9/11

9/11 is a date related to sorrow, travesty, disaster and misery. An event which shook the entire world and left everyone petrified. Disbelief was the feeling the entire western world had 9/11/2001, when a terrorist act against the United States of America was committed. Four planes were hijacked and flown against four targets; the twin towers, the pentagon and the White House. However, only two of the planes fulfilled their assignment. The planes flew into the twin towers and annihilated them in under an hour. This led to the death of 2,976 innocent people. This was an attack against the entire western world. On my BIRTHDAY?! OH HEEEELL NOOO! They did NOT just do that!

This was some background information which 99 % of the world’s population is aware of, but I mentioned it nevertheless. Recently, my English class saw a documentary of 9/11. Where two French brothers followed a rookie firefighter through the ranks, everything was shot with a handheld camera. He was employed at a fire station in NYC, where we in the start of the movie follow his duties and responsibilities. Before the planes crashed into the buildings, the firefighters were called out which led them to a street a few blocks away from the towers. Suddenly they hear a low flying plane, which is highly unusual in NY, so the cameraman looks up and films the plane fly into the first tower. Throughout the rest of the movie, we are on the crash site, in the lobby with one of the French guys.
He films the entire experience from the lobby while his brother is back at the station with the rookie.

This movie is an incredibly strong and intense movie, which for many people can be hard to watch. The entire situations, the memories of the day, the association etc can be overwhelming. I personally found the movie strong and it left me with a strong impression. Just the knowledge that this is authentic footage, and all the people who die actually died makes it so much harder to watch. Even though it can be tough to experience this day over again, especially so close, it is still an educational movie which honors the firefighters. The firefighters who walked into the building to save people they didn’t even know and lost their lives.

To reflect and debate how cultural differences and different values can influence communication

One of our curriculum goals is “To reflect and debate how cultural differences and different values can influence communication.” South Africa has a population of approximately 40 million people, ¾ of the population are, in lack of a better expression, black. There are six major ethnic groups in South Africa: Afrikaner, Coloured/Cape Malay, Bantu, English, Chinese and Indian. There are 11 official languages in South Africa. Most South Africans speak English and Afrikaans, which is derived from their Dutch heritage. 11 languages, that is quite a lot for a country. This of course affects the communication between the different ethnic groups even though they have English and Afrikaans as the main languages. In other words, the cultural differences have affected the communication in South Africa.

The Dutch settled in South Africa around the mid 1600s. Since then, their language, culture, values etc. have affected the inhabitants of South Africa which has lead to the development of their language Afrikaans. In addition, around the early 1800s the British Empire invaded South Africa which led to the Boer Wars. The first was won by the Boer republics, even though they were greatly outnumbered. However, they knew the country and fought with a home advantage which led to victory. The second war was won by the British Empire, as they came better prepared and with a larger force. These historical events have shaped the inhabitants of South Africa. It explains why there are so many Caucasian people in South Africa and why the speak English and Afrikaans. South Africans had a language they spoke before the Dutch and British arrived. With the arrival of different languages, the South African language evolves. Basically, it starts with loanwords but eventually the two languages blend together over a period of time.

In addition, the British invaded South Africa. They became the governing organ of South Africa in other words. By forcing English as the business language, using it in education and official documents it became the main language. Also English shaped the communication in South Africa to what it is today. The cultural differences, especially the languages of course have shaped, molded and created the communication in South Africa. All the different nationalities and ethnicities, together.

The Chronicles of Narnia – C. S. Lewis

We saw “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe before Christmas. It was written by C. S. Lewis who was born in 1898. His whole name was Clive Staples Lewis and he was a British literature historian and an author. He is a famous author known all over the world for his work. In addition he was a teacher at a university in Oxford, a professor in Cambridge and he fought in the 1st World War. The experiences he obtained during the war are present in his writings. In the final battle between good and evil in “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” this is shown by the tactics used by the armies. Tactics well used in wars at the time C. S. Lewis lived. His several contributions to the world ended at his death in 1963.

“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” is a book written for children, which prohibited the movie to reach its full potential. The plot, four kids find their way to a magical world through a wardrobe. In this world they must defeat the evil witch who has cast an eternal winter upon the lands. This is explained through an ancient prophecy. This movie is long and boring with several sequences and scenes where a pillow is required to actually enjoy the scenes. I’ve seen it twice and that is two times too many. The acting performances are mainly average and there are few moments which are able to catch my attention. After all, scenes where four kids and two beavers walking across a snowy landscape are only exciting for so long. All in all, I find this movie boring, long and without anything which can raise the impression of the movie. Perhaps except Mr. Beaver who were able to make me smile once or twice, however this is not enough to change my views upon this movie.

C.S Lewis was a friend of J.R Tolkien, so I can’t help but to see certain parallels between one another in their lives and writing. They both fought in the 1st World War, the battles in their books are affected by this and they both write about magical worlds. These worlds include ugly and magical creatures, bad versus evil, prophecies, friendship etc. In addition they were both professors at highly respected universities.

A real kick in the balls -.-

We have just entered the month of December. People all over the world are preparing themselves for a well deserved vacation and holidays such as Christmas and Hanukkah. Here in Norway the weather have grown mean and cold. Little did I know, that I was about to feel even colder. A cold shower disguised as a seemingly innocent news article. Which delivered a revelation so devastating it shook the very foundation of the football world. Yes, it is football I am talking about. Furthermore, to fully understand why my reaction to a news article was so intense, you have to understand one simple fact. I love football.

What was the news article about? Russia and Qatar will host the World Cup in 2018 and 2022. This was made official at 5.pm (Norway), when Russia and Qatar received the majority of votes. This left huge football nations out in the cold, among them are England, Holland and Spain. These are countries where football is forged into the very soul of the country. Football IS their culture. You can see it in the streets before a match; they are filled with the team colors, flags attached to buildings and cars and people drinking and singing till dawn even when faced with defeat. This is something Qatar lacks, a country with 1.7 million inhabitants only known for its oil export. Russia has a little more football soul, but a 6 hour flight between stadiums is inconvenient for supporters. The process which chooses the nations to host the World Cup is simple. FIFA Executive Committee consists of 25 elected and appointed members who represent different nations. Each member has one vote and the country with the majority of votes hosts the World Cup for that year.

This is obviously a way for FIFA to increase the interest for football in Asia, by letting two countries with strong economy host the World Cup. The only thing to do is to enjoy the World Cup in 2014 located in Brazil to all it is worth. A chance to experience true love and passion for football before it is replaced with modern stadiums without soul. Stadiums in Qatar, built only for the World Cup without history but with air conditioning.