Monday, October 08, 2007

Group G: Selena

Photo by reesie

Hi everyone!

I chose this photo to introduce myself because I like exploring other cultures’ culinary habits and I’m particularly a fan of oriental cuisine! Sushi dishes are so colourful that they remind me of our world’s multiculturalism. I love new experiences and this is why journeys are my absolute passion. I’m very curious about other cultures and when I travel it is important for me to meet locals, spend time with them and get an idea how they live their lives. I’m interested in exploring their own way of communicating, arguing, showing affection and eating! Two years ago I studied ten months in Germany at the University of Mainz and it was a fantastic experience from the personal point of view because it allowed me not only to know full well the German culture but also to meet people coming from all over the world. I was especially intrigued by their food culture and I loved organizing international dinner parties! As you’ve probably understood seeing the image I’m very fond of fish but I would like to taste as many traditional dishes of the globe as possible. When I’m not travelling I like spending my free time planning my future journeys. The most impressive culture I’ve experienced was the Chinese culture with its strange manners. I think that this way of travelling can help you to be more open-minded because if you are able to listen to people who are different from you and try to understand them that makes life much easier especially when at the university or at work you have to deal with a lot of people.

Here are the three websites I use most frequently:

http://www.lettere.unipd.it/

This website is known by each of us as it is truly part of our life. In the last weeks I often consulted the timetable and the courses’ schedule as you’ve also probably done but almost every day I have a look at the section about international relations to check if there are new interesting opportunities to have a study or work experience abroad.

http://www.ryanair.com/site/IT/

I know very well this website because I’ve almost always travelled with Ryanair. It offers cheap flights to Europe’s most important destinations and since we are students with meagre earnings I think it gives us the oppurtunity to travel more or to save some money. Another important thing is that fortunately the flights are usually on time!

http://www.wikipedia.org/

I always visit this site when I have to do some research on a particular subject, to check the meaning of specialized terms or simply to satisfy my curiosity. It is very useful because in the texts there are many links to other related topics so that you can form at first sight an exhaustive view of what you are interested in. An advantage of this online encyclopedia is that you might look up anything in many different languages.

I’m looking forward to reading your comments!

Bye,

Selena

7 comments:

Eleonora said...

Hi Selena!
My God, your picture is simply….DELICIOUS! I absolutely love ethnic food, especially Sushi. It is really one of my favorite dishes, and I am desperate because almost none of my friends like it!! I have tried it many times and I love it because it is very healthy and it is something completely different from the food we are used to…just be careful not to put too much “wasabi” in it, otherwise you might have some problems the following day… :-))) As you were, I was an Erasmus student in Germany as well, and that experience gave me the possibility to live in a multicultural environment, which was actually something new for me since I am from a small town and most of my friends are Italian. I also met some boys from China, and it was amazing to see how different and somewhat “strange” their culture is…at the beginning it was very difficult for them to get used to the Western way of life, but in the end they became close friends to almost every other exchange student and we often organized parties and dinners all together.
I agree with you when you say that travelling helps you be more open-minded and free yourself from groundless prejudices.
The three links you put in your message are very familiar to me…as regards our faculty’s website I do not think I have to explain the reasons why I know it and absolutely need it :-)
Then, as you can see from my post, I chose Ryanair‘s page as well since it is the best low-cost company I know (“Skyeurope” is also very cheap if you want to travel to Eastern Europe).
Finally, I often visit “Wikipedia” when there is something I want to know or I am not sure about, and as you said, it is great to be given the opportunity to read about every topic in every language you like.

Bye and see you soon!
Eleonora

elenas said...

Hi SELENA!
the white rice, the different shades of the fish, the green wasaby... I like the precision of Japanese art of cooking but I'm vegetarian and don't eat fish! :( However what we have in common is the interest towards Oriental cuisine. In particular I'm interested in Indian food, but sometimes it is not easy for me to cook!! As you wrote, discovering other cultures is a never-ending journey; through food, dialogue, music and the mixture of different ideas we can look at the world through other's eyes. It is not always as easy as one can imagine. I lived with a Carribean woman in London and I will always think her; she taught me what "looking through other people's eyes means ". She's like a Big Mama (not so big), and i had a lot of fun with her especially when she drank red wine and Porto!!! What an amazing creature she is!!
As you did, I chose the site of our faculty and wikipedia!!Have you ever opened wikipedia in Neapolitan? It is really funny and also interesting :) Sometimes with my flatemates we read Neapolitan proverbs... fun-filled nights. Maybe you're thinking we are crazy, it could be.
Ryanair is a good invention; you can fly with a reasonable amount of money and the planes are ok, well..for one, two or three hours-lasting flights... Anyway, ryanair flights you almost everywhere in Europe! I also like to travel with myair and the other "small" flying companies.
I hope you know me a bit better (if we have ever known each other in person :))and you didn't get bored in reading my comment

That's all for now,

by

elenas

cappuc cino said...

Hi Selena!
three years ago I spent 9 month in Innsbruck, Austria, and I saw myself while reading your post! I learnt a lot of people from every part of the world who taught me not only their culture, but also their traditional dishes. It had been one of the most beautiful period of my life! Unfortunately I've never eaten sushi... but I don't like any kind of fish :-(
Are you planning to go somewhere during the next Christmas holidays?
I was planning with some of my friends to spend Christmas in Paris...
see you
Lisa

Eleonora said...

Hi Selena!
As I read through your nice comment there was a big smile on my face…you reminded me of the summer holidays I used to spend in Lignano with my parents when I was a child..so of course I know the place very well, and I also went to the Zoo many times…I think I was exactly there when I saw the first tiger in my life!!!

See you soon

alessia f. said...

Dear Selena,
How are you doing? I've seen your picture yesterday evening and suddenly I was not hungry anymore...!Don't misunderstand me...your picture is simply great with its vivid colors but as far as food is concerned I'm a bit queasy especially whe I go abroad!Moreover, I've never eaten sushi just because I have a taste for hot and weel-cooked food. I'm one of those persons who eat almost only pizza, spaghetti, fries and desserts! I agree with your way of thinking especially when you say that food is something good to know other cultures...but, well, it's very difficult for me! As for the sites you suggested I've found them really useful..I think they are the most visited sites by students here at the university...especially the first one: it's the only way to be always well-informed about changes and news in our courses!
Well, see you soon,Bye!
alessia

Elisa Snaidero said...

Hi Selena,

I believe it is very nice to have knowledge of people like you who like meet and stay with locals when they are abroad, I definitely agree with you!! How could it be possible then to learn new things and recepes? Unfortunately this is not the case with everybody. When I went abroad I often found people who always complained about the food....Italian are well known for that! I think they are insufferable :(
So you like mostly oriental cuisine, is there any particular dish you can cook best?

See you tomorrow,
ElisaS.

elenavi said...

Hi Selena!

We enjoyed reading your post very much because we could understand better your personality, above all, your great passion for cuisine. In addition, you made us reflect on the important role that cuisine plays within the culture of a country…

Sarah, however, asked us to correct your work, and we found out some points where you can improve it. (Most of the times they regard punctuation, but we assume it is due to your preference for an informal, free style in writing blogs :-)

- 'other cultures’ culinary habits': culinary habits of other cultures
- ‘of our world’s multiculturalism’: of world multiculturalism
- ‘I love new experiences and this is why…’: I love new experiences, and this is why…
- ‘I’m very curious about other cultures and when I travel it is important for me to meet locals’: I’m very curious about other cultures and, when I travel, it is important for me to meet locals
- ‘an idea how they live their lives’: an idea of how they live
- ‘Two years ago I studied ten months in Germany at the University of Mainz and it was a fantastic experience’: Two years ago I studied in Germany, at the University of Mainz, for ten months, and it was a fantastic experience
- ‘from the personal point of view’: from my point of view
- ‘the German culture’: German culture
- ‘I was especially intrigued by their food culture and I loved…’: I was especially intrigued by their food culture, and I loved…
- ‘As you’ve probably understood seeing the image I’m very fond of fish but I would like…’: As you’ve probably understood by looking at the image, I’m very fond of fish, but I would like…
- ‘When I’m not travelling I like spending..’: When I’m not travelling, I like spending…
- ‘The most impressive culture I’ve experienced was the Chinese culture’: The most impressive culture I’ve experienced is Chinese culture
- ‘because if you are able to listen to people who are different from you and try to understand them that makes life much easier especially when at the university or at work you have to deal with a lot of people.’: because, if you are able to listen to people who are different from you and try to understand them, that makes life much easier, especially when – at university or at work – you have to deal with a lot of people.
- ‘I know very well this website’: I know this website very well
- ‘and since we are students with meagre earnings I think…’: and, since we are students with meagre earnings, I think…
- ‘oppurtunity’: opportunity
- ‘is that fortunately the flights are…’: is that, fortunately, the flights are…
- ‘there are many links to other related topics so that you can form at first sight an exhaustive view of what you are interested in’: there are many links to other related topics, so that you can form an exhaustive view of what you are interested in at first sight
- ‘encyclopedia’: encyclopaedia

Hope to give you some useful and, above all, correct suggestions!

Bye!

Elena V. & Giovanna S.