library-evenings - November

French Literature

Every second Wednesday we make a foreigner evening in the American corner of the library called "Šiaulių apskrities Povilo Višinskio viešoji biblioteka".
Anne- Sophie started with her presentation of French Literature on the 5th.November. 

In a kind of Quiz she tested how much we already know about French Literature. Some of us were really good but to be honest I didn't know anything. Because of that it was really interesting for me. I learned a lot and when I came home I had the desire to start reading immediately. Do you know this feeling?

Moreover we could listen her wonderful French language when she was reading out of the famous book  Ulysse from Bagdad (Schmitt Eric Emanuel).

And at the end we learned some important words which was real fun because of our horrible pronunciation. 

Thanks to Anne-Sophie that she showed and inspired us so much!!

Austrian Tradition

On Wednesday the 19.November I presented my home country Austria. We made a kind of journey through one year full of events, celebrations and also religions occasions. I had really a lot of things to tell. From "Wiener Opernball", Carneval and Easter over to Summerevents with traditional customs and "Dirndl" up to the winter which is dominated by Christmas markets, skiing and a lot of delicious food. 
A short overview you can find in another post - austrian-tradition

Japan

Every Monday people from Šiauliai meet in the American corner of the library to celebrate different events.
This Monday (the 22. November) we celebrated Thanksgiving together.
But the highlight of the evening was the presentation of Jungo about his home country Japan.

Jungo, an Erasmus student in Šiauliai, showed us his extremely interesting country. We learned about the language, food and of course the  landscapes. About landscapes, the size, inhabitants, earthquakes,... he could tell us a lot because he is studying geography.
Moreover he was even dressed in the typical Kimono (crazy in this weather :D ) 

here you can find more information in Lithuanian:
http://www.savb.lt/lt/amerikos-skaitykla2

Austrian tradition

I want to take you to a journey trough a traditional year in Austria and especially our different costums, dialects and events. 

Ball sesson

February is dominated by the peak of the ball season in Austria. The most famous ball of Vienna is the "Wiener Opernball" or "Vienna Opera Ball" in the Wiener Staatsoper, but there are plenty of others like the "Life Ball" that was founded a few years ago in the sake of HIV and Aids charities.

 

Carneval

In Austria we call it "Fasching" or "Fasnacht" and you can see processions in nearly every village or city. The most famous processions are held in Tyrol. There people wear very different masks.

Funkenfeuer

This is a huge bonfire in every village. The reason for this is to say goodbye to the winter and banish the snow away. But to see this kind of tradition you have to go to Vorarlberg or Tyrol.
On the top of the bonfires there is a witch with dynamite inside. Everyone is eating „Funkaküchle“ (different sweet breads with cinnamon and maybe apple), drinks Glühwein and is just waiting for the big BOOOMM!   

 

Fronleichnam- the Feast of Corpus Christi.

This day is every year on a different date between 21.May and 24.June and it is celebrated with processions in the villages. But these processions can look very different. In Upper-Austria for example they made it on the lakes. The processions on the Hallstättersee or Traunsee have a very long tradition.
In my home village in the west-side of Austria (Vorarlberg) we just go around in the town, wearing our traditional costumes and praying. 

Costumes

"D Juppe"

This is the oldest form of formal dress in the German-speaking country. It is a handmade costume with a lot of golden embroideries. The way in which it is made is very complicated.You can imagine that this dress is very expensive and I could never afford to buy a new one but as you can see my sister and I inherited a "Juppe" from our grandmother.

 
There are a lot of rules how to wear this costume right. You have to take care of 

• the colors - white sleeves with the red dress,
• the end of the belt must show to the left side,
• the bow of the ribbon around the neck must be on the left side,...

There are several other costumes all over Austria. Everyone has its own rules and we wear it to different occasions.
The only dress which we can wear nearly always is the "Dirndl".

Dirndl und Lederhosen

Octoberfest, Musikfest, Feuerwehrfest, Osterbock, Almabtrieb,... We have so many events where we wear the dirndl. But not only for "party" we can wear it. Nowadays it is also very popular at weddings and of course in traditional restaurants the waitresses are wearing this costume. 

 

 

Bregenzer Festspiele

This is a performing art festival held on the lake of Constance, in German called Bodensee. Every July and August there are Operas held on the huge stage over the water. This stage is very famous especially since it was scenery in the twenty-second James Bond film “Quantum of Solace” many people know it.

"Almabtrieb" 

Who has the most beautiful cow! Sounds funny but to be honest it is true. In the Autumn when the cows come back from the Alps there is a day where farmers have such a competition.

Skiing

OHH I love winter!
Skiraces, Skiing, Apres ski,... It is difficult to describe I can just say TRY IT!!

 

Christmas markets

In Austria there are many different Christmas markets. In the villages they are of course smaller but in every city with about 30 000 inhabitants you will see a beautiful market during one month. An amazing atmosphere, lights everywhere, a lot of Glühwein and Maroni (roasted chestnuts) are reasons why people enjoy this time - even when it can be cold.