer.

In Ghent you can enjoy the medieval architecture such as the Gravensteen Castle. You should take a boat trip on the rivers or you can just walk on the side. Ghent is most beautiful at night. If you want a specialty from Ghent, you can buy some chocolates from Leonidas or Cuberdons. If you are a student and you want to go out, you go to Overpoort, a street full of clubs.

Gravensteen Castle was built in 1180 in Ghent, Belgium, by count Philip of Alsace. It was modeled after the crusader castles that Philip encountered while he participated in the second crusade. The castle served as the seat of the Counts of Flanders until they abandoned it in the 14th century. It was later used as a courthouse and a prison.

When you go to the coast, there are different places to go. The most popular place is Ostend where you can see the casino. If you want it more fancy then you should go to Knokke. When you are at the coast, go to a restaurant and eat mussels.

Overall , when you are in Belgium, don’t only go to Brussels but look on the internet at other places you can visit.

Mara Klingenschmid, Austria

Almost everybody knows the American multinational company Google LLC. Google is more than just a search engine on the internet. Google LLC developed, for example, self-driving cars and so much different software and apps. But this well-known company is also famous for their very attractive workplaces. Google LLC is a popular employer. Let’s give a little insight in the daily work routine of Google.

Application process

It is a long way from the application to the hiring and sitting in the Google office. There are many interviews the applicant has to go through. The reason for the interviews is to find out why you as an applicant would fit in the company and why Google should hire you. What benefits does the applicant bring to the company? The different kinds of interviews focus on the different strengths of the applicant.

What’s the best way to prepare for the Google interviews? Watch videos about Google and find out what the ideology and culture of Google is. People are also allowed to ask questions. This shows interest and that you really want to be part of the Google family. But be aware to ask the right questions!

Benefits and environment

Are there benefits you have when you work for a multinational company? Yes, of course. First of all it needs to be mentioned that after hiring you will be part of a big family. Google offers an amazing working environment. In the beautiful buildings there are spacious offices and rooms where the employees can spend their breaks and free time. Outdoor areas, fitness centers, pool tables and soccer tables are very common on the Google premises.

The last thing I want to mention is that Google offers healthy food. The employees can eat together whenever they want and exchange information and help each other. These extras really strengthen the community spirit. And the best thing about it is the food is free!

ADI NAHHAS,    SAUDI ARABIA

Arabic coffee is very different than any other coffee. You don’t need a machine to do it. You just need a pot, usually, we use dallah to make it and for serving it. 

In Arabic coffee, you don’t roast the coffee bean too much, just till it turns to a gold color. The recipe to make a good coffee: pot 1.5 liters of water, wait until it boils then add 4 Tsp of ground coffee bean. When that mixture seems to be mixed, add half gram of saffron and 1 Tsp of cardamom. Keep that mixture on low fire for about 20min. Most people eat dates while drinking Arabic coffee.

And enjoy the nice experiment and the nice smell.

by Aurore Bouquelle, Belgium

Before going deep into the subject, I would like to introduce myself. Hello, I’m Aurore and I come from Brussel, Belgium. I am 19 years old and I live with my parents, my brother and my dog. I am not really an extraordinary person, I prefer to fit in instead of standing out. When I was little I was very shy, was not confident and had just a couple of friends (but they were the best).

During my childhood, my father was always on the move because of his job and every weekend he would come back home and tell us all of his stories from all around the world. My little brother and I were amazed by his stories and to help me fall asleep I would always ask him to tell me more about the places he had been to.

Thanks to my situation and the hard work of my parents, I had the chance to travel a lot during these 19 years…From exploring the woods near where I live, to the favelas in Brazil, traveling has always been a big part of my life. I traveled with my family, my friends and alone.

During these travels, I have met extraordinary people who made me feel extraordinary. I have made a lot of friends around the world by always keeping an open mind. I learned that if you want to live happily and become someone, you have to be the one who’s going to speak first and break the ice. Don’t take anything or anyone for granted. -You could be surprised by some people. Thanks to all of the different situations and places I’ve traveled to, I grew in self-confidence, curiosity and I became more conscious of the world around us. I made changes in my everyday life to diminish my ecological impact and adopted a more simple lifestyle. 

I’m going to finish this article by giving five pieces of advice to get the best out of every trip.

#1: Life is short! Don’t wait to have the time to travel, take it. Figure out what you would do if you were going to die tomorrow and do that until the day you die. Your travels will have more impact on yourself.

# 2:  Embrace the unknown. Go to a place without a plan and see where it takes you. Sometimes you will discover places and meet people you would have just walked by if you had something planned.

#3: Trust in yourself.

#4: Dream big and accept being helped by others.

#5: Don’t ever forget that you are the creator of your own destiny.

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Cedric Dauteuil  From FRANCE

It was the oldest museum in Brasil and it was devastated by the fires of the night of 2nd of September.

All of the countries in the world are devastated with this news because this museum had in its possession a lot of invaluable artwork. it s cultural tragedy.

During all of the night the firefighters  tried to stop the fire and tried to save what they could. The cause of the fire is still not determined to this day.

Some artwork could be saved on the 3d floor because they were conserved in a chest. but it is nothing compared to everything that was burned.

The government is guilty for what happened of this museum because they  have decided to  reduce the budget costs for the arts.

The museum did not have a fire door and fire extinguisher and the smoke detector didn’t work, too.

And three months ago the museum received 21.7 millions of reais (4.45 millions dollars) but they didn’ t use this to maintain the building.

More than 500 students gathered in front of the museum the night of the fire with black clothes to say goodbye and to pay tribute to this invaluable loss.

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