House swap

Have you ever thought about house swapping? You would live in someone else’s house. You would be in another city somewhere in the world and you would experience another culture and lifestyle. Well I have to admit I thought about it a couple of times but I am to unadventurous to actually do it. If I would switch houses with someone, I would write the following letter to response.

Dear Susan,  

Thank you very much for the detailed information about your beautiful house. I am already looking forward to staying in your bungalow and having a view of the beach. How exciting! One thing I was wondering about is if we could use your bicycles, because you weren’t really clear about it. Would you mind us using them? Or would it be possible to rent any nearby? Apart from that, do I need any special documents for the car rental company at the airport? The information about the details of the arrangement on its website weren’t clear to me. I would appreciate it if you could check that out and let me know what exactly I need to present, just to avoid any problems. Now, as I promised, here are all the things you need to know about my place.  

Getting to my house is going to be a little bit tricky. First of all, you will have to rent a car at the airport in Graz because there isn’t really any other option for you. Of course you could use public transportation, but the problem is, you couldn’t do any sightseeing in and around Feldbach without a car. Therefore I would recommend renting a car at the airport. You will find different companies, which are all pretty much the same. They will want to see your passport as well as your driver’s license. The instructions to my house are quite complicated. Leaving the airport, drive until you see a sign for A2 WIEN (Vienna). Make sure you are going in the right direction. Stay on the Autobahn for about 20 minutes and take the exit called 'Gleisdorf-Süd'. You will co for about me to another intersection, where you have to turn right onto B68. Stay on B68 for about 25 minutes until you are directly in Feldbach. Stay on this road till you get to the third set of traffic lights, where you turn right. This is a tiny little street and you need to follow it up the hill. On the top of the hill take the first street to your left and follow it all the way to the end. You will find yourself in front of my blue house with a gorgeous yard. I hope these instructions are clear enough. If you have any questions, just let me know and I will try to answer them.  

I have arranged to leave the keys with my uncle. He lives in the yellow house next to mine. My uncle is a friendly person and will definitely help you if you need anything. He will also show you how to clean the swimming pool. I would appreciate it if you would be so kind as to clean the pool every second day. I think your kids will definitely love the pool when the weather gets hot. I think the rest of the house is self-explanatory and I will leave notes where you may need help.  

I will leave you some food for the first couple of days in the fridge. If you have got any special requests just let me know. If you want to go grocery shopping you will find many different stores in town. You can of course get to to them by car. I personally prefer and recommend Unimarkt, Spar or Hofer. All of them provide good quality food and fair prices. If you would like to try out Austrian homemade bread from farmers or homemade sausages and so on, go to the farmer's market which takes place every Saturday in the town center. If you want to eat out, there are a couple of good restaurants in town. For a good Austrian lunch or dinner, I would recommend Pfeiler’s Stüberl. It serves delicious Austrian dishes with the right choice of wine. I would stay clear of China Palast, the Chinese restaurant in the town center, though. Friends of mine and I had a very bad experience there.  

The main attraction round here is the Riegersburg. The Riegersburg is a beautiful medieval castle on the top of a hill. You can walk up the hill to the castle. From the castle you have a facinating view over the surrounding area. The culinary delights in this region are also incredible. If you like chocolate, you should really take your kids on a tour through the Zotter chocolate factory. I'm sure they'll be fascinkated by the edible zoo, which is also part of the chocolate factory. If you are into the production of fine vinegars made of fruits, you also have to visit the Gölles Company. I love the huge variety they offer, but my favorite one is the one with apple aroma.  

I hope I have included all the information you need to make your stay unforgettable. If you have any further question, don’t hesitate to ask. I am looking forward to hearing from you.  

Silvia  

US government could save money by switching fonts

OMG.. have you heard about the 14-year-old boy named Suvir Mirchandani? No? Are you kidding me? He is all over the news right now. Suvir says the federal government could cut printing costs with one decision and could thereby save up to $400.000 per year. 

Everything started out with a project in his middle school. Due to the project Suvir had to think of different ways to cut waste and save money at his school. Reducing the waste of paper through recycling and dual-sided printing had been talked over a hundred time but no one really thought about the ink. "Ink is two times more expensive than French perfume by volume" Suvir says. If you trust CNN he is right because they wrote "Chanel No. 5 perfume costs $38 per ounce, while the equivalent amount of Hewlett-Packard printer ink can cost up to $75." As I read that I had to read it a second time to be sure to get it right. I mean I know that printing out is expensive because I need to print many things for university. Due to the high printing costs I'm sometimes short in money.

Suvir's idea is that by simple switching from Times New Roman to a narrower, smaller font the government would be using less of their precious printer ink. He suggested to switch from Times New Roman to Garamond. This might be just a small difference and even a small saving on each page but it would have a massive benefit in general. 

However, The Atlantic doesn't share the same opinion on this subject with Suvir. They say that the calculation cannot  be right because although printer ink is certainly expensive for consumer but mainly for consumer who are buying cartridge by cartridge. He didn't consider that large businesses as well as the government have special wholesale bulk contracts. That means that the government buys a larger amount of ink with a lower price than normal consumer.

I really think it is worth a second thought if Suvir is right with his calculation. I am not a hundred percent sure if it could really help saving money but for me it is important that a young guy started thinking about it and I am definitely impressed. As we all know printing out is very expensive therefore I think I will give it a try. Maybe I can save up some money for my next holiday.

I think I just give it a try otherwise I will never know if it is possible. :D

You want to read more about it check out these links below. 

CNN: Teen to government: Change your typeface, save millions

Can a Teen's Idea to Switch Fonts Save the Government $400 Million?

American vs. British English

Every one of us, who isn't a native English speaker, started learning English very young. I remember my first years of learning English. I was in first class. The learning process was more connected with different games and just picking up vocabulary than seriously sitting down and learning the language. As time went by and the level of English became higher also the vocabulary and grammar became more difficult. Not only the level of English transformed but also the teachers changed from now and than. With every teacher also the kind of English differentiated. Some have prefered American and others British English. For me it was and still is really hart to keep track were both have differences. There are three major differences between American and British English. 

• PRONUNCIATION
• SPELLING 
•  VOCABULARY

It doesn't matter if you prefer American or British English. You just need to be consistent and stick to one of them in your usage otherwise it will get really confusing. One important spelling differnece is that in American English words ending in -or and -er end in -our and -re in British English e.g. color/colour, center/centre. Another one is words ending in -ize in American English end in -ise in British English like realize/realise.

If you decide that you want to use Amercian English spellings then you can't write the following sentence The color of the apple is also his favourite. In this example sentence you can find both American and British English. Color is American spelling and favourite is British. This is of course not always easy but important to know.

My advice, if you are not sure about spelling and usage of vocabulary look it up in a dictionary. The dictionary can help you to be consistence that is also important for your language skills.

Why I love cooking

Cooking is one of the things I love most. The process of simply putting together the right ingredients while following my inspiration or a good recipe is a real pleasure. When I am at the stove, the armoa coming from the pot makes my mouth water and makes me curious about the outcome. If I've done my job right, the outcome will be something incredibly tasty from just a few ingredients. Creating this dish often takes hours and plenty of patience. But the return on investment is definitly worth it because there's nothing like the satisfaction of that first bite of a dish well made. Both the delicious taste of my own creations and the pride which comes along with it have a lot to do with why I love cooking.

Starbucks in Austria

Coffee - the energy supply for many students. Some students love to drink coffee either to stay awake or to just socialize with others. During my stay in the States my friends and I loved to meet up at Starbucks for a nice coffee. My favorite one was a cappuccino with caramel flavor. The cappuccino was delicious and at the same time it was a great opportunity to meet up with friends to chit chat. Today as I got myself a cup of coffee I thought back at the good old times and  about why there are just a few Starbucks coffee shops in Austria. I couldn't think of an answer to satisfy me so I started researching and that is what I came up with: 

The Austrian coffee market is not the first choice of Starbucks if you talk about a new target market or entry strategies. However, the demand for "coffee-to-go" increased in the last couple of years. Many people especially the younger generation loves the fast coffee.The general trend can be recognized by just looking at all the small, individual coffee shops  especially in places where you can find many students like Graz or Vienna.

The first branch from Starbucks in Austria was opened in 2001 in Vienna. Since then Starbucks grow constantly throughout Vienna. Starbucks hasn't opened so many stores outside of Vienna. A reason could be that there are a high number of competitors. In Austria competitors for Starbucks are well established companies like Tchibo, Segafredo, McCafé and a number of small, regional coffee shops. All of them have a high variety of coffees with different flavors and sometimes offer a better price than Starbucks.

The city I know the best from all other cities in Austria is Graz. The number of coffee shops in Graz is really really high. Alone in the inner city of Graz you can find at least seven coffee shops. This is one reason why Starbucks isn't so present in the city of Graz. I have to admit I would love to have Starbucks coffee from now and than.  

"Kaiserschmarren" - Austrian speciality

Have you ever heard about the term “Kaiserschmarren”? It is simply chopped pancakes and an Austrian speciality.  They are definitely one of my favorite dishes in Austria. The best chopped pancakes I have ever eaten were made by my mum. She serves them with peach compote or with baked plums. It tastes so delicious that you definitely have to try it out by yourself. I will give you the recipe my mum uses so you can create your own “Kaiserschmarren”. You definetly need to try out the most legendary

Ingredients:

·         4 eggs

·         200 g finely ground flour

·         4 tbsp crystal sugar

·         1 packed vanilla sugar

·         A pinch of salt

·         250 ml milk

·         Approx. 50 g butter for frying.

How to make it:

1.       Separate the eggs and place the yolks in a mixing bowl. Pour in the milk, vanilla sugar and add the flour. Mix to form smooth dough.

2.       Beat the egg whites with the crystal sugar and a small pinch of salt until it forms a firm peak and fold into the dough mix.

3.       Let the butter and bubble up in one large heatproof dish. Pour in the mixture. Cook the underside until light brown, turn over using a spatula and bake it until golden brown.

4.       Tear the creation into small pieces, using two forks. Sprinkle with some crystal sugar and serve it with a peach compote or baked plums

Now you have the right recipe to make a delicious “Kaiserschmarrn”. You will see it will definitely be worth trying. Enjoy the cooking and of course the taste of this tasty dish.

What does a good blog look like?!

As you may know, I started writing this blog around six months ago. It was part of our English course last semester. Before that time I had not read a single post, let alone followed a blog. As I started typing my blog and my first posts, I had no idea what topic to choose and what to write. But I was really excited about blogging and treating interesting topics I am passionate about. And of course keeping the world and namely you guys updated about my thoughts and life. My passion for writing kind of lacked after a couple of months, as I kept pondering about interesting topics but could not come up with many. Maybe this is one of the reasons why my posts weren’t that frequent. 

Today I read through a couple of really interesting posts of some colleagues of mine. I was really impressed by the way they write. By reading the posts I could really feel how passionate they were about the actual topic. The themes differed from blog to blog, each one reflecting it’s writers personality. Some blogs kept my attention for a while, whereas I just scrolled through others. Therefore I think the layout, as well as the pictures included in each post, are really essential for a good blog. 

From all the reading and researching I learnt that it doesn’t matter how interesting the topic is for everyone else. The only thing that matters is, that you feel passionate about the things you write. The post is only worth reading if you can feel the bloggers excitement. Based on this new knowledge I will try bringing more passion and also more of my own thoughts into my future blogs.

NEW SEMESTER - NEW CHALLENGES

Semester Break is over and with a new semester new challenges come along. Do you know what I like about the start of a new semester? Maybe not every student will agree but it is my opinion.

Going in many different classes for the first time is the thing I enjoy most about the whole semsteer. Do you know the feeling when you enter a new class, all full of excitement? you don't know anybody. You don't know if the course will meet your expectations. You don't know if you will be able to handle the upcoming workload. But you know that you are interested in the subject and willing to work hard to reach your goal, which forces you to keep focused during the semester. As soon as the excitement about the new courses has gone, the reality comes back straigthaway with homework, projects and exams coming up.

As we all know, the whole workload is a challenge in every semester. Right now, looking at my schedule, I have no idea of how to handle all my courses at university But my motto is ALWAYS THINK POSITIV, then everything will somehow fall into place. One big issue I have to work on this semester is time management. This semester I will start with some kind of a study plan. That idea wasn't mine. I picked it up in our first English lesson for this semester. I am not quite sure if it is going to work out, but we will see. The reason why I thought this would be a good idea, is that I often struggle with timing before an exam. I have to admit, I prefer doing projects and homework instead of sitting down and actually studying for an exam or a class. A study plan could force me to well-organised studying and I would get a bad feeling if I fell behind.

If you have andy other ideas on how I could handle time management better, feel free to answer to this post! Otherwise wish me luck for my experiment with my study plan. :D

Register

"Register is the style appropriate to a particular kind of writing" - Cory Writing Bible

We use different levels of formality in different circumstances. Informal is most of the time spoken language whereas formal language is manly written language. Very high register often requires written English and is used for business letter or job application. In comparison to the high register stands the low register which is for example to write a holiday postcard to a friend. 

Register is one of the matters my knowledge lacks. I had problems with the right register on the first progress check. On the exam I used a very low register with words as kind of and totally. By now I know that it is inappropriate to write such a low register in a paragraph. To improve my knowledge about register I will start reading different types of texts to realize the differences between high and low register. My problem is that I learned English by living in the states, talking and listening to people and not like many others by reading and studying from books in high school. In my opinion that is the reason why I mainly use phrases in my writing which are appropriate for conversation with friends or family but not for writing a paragraph. The good thing is I now know were my weakness is and can consequently start to turn them in to my strength. 

Travelling through the US

By looking at my map (find the link below) I realized I have seen most of the South in the US. The map points out the places I have been to but I am not quite sure if I got everything. I have visited 13 different States and I am not even able to count all the Cities and National Parks I went to. Travelling around the US was my dream since I was a little girl. My dream in detail consist of visiting most of the famous and well known places in the States. I am proud of myself that I have made my dream come true and went to many different places. Some places are still missing on my map but for the moment I am satisfied with what I have seen from the States so far. I would definitely visit many places again.

I guess you are wondering how it is possible to visit so many places. The answer is easy. My first time in the States was in 2008. I went to the States to attend a high school exchange program in Montgomery, Alabama. From Montgomery I did some travelling with my host family and friends from school. But most of the time I just enjoyed being part of the American culture and living the American lifestyle. My second time in the States was in 2012. There I attended university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Being at the university and hanging around with many other international students also means to travel a lot to get to know more about the US and also to learn more about each other. Travelling around by car and overcome long distances also means to form strong relationships besides seeing many different landscapes and places.

If you ever have the change to travel around do it. The knowledge gained by travelling is not payable and will stay with you your whole live.

My US travel map: 

 https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zu0msPuap2uo.kAPTdg3mIjcc

Travel along the West Coast

Have you been traveling around the West Coast?! I have been there myself and traveled around that is the reason why I chose the West Coast for my travel plans. The landscapes are amazing and I am impressed by all the different sights. To discover everything in the west what is worse seeing you should stick to following plan. I have but a 10 days vacation together for the upcoming Easter-break. The trip will cost around 1600 and 2000 Euro depending on what you want to spend on food, souvenirs and cloths.

1. DAY - LOS ANGELES: The city of Angels is known because of Hollywood, Beverly Hills and actually everything what is linked with the film industry. I have been there myself and in my opinion it is not worse to spend a lot of time there because the city has nothing to offer besides the Walk of Fame, the Hollywood hills and the beach. Therefore in my tour you will just spend a day there to see all this mentioned sights before heating along the Pacific coastline to San Diego. Before the day is almost over you should go out for dinner to get the best out of the night and start exploring the Gaslamp District’s funky live music or one of the many bars.

2. DAY - SAN DIEGO:

San Diego holds the largest urban cultural park in the USA, which is definitely worse to see. Today you can decide what you want to do. Either going to the San Diego Zoo, known for its conservation efforts and vast numbers of animals or go to Sea World, known for its fun marine animal shows. If you just want to relax you can spend time on the 42 miles of beaches. I loved being in San Diego the city has an amazing flair and for me characterized the Californian lifestyle.

3. DAY - PHOENIX

Get up early to head to Phoenix in Arizona. Phoenix is a metropolis in the middle of the desert. This place is all about shopping, sports and nightlife. One of the world’s largest fountain can be found in Phoenix. It is definitely worse to see, because one or two miles away you will find nothing green. We will continue to the mind-blowing landscape of the Grand Canyon, one of the world’s most recognizable natural wonders and pride of Arizona.

4. DAY – GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK

In the morning get up early to start the day with a canyon sunset and take in the stunning changes of light while the sun goes up. Afterwards go on a helicopter ride and get another angle on the Canyon as you fly over it. See some of the oldest exposed rocks on earth, take in the deep abyss and soak up the wildness of the area. Wrap up the day by looking at the canyon sunset when the sun goes down. For me it was amazing to look over the Canyon when the sun went down. I have not seen anything comparable before.

5. DAY – GRAND CANYON TO LAS VEGAS

Leaving behind the Grand Canyon, we make a stop at Seligman, an historic Route 66 town. Get a feel for the old style as you check out 1940’s shop fronts and motels. Then following a section of the legendary Route 66, we head north. Afterwards arrive in Las Vegas, a man-made entertainment oasis located in the middle of the desert. Also called Sin City, it’s all about glitz, neon lights, and excess. The pictures of Las Vegas you can see in many travel guides are not comparable with the feeling of standing in the middle of this incredible city. First you need to go down the main road called the Strip. See the bright lights of the city and its world-famous casinos.

6. DAY - LAS VEGAS

Today you can get a real feeling for this outrageous town. Explore more of the Strip and check out over-the-top versions of international icons, like the Eiffel Tower, Venetain canals and gondolas and so on. To be in Las Vegas also means to try your luck at one of the casinos. I have to admit being in Las Vegas playing at the different casinos is something you cannot describe you have to find out the feeling by yourself.

7. DAY – LAS VEGAS to BASS LAKE

Leaving behind the flashy Las Vegas and the desert arrive in the outdoor capital of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I would suggest to kind of relaxing a little bit after all the sightseeing. Spend some time at the lake or walk around.

8. DAY – YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

The Yosemite National Park is absolutely stunning. It combines a combination of waterfalls, woods, towering mountains and wildlife. I was not lucky enough to see black bears, deer and coyotes but maybe you are. You will definitely see the breathtaking Yosemite and Bridalveil Falls.

9. DAY – SAN FRANCISCO

San Francisco is packed with characters, free-thinker, and artists. You will see the signs of its recent history where it served as the hub of the gold rush, as well as the center for Beatnik and Hippy cultures. Worse to see is the Fisherman’s Wharf for a slice of the historic waterfront lifestyle. Another impressive sight is the prison Alcatraz. It is amazing to walk through Alcatraz and listen to the story of it and it prisoners. Also you need to take a ride on one of the world wide known cable cars and make a stop at the background of the series “Full House”, because kind of everyone knows the houses shown at the trailer for “Full House”. There are lot more things to see in San Francisco like Chinatown, Alamo Square and so on.

10. DAY – SAN FRANCISCO

The tour through the west coast is over as well as the time in the US.

I hope you kind of liked my travel plans. I think if you stick to my plan you can get the most out of the amazing sights of the West Coast.