Who am I?

Well, since I made this Friday a “homework-and-blog-writing-Friday” I can finally present you my introduction post! ;)

My name is Monika (no one calls me MONI – I simply don’t like it), I am 23 years old and I have one older sister and two younger brothers. They all study at the University of Technology in Graz.  I was actually born in Bosnia and Herzegovina but I am Croatian and I’ve been living in Austria, more precisely in Carinthia, for nearly 23 years. I was born in 1992, which indicates why my family came to Austria. At this time the Yugoslav War was going on and so my parents decided to search for a better place to live, which was Austria in their opinion. Their decision proved true and so the small country in the middle of Europe became our second home country. 

I was raised bilingual and during my childhood and my education I learned German, English, later on French and at last Italian. My father always used to say that languages are “extremely important” and “the more languages you know, the better it is for you, your education and your future”. I always agreed with him on this point! However, I never quite knew what I would like to do in the future regarding work and earning money. In my last year at school I wanted to learn Russian but unfortunately there weren’t enough students interested in learning this language. So, I think at this point I finally decided to study Russian and English in Graz. 

Okay, what else is there to say about me...let me think... When I’m not in the kitchen baking cupcakes, you can usually find me sitting in my room and learning, walking over the main square searching for some cozy pubs (having one or maybe two drinks ;) ) or being at home and watching One Piece with my brother. Damn! I nearly forgot to mention that I love metal music, especially ManOwar!!! :))

Tony Tony Chopper - character in the anime One Piece

Like many of you, I like travelling to different places too and every time I visit a new city, I buy a key chain which has the name of the city on it. Most of them are from Italy as you can see on the picture below. This summer however, I want to travel to Prague, visit the most beautiful sights and try some Czech beer. 

I hope there will be more soon :)

I hope you enjoyed reading! :)

Btw, this is my personal blog, if you want to have a look. I will try to post on a regular basis: http://smonin.blogspot.co.at/

 

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

Who am I?

Hi everyone!

My name is Marlene, I am 18 years old and I'm originally from Linz in Upper Austria. I moved to Graz last September to study Transcultural Communication at the Department of Translation. The languages I'm studying are English and Russian. I chose English because I've been learning English since I was three and while I feel somewhat familiar with the language by now, I think there's still a lot that I can improve on. Russian has always kind of interested me because it's just so different from every other languages I've learned before. Also, my dad knows a little bit of Russian and he taught me a couple of words when I was little, so I guess he's essentially the one to blame for my choice of language...

The three most important things in my life are probably my family, my friends and chewing gum. When I'm in Graz I usually call and/or text at least one member of my family every day, I take the bus home about every second weekend and when I'm home I make sure to see as many of my friends as I possibly can. I don't tend to get homesick per se, but I do miss all the people from home. And now for the third essential part of my life: Chewing gum! If you empty any pocket, purse or bag of mine, there's a rather good chance you'll find at least one packet of gum inside. I'm not entirely sure why, it's not like I have bad breath or whatever, but for some reason I chew gum all. The. Time. To the point where I get really, really annoyed when, once in a blue moon, I happen to run out. God, that makes me sound like an addict now, doesn't it? It's not THAT bad... I just really like me some chewing gum.

I've always found it quite hard to describe myself character wise, because I feel like a lot of the time the way I act depends on the situation I'm in and the people I'm with. Around strangers or people who I'm not yet comfortable with I'm usually rather quiet, sometimes downright awkward, but I regularly talk my friends' ears off and I can be quite quick-witted from time to time. I tend to be a bit lazy and chaotic and I procrastinate a lot, but I can also be organised and (more or less) disciplined if the situation calls for it. Well, I guess that kind of just makes me lazy all the time, because I just don't do things unless there's absolutely no way around them anymore... Sorry?

What else can I tell you about myself... I like to read, but I often lack the time and patience to read actual books, so I resort to short stories. I love music. Unfortunately I don't play any instruments or sing, but I do listen to music a LOT. Mostly with my headphones in, which has earned me more than one lecture on how severely headphones can damage your ears. I enjoy the odd day of skiing, swimming or hiking, but overall I'm not a very sporty person. I'm definitely not a morning person either, getting up early just isn't my forte. I can get really grumpy and/or whiny when I'm hungry or tired. I often doodle on things while I'm on the phone or in lectures (not necessarily because I'm bored!). I have a penchant for overanalysing any- and everything and I usually find it a lot easier to express myself in writing than verbally. I tend to be quite sarcastic and I've been told I have a rather dry sense of humour. I really like travelling and I've been to quite a few places already. I'm fascinated with different cultures and I love languages (well, obviously! I wouldn't be studying Transcultural Communication if I didn't...), I really like puns, especially the bad ones, and I have a weird obsession with fancy words and expressions.

One more thing about me: You might not have noticed, but whenever I write something, say a blog post, it tends to turn out really lengthy...

I hope I could tell you a few somewhat interesting things about myself. If there is anything else you would like to know about me, don't hesitate to ask and I will gladly answer your questions! :)

Who am I?

Extremely chatty, ambitious and cheeky. If you ask my close friends or family to describe me you will most probably hear one of those characteristics at some point. Let me introduce you to myself, my lovely friends!

I am Nora, an Egyptian girl who was born and raised in Austria. My grandfather first came to Austria in the 1970s to study chemistry in Vienna. After getting his doctor‘s degree and finding a job here, he decided to stay. As a result my mother and my two aunts were also born and raised here and even went to the same school I later went to. Let me tell you…it was pretty weird to have some teachers ask you about your mom and aunts, because they were once their students! :p

Despite having most of my family close to me, many of my friends and cousins still live in Egypt, which is why I travel back to my home-country at least once every two years to visit my loved ones.

Landing in Cairo, Egypt :)

But enough about my roots! Let me tell you more about my personality. As I already mentioned I am a very ambitious person. Ever since I was a little girl I have always known what I wanted and how to get it, not by convincing others to simply give it to me, no. But by working hard to achieve it. And quite frankly I can be a real pain in the neck when I set my mind on something. I will not only drive myself crazy in order to achieve it, but usually people around me as well…probably a reason why I’m not in everybody’s good books.

When things get a little too crazy, I usually have two ways to escape: watching matches of my favourite football club or listening to music. I absolutely adore music! You will never see me doing something without music in the background, except studying. Other than that I always like to have my favourite tunes - a mix of English and Arabic music and all kinds of genres - playing while I am doing something, be it preparing breakfast, doing my makeup or cleaning my apartment. I even sing along most of the time, which according to several friends doesn’t even sound so bad. However, I prefer not to claim that I can actually sing. :D

Well, and some of you are probably curious now: What is her favourite football team in the world? My Catalan friends, you won’t be too pleased to hear that, but my favourite team is Real Madrid. Ever since I was little I would sit next to my grandfather in front of the TV and watch them play and I guess my passion for them is just a family tradition he has passed down to me. Even though my love for Madrid started with their most famous football team, it has grown way beyond that over the course of time. Today, the Spanish capital is one of my favourite places to visit, although I have already been there twice. I just love the language, the people who are incredibly friendly and, of course, the food! ;)

I have even had the chance to watch my favourite team play at my favourite city! It was an unforgettable experience! And let me tell you…Madrid is definitely worth a trip! If you’re not a football fan, you will be amazed by at least another thousand things this wonderful city, abounding in art, music, architecture and dance can offer. 

Madrid, a place with a thousand things to discover

 Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, the pitch on which the best team in the world plays ;)

The beautiful Plaza de Cibeles in the heart of Spain's capital.

Who am I?

Hey guys!

Who am I?

Personally, I think it is very difficult to explain my personality and life story in just one text.

Sardinia, Italy

However, let’s start from the beginning. My name is Sabrina. I am 20 years old and I study Italian, Russian and English as I want to work as an interpreter after graduation.

The easiest way to describe myself is probably through my zodiac sign, as I would consider myself a very stereotypical Aries. I am quick-tempered, impulsive, impatient, open-minded, energetic and determined; and I talk all the time and too much - my boyfriend calls me his biggest challenge :D.

I have been passionate about languages and other cultures ever since I can remember, so the question about what to study after school wasn’t very difficult to answer. That’s why almost three years ago I decided to study Italian and Russian and I’m about to finish my bachelor degree this year - by the way, it was the best decision ever: I fell in love with these languages more than I have ever expected and I would like to speak them both all day :)). Last semester I thought it’d be fun to add English to my studies. Long story cut short – you will probably see me at the ITAT all the time, as the decision to study three languages turned the institute into my „second home“ ;).



Kiev, Ukraine

However, although there is only little time left for leisure activities, there are other things which I am passionate about. I love travelling – I am blaming my father for turning me into a wanna-see-everything kind of person: during my childhood we visited a lot of countries all over the world; amongst others also 14 US-states. So one could probably say that my sister and I were “taught” to be interested in every kind of “hardcore-sightseeing” ;). In addition to that I love drawing and reading and do pole dance. When I was younger I also used to write and participate in competitions, but ever since I started university and due to a lack of time I express my writing „only“ by writing stories in the foreign languages I study. 



Preikestolen, Norway

I am very interested in politics and could easily discuss what is going on in the word and why for hours - especially, I am interested in the War in Ukraine and in Russia, as I have a lot of friends in the Ukraine and in Russia. I get angry when people talk about things they do not understand or know quite fast. This being said, it obviously doesn’t mean that I understand and know everything – to be honest I think quite the opposite is the case. I got to know so much different point of views, that I became aware of the fact that nobody can know anything exactly. This often raises questions which I tend to think about quite a lot, like: To what extent are we able to know what is actually happening or has happened? Which statements and “facts” that we hear about are actually the truth? Is there, in general, something like “a” truth? Is there more than one truth? And if not, does this mean that there’s only one truth which leads to many twisted imitations of it? As I spent a semester abroad in Russia last year I was able to experience and get to know a completely different ideology and a different view of historical events of the past (and present). It was an interesting experience for me to see things from another point of view and it particularly changed me in one specific aspect: I think more precisely about everything and try to shed light on different aspects and point of views. Truth be told, I wish more people would do that. Who has the right to judge on whether something is wrong or right? Exactly – nobody! As you might guess, I obviously still have my own political opinion – and to be perfectly honest it’s a quite strong one – which makes it difficult to have a discussion with me ;) Even so, I usually think twice before saying anything and know when to pursue an argument but also when to listen and consider other opinions as well.

So this is it – this is basically everything that came to my mind for now. I hope you enjoyed reading and I am looking forward to hearing about your stories as well.



Who am I?

WHO AM I?

Hey guys :) 

My name is Tanja and I am 22 years old. I am from Graz and I’ve been living here my whole life. However, I would like to go and live some time abroad after finishing university. I love visiting foreign countries and getting to know different cultures. I’ve already been to many places like México, London, New York and Cuba, just to name a few. 

Before starting with “Transcultural Communication” I’ve been studying Archaeology for more than 3 years by now because I've been into the ancient Greek and Roman culture since my childhood. However, after getting some experience in field work I found out that becoming an Archaeologist was not what I wanted for my future. That’s why decided to change subject and do something I really like and what in my opinion I am quite good at: culture and languages. Since I’ve been having English lessons since 3^rd form of elementary school and also did one English and a few Spanish language courses at “treffpunkt sprachen” before I even started with “TKK” the choice of English and Spanish as my languages wasn’t a hard one. Furthermore I am a huge fan of London and Great Britain overall and highly interested in South and Central American cultures (not only their current but also the culture of the ancient Mayas, Aztecs and Incas) which made this decision even easier. 

Besides travelling and languages my biggest hobby ever is dancing. Not that type of dancing which you usually do in clubs and discos, I’m talking about ballroom dancing (like ChaChaCha, Waltz, Jive, Tango and so on). I’ve been attending a dancing school for more than 6 years and go dancing about 3 times a week. I’m in the highest course of my dancing school now and although I’ve already learned a lot and really want to continue dancing, participating in tournaments is no option for me. On the one hand I would probably lose my passion for it due to the hard conditions of training and the rival atmosphere at competitions and on the other hand I just don’t have the time for intensive training 5 to 6 times a week.

  My favourite dance, however, is Salsa :)