September 2005
September 23, 2005
Tatenda Chirusa
My name is Tatenda, which means “thank you” in my native Shona language and I’m from Harare, which means “the city that never sleeps” and the republic of Zimbabwe, which actually means “a house built of stones.” I’m starting my second and last year at the business school and I’m excited to be part of the WWN team again, I couldn’t miss it for anything. Just like last year, I will be giving updates on what’s happening in Zimbabwe (which has been in the news lately), and also in Africa as a whole.
⌠Ass Salam Aleykum■ is the most frequently heard phrase in the old and modern streets of Baku - the capital of Azerbaijan Republic, where I am from. The word means √ peace and I first of all wish you all peace too!
Azerbaijan is a country with a population of 8mln people; located in the Caucasus, on the western coast of the Caspian Sea, bordering Russia, Turkey, Iran and Armenia, it occupies the world▓s most important strategic crossroads between East and West. A country at the center of the historic Silk Road, Azerbaijan treasures its natural and cultural diversity. The largest country of the South Caucasus, it is home, along with ethnic Azeris, to more than 70 different ethnic groups, including Kurds, Jews, Russians, Armenians, Lezghis and many others.
Azerbaijan with its favorable soil and a mild climate was among the birthplaces of mankind. It was here that the Azykh cave, the earliest human habitat on Earth dating back 1-1,2 million years, was found. Azerbaijan has rich natural resources, such as gas, oil and etc. Since the mid √ 19th century the oil industry has been flourishing in Azerbaijan. The first industrial oil well was drilled in 1848. In the late 19th - early 20th centuries, Baku was producing 95% of the Russian Empire▓s and about 50% of the world's oil production. Westerners such as the Nobels and Rotchshilds were among the oil magnates of Baku. It was also at that time that the Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibayov wrote his ⌠Leyli and Majnun,■ the first opera in the Muslim world.
Currently a number of vital international projects are being implemented in Azerbaijan; the most expensive and important is the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline which will export oil from Azerbaijan and Georgia to European countries. Besides such , Azerbaijan is the home of wonderful natural environments, containing 9 out of 13 climatic zones existing in the world. In general the country is a modern synthesis of ancient civilization and modernism with an Old City situated right inside the downtown attracting many tourists from around the world. One of most famous sights is the 12th century Maiden▓s Tower. (on the left side of the picture.)
From 1920 until 1991 Azerbaijan was under the Soviet Socialist Republic rule. In 1991 after the collapse of Soviet Union became an independent country. As a result of Armenian aggression 20% of Azeri territories are currently occupied leaving over 1 million refugees. Despite existence of a number of international documents such as 4 UN resolutions demanding immediate release of the territories, this issue has not been resolved.
Now about myself. Having both a Bachelor▓s and Master▓s degrees in International Law in Baku, I am now a participant of the United States Department of State Program called MUSKIE, which enables me to study for one year as an LLM student here at Willamette.
I find Salem and Willamette a very friendly place and have met some people both among students and among the University staff which were and are extremely kind towards me.
One of the difficult things was to get used to a food here, since in Azerbaijan historic national foods are very popular. Eventually I ended up with an idea of cooking myself ?. I am looking forward to a successful academic year and an interesting life in this country.
Sag olun! √Thank you in Azeri language.
Hi, my name is Dasha and I come from Simferopol, Ukraine. My country is awesome :) I miss it a lot, yet I am very happy to be in Willamette (unfortunately, I only get to spend one semester here). At home I major in English and minor in German, but here it is Rhetoric that is my biggest homework load. I am very excited about writing for Willamette World News because I get to select and present news from my Homeland. Ukraine plays an important role in the set-up of political powers in Europe and in the world. Right now, Ukraine is facing major changes in both its foreign and domestic politics, cultural values and ⌠Independence experience.■ We even survived one revolution! It▓s fascinating to watch a new nation being born, and you can witness it, too, through the Willamette World News!
Hi,
I am Zhanna. Originally I am from Ukraine, a country located in Eastern Europe. At present it is an independent state. When I was born 1985, it was a part of the Soviet Union. Historically, Ukraine had not been independent until 1991. The city –Uzhgorod, where I lived for about 15 years is right on the border with Hungary and Slovakia. Years ago, Uzhgorod used to be a part of Austro-Hungarian Empire and part of Czechoslovakia.
After World War II when the Soviets crossed the land, Uzhgorod became a part of the Soviet Union. Now, it is Ukraine. Nevertheless, because of its location the city is very diverse. It is kind of cool because people there are have different background and culture, and speak varieties of languages. Nationalities that live there are Hungarians, Slovaks, Check, Polish, Romanians, Germans, Russians, Ukrainians and few more. The official language in Ukraine is Ukrainian. Russian is sure understandable and spoken a lot in Ukraine. When I was little I spoke Russian at home, but 1990’s when I had to go to school, I had to learn Ukrainian. Ukrainian and Russian are not the same languages. They have some common characteristics such as alphabet because they are Slovak languages, however, they sound different.
It is probably enough about on history; if something else comes up I will definitely write.
I moved to the United States, Portland, OR about 4 years ago. Went to high school, liked it, enjoyed, learned…and decided to check out colleges. I did and now I am here a sophomore at Willamette University, liking, enjoying, learning and writing for the World News.
If some days (most likely every day) it is raining and you feel like drinking your hot tea and reading something Interesting and Educational such as news, but you don’t feel like reading Salem newspapers or just sit and watch TV, you want something different, like knowing what’s happening in other parts of the world, you are at the right spot. We will try to make it as fun, interesting, entertaining and educational as possible.
Hope all of you had a great summer and is having a good school year so far. Smiles
Hi,
My name is Jaime Mata Miguez and I am from La Coruсa. This town is situated on North-west coast of Spain and has a population of roughly two-hundred fifty thousand. Since 1999 I have studied in Vigo, which is 160 kilometers far away from La Coruсa, quite close to the border of Portugal.
My degree is called Marine Sciences and I still have to pass two courses to finish it. For several months I have wondered what to do once I graduate, and finally I decided to move to Biology as I have that chance since I have completed the three first years of Marine Sciences. I was a little bit undecided and doubtful because this decision will mark the rest of my life, so I hope I have taken the right one. That▓s why I am studying courses such as Cell Biology and Ecology, Evolution and Diversity at Willamette University through ISEP (International Student Exchange Program).
This is my first time in the States and also my first experience studying so far away from home for such a long time. At the beginning I though it would be harder and that I would feel homesick. However, International Office employees and Peer Advisors have done a very good job during Orientation Days to help us to meet everyone and get used to our new life in campus. Although I am just beginning to know American people I spend most of my time with the international students. It is amazing and enriching to live together with such a varied group of people.
I will try to choose interesting news articles, and discuss them as best as I can while I enjoy my stay in Salem. So far, things have worked out better than I expected; I hope to be so lucky in the future.
Continue reading "Jaime Mata Miguez"
Mongolia is a country in Asia between Russia and China. It is a little smaller than Alaska and has 2.7 million people, almost all Buddhist, with a harsh continental climate. Ulaanbaatar, the capital, is a city of about one million people. It has fascinating museums and temples, and wonderful restaurants. There are internet cafes all over, and computers and cell phones are in wide use. Some Mongolians on the outskirts of the city and many in the countryside still live in "ger", the round felt tents of the nomads. The surrounding scenery is awe-inspiring; very like the High Sierra Mountains, one expatriate has said. The Mongolian language is part of the Ural-Altaic language group, and is written in the Cyrillic script.
Until 1990, the Mongolian Government was modeled on the Soviet system; only the communist party, the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, was officially
permitted to function. In 1990, with the collapse of the communist system, Mongolia embarked on a peaceful transition to a democratic capitalist state, committed to upholding human rights and freedoms. In general, Mongolia is a civil law country.
Hi there,
I am John Oruongo, from Kenya. Currently, I am a grad student at Atkinson. I have been in the US since January 2001. Before coming here, I lived in Springfield, Missouri. This is also where I did my undergrad studies. My majors were Business Administration and Computer Information Systems.
Kenya is on the eastern coast of Africa. Its population is slightly above 30 million people. Many people know of Kenya because of the long distance runners, Serengeti and some of the mountains we have. Kenya has more than one national park/reserve, but Serengeti is the most famous. Tourism is a big industry for Kenya too.
Here at Willamette, I am already too busy with assignments to plan on anything. But I hope with time, this will change to allow for activities other than graphs and figures.
Hi all, my name is Dominik Mauer, I▓m 25 years old and I made the long way from Bavaria, Germany, over here to spend my academic year abroad at Willamette. I was a bit disappointed about the temperature of the Pacific Ocean (they told me that it▓s cold but they didn▓t tell me that it▓s that cold!), but otherwise this stay here is going to even exceed all my expectations! My major is German linguistics, my minor English linguistics, so I▓m really glad that I finally got the chance to live in an English-speaking country for a longer time to improve my language skills. As for my glamorous hobbies, I▓m a bit afraid of neglecting them here since I had to leave my acoustic guitar and my juggling balls in Germany. So if anyone knows where I can buy some nice beanbags around here, please send me an e-mail! As for the world news, I will focus on ⌠DER SPIEGEL■ which is my favorite weekly magazine in Germany. It was founded by Rudolf Augstein (├ 2002) in 1947 and in several respects influenced by the legendary ⌠TIME■-magazine. I▓m also a great fan of the German satire magazine ⌠TITANIC■, however, I won▓t be able to present their articles here since in contrast to ⌠DER SPIEGEL■ they usually don▓t have any English articles and their puns and punchlines are impossible to translate. Anyway, I▓m not here to rummage in German newspaper articles, but to get to know English-speaking people (and maybe one of them will know where I can finally get some juggling stuff)!
Continue reading "Dominik Mauer"
Greetings to everyone! My name is Ivo Dimitrov; I was born in the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia, and I went to Beaverton High School. I have declared a Spanish philology major and I concentrate on my History major (which is dearer to my heart).
I enjoy reading the classics, debating, and trying out different kinds of chocolate. I encourage you to visit my website (www.willamette.edu/~idimitro); there you can find brief information on Bulgaria as well as some information on myself. I would appreciate a guestbook entry.
This is my third semester with the World News program. I am especially interested in covering news articles that have a cross-cultural illuminating effect. However, the absurd may seep into my reviews from time to time.
I hope that with each story you discover yet one more link to an experience of yours, and that these links can serve as true bridges of identification.
My name is Cemile and I am from the Sauerland, which is in West Germany. My parents originally come from Turkey, but we are a Kurdish minority in Turkey (Kurdish people have never possessed their own country, but that is a long story). I am born in Hemer which belongs to the Sauerland. It is a nice place with a population of 37,000 people. We have many mountains and woods. I study and live in Dortmund, which is also called "Ruhrgebiet" it has 600,000 citizens. IN the past, Dortmund was famous for its coal production. Nowadays it has a great and easy connection by train and bus to the neighboring cities Cologne, Essen and Bochum. Dortmund is a kind of a multicultural city. Because of the mixed population it has different restaurants such as Moroccan, Chinese, Indian, Turkish, and others.
Wow, year #4 is under way. I cannot believe what is happening, I am already in my last year of my Willamette experience, and it seems to me as if I started a few days ago. It is also my fourth year of writing for Willamette World News, the place where all of the campus residents can find lots of news from all over the world right from the source √ the international students who represent their own countries here on campus.
It is time for the first issue of the year and I am really excited to be writing the introduction article for this year. So, I guess it is time to tell you what I did this summer. I was really worried that this might be my last real summer before maybe entering graduate school, so I decided to live life to the fullest, so to say. No books, no textbooks, no studying for the whole two months spent in Bulgaria. The first couple of weeks, I spent at home with my parents, well not really since I was only home to sleep in my bed √ the days were spent meeting with all my friends, going to new cafes and clubs and so on. I spent a couple of days in Sofia, our beloved capital, with some of my friends who were working there for the summer √ the schedule there was pretty much the same as it was in my hometown.
In the beginning of August, I went on an organized excursion to Greece. It was awesome. I managed to visit all the places we were studying about in my Art History: Prehistoric to Gothic class √ the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Sounion, the temple of Zeus in Athens, the Theatre of Dionysus, the Acropolis, etc. The artifacts we managed to see were so ancient and famous that I could not believe my eyes that I can actually touch them. Although, I am not American, I was getting into all the museums and sites with my Willamette ID card, since there was a 50% student discount at all of the places we visited. I am telling you Greek people were not very fond of Americans, or people with American ID cards, the guy who sold me the ticket at the Acropolis looked at my student card and said American, I replied with a ⌠Yes■ and he looked at me very queerly and almost threw the tickets at me. We also managed to see the change of the Presidential guard in front of the Presidential building, the ancient Olympic stadium which was renovated for the Olympic Games in 2004, the National Archaeological Museum. This was my first visit to Thessalonica and Athens and Greece in general, but I enjoyed it so much that I would go back there at the first opportunity, because I wish I could have spent more time there. Four days are not enough for someone to feel the magic of such a colorful place.
After the time spent in Greece, it was time for the warmth and sunshine of the Black Sea. I spent almost a week visiting a friend in Varna, the largest Bulgarian port on the Black Sea. A few of my other friends also stayed in the same apartment and we had a really great time playing cards at night and sunbathing on the ⌠Golden Sands■ beaches (this sea resort has few of the best beaches on the whole Bulgarian coast).
After the week I spent on the coast, I had to go back home and start preparing all my things to come back to Willamette and the good old Salem. After a pretty long trip, I managed to get safely to Portland, after flying through Milan, Chicago, and Salt Lake City. I have been here for almost a month and school has been treating me well so far. It is my senior year and the classes I have to take during my last two semesters at Willamette will be pretty challenging and I will have to divide my time between school work and preparing for the GRE exam which I will most probably take in November. But I believe I am ready for it and will be able to manage to finish everything successfully.
Hola a todos. My name is Marlene Molina. I am the Spanish language Assistant this year. I am 28 and I teach English in a farming school in Chile. This wonderful country is long and narrow; it borders Peru and Bolivia in the north and Argentina in the east. But I am not going to write about something that maybe you already know. I decided to write about a place that you are going to love if you someday go there. This place is called Isla de Pascua. Easter Island is one of the most important oceanic islands of Chile. It is a volcanic island located to the south of the Pacific Ocean. The island has 3,800 inhabitants approximately. People speak Rapanui and Spanish. Easter Island is over 2,000 miles from the nearest population center, (Chile and Tahiti), making it one of the most isolated places on Earth. It is essentially a triangle of volcanic rock in the South Pacific. It is best known for the giant stone monoliths, known as Moai, (the one that is next to me in the picture), that dot the coastline. The early settlers called the island "Te Pito O Te Henua" (Navel of The World). Admiral Roggeveen, who came upon the island on Easter Day in 1722, named it Easter Island. Today, the land, people and language are all referred to locally as Rapa Nui. Easter Island today, remains one of the most unique places you will ever encounter; an open air museum showcasing a fascinating, but unfortunately lost, culture. The Rapanui are among the friendliest people you will ever meet, and the landscape is truly amazing: volcanic craters, lava formations, beaches, brilliant blue water, and incredible archaeological sites.
