Lara without K

Hello y’all!

Because I’ve never really read any blogs or actually “followed” someone on one, the answer is pretty clear why I never  thought  about starting a blog to let people know me better - but OK, let’s give it a try …

The name for my post is Lara without K because most of the people who I introduced myself to didn’t quite get my name right. I could definitely count on the 3^rd try to clear things up – that I was Lara and not Klara, finally. I didn’t found out yet where the problem is; maybe I have a weird accent, perhaps I don’t sound that clear in my English, German or B/K/S language, should I speak louder or with my mouth wider open? Nah. I’ll just say: “Lara, you know, like in Tomb Raider”.  Things mustn’t get boring, right ;).

My mother and I in summer of 95'

I’m a Slovenian 22-year-old Aquarius with her mind maybe a little bit off but with her heart in the right place. I was born and still live in Maribor, the second biggest city in Slovenia. In my country, I was a part of the first generation (93’) of children, who went into 1^st class with 6 instead of 7 years of age. So, I went to primary school for straight 9 years, but I think I turned out just fine. I'm still very close to my family and doubt that that will ever change (even after they send me to a 9-year-lasting primary school ^^).

In high school things got a bit complicated. I failed my first year at “Prva Gimnazija Maribor” (First Gymnasium in Maribor) because of so many doctor/specialist appointments and not being able to attend my classes regularly. For months I was transferred from Maribor Hospital to Ljubljana Hospital and back. Only one doctor seem to know what has been going on with me … I got the diagnose Lupus or SLE. After almost 8 years of taking meds, countless doctor appointments my disease is in “remission” so I can study at UNI Graz in peace and hope for the best. They say: “The disease isn’t curable …”, I say: ”… for now!”

Taken in Koper 08', Slovenia

My passion was photography, drawing and writing poetry. I’ve inadvertently put these things aside (boyfriends and stuff) but I’m definitely going back on that train. I love group sports, not so much with kicking sth. (my legs get all bruisy so fast) than playing with hands (such as volleyball, tennis, basketball, badminton etc.). I feel very nature-near, so that I would rather spend the vacation outside in a tent than a fancy-trillion-star-hotel. I Like making handcrafted things, I think I may be a bit OCD-like :D, or I’m just a really neat girl who likes her things in their place and who gives you, a stranger on the bus, a tissue because your nose is running and it’s getting her nerves J.

My cousin Mateo

That’s about it. I consider myself as an uncomplicated, friendly, open-minded person who likes to enjoy life and everyone else should too.  Hang onto your hobbies, people you care about and enjoy yourselves in the most way possible!

Thanks for reading!

Who am I?

Hello everyone!

My name is Catherine and I am actually French. I came here to Graz as an Erasmus student for two semesters so I will normally stay here until the beginning of July! Why did I choose Austria? Well, I wanted to go to a German-speaking country in order to improve my German (not an easy language!), and since I am interested in translation, ITAT seemed to be a good option for me. An other thing that is maybe particular about me is that I was born in France indeed but my parents are actually from Poland so I had the chance to grow up in a bilingual environment. Thanks to this fact, I have probably developed my taste for foreign languages and my curiosity to discover new cultures.

Polish traditional costumes

the French stereotype

Apart from this general information I would like to tell you a bit more about myself. I love travelling. I really do! Actually I have been travelling quite a lot since I arrived in Austria! Graz is really a great location to travel from as it is surrounded by so many different and attractive countries! So I travelled at first around Austria and then I expanded my excursions to foreign countries such as Slovenia, Germany, Italy or also Czech Republic. But many countries still remain on my wish list! In fact I am already planning other trips during the Easter holiday to Croatia and Hungary as well as other places in Italy and in Slovenia! I am really looking forward to it! Yes, I am a travel addict ;) And of course, since I love travelling so much, I am always taking my camera with me to make hundreds of photos and to then have memories for my whole life! :) Here are some pictures I took during my numerous trips, enjoy!

The Golden Gate in San Francisco, USA

Yosemite Park, USA

Sunrise in Wuhan, China

The Wudang Mountains, China

Barcelona, Spain

Venice, Italy

My Colorful Life

My name is Verena Hemling and these little pots say more about me than you might think. They are filled with the vibrant colors that you can see on my hair. Often people claim that I am just in a ‘punky phase’, but my hair color is an expression of my personality. In this post, I will explain why.

Two of my favorite hobbies combined:
photography and music

I love creativity and I hate emptiness, so I dye my hair over and over again. When there is silence I need to fill it with music. Blank papers and my skin get filled with paintings. As I can’t accept boredom I’m a bit of a workaholic.  I also visit an evening school for photography and multimedia art. AND I dye my hair because I get bored of my natural hair color very often. I’m always looking forward to my ‘hair-coloring days’. I take my time for it and I really enjoy the dyeing itself. It is one of my favorite hobbies.

Colourful hair can also be very useful as I only get to know the most friendly and open-minded people. Why? Because all the superficial people that judge me only by my appearance just stay away from me. Therefore I don’t need to waste my time on them. Of course there are sometimes bad reactions when strangers see my hair, but I learned to ignore them.

At last my hair color is a clear sign of the fact that I’m not afraid to be different. That was not always the case. I have always been a shy person and when I was younger, I generally tried to go with the stream. Look at this picture. Can you believe that this was me? I’m glad that I gained enough self-confidence to wear whatever I like. And this doesn’t only relate to my appearance. I also learned to openly speak my mind, without being afraid of the reactions. I think that this is very important.

Of course there is more to know about me than what I have written here. But it is very hard to explain a character in a blogpost. So if you want to know more about me, just ask. I’m the girl with the colorful hair ;)