Make a Wish...

Maybe some of you are familiar with the video of a small boy dressed up as Batman ‘saving’ San Francisco? If not, you can take a look here:

5-year-old Miles Scott has been battling leukemia for nearly all his life and the Make-A-Wish-Foundation granted his biggest wish: To be Batman for one day. Hundreds of people came out to cheer on ‘Batkid’ who could forget his illness for one day and even President Obama sent a message of support. 

This is only one of many wishes the Make-A-Wish-Foundation grants ill children all across the world every day. The non-profit-organization was founded in the US in 1980 and has granted over 300,000 wishes until today. The first kid whose wish was fulfilled was 7-year-old Christopher James Greicius with leukemia, who wanted to be a police officer for one day. 

The criteria to get a wish fulfilled are that the child has to have a life-threatening medical condition and be between the ages two and a half and eighteen. Potential wish kids, medical professionals treating the kid or parents, legal guardians or family members with detailed knowledge of the child’s medical condition can refer a child to the foundation. Most wishes fall into five categories:

I wish to go… children who wish to go somewhere, e.g. a theme park, the beach, a concert,…

I wish to be… children who want to be someone for one day, e.g. a police officer, or in the case of Miles Batman

I wish to meet… children who want to meet their favorite athlete, musician, actor, etc.

I wish to have… children who are given special presents, e.g. a computer, a tree house, a digital camera,…

I wish to give… children who use their wish to make the world better and raise funds or celebrate a holiday for their family, etc. 

Though the organization was founded in the US, it now operates in 47 countries around the world (since 1997 also in Austria!) through 36 affiliate offices. 

I personally think the organization is great, because it gives ill children hope and they can forget their illness for one day. Especially for those children who have battled an illness for nearly all of their lives it’s amazing, because they can catch a break for once. Of course there are always critics, even for such a compassionate organization. Some people for example thought that the story of Batkid, which was on the news throughout America and even in some other countries, makes other kids with the same illness feel bad, because they can’t have the same experience. Some people also say that Make-A-Wish only makes people feel better, because they feel good helping an ill kid, but there are so many more ill kids out there who are ignored. And also some criticize that it would be more important to grant the best medical help for ill children and not wishes so that they have fun for one day. And even though I can understand all these statements, I still think the foundation is very important and ultimately does the right thing. All the children whose wishes are fulfilled had tough lives until that point and deserve to have fun and smile again for a day. 

If you want to check out the organization here are the links for the International, Austrian and American websites.

YOUPOST 4

About two weeks ago I blogged about traveling and talked about a place I want to visit in the future. In contrast to that, today I want to tell you something about a place I have already been to in the past. The place I want to talk about is Egypt. When I was thirteen, my parents, my sisters and I went to Hurghada, a city at the Red Sea Coast, during the summer holidays. It was the first time for me to travel by plane (which I was very excited about, but then I realized that flying was actually quite boring) and Egypt was the first country I visited that was completely different to my home country Austria – even though Hurghada is a tourist destination packed with hotels and therefore we didn’t experience too much of the everyday Egyptian lifestyle, I still noticed a big cultural difference. 

 One of the first things my family and I noticed was the fact that we didn’t see many females in the hotel staff. Nearly everyone working there – even the cleaning staff – was male, which was definitely something we hadn’t seen at any other place we stayed before. But all of them were exceptionally friendly and open. One night when we walked over the square in front of the hotel, people were singing and dancing. We stood by to watch and it didn’t take long until someone asked us to join in! But – and here a warning – there is a small line between friendliness and obtrusiveness. While the people in the hotel were all very nice, the people who worked on the beach were annoying for the most part. There were so many salesmen and all of them talked to us – no matter if we pretended to sleep or not. There were, however, also nice people amongst them, for example a guy who taught me how to write my name in Arabic. 

The Red Sea is such a beautiful place. Yes, the beaches were kind of crowded – though it wasn’t nearly as bad as in Italy – but the water itself was great. Only a few meters in, where we still could stand on the ground, there were already coral reefs and we didn’t have to dive very far to see colorful fish. My sisters and I had so much fun with diving and swimming, it was great. 

The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

But my highlight of the vacation wasn’t the beach or the friendly people, it was my trip to the Valley of the Kings. I’ve always been really interested in history, even back then, so I really looked forward to that. Although I hate early mornings, I voluntary got up at four in the morning for the trip. A tip we got from the hotel staff was to wear reasonable clothing. It was extremely hot in the desert and of course the first instinct of many people would be to wear as little clothing as possible – which is the worst thing one could do! It’s actually recommended to cover much skin, but stick to light colors, white at best. Also wear some kind of headgear to avoid sunstroke and drink much water. 

Entrance of the Luxor Temple

The Valley of the Kings was impressive for me. It’s an area where over sixty tombs of Egyptian pharaohs are located. It fascinated me that you can still see the original colors and drawings made thousands of years ago on the walls. We also saw the Valley of the Queens (were wives and other relatives of pharaohs – not only queens – were buried), the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut (which was really impressive because of its architecture and height), the Colossi of Memnon (again very impressive because of their size) and Luxor (which is a modern city, but ruins of the temples of Karnak and Luxor are still to see). In Luxor we also took a boat trip on the Nile, which was much fun.

I enjoyed my holiday to Egypt very much, as I thought it was great to learn something about the country, but also to relax at the same time. However, it’s important to mention that my vacation took place in summer 2007 and a lot has changed since then. As most of you probably know, there has been much rioting, political change and instability throughout the country in the last years. The security risk is very high right now, even in the tourist regions in the south of the country and I don’t know how similar a vacation there now would be to my fantastic trip nearly seven years ago.

Anyways, my experience of the country back then was very positive. As long as you can handle the annoying salesmen on the beach, put on enough sunscreen and a hat and are a little bit interested in old monuments, it’s a great destination to visit.

Goodbye 2013!

Christmas is barely over and the next reason to celebrate is already here: New Year’s Eve. Or at least for a big part of the world it is. There are, however, countries where New Year is celebrated on different dates.

The probably most well-known example is China where the Lunar New Year is celebrated on the first new moon of the first lunar month, which falls between January 21 and February 21. This year the Chinese year started on February 10, 2013 and it will end on January 30, 2014. The next year will last from January 31, 2014 to February 18, 2015. Chinese New Year is celebrated in a number of countries with significant Chinese population, including Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. In China New Year’s Eve and the first two days after are public holidays, but most people take more days off and instead work on Saturday before and Sunday after New Year’s. There are many traditions that precede the actual holiday which then lasts for another fifteen days again filled with many traditions. 

Jewish New Year, called Rosh Hashanah, is a two days celebration 163 days after the first day of Pesach, which means the earliest date on which it can fall is September 5 and the latest is October 5. In 2013 it was celebrated on September 5 and September 6. For Jews the holiday is the Judgment Day and the day to take a look at their religious and moral behavior of the past year and pray for a good future. It’s also a day to celebrate. 

Islamic New Year takes place on the first day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. Because the Islamic calendar is based on twelve lunar months and has only 354 days, New Year occurs about eleven days earlier every year in relation to the Gregorian calendar. In 2008 there were even two Muslim New Year’s. In 2013 it was celebrated on November 4.

Many countries were the Eastern Orthodox Church predominates celebrate New Year not only on January 1, but also on January 14 which is the first day of the Julian calendar. It is called Old New Year and celebrated as a religious feast. 

These were just a few examples, there are many more countries that celebrate New Year on a different date than the western world. And even though most countries of the western world might agree on the same date to celebrate, the way how New Year’s Eve and Day are celebrated varies from country to country. 

Here in Austria people usually celebrate in bigger groups with friends and family. A common custom is Molybdomancy, where molten lead or tin is dropped into cold water where it hardens. The forms are often interpreted symbolically. Another tradition is watching the English TV-sketch Dinner for One which is broadcasted every year. At midnight the sound of the Pummerin, the bell of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, is broadcasted by all radio and television programs and then the Donauwalzer (The Blue Danube) is played. Family and friends wish each other “Einen guten Rutsch”, drink to the New Year and fireworks are set off. 

In England the celebrations in London around the Big Ben are televised by the BBC. At midnight people sing Auld Lang Syne and there is a firework. On January 1 celebrations continue with a New Year’s Day Parade.

In Italy wearing red underwear is a tradition. Another one – though it is rarely followed these days – is to get rid of old items by throwing them out of the window. Fireworks are also set off. 

Wearing new red underwear is also a tradition in Spain. The countdown at midnight on New Year's Eve is followed by twelve chimes from the clock on top of the Casa de Correos building on the Puerta del Sol Square in Madrid. It’s traditional to eat a grape on every chime of the clock. After family dinner and eating the grapes many young people attend cotillones de nochevieja parties in pubs or clubs. 

In the US there are also parties on New Year’s Eve and the famous “ball drop” is held on Times Square in New York City. At 11:59 pm ET a Waterford Crystal ball located on the roof of One Times Square is lowered down a 70 feet (that’s about 21 meters) high pole. This tradition comes from time balls that were used as time signalling devices in earlier times.

I personally don’t have a real New Year’s Eve tradition. I usually celebrate with my family or friends, eat and drink a lot and watch the fireworks. 

Wherever or however you are celebrating, I wish you a happy New Year and good luck for 2014! 

Saving people, hunting things, the family business

One of my favorite TV-series of all times is the American The CW-show Supernatural. Like the name already suggests it mainly belongs to the fantasy genre though it also contains much action, horror and humor from time to time. Supernatural first aired on September 13, 2005 and The CW currently shows the ninth season. It focuses on two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester (played by actors Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles), who are hunters of supernatural creatures, such as demons, ghosts, werewolves, vampires, and many other monsters. Their mother, Mary, was killed by a demon when both of them were young children causing their father, John, to start hunting. While Dean always followed John’s guidelines and rules and took up hunting at an early age, his younger brother Sam refused to do so and went to university to study law instead. At the beginning of the first season John disappears and Sam’s girlfriend Jess dies the same way their mother did, so Sam rejoins Dean in order to hunt down the demon that killed Jess and their mother and find their father. 

For every season there is a different main story arc, such as finding their father in the first one, but there are always smaller subplots. Though the brothers are the only constant main characters, there are a handful of others who play major roles throughout the series and there is a number of constantly changing supporting cast members. Next to Sam and Dean the most important figures are Castiel (played by Misha Collins), a fallen angel who joins them in the fourth season when they fight the apocalypse, and Bobby (played by Jim Beaver), a hunter who was friends with the father of the brothers and helps them whenever they are in trouble. The most consistent bad guy is a demon called Crowley (played by Mark Sheppard) who also thinks of himself as King of Hell. The brothers are sometimes forced to work with him to fight common enemies which is always very troublesome.

Dean, Sam and Castiel (from left to right)

While monster stories predominated the first three seasons, most storylines now involve religious themes, starting off with the approaching apocalypse and the introduction of angels and the devil in the fourth season. Still, Supernatural always tries to work in new legends and creatures to keep it original and fit in some humorous episodes between the dark and serious ones, which is a reason why I love the series so much. They manage the perfect balance between horror, drama and comedy. Although some episodes are shocking or sad, there are always others that make you laugh. It’s sometimes really comedic, but without being silly or unrealistic. But my favorite aspect overall is the relationship between Sam and Dean. It’s enjoyable to watch, because they have an authentic sibling relationship and bicker about little things, but they always have each other’s back when something bad happens. And it’s also refreshing that the series doesn’t focus on romance and the main characters love lives unlike many other TV-series. 

After the ninth season of Supernatural, show-runner Jeremy Carver has a tenth and final one planned. In summer 2013 The CW announced that there was a spin-off of the series in the works with the 20^th episode of season nine being the back-door pilot for it. 

All in all I would recommend Supernatural for everyone who likes fantasy and horror movies or TV-series, because it has likeable characters, thrilling storylines and a tad of humor that makes it very fun to watch.

YOUPOST 3

One of my biggest dreams is to travel the world. Sadly until now the farthest I’ve been away from home was Egypt – it was a great holiday, exotic and very different from anything I had ever seen before, but I still want to see more countries and get to know more cultures. If I could travel anywhere in the world right now I would probably choose the US. Why? Well, for one it’s one of the biggest countries in the world with a number of interesting places to visit. Cities such as New York, L.A., Chicago, San Francisco, etc. are very well-known over here and locations for many movies and TV-series I love – which is another reason to visit: I’d love to compare TV and reality. Because sometimes when I watch my favorite TV-series I find myself wondering how close the way of living that is portrayed on TV is to reality and how much of it is only exaggerated. And of course, since I’m studying English now and learned so much about the most important events in American history in the last month, I became even more curious and interested in traveling there.

  

 

Choosing where to go to isn’t the easiest decision, because – as I mentioned before – it’s a really big country with countless intriguing places. I decided to plan a trip to New York, which is one of the most well-known cities of the world with a lot of famous sights, so it’s probably a great destination for my very first trip to the US. The next decision is when to go. After putting some thought into that question, I decided to plan my trip for February, when I have my five weeks semester break. I decided against going in summer, because I normally work in the summer holidays and I’ll need the money, as a trip to the US is expensive.

Money is actually my biggest problem when it comes to traveling in general and the reason why I don’t travel as much as I would like to. Being a student I get support from my parents, but they won’t pay all my travel costs just because I want to see the world. And only working in the summer holidays doesn’t earn me enough money to go to fascinating places all the time. But if I plan carefully and don’t expect the highest standard everywhere I go, I can get by fine. If I want to fly for under €500, I’ll have to prepare myself for a long and uncomfortable flight. The same goes for accommodation: I certainly won’t stay in a luxurious five-star hotel. 

When I’m finally in NYC I intent to make the most of it and see many of the famous sights and places. I’ll try to walk as much as possible, because you often find yourself in more interesting situations if you go by foot. You meet more people and maybe get ideas from occurrences in your surroundings you wouldn’t get from sitting in a car or train. And of course it’s also free. If I can’t reach a destination by foot, I’ll go by train or subway, but I’ll try to avoid taxis, as they are more expensive. 

I definitely want to visit the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero and take a walk through Central Park. Then I’d like to take a trip with the Staten Island Ferry and see the Brooklyn Bridge. I’d also like to see Madison Square Garden, because it’s one of the most famous arenas of the world. If I end up going to New York with my sisters and my father we’d definitely want to go to a hockey game in MSG as we are all big hockey fans and it would be an amazing experience for sure. I also want to see the Time Square and Broadway and maybe even watch a musical there, because I love musicals. 

 

In addition to all these things there’s another important element for me in traveling: food. I don’t need expensive restaurants with fancy dishes, but I always want to try typical food for the region I’m in. America is a melting pot, it unites many cultures in one country and that is also very noticeable in New York. The cuisine of New York City is influenced by the many ethnic groups that call the city their home now. I want to try as much international dishes as possible, starting with a trip to Chinatown, trying some New York-style plain pizza, having tacos, bagels and burgers, eating Vietnamese, Pakistani, Korean, Russian, and more. I’m generally very open when it comes to food and I like to try new things, so I think I’ll love that side of my journey.

I know that my bank account won’t be very happy about all my plans, but I’m generally quite good in spending the least money as possible. I’m aware that I’ll still spend a lot, but I’m sure that I will have some great experiences and much fun in return!