WM South Africa

Group G:





Brazil

Brazil is a country in South America.
The inhabitants are called Brazilian and the language is Portuguese.





Some clichés of Brazil:

• the inhabitants are good dancers (samba)


• they are very fit
  
  

Portugal




Portugal is a country on the European continent.
They are called Portuguese and the language is Portuguese.



Some clichés of Portugal:

• the people in Portugal are ingnorant
  
  

Cote d'Ivoire






Cote d'Ivoire is a country in West Africa.
They are called Ivoirians. The language is French.


Some clichés of Cote d'Ivoire:

• the inhabitants are not very tidy
  
• there is a lot of waste everywhere
  
  

Korea DPR

Korea DPR is a country in East Asia.
The inhabitants are called Korean and the language is Korean.

Some clichés of Korea DPR:

• everybody in Korea makes combative sports


• they are patriotic

Our Environment

Bianca, Magdalena and Yvonne made a very interesting presentation with the topic “Let’s Go Green”. I think this topic is very important for all of us. We should protect our environment because we only have one world and we are all responsible for it.

They introduced us the website “WWF”. This website is very interesting, there you can find anything what you want to know about the environment. You found par example a lot of information about the foundation and their activities. You can also find information how you can protect the environment and a lot of news.

I think from now on, I won’t buy plastic bags in supermarkets and I will turn off the lamp whenever I don’t need the light and I leave the room.

Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet

I have looked at the website “Lonely Planet” because of the presentation of Magdalena, Katharina, Evelyn and Marlene and I was really surprised.
There you can find everything you want to know when you go abroad. There you have a good overview about many countries all over the world.
You also can buy many things which are very useful if you want to go abroad. What I didn’t like on that website is that you can’t choose between different languages, there is only one language.

Economy minister rejects lower hotel VAT

I have read an article in the online version “Austriantimes.at” and it deals with lower value-added tax on hotel rooms.

So Economy Minister Reinhold Mitterlehner rejected calls for lower VAT on hotel rooms. He thought it would be more important to improve the strategy and marketing.

Mitterlehner also said that the ministry would meet tourism organizations in order to discuss a strategy for 2010.

The Austrian Hotel Association aimed to make the hotel industry more competitive. Therefore they called for it to be lowered and that is the reason why the VAT should be decreased from the current 10 to 5 per cent.

But ÖHV co-president Peter Peer pointed out that bookings have not gone down much since prices and turnover had plunged. In addition he mentioned that the VAT rates on hotel rooms were 3.6 per cent in Switzerland compared to 5.5 per cent in France and Italy.

In my opinion it’s unnecessary to lower the VAT because I think the hotels are actually not in a crisis as Peter Peer remarked that the bookings have not much to decreased.

http://www.austriantimes.at/news/Business/2010-01-21/19868/Economy_minister_rejects_lower_hotel_VAT_

Words:

to plunge (schnell sinken) : Prices and turnover had plunged.

CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

Today I’d like to give you some information how Christmas is celebrated in other countries.

Christmas in America

Early European settlers brought many traditions to the United States. Many settled in the early days in the South, these settlers would send Christmas greetings to their distant neighbors by shooting firearms and letting off fireworks.

In Hawaii this practice is still in use as under the sunny skies, Santa Claus arrives by boat and Christmas dinner is eaten outdoors.In Alaska, a star on a pole is taken from door to door, followed by Herod's Men, who try to capture the star. Colonial doorways are often decorated with pineapple, a symbol of hospitality.In Alaska, boys and girls with lanterns on poles carry a large figure of a star from door to door. They sing carols and are invited in for supper.

Christmas in Italy

The Christmas season in Italy goes for three weeks, starting 8 days before Christmas known as the Novena. During this period, children go from house to house reciting Christmas poems and singing.In some parts shepherds bring musical instruments into the villages, play and sing Christmas songs. A strict feast is observed for 24 hours before Christmas Eve, and is followed by a celebration meal, in which a light Milanese cake called panettone features as well as chocolate.

Christmas in France

On Christmas Eve, children leave their shoes by the fireplace to be filled with gifts from Pere Noel. In the morning they also find that sweets, fruit, nuts and small toys have been hung on the tree.In France it is a time for the whole family to come together at Christmas time to holiday and worship. On the eve of Christmas beautifully lit churches and cathedrals, ring out Christmas carols with the church bells.Once dinner is over and the family has retired to bed, they leave a fire burning and food and drink on the table in case the Virgin Mary calls in.In the north of France, children are given gifts on December 6, which is St. Nicholas' Day, instead of Christmas Day. The adults give each others presents on New Year's Day.

Flora's experiences

I have heard an interview from Flora.
Flora talked about her experiences when she was working as a language assistant in Austria.
She said that she learned so much more during her stay in Austria as she had learned from many other books.
Flora said that she had met many interesting people and that her opinion of Austria had changed.
She also said that she started to correct the clichés about the Austrians and the Irish people.

E-cars-project

I have just read an article in today’s online version „Austriantimes.at“ and it talks about an electric car project.
I thought you might be interested because I think this topic is very important for our future. Basically what this article says is that there will be a project to put 100,000 electric cars on the road by 2020. They also said that the cars will cost between 25.000 and 30.000 euros. Mario Summer from Magna Steyr pointed out that so-called e-cars would be in mass production by 2017. It is also mentioned that the batteries of the cars would take about 20 minutes to charge. E-cars would have to be used for longer trips. Mr. Summer also said that the production will take him two or three years. In my opinion it’s a good investment in our future and the cars will be better for the environment.

investment (Investition): when you pay money for a thing you make an investment.

enviroment (Umwelt): e-cars will be good for our environment.

link to the original site
http://www.austriantimes.at/news/Business/2009-09-18/16516/Austrian_Mobile_Power_in_electric_car_project