420W (compare/contrast): Cinema vs. DVD

Enjoying a movie over and over is always an entertaining pleasure, at what one decision must be taken: "Going to the movie theatre or watching a DVD at home?" Of course, both ways bring a great movie pleasure, often enjoyed with friends, but there are also some differences which are manifested by diverse circumstances. Some crucial differences can be classified as surroundings. Whereas cinema screens are huge and attended by brilliant sounds, the home cinema system usually has to put up with less sound and picture quality. Therefore, watching a DVD at home, enables somebody to sit only with friends in an assessable room, what leads to a more relaxed atmosphere. Another point, where differences between cinema and DVD can be maked out, are the costs. Reaching the movie theatre might go with fare and loss of time. Alternatively, by wachting a DVD, the enjoyment starts immediately after pressing "play". Furthermore, the cinemagoer has to pay a ticket, whereas the costs of a DVD vary strongly, depending on if it's borrowed or purchased. The third and last collective noun, describing the main differences between cinema and DVD, is liberties. A DVD may be started or interrupted at any time, but a movie at the cinema is screened according to schedule. Also the option to control surrounding factors such as loudness, subtitles or brightness enhances the liberty by watching DVD. For DVDs, additionally, a giant choice of movies exist, but on the other hand, brandnew movies can be enjoyed in movie theatres only. Whenever the question "movie theatre or DVD?" appears, independent of the final decision, the biggest sin were if the obligatory bag of popcorn would be forgotten.

420W (3. journal): The Pub Experience

At this time, half part of my stay in Vancouver is passed, and I already underwent a lot of impressive experiences. My visit in an Irish pub in downtown was one of these adventures, abounding in sensory input. With the lovely draft of the furnishing and further details such as pictures on the walls, the typical Irish Pub in its dark wooden outfit leads to a comfortable atmosphere. That evening, a musician was playing some pop and classic songs with an acoustic guitar on a small stage. I went to the bar, where a colourful row of appealing beer taps were placed, to order a pint of Guinness. The barkeeper started to fill up the glass with that perfectly black liquid and stopped when the pint was about two thirds filled. This break is mandatory, because it's the time while the black stuff is calming down, the cause of a perfect final head of the beer. Meanwhile, the customer can pay for the beer. After this short rest, my glas was filled up completely, whereby the amazing spectacle, generally occurring before drinking Guinness, begun. The ale looked creamy brown and was streaked by countless wispy waves. These soft currents moved up to the top of the pint and ended in the ivory head. Following to the brown spectacle, the darkest possible black colour imbued the bottom of the glass and seemed to crowd the creamy brown currents upwards. Finally, the black colour had conquered the whole pint and bordered sharply on the foamy head. This up to two minutes lasting spectacle worked like an appetizer, at the same time, it had a relaxing effect on me as well. It was really amazing to enjoy this paradox patterns before tasting the ale. After that, the first contact with the beer took place by touching the light head of the ale with my lips. The white or slightly yellow head, a compact but soft foam, felt more creamy than the best imaginable cappuccino's head. After this first contact, expectably, the smooth liquid bewitched my senses of taste and smell. The taste of roasted barley that ascended to my nose was attended by a light flavour of hops, and a soft notification of bitterness on my tongue. The smooth but characterful ale and the nostalgic ambiance also made me feel strong emotions and longing memories in such a way that a cold shiver ran down my back, while I was drinking the first two gulps. All in all, it was a marvelous experience, and the commercial slogan on the old sheet of iron at the wall in front of me seemed to be scrupulously correct: "A lovely day for a Guinness".

420W (Journal 2): Effects of moving permanently to another country

In this paragraph I will elucidate the main effects of living abroad permanently. If someone decides to immigrate to another country, for any reason, all kinds of problems, challenges, and positive experiences can be classified with two subject areas: dissociation of the native country and integration with the new country.
The dissociation might be a hard process, because you have to leave back a lot. First of all, you will probably miss your family and your friends. Certainly, you will not lose contact completely, as there are a few modern technologies like telephone or the Internet which allow you to communicate with them regularly. Anyway, the most of your social contacts to your home country will attenuate or even break up. Additionally, you have to leave behind some cultural values, habits, and behaviours such as language, daily routines, climate, religion and so on; that depends strongly on the differences between the two countries.
The integration process in your new country is important and multi-layered. You have to make new friends and build up a social network. At this, cultural differences and language problems may be a big challenge that needs time and willingness. Furthermore, you adapt to new habits and values, which could be very interesting or even strange. Normally, immigrants also look for people who're sitting in the same boat. Get-Togheter with compatriots of your native country is pretty common, and it gives you the opportunities to get assistance with integration problems or to celebrate habits and values which you're missing.
In conclusion, it can be said that the process of integration is in contrast with the dissociation process, whereas, it might be difficult to balance each other.

420W journal 1

Since the 22th of september I'm attending the 12-week Intensive English Programm at the UBC English Language Institute (ELI). There are several reasons why I have chosen to study at this school. Firstly, it was longly a dream of mine to live abroad for a short time and to improve my English. Only now the time has come where it really fitts. After my final master degree this summer I was ready for an adventure, not for professional everyday life. Furthermore, for me the advancement of my English skills is pretty important for my future career, because English is the language of science and I will probably work in this field. For my English stay I had to choose between the destinations Ireland, Scottland and Canada. Finally I decided to enjoy my English stay in Canada, because I can visit an old friend that way who immigrated to Vancouver 3 years ago. Additionally, Vancouver gives me the alternative to getting to know a new country and another way of life. While I was searching for an machting school in the internet, I came across the ELI offer, that immediately convinced me. These are the reasons why I'm studying at the ELI.

Welcome everybody

Welcome to my blog. I'm going to write some short essays while my 3 monthly stay in Vancouver because Eilidh said we have to. But I'm really looking forward to my blogging activities and I hope this will improve my writing skills very fast. If you are not interested in my writing, please leave this page now! You're welcome to give me any correction inputs.