UK's most multi-lingual student

The Oxford University undergraduate student Alex Rawlings is just 20 years old. He is the winner of a national competition - UK's the most multi-lingual student. And how do you think how many languages does he speak? ELEVEN :O He speaks English, Greek, German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Afrikaans, French, Hebrew, Catalan and Italian. Here you can find a video where he tells how he has learnt these languages. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17107435 

After watching this I became more motivated to learn a new language. Hope it'll motivate you as well :)

Short visit to Vilnius

Manana and I had the chance to accompany a group of students from Didzdvaris Gymnasium and from another Gymnasium (I have to admit I can't remember the name of the school now, but the students and teachers were very nice and active) to Vilnius yesterday. Manana has already spent some time in the capital of Lithuania at Christmas, but for me it was the first time when I really had the time to visit the center of the city. Of course we both visited Vilnius before, but except for the bus and train station we haven't seen much (not counting Mananas trip in December).

We started at 7.30 from Siauliai, which is very early for Manana and me. Actually, during the last 12 years of my life I always had to get up at 6am, because school starts earlier in Austria than in Lithuania (Hurray on the Lithuanian school system!). But now, after I have spent some month here, getting up between 8 and 9 usually, waking up before sunrise is torture. :)

But, it was worth it. At first we visited a presentation about volunteering with the students and surprisingly we met some of our friends, who are also international volunteers in Lithuania, at this event. 

Afterwards Manana and I separated from the students, who were about to have some guided tours (in Lithuanian). 

So we explored the Old Town by our self, visiting some tiny galleries, strange churches and a very nice arts museum with a temporary exhibition about the development of fashion.

I might admit, that the weather was not always very suitable for a sight seeing trip, as it was snowing heavily most of the time and windy and cold all the time. However, we saw some parts of the very nice city (We even found the Austrian embassy ... it was a coincidence, but still, we found it) and laughed a lot.

Exploring narrow streets in Old Town

Nice building of the Swedish embassy

Church, which had a door that was too heavy for us to open, so we saw it only from outside :D

Pictures from the opening of the American Corner

We volunteers with another volunteer from Italy and moderator Jolanta Vaitekuniene

US ambassador

Attending crowd

Mayor of the town

Official opening of the American Corner

We volunteers with the American Ambassador

Group Picture

Wishes for the American Corner

source:  http://www.savb.lt/amerikos-skaitykla/3134

r.s.

Mid-term Meeting (Late news:)))

Not that it took me 10 days to review our mid-term meeting. Just as usually I share information not on  time... But still...
10 days ago we came back from one of the most important (official) events in EVS life  - Mid-Term Meeting with other volunteers. Mid-term meeting is a part of the 'training cycle' in EVS program and it takes place in the middle of the service. On this meeting you can share with other volunteers how your EVS is going on and maybe even find some interesting solutions to temporary problems in your project.Well, as we already are in the middle of our volunteering service in Šiauliai the time for mid-term meeting has come.

Rabea and I were not really motivated to go on our Mid-term meeting because it was very cold and we simply were too lazy to travel from Šiauliai to DaugirdiŠkės which is located near Vilnius.. So it's quite far away from our beloved Šiauliai and there is no direct bus or train connection. Also we have no problems with our project or with each other..so far.. In short, we couldn't see a worthy cause to motivate ourselves for mid-term meeting.

Now we are back and I might say that we really enjoyed our Mid-term meeting and 5 days which we've spend in Daugirdiškės.

 We liked our group which consisted of 17 or 18 volunteers from all over the Europe and not only. We liked our trainers which have facilitated creation of a friendly and nice atmosphere during the meeting and not to forget - accommodation and food were also very good. The program of the meeting was also quite nice. It was flexible and also not overloaded. We've got some useful information about Youth pass. Most of the methods which were used to present our projects or problems during EVS were creative. We made some performances and some of them we'll remember for ever :D [Miki's performance for example.. Only participants will understand:P:P] Later on we cooked together for international dinner, it was really great! I helped a volunteer from Palestina Amjad to make Palestinian traditional meal "upside down", other volunteers cooked something traditional from their countries. Our dinner this evening was really international as we had food from Austrian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Czech and Palestinian cuisine. We enjoyed coocking and earting it a lot! :))) (I'll post some photos in the end of the article). Just one thing during this week Rabea and me didn't like was 1 hour walk in Trakai. Well, Trakai is beautiful place indeed and we really like it... but it was so cold, we thought we'll die there..:/ Other then that everything was ok :) We discussed different topics but in the end somehow concentrated on the topic "Life after EVS" as it seems to be the most important and actual affair for volunteers at this moment. I hope for some participants these discussions were useful and they found out some solutions for their problems or some ways how to lead their life after EVS. Well, for me the topic was not very important because I already know (more or less) how my life is going to be (or how I would like it to be) in 5 years. I plan to continue my studies (Public Policy and Administration) and find a job meanwhile in non-governmental organization which works on policy analysis. [Actually, there is another version of this story and by the way Rabea supports this version (about how do I see my life in 5 years). So I plan to become a housewife and I want to have lots of children.] We'll see which plan will work out:)))))


And I guess it will be a crime not to say few words about the place where our meeting was held. It took place in Daugirdiškės (I hope I wrote a correct name). It was really very nice village located in between Vilnius and Kaunas, and Mokimų centras Daugirdiškės is one of the nicest places for trainings or this kind of events. This center has three houses for different purposes. One is a quite big hall for trainings, another house is for accommodation purpose and third is sauna. So while one can have party after trainings, others who feel tired can sleep and they don't disturb each other. And of course for those who like sauna it's cool to have it there.


I'm happy that in the end our meeting turned out to be interesting and enjoyable. We met a lot of new volunteers and I think we've gained nice experience there. I wish to every participant good luck in their lives!

Manana




P.S. Some photos from our international dinner :)

Quiche (French)

Upside down (Palestinian)

Potato Soup (German)

Milk Rice (Portuguese)

Nussschnecken (German)

 That's all photos I have at the moment :)

New American Corner in Šiauliai County Public Library

Today we 4 volunteers attended a ceremony in the Šiauliai County Public Library. The event took 

place because of the 20th anniversary of the Lithuanian-American diplomatic relations and due to that the library opened a temporary exhibition in the presence of the United States Ambassador, Anne E. Derse and Siauliai mare Justin Sartauskas. Moreover the library proudly showed there new "American Corner" a special section in the building which is devoted to American literature and media, which has its own study area and reading hall.

Exhibition 

US Ambassador Anne E. Derse

Manana and I are already used to be invited to such events, as we are one of the only non-Lithuanians staying in Siauliai for a longer period. The representatives of the American corner also asked us, to bring some students, so we arranged to meet a teacher with some students at 11.15 this day to go to the library together. 

So we all went to meet with this group at this time and left the gymnasium under the impression, that we now will all go to the library. Unfortunately this group was not going to the event at the library, but to visit another exhibition. We found out that we somehow followed the wrong crowd, when at one point they didn't walk to the right direction to get to the library anymore. So we left them walking somewhere else, and continued our way on our own. Luckily enough the correct group of students joined us in the library some minute later, a bit confused, that we were not there to meet them. 

During the event the US-Ambassador and the mayor of Siauliai opened the Exhibition and the American corner and Manana and I agree, that it is a really cool place to spend some time. Of course for us it is also very nice to have this kind of section in the library as our Lithuanian language skills are far not good enough to read novels, classics or even scientific text in this tongue. That's why we are happy to have this selection of English media in the library. 

Last but not least, the staff at the library is very friendly, helpful and always open for a nice chat, especially  Roma Baristaitė , the chief librarian in the American Corner. So, it is worth going there for sure!

r.s.

for more information visit the website of the library:http://www.savb.lt/titulinis?Itemid=50

Grammy Awards 2012

The Grammy Awards have been handed out at a ceremony at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. 

During the ceremony many artists also payed tribute to Whitney Housten, the world famous singer who was found dead in a hotel last Saturday. The reaction to Houston's death dominated the ceremony, which is the most high-profile event in the US music calendar.

Houston won 6 Grammys during her career

Bruno Mars told the crowd: "Tonight we're celebrating. Tonight we're celebrating the beautiful Miss Whitney Houston."

Stevie Wonder said: "To Whitney up in heaven, we all love you."

Melanie Fiona, who won best traditional R&B vocal performance and best R&B song, said: "Whitney Houston, I would not be standing up here if it were not for you, thank you so much."

Besides this tragic happening the focus was of course on the lucky artists who can add a new Grammy to their selection or start one. The most successful artist this year was without doubt Adele, who was awarded with more Grammys this year than any other artist.

Adele

Here are some of the main winners:

source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17007636

Record of the Year

Winner: Adele - Rolling in the Deep

Also nominated:

• Bon Iver - Holocene
• Bruno Mars - Grenade
• Mumford & Sons - The Cave
• Katy Perry - Firework

Album of the year

Winner: Adele - 21

Also nominated:

• Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
• Lady Gaga - Born This Way
• Bruno Mars - Doo-Wops & Hooligans
• Rihanna - Loud

Song of the year

Winner: Adele - Rolling in the Deep

Also nominated:

• Kanye West - All of the Lights
• Mumford & Sons - The Cave
• Bon Iver - Holocene
• Bruno Mars - Grenade

Best new artist

Winners: Bon Iver

Also nominated:

• The Band Perry
• J Cole
• Nicki Minaj
• Skrillex

Best pop solo performance

Winner: Adele - Someone Like You

Also nominated:

• Lady Gaga - You And I
• Bruno Mars - Grenade
• Katy Perry - Firework
• Pink - F***ing Perfect

Best pop duo/group performance

Winners: Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse - Body and Soul

Also nominated:

• The Black Keys - Dearest
• Coldplay - Paradise
• Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks
• Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera - Moves Like Jagger

Best pop vocal album

Winner: Adele - 21

Also nominated:

• Cee Lo Green - The Lady Killer
• Lady Gaga - Born This Way
• Bruno Mars - Doo-Wops & Hooligans
• Rihanna - Loud

Best dance recording

Winner: Skrillex - Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites

Also nominated:

• Deadmau5 & Greta Svabo Bech - Raise Your Weapon
• Duck Sauce - Barbra Streisand
• David Guetta & Avicii - Sunshine
• Robyn - Call Your Girlfriend
• Swedish House Mafia - Save the World

Best dance/electronica album

Winner: Skrillex - Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites

Also nominated:

• Cut/Copy - Zonoscope
• Deadmau5 - 4x4=12
• David Guetta - Nothing But The Beat
• Robyn - Body Talk, Pt 3

Best traditional pop vocal album

Winners: Tony Bennett & Various Artists - Duets II

Also nominated:

• Susan Boyle - The Gift
• Harry Conncick Jr - In Concert On Broadway
• Seth MacFarlane - Music Is Better Than Words
• Barbra Streisand - What Matters Most - Barbra Streisand Sings The Lyrics Of Alan And Marilyn Bergman

Best rock song

Winners: Foo Fighters - Walk

Also nominated:

• Mumford & Sons - The Cave
• The Decemberists - Down By The Water
• Coldplay - Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall
• Radiohead - Lotus Flower

Best rock album

Winners: Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

Also nominated:

• Jeff Beck - Rock 'n' Roll Party Honoring Les Paul
• Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown
• Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You
• Wilco - The Whole Love

Best alternative album

Winners: Bon Iver - Bon Iver

Also nominated:

• Death Cab For Cutie - Codes and Keys
• Foster The People - Torches
• My Morning Jacket - Circuital
• Radiohead - The King Of Limbs

Best R&B performance

Winner: Corinne Bailey Rae - Is This Love

Also nominated:

• Marsha Ambrosius - Far Away
• Ledisi - Pieces Of Me
• Kelly Price & Stokley - Not My Daddy
• Charlie Wilson - You Are

Best R&B album

Winner: Chris Brown - F.A.M.E.

Also nominated:

• El DeBarge - Second Chance
• R Kelly - Love Letter
• Ledisi - Pieces Of Me
• Kelly Price - Kelly

Best rap song

Winners: Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie - All Of The Lights

Also nominated:

• Wiz Khalifa - Black And Yellow
• Dr Dre, Eminem & Skylar Grey - I Need A Doctor
• Chris Brown, Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes - Look At Me Now
• Jay-Z & Kanye West - Otis
• Lupe Fiasco - The Show Goes On

Best rap album

Winner: Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Also nominated:

• Jay-Z & Kanye West - Watch The Throne
• Lil Wayne - Tha Carter IV
• Lupe Fiasco - Lasers
• Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday

r.s.

A funny experiment maybe solved the mystery of zebra stripes

Why zebras evolved their characteristic black-and-white stripes has been the subject of decades of debate among scientists.

Scientists placed differently painted horses (zebras) in a field 

Now researchers from Hungary and Sweden claim to have solved the mystery.

The stripes, they say, came about to keep away blood-sucking flies.

They report in the Journal of Experimental Biology that this pattern of narrow stripes makes zebras "unattractive" to the flies.

To support their theory the scientists made an experiment with several artificial horses (zebras), with different kinds of patterns on their fur. And apparently the one with the characteristic zebra stripes was the least attractive for blood-sucking flies, which usually 'attack' many animals, like horses, cows and also zebras.

for further information: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/16944753

r.s.

Film recommendation: 'The one percent' and 'Born rich'

Approximately one percent of the society are born into a "super rich" family. Dozens of movies have been made about this part of the population, but there are two, which are outstanding, because the person who directed them, is "born rich" too.

'The one percent', released in 2006

'Born rich", released in 2003

The documentaries "The one percent" and "Born rich" deal with the growing wealth gap between America's wealthy elite compared to the overall citizenry and how it is to be born into one of those "one percent" families. They were created by Jamie Johnson, an heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, and produced by Jamie Johnson and Nick Kurzon. The film's title "The one percent" refers to the top one percent of Americans in terms of wealth, who controlled 42.2 percent of total financial wealth in 2004.

Jamie Johnson

The films Born Rich and The One Percent strained Johnson's relationships with other members of the New York elite, with whom he used his connections to secure interviews. Born Rich sparked a lawsuit and accusations from a few of the subjects, claiming that Johnson portrayed them unfairly. The films also cooled his relationships with his own family, including his father. Later, while developing The One Percent, Johnson discovered his father had helped fund a documentary about apartheid and economic unfairness South Africa. Though his father refused to talk about it, Johnson learned from his mother that his father was reprimanded for the film by the Johnson & Johnson company and by members of his family and never made another film.

r.s.