The Boston Tea Party

We're still taking a break from the Bucket List!
And I wanted to present my Culture Project: The Boston Tea Party.

 

In 1773, a major event happened in America leading to two results:
      - the relationship between the British and the Americans became tenser

      - the colonists became more united than ever before

The reason for this was because the Parliament passed several acts, such as the Stamp Act of 1765, which did not appeal to the Americans. The Stamp Act was passed in order to raise money for the military defences of the colonies during the French Indian War and it required a stamp to be affixed on many more documents than before (posters, newspapers...). This lead to riots and protests with the Americans chanting "NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION", fore they were not represented at Parliament. This whole situation was considered as an economic and political failure for the British.

However, Britain led the Americans to organize further colonial protests and helped form a group of protestors called "The Sons of Liberty". This group resisted the Tea Tax of 1773 by dumping secretly £100,000 ($1 million in today's money) worth of tea in the waters of the Boston Harbour. Naturally, they did it disguised as Indians.
The Sons of Liberty was organized by Samuel Adams, who entered politics to coordinate efforts against British-imposed taxes on American colonies. He was considered as a master of propaganda, was an official of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and, most important of all, was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America.

In order for his cause to be carried out, he asked John Adams - his cousin and President of the United States - and John Hancock, who was a wealthy merchant at the time, for help.
Samuel's beliefs in independence and his successful efforts in persuading others earned him great respect. He was given the name of "Father of the American Revolution".

This incident remains one of the iconic events in the history of America, and political protests still refer to it today! It was basically a political protest and an accumulation of a resistance movement against the British. It was a Key event on the growth of the American Revolution.

Culture Project: My ranking of the Presentations

I choose YOU!

Right, lets take a small break from all the bucket list tasks and become a little more serious.

At the university I go to at the moment, the Karl-Franzens University of Graz, in one of the classes I attend, we had the "Culture Project Day". What it was? A day to present a topic about culture, something to do with the country our teacher comes from. What we had to do? Not only did we have to present our project, but we had to attend 10 other ones aswell! So here is my ranking of the ones I saw:

1st place: The Reinvention of Malcom X
2nd place: American Indian boarding schools
3rd place: Monica Loughman - The ballet dancer
4th place: Homeland
5th place: Oliver Cromwell - Irish vs British perspective6th place: Media violence
7th place: Obama's legacy: drones and secrecy through the eyes of contemporary artists
8th  place: The Role of the US in the Korean War
9th place: Irish Intelligence at its peak
10th place: The Ku Klux Klan



FUZZY VOX - MAN OF SOLUTION

Just something I wanted to share, a video that can bring a smile to anyone's face just by simply watching it. It's a catchy song, stays in your head for a couple of hours and honestly makes you feel happy!

 

The reason why I actually posted this video is because the lead singer is a friend of mine. I only met him last year and what is more interesting for me is the fact that I correct his lyrics (you may have noticed that he doesn't sing in French but has gotten ridden of the accent!) This young group has already gone far, and is already on tour. Their song 1789 is being used for the Hollywood Chewing Gum advert at the moment and they are starting to play alongside big well-known groups in France. Their last album was mixed by a musician rom the group The Hives and I'm probably sure they will go far.

Go check them out!

Do a good deed

My Bucket List: Task #5

This task, I must say, made me feel a better person. I recommend strongly that each and every one of us do this. Either it be on a bucket list or not. This is THE thing to do and restores faith in humanity.

I spent a good amount of time thinking what for a good deed I could possibly do. At that time, there was this trend going about on Facebook, a challenge where one would have to jump into water and then choose three other people to do so. Those three people then had 48 hours to film themselves getting wet, otherwise they would have to pay for a lovely meal in a restaurant for the one who nominated them. A nice and friendly challenge. Yes, yes, I was one of those people who jumped into a lake in order to not pay for a meal (but it didn't really count, it was too hot that day, so that person did me a huge favour actually).

But then I saw this video on YouTube, of a man saying that his challenge was to help someone in need. He went up to a homeless person and asked if they would like to eat something. Just to mention, in France, in some jobs, you receive food vouchers which can pay for any food or meals. So he gives this homeless person a ticket per day for him to buy food and keep himself well nourished.

I thought of that to be a good idea and decided myself to do something similar. I took a blanket that I had, made two big baguette sandwiches and put 3 apples, a yoghurt with a plastic spoon  and a bottle of water in a plastic bag and went to give it to a homeless man whom I have walk by several times since I have been here in Graz. I gave him the bag and to be honest, I have never seen someone with so much gratitude! I felt awkward and happy at the same time. I felt good to have been able to help someone for the day. I knew I had done something for someone who was in need. I didn't film myself doing this, a sign of respect towards this man. But I strongly advise everybody to do the same.

If you can't help someone by sparing them a coin, give them at least a meal.

Vacuum the lawn.

My Busket List: Task #4

Now this task might seem stupid, but I guarantee you that it was the one that made me laugh the most. What I had to do was vacuum the lawn, because when people walk or drive by, they look at you in a strange manner.

I managed to fulfil this task beautifully because I live in a neighbourhood with lots of old folk who love to stare into other people's gardens. Especially my garden, bizarrely. So this task fitted the situation per-fect-ly!

I got vacuum cleaner out, an extension cable to make sure I could go up near the front of the garden where people could see me, and of course, it was one of those lovely days when people decide to go for a walk around where I live. Wouldn't it seem too tempting for you too?
So, I started hovering and that's when I started to get the looks. Oh those looks! Ooh how wonderful it was to get those weird looks! I laughed internally, but boy was it hard to stay serious!
The best remark as "Youth nowadays... They've completely lost their minds and now I'm seeing things!" I just smiled and continued with my duty. But someone must have complained to my neighbour, fore she came around quickly and unplugged my hoover and said that I have gone mad. That was until I explained to her what I was doing. She laughed and told me to write this down immediately. Not to forget, I've left my footprints in that neighbourhood, to the point that no one will forget "the girl who vacuumed the lawn".

Write an article about 'bla'

My Bucket List: Task #3

So my third task was to write about 'bla'. But what is 'bla'? Then I figured out that bla bla blablabla bla bla bla blablabla bla. Bla bla bla bla. Blablablabla? Bla bla bla blablablablabla bla bla blabla bla bla. Bla... bla bla blabla bla blablablabla bla bla! Blablablablablablaba. Blaaaa blablabla bla bla bla. Blabla bla, blablablabla. Bla! Blablala!

Bla blablabla. Bla bla bla bla blaaaa bla bla bla. Bla, blablabla. Blabla! BLAA! Blablabla, bla blabla.

Bla bla blablablabla. Blablablablablablablablablabla, bla, blabla, blablabla, blablablabla, blabla bla, blabla.

Walk up to a small child that ressembles you, and tell them that you are them from the future

My Bucket List: Task #2

Once you get started with a bucket list, you will find that you will spontaneously start doing things that you would have never imagined before. The best part about it? You start doing them without even thinking about any tactics whatsoever!

My next task was to walk up to a small child that looked like me when I was young, and tell them that I am them from the future. Of course, when I came up with this idea, I thought to myself 'how on earth will I manage to do this one?!'
It may seem like a tough task, but believe me, it was easier than I thought! It's one of those tasks where you must absolutely not search to find a child that looks like you but do it on the spot when you do happen to land on one.

It all happened in Marks&Spencers (for those who know the shop), in Paris, in the 15th arrondissement. It was the day before I went to see Justin Timberlake in concert. I was, again, with my parents. But this time, it was my mother who pointed this little girl out to me - this might seem wrong when you first read this, but trust me, it turns out well and gets better. This little girl's mother was wondering if she would like some hot cross buns, and strangely, she was asking her in English, but with a French accent. So obviously, this little girl was learning English. All the better! So, she didn't know what a Hot Cross Buns were and my mum quickly popped her head over her shoulder and said "Yes please!". This poor little thing didn't know what was happening. That's when my mum quickly turned around to me and said "you're in." I didn't get it at first until my mum asked me if I hadn't noticed that that little girl looked just like me when I was young. BINGO! It was a hint!
So I hoped that I would walk past her again, and  luckily I did! In the sweet section. Moreover, she was looking at my favourite sweets. So I guess we did have something in common.

This was the quick little conversation I had with her:
"Why didn't you say yes to the hot cross buns?"
She looked at me, startled.
"You know, I once made a terrible decision like that when I was young, for the same reasons. I wasn't quite so sure what a 'hot cross bun' was at first but they looked sooooo yummy!"
"And what did you do?"
"I quickly turned around and asked my mummy to buy them eventually."
"And did she?"
"She did. And I'm so happy that I changed my mind."
Her face started to look confused.
"You know something?", I asked her, "the reason why I'm telling you this is because later on you will regret it."
"How do you know?"
"If I tell you, will you promise to keep it a secret?"
"Yes."
"It's because I am you. Yes, I am you from the future. But now that I have told you, I must go."
And the little girl looked amazed. The next thing I heard were her footsteps running away.

What happened then? We saw her mum buying her a packet of hot cross buns.

Mission accomplished.

Ring someone up to tell them you have no time to talk.

My Bucket List: Task #1 

 

So, as you may know, I have started my very own bucket list. My aim is to be more daring than I already am, but also to do things in a more willingly, kinder and loving way. Therefore, I will not reveal my list that I have written so far, but will reveal the tasks achieved one by one as I go along.

My first task on my list was to ring someone up, wait till they answer the phone to tell them that "I have no time to talk!" and  quickly hang up on them. I thought it to be an easy one to start off with, a kind of "take off" to my new daring kind of lifestyle. I got so enthusiastic about it that I tried this task on quite a few people. Unfortunately, my first attempts were deceiving because I tested it on people who already new about this mission; some laughed, some just hung up on me before I even  got to finish my sentence, and the rest told me simply to stop being stupid (with a hint of "grow up" added to it).

The only person who I could think of who would give me the perfect reaction to my task was my sister. You see, she is very down to earth with certain things (not all the time, because usually it's the other way round) and despite her powerful ability to use words and prank people herself in very clever ways, she is still an easy prey - not to mention that she had not a single clue of my plan! So, this is what happened...

I was in the car with my brother on our way home - not to worry, he was driving and i was handling the phone (never phone and drive!) - and we were trying to find a way of teasing our beloved mother. We couldn't think of much and didn't want to use the classic "we won't be back until late" excuse. So we tried my task, with in mind that she heard about it. I called her, she answered the phone and before I even got the chance to finish my sentence, she had hung up. So I called back to see if we were disconnected unwillingly,  she answered and quickly said that she had no time to speak aswell and put the receiver down. I felt dumb. My brother just laughed.

All of a sudden, he had the fabulous idea of calling my little sister! In order for you to understand why it worked so brilliantly, it was because she had not a single clue of my ridiculously funny prank I was going to take on her. So I rang her up. The first time she answered, neither one of

us could hear eachother speak. So I rang her up again. Only had she just picked up her phone, again, did I quickly say what I had to say and hang up. No response. My brother and I were waiting for an immediate reaction, but nothing happened. I started to feel disappointed about how uneffective this task was but after about half an hour did she react. It must have worked her up, for she kept sending me messages like "why on earth did you call me to tell me that you couldn't speak?" , or even "what's the point in calling me to tell me such a thing? ". And because I didn't answer any of these messages she started to bomb my brother with messages such as "I really don't understand what's going on! " - "Is something wrong with her?" - "If she had no time to talk, then what was the point of her having called me to tell me that she couldn't talk?". Unluckily for her, he decided to play along to and not answer her. After that, we had thought that she had had enough of looking for non-existing answers. But noooo! She must have been so desperate for an answer that she decided to tackle our mother (by that time I was at home)! Sad but true, it really wasn't her day, for our mum decided to twist her mind up even more. The poor girl! All she got for an answer was "Don't you find it useful to know that someone has no time to talk? You could at least be thankful about it! Not everybody lets you know these kind of things! Consider yourself lucky!"

So I guess that this task was successfully fulfilled and that I, myself, have learned my first rule: keep quite about your ambitions to lead yourself to success (when it comes to bucket lists especially!).

Bucket List #1

The bucket list is one of the things that captivated me the most these recent years. Beyond its popular trend, beyond its apparent evidence, it is a real working tool with enormous opportunities for those wishing to improve their lives.

 

What is a bucket list?

It's a list which identifies all the things you want to do before you die. The "before you die" isn't very merry, so let's replace it with "in your life". Because the important thing is not the deadline for this list, but rather to focus on what it contains. So I'll ask you once: what is the list of things you absolutely want to achieve in your life?I mentioned an "apparent evidence" since whilst I discovered the principle of a bucket list for the first time, I thought it was an obvious thing that would be easy to write. In fact, knowing what we want to do in our life, what makes us happy is so important that we should have already thought about this, right? One should write the list on their own, isn't that right?
Not quite so sure actually...

 

Here a 6 good reasons to start writing your own bucket list today!

1. It will lead you to think about what is important in your life and what it should be focused on. Beyond your daily plans and routines, what are the important things you would like to see happen in your life?
    
2. The list will help you become the main actor of YOUR life. Faced with the passivity that sometimes annoys us and which we do not always know how to detach ourselves from, to act is the best way forward in order to improve things.
   
3. Once the ideas set in mind, writing them down will help you to better formulate and understand your wishes. The choice of words is important too. The more precise you are, the better you will learn to know yourself.
4. Making a point of your bucket list is already a powerful act. It's a step closer to one's extraordinary side of their life! Moreover, you will notice it right at the start!
5. Your bucket list will also serve as a compass in your life, allowing you to focus on your goals, and in opposition, allowing you also to evacuate the things that bother you and what is not useful to you. Since you've set your goals in order to be happy, why not make them happen?
6. Of course, and this might seem obvious, the fact of keeping a list of all your goals is something tangible, realistic. Read them out loud, they exist, and I can tell you that that is already a major step to their realisation. The first step. YOUR first step.
   
   So let's get our pens to paper and get started with a bucket list!
   Remember, your dreams are not limited, therefore your list isn't too! GET WRITING!!!
   

What language do you think in?

"If you can speak two languages fluently, what language do you think in?"

Being a bilingual person (completely fluent in English and in French), I often get asked this question. When asked this question, they have absolutely no idea in what an awkward position they put me in, because I then start trying to think about something, try to figure out if at that moment I'm thinking in English or in French, but then realise that I'm not actually thinking about something! However, when I ask them back in what language they think in, they answer 'in French of course!' or any other language that happens to be there mother tongue, making it seem so obvious...


So here is my theory about what language one thinks in:

If I take myself as an example, I grew up in London, so my mother tongue is English. You'll then immediately jump to the conclusion that I speak English therefore I think in English. It is a yes/no situation, because my father speaks English and French Patois, and my mother speaks English and German. So I also grew up with these different dialects, being able to understand what they say, as well. Then again, I moved to France when I was young and was put into another situation where thinking, writing and speaking had to be done differently!

It was only when I arrived in secondary school that one of my teachers asked me what language I thought in. I asked her why such a question, and was told that I tend to do things differently compared to the other French pupils when something was asked in one language or the other. Since then, this "language thinking" question has triggered this curiosity in myself, leading me to try realising if I think in French or English.

This is what I came up with:

• I have a tendancey to think in English more easily when concentrating on a French task
• I tend to think in French when I get cross (cursing in French especially!)
• Remarkably, I find it easier to count or calculate in German!

Now that is where it starts to get strange! Where does the counting in German come from?
I think that it is all due to habits that we take on from our parents. My mother, when it comes to counting our calculating, always thinks (aloud) in German. Just by this example, thinking in a language is actually copied from a parent.

But what actually gets me thinking is do we actually need a language to think?

Do you have what it takes to be a good blogger?

After having spent a lovely time back home in France, the time has come to get back to work and be serious! What? Who, me, serious? 'Never' some would say. But when it comes to writing and sharing my stories, I can do nothing better but chat about what I have discovered. I shall call them my little discoveries!

The second semester has started and one of my goals is to keep up with a blog. 'But blogs are for teenagers who have nothing else to do except for letting the whole world and it's brother know their lives!' some would say. And that is EXACTLY what I am going to do, but with a few twists and turns to make it unique!

In order to achieve this, I had to think about what would make this blog particularly interesting and eye-catching... So, after having searched, admired, read through and most of all, observed a few blogs that my teacher had told us to take a sneak peak at, this is what I came up with:

Not this kind of 'lay out'...

• The layout
  It might be a small detail, but in fact, it's actually important! All the blogs I had a tendancey to look at had original and simple backgrounds, light and bright colours, a  s p a c e d  layout which made it all pleasant to read and never did they tire my eyes. Indeed, many  blogs that use the colour blue are actually considered to be relaxing!
  
• The topics
  Not only did these bloggers write about their life (not everything about them interests us!) but they shared what they like, a wide variety of topics with pictures (a blog is not a book, a blog NEEDS pictures!) and most of all, made each article uniquely amazing with excellently filled contents!



• Each post is unique! (just like you)
  In order for a blog to stick out amongst the others, it needs to be special. How? By making each post unique in it's own way. What I noticed was that these people spoke quite frankly and seemed extremely open to anything, absorbing us into their world, but in such a way that one cannot simply take their eyes away from the article! People need to feel linked to the words that are used.

I'm pretty sure that there are more little things that could make a blog a good blog, but for now I'd rather stick to what I found important and most importantly write about what I like! I have a tendancey to write long posts because my mind flows freely and I sense that there is more in myself than I tend to show. Moreover, it's a way for me to express myself and improve the way I communicate, and all of that whilst bringing a smile to some peoples faces (especially mine). So, time to set new goals from now onwards: one post per week! Challenge accepted!