a creative waste of time

Talking on the phone...

in a boring lecture at university...

on a long bus/train ride or flight...

What do we do? We start doodling.

Nothing special, right?

Wrong.

Some people have realized the creative and meditative potential that lies in everyday doodling. They thought that this form of art needs more recognition and coined the term "zentangling". Zentagles are usually drawn with a black pen on paper squares that are 9cm in width. They consist only of a variety of repetitive abstract patterns, lines and curves. Since the patterns are abstract, there are no mistakes and you are not supposed to erase anything. This website, for example, has collected many different patterns, instructions and variations. Zentangle has its own website, where you can read about their philosophy and methods. They also have a blog where you can see wonderful doodles.

At first, I found it quite ridiculous that Zentangle is promoted so excessively, with its own website, books and a drawing kit with tiles and pens you can order. Nonetheless, I was bored and suddenly felt like drawing some of the patterns I had seen online. 

The first one did not turn out very pretty. In fact, I was disappointed that my pattern looked nothing like the one I had seen online, but I had a sudden motivation to try another one. I put on some relaxing music - this playlist by Justin Vernon, by the way - and started tangling again. At some point, I heard a knocking at my door. It was my mum, who was furious because I had been on the computer (listening to music) for more than two hours. Yes, I spent two full hours doodling!

These are the ones I drew:

If I said that those were two wasted hours, I would be lying. Actually, the doodling was a form of meditation and I feel completely relaxed now. It is also oddly rewarding to be creative in such a simple way.

I still feel opposed to the fact that something so natural as doodling is being commercialised, but that does not mean that doodling itself is a worthless pastime. Quite the opposite, it is challenging and at the same time calming - two hours doodling are definitely more fun than two hours of watching TV.

As always, there are some people who put more effort into their work than others, and their doodles are undeniably works of art:

Let's vote!

“We must go back to teach Europeans to love Europe.”

Jean Claude Juncker, Prime Minister of Luxembourg, El Pais, 2004

From May 22 to May 25, millions of people will have the right to elect the new members of the European Parliament, in short EMPs. In the last elections in 2009, only a little more than 43% of all EU citizens used their right to vote, and I fear that the number will not be much different this year. In my opinion, one of the main problems is that many people have no idea what the European Parliament actually does. To be honest, I had no idea either, but I decided to investigate and present you a summary here.

There are 751 MEPs representing the citizens of the European Union in the European Parliament. How many members a state can elect depends on its size, but no state has less than six representatives. The largest state, Germany, has 96. Normally, MEPs with similar political views – regardless of their nationality - will form fractions in order to make it easier to represent their interests.

What does the European Parliament do? In short, it has three main roles:

passing European laws

The Parliament receives a proposal, an idea for a law, from the Commission. It discusses the law and can make amendments. The proposal is then sent to the Council, and if the Council approves it it becomes a law. If the Council does not like the idea, it will be sent back to the Parliament for a second reading, where the proposal can be accepted, amended again or rejected.

controlling and monitoring the Commission to make sure they are working democratically

The Parliament can examine reports produced by the Commission, or it can question Commissioners. If necessary, the Parliament can set up committees of inquiry.

When national leaders meet for European Council summits, Parliament gives its opinion on the topics on the agenda.

budgetary power

The Parliament and the Council propose a number for the annual budget of the EU. Like with laws, the Parliament and Council need to be of the same opinion in order for the budget to be adopted. The Parliament can amend the budget plan. 

Here is a short video summarising the election process:

I hope you feel better informed now. See you at the elections, hopefully :-)

If you want to read more about MEPs, these are the pages I took the information from:

http://europa.eu/about-eu/institutions-bodies/european-parliament/index_en.htm

http://www.eu2014.at/europawahl-2014-faq/ (in German)

My favourite dish

Today I want to show you how to cook my favourite dish, lecsò, which is a Hungarian vegetable sauce.

I usually cook intuitionally, which means I do not normally weigh or measure anything, so the weights and measures I tell you are only an estimation.

For two servings you will need:

• 2 tomatoes or approx. 10 cherry tomatoes
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 onion
• other vegetables, if you like, such as mais or courgette
• paprika
• curry powder
• vinegar
• salt
• pepper
• oil

Heat a splash of oil and chop the onions, then fry them. In the meantime, cut all the vegetables into small chunks. First add the tomatoes, then the bell pepper. Stir for a while. The tomatoes should lose some of their water and give the lecsò its saucy texture. If not, you can add a splash of water. Then add the courgette, mais or other vegetables. Let it simmer for 5-10 minutes. Make sure to check every now and then if there is enough water in the pot, otherwise add a splash. Only now should you season the lecsò. Add two teaspoons paprika, half a teaspoon curry powder and one tablespoon vinegar. If you like hot food, you can also add a pinch of ground ginger or chili powder. Season with salt and pepper and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. It is best served with rice or pasta.

I love this dish because it is simple and can be prepared in a matter of minutes. This way, I can eat a decent and healthy lunch even when I do not have much time. Due to its simplicity you can try countless variations. For example, in autumn, when tomatoes and bell peppers are not in season anymore, I like to use chunks of pumpkin and add cumin in addition to the other spices.

strolling through a food paradise

Whenever I am on holiday, there is one place I never miss out on: market halls.

They are maybe not the most touristy or special places, but that is why I like them so much. As soon as you enter a market hall, an eclectic mix of smells welcomes you. It is a pleasure to look at all the fresh, local food - and try free samples where possible. There is usually also a small cafe or restaurant where I like to stop by to watch the bustling crowd while enjoying a freshly brewed coffee or meal.

piirakka

The largest and most impressive market hall I have been to is the one in the harbour of Helsinki. There is a big section dedicated to fish - obviously, as fish is always present in the Scandinavian cuisine. If you ever happen to be there, make sure to try a piirakka. It is a traditional Finnish pastry made out of rye dough filled with rice pudding or mashed potatoes. It can be eaten as a warm or cold snack.

I also visited a market hall in Oulu, a town in the north of Finland. It is smaller than the one in Helsinki and mainly dedicated to fish and meat, but they also sell hand-made souvenirs. It is located next to the sea, so on a warm day you can eat whatever you bought at the market sitting at the small harbour. When I was there, however, it was too cold and windy and we hurried back home to prepare the fish we had bought as soon as possible. It was the best grilled salmon I have ever eaten, by the way. Fish just does not taste the same here at home, where it is not cooked within a few hours after it has been caught.

I definitely had the best time at a market in Florence, though. It is called Mercato Sant'Ambrogio and there are mainly locals because tourists usually go to the central market. I was in Florence because I did a language course there, and we went to the market on our last day as part of a final quiz. Each group got a sheet with questions, and our task was to interview the Italian customers and salespeople to find out what we needed to know. For example, we had to ask for prices or find out what kind of food a certain word meant. It was sometimes tricky, but a fun way of learning new words and overcoming the reluctance to speak a foreign language in public.

"To Berlin, please!"

An adventurous journey, for free: sounds like (almost) every person's dream, doesn't it?

Well, all the lucky ones who were chosen to take part in the "Can you make it"-challenge will get exactly that! The goal of this challenge is to make it from a certain starting point - one of four cities in Europe - to the finish line in Berlin in a matter of seven days. 

Piece of cake, you will think - but of course there is a catch. The participants cannot use any money, including credit cards, nor can they have a personal mobile phone. They only get a few cans of energy drink which they can try to trade. They have to rely on luck, hospitality and their negotiating powers in order to get food, a place to sleep and - most importantly - a ride to their next checkpoint. The participating groups cannot just choose any route they want, but they have to pass six checkpoints on the way, where additional challenges are waiting for them. If the participants master them successfully, they earn more energy drink that can be traded for other goods.

All participants are travelling in groups of three and have to stay together at all times. There are several other rules that must be obeyed, otherwise they will be disqualified. If participants are sure that they will not reach Berlin on time, they can always give up and travel home - but seriously, who would admit defeat and not keep fighting until the very last minute?

As far as I have read from the homepage, there is not just one winner. Everyone who manages to arrive in Berlin on time is a winner, and on top of the unique experience they have had they are invited to an awesome party :-)

This year there is also a group from the University of Graz who will take part in the challenge. I am going to follow their adventures online for the next week. Their starting point will be London. I am especially curious how they are going to make it across the sea!

The application for the next challenge probably won't start until next winter, but who knows, maybe you will see me and two of my friends in next year's challenge, trying to make it from one place to another only relying on luck and our charm!

House swap letter

Our last piece of  homework was much more effort - this time, we not only had to write a single paragraph, but connect several of them together to a letter. Unfortunately, longer writing tasks also mean more potential mistakes. Our teacher only underlined ten sentences which needed some improvement but did not comment on them.

Honestly, I was quite desperate at first, because I had little clue whether it was the grammar that was wrong or whether there were only logical and idiomatic problems. After reading my letter over and over for an hour on my bus ride home, I had an idea of what could be the problems and how I could improve my text. Just after I had typed the correction, I found out that there are teacher's suggestions after all! I was glad to find out that most of the improvement ideas were similar to what I had come up with myself.

The way our homework was corrected this time definitely made me reflect on my written work and my expressions even more than usually. I was glad that there were suggestions provided, though, because I could identify what was unclear in some sentences but found no way to express myself better and needed inspiration.

Dear Christine,

Thank you for your letter with all the details about your house and area. I appreciated the information about public transport in Brussels, but I was wondering if it is easy to get around by bike? If so, where can I hire one? Also, I am planning to spend a day or two in Amsterdam. I would be grateful if you could tell me the fastest way to get there and whether I need to book the tickets in advance. Apart from that, I don't have any questions at the moment, so, as promised, here is everything you need to know about my place.

As soon as you exit the train station, you will find yourselves in an open space from where the busses depart. Look for the stop on the far left side of that space, where busses number 58 and 63 leave. You can take either one of these busses, but you need to have a valid ticket. You can buy single tickets or ones that are valid for 24 hours from the bus driver. If you plan to use public transport regularly, however, I suggest you buy a weekly ticket from one of the vending machines at the train station. Get off the bus after six stops. The name of the stop is 'Wormgasse'. Stops are usually announced in the busses and additionally displayed on small screens in the bus. When you get off the bus, you will see a light yellow building across the street. Even though my flat is in this building and you can see a door on the front side, you need to go down the side street to the right of the building and use the green door there in order to get in.

I have arranged to leave the keys with a friend, who will wait for you in front of the building to show you the way to my flat, which is on the second floor. There is a lift you can use, though I consider it rather useless as it only stops on the floors with an uneven number and therefore not on the second floor.

I think the rest is fairly self-explanatory. I have left notes wherever you may need help. The only thing I should warn you about is that you absolutely must close the blinds whenever the sun is shining. Otherwise, my southward-facing flat becomes a sauna.

If you want to buy ingredients in order to prepare your own meals or just want to buy snacks, there is a SPAR supermarket around the corner. Simply follow the small street where the entrance to the apartment complex is – it is impossible to miss. If you want to try traditional Austrian food, I can recommend having lunch at ‘Landhauskeller’ in the heart of Graz. Altnernatively, there is the ‘Ristorante Paradiso’, which is great for fans of the Italian cuisine. It is a little difficult to find because it is located in the inner courtyard of the department store ‘Kastner & Öhler’, but their handmade pasta is definitely worth the effort.

I could tell from your letter that you are already well informed about the sights you are planning to see in Graz. If the weather in sunny you might also want to consider a trip outside of Graz, for example to the ‘Schöckl’, a mountain north of the city. Bus number 250 will bring you to St. Radegund, a village at the foot of the hill. From there you can either hike to the top or opt for the more convenient ascent - the cable car. The mountain’s plateau is great for short walks and there are activities for children such as a summer toboggan run. If you want to enjoy a breath-taking view and a typical Austrian dessert, ‘Kaiserschmarren’, try to find a vacant table on the terrace of the ‘Stubenberghaus’.

I think that is it for now. If you have any further questions, you can contact me any time.

Best regards,

Sarah 

The worst cook I know

Here comes the first correction of a piece of homework from this semester. The heading I chose was "The worst cook I know".

When it comes to cooking, my father fails to follow even the simplest instructions. In spite of the

 directions given on the package, he once confused the ratio of water and rice. The result was slightly burned, yet still crispy rice grains which added an unbearably smoked flavour to our lunch. Another time he wanted to surprise my mother and me with pasta and savoury home-made tomato sauce for lunch. Unfortunately, we came home later than expected. By then, the pasta had been boiling for over an hour. Needless to say, we were surprised, if more by its texture than by my father‘s kind gesture. Once my mother let him prepare dessert, hoping that he could not fail hopelessly this time – but my father proved us wrong. He is usually rather absent-minded and therefore seasoned the dessert with salt instead of sugar. Since this last incident he has only been allowed to microwave food, which has not caused any problems – so far.

The paragaph I had written was no entirely bad, but I had only two supporting points, which made it too short. After giving some thought to some of the disastrous meals my dad has cooked, I have added a third supporting point. Also, I had not used many new words in my original paragraph. I tried to add several adjectives and sub-clauses, but still I feel like I did not manage to use as many new words as others did.