My trip to Scotland

As I have promised I will write something about my trip to Scotland.

 

 

Last year I spent two weeks in a cottage near Edinburgh with my host family from Bristol. The cottage was really really old and in the middle of nowhere. There was no TV, no internet connection and no mobile phone reception! The only means of communication was a rather antique telephone which didn't even work properly! The hilly scenery was breathtakingly beautiful and there were sheep everywhere! It was also an area of bird shooting and I remember being startled a lot of times by a gunshot going off somewhere nearby.

The cottage was about 30 minutes away from Edinburgh and we went there only a few times. I was quite disappointed that I didn't get to see everything because my host family goes there every summer so they weren't really interested in the sights anymore. One time they let me explore the city the entire day on my own, while they did something else and I was so happy about that.   It is a historic city and there is a lot to see. There were kilted Scotsman playing the bagpipe and street artists performing everywhere. Edinburgh has a lot to offer including stunning monuments, museums, shops and enchanting little alleys. I spent hours taking in the sight along the Royal Mile and exploring the labyrinth of small wynds and alleyways. The atmosphere is magical and I will definitely travel there again!

 

 

 

Keep calm and study for your exams

Lots of exams are ahead of us in January and it is important to know how to study effectively. I often get stressed out before exams and think that I don’t have enough time or that I haven’t studied enough. For this reason I have looked up some tips on how to study effectively to help us get through this time of year together! ;)

·         You have to be in the right mindset is important in order to study smarter. Sometimes you are just not able to study cause your mind won’t focus. During such times you shouldn’t study at all because it won’t be very effective.  You have to think positively when you study and remind yourself of your skills and abilities.

·         It is also important to have a designated study place, where you are not distracted and that is quiet.

·         Write down study material in your own words to remember and understand them better. It is proven that if you look at your notes on the same day of the lecture again you will keep the material much better in your long term memory.  Flash cards are also useful and you can look at them at any time for example in the bus on the way to university.

·         Some people like to study in groups but you have to make sure that you work with people who are committed to studying so not to distract you from studying.

·         It is important to have a schedule to help keep organised and avoid stress in the end. Breaks and rewards in between studying are also crucial.

Good luck!

Don't miss the target!

 

It is currently the Biathlon World Cup and I am watching every race. Biathlon is a winter sports event combining long-distance skiing with precision target shooting.You may think it’s boring but I really like the sport and it holds a lot of good and bad memories for me. The best thing about watching the races is that I know some of the people who compete in them! One of them is a very good friend of mine from secondary school. It was a school that specialises on winter sports. There, we trained together, went on training camps and competed in races on the weekends. I was never very good so I gave it up after secondary school but my friend has always been amazing at biathlon and won every race at the time. She had so much passion for the sport and was extremely ambitious so she carried on with it and now she is able to be an athlete as a career! How amazing is that? 

 

You should try watching biathlon sometime, maybe you like it. ;)  

 

Bristol Balloon Fiesta

I randomly thought about the balloon fiesta in Bristol today, so I thought why not write a blog post about it?

 

 

 

 

 

Every year in August the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta takes place. It is one of the biggest hot air balloon events. The Fiesta is four days long and in 2013 – the year I was in Bristol – over 250 hot air balloon flights were made. It was stunning to watch during the day when the hot air balloons filled the sky because it just looked so beautiful. The event is something for the whole family as there is a fair in Ashton Court – a country park in Bristol – where the balloons take off. In the evenings there is the Nightglow. Ballooning teams light up the night sky with their balloons to atmospheric music. After that there are fireworks to end the day. It was unforgettable!

 

Living abroad

Hi! I haven’t told you anything about my au pair experience yet so here it goes:

In July 1013 I set of for a year of adventures in England. I lived with a host family in Bristol and looked after two kids aged three and eleven. It was a great experience even though it wasn't always easy being on your own and away from home.  Fortunately, my host family was really nice and the kids too. I have to admit tough that the three year old was really hard to handle at times.  On my second day in Bristol I already had to drive – on the left side of the road! That was really terrifying for me because it was so different from home and I wasn’t a very good driver to begin with. I eventually got better at driving and even enjoyed it, luckily. I met so many great people who I am still friends with and that is the best thing about spending a year abroad. I met people from all over the world and we were able to explore Great Britain together. The work during the week was pretty boring most of the time but the weekends always made up for that. ;)  We would drive to the beach, different cities or just hang out in Bristol.  By the way, Bristol is an awesome city too! I didn’t know anything about it before I got there, but oh how I fell in love with it! As I had my own car there, we often went on road trips on the weekend, which were so much fun and we had the best time!  I also flew to Dublin and Belfast with some friends, where we made so many great memories. In summer I spent two weeks in Edinburgh with my host family because they have a house there too.

It wasn’t always easy with the kids and there were some difficult times for me, but I am definitely more confident and independent now than I was before. All in all it was a great decision to go abroad and I can’t believe how fast the time went by!

 

 

PS: I will tell you about my trips to various places in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland in more detail in other posts!

 

 

 

New Year ’s Eve customs from all over the world

Since New Year’s Eve is just around the corner I decided to look up a few customs from other countries.

 

Italy

Women in Italy wear new red underwear on the 31th of December, which they have to throw away the next day. This is supposed to bring love in the New Year. To get money, Italians traditionally eat lentils. In the past they used to throw old things such as plates and furniture out of the window, which was quite dangerous for passing people.

 

Brazil

Snow is falling in Brazil, as people throw toilet paper and paper shreds out of the windows to cover the streets in white. Some meet at the beach and leave flowers and presents.

 

Spain

In Spain and Mexico you get twelve wishes on New Year’s Eve. At midnight you have to eat twelve grapes – one at every bell stroke – and wish for things. If you are too slow  you are going to have bad luck in the new year.

 

Japan

At the turn of the year the Japanese clean their entire house. Then at midnight the bells chime 108 times to get rid of the 108 bad things and 108 desires from the last year. People also eat Soba-Noodles because they think that they bring a long and prosperous life.

 

Australia

The only typical Australian custom is probably collecting kisses at midnight. You have to kiss as many people as possible and since Australians celebrate on the streets there are a lot of People around to kiss. ;) 

 

Introduction to my blog

Hey! I have just realised that I didn’t introduce myself to you yet! I am a 21 year old girl studying “Transcultural Communication” at the University of Graz. For my English course I was told to set up a blog. There will be some guided posts but other than that I can write about whatever I want.

A little bit more about myself: I am from a town called Saalfelden in the province of Salzburg. I live in a ski area and in winter there are lots of tourists, which makes the otherwise quiet and sometimes boring area lively. Even though I live here I do not like skying or snowboarding very much. Maybe I will tell you the reason for that in another post. ;) In my spare time I love to  read, go for a jog or spend time with my friends. I am obsessed with an awful lot of TV series and I love Karaoke. There is a lot more to tell but I think that is enough for now.
Have a good day!