The Icelandic language!

Hello! Or should I say "hallo"? In case you are wondering, "hallo" is Icelandic for the English greeting "hello". Here in Iceland, we mainly speak the obvious language, Icelandic. Although we are taught both Danish and English at a young age, our first language is still Icelandic. Icelandic is a North Germanic language. It is quite similar to the Faroese language and various dialects such as the Norwegian dialect. This includes Telemark and Sognamal. It can be really complicated, but if you learn it as a child, it's relatively easy (most of the time). Our language is very similar to the Latin language. However, there are some variations. For one thing, some of the verb and noun usage is different. I have already told you what the most common greeting in Icelandic is. Some of the others include takk, which is thank you, and talor pu islenku, which is "do you speak Icelandic?" Well, I've got to run, so vertu blessadur (goodbye)! By the way, these are some of my favorite pictures. They are photos of an Icelandic city, my family cottage, and my best friend's adorable sheepdog!

Government in Latvia

Latvia is a parliamentary democracy.  The capital is Riga, a beautiful city, Latvia became independent November 18th, 1918 from Soviet Russia.  They celebrate their independence just like July 4th but they consider it more of a national holiday that July 4th.  The constitution of Latvia was created and signed on February 15th, 1922, restored by the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Latvia approved by the Supreme Council August 21, 1991, there have been multiple amendments since.  You must be 18 to vote in Latvia and the Chief of State is President Valdis ZATLERS, the Prime Minister is Valdis DOMBROVSKIS.

This is Valdis ZATLERS.

This is Valdis DOMBROVSKIS.

Cars here in Germany

Hi it is me Hans Meier again. I want to talk about the cars of my country. Some of our most well known car companies here in Germany is are BMW, which is one of my favorites, Volkswagen, Smart, and Audi, but we also have other companies like Opel which is very popular here in Europe. We also have some luxury car companies like Bentley, Rolls Royce, and Mercedes Benz. We have some lesser known car companies here like Maybach.

Brussels Jazz Marathon

I'll admit jazz is not my music, but Brussels holds a huge music festival. Dirk's cousin is a major jazz fan, so he naturally wanted to tell me all about this. It's in the spring and brings over 250,000 fans to Belgium's capital. There are all kinds of musical performances with over 400 musicians who play in all different local places. Those who attend the "Marathon" have the chance to see more than 120 concerts and a lot of other free performances, with the price of one ticket. I would think you have to be in love with jazz to attend this event; I don't know how anyone could endure that much jazz. If you're a fan of jazz come visit beautiful Brussels and enjoy the music.
~Jenna~

Italian Language

Today I had to do a presentation in Italian language. Our language is weird, but it works. Here are some examples of words in English and Italian.
English Italian
Yes Si
No No
Please Per piacere
Thank you Grazie
How are you? Come sta?
Very well Molto bene
Excuse me Scusi
Good morning Buon giorno
Good evening Buona sera
Good night Buona notte
Goodbye Arrivederci

The University of Liverpool is a well known research university. The university was established in 1881. The university has produced eight Nobel Prize winners and has more than 230 first degree courses across 103 subjects. The university offers nearly 50 types of sport, ranging from football, rugby, and cricket to others like windsurfing and lacrosse. Most sports have male and female teams and most are involved in competitions on a national level.

Krzysztof here. In Poland we love to dance a lot during big celebrations or small family reunions or parties. When we do have dances we like to dress up. We have very formal dances and some that are not so formal. But ether way they are still fun.

Lights, Camera, Action- ya dig

The Talented Mr. Ripley, II Postino, The Passion of the Christ, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou all have one thing in common. They were filmed in Italy! Italy is a great spot for filming movies because of the great scenery. I think the best one of them all is "The Passion of the Christ" Mel Gibson did an excellent job on directing the movie. He brought the emotional side out of people, and still had people wanting to know more about what happened.(Check out the picture)

-DiCaprio

The Zafer!

This is a picture of our first sports car. The zafer!

Cars in Latvia

Latvia has some very interesting cars.  The cars from there look fantastic.  They use the usual European style, many curves, long and the top is low.  BMW's are very popular in Latvia and they have a large BMW factory there.  They have some very unique styles.  Convertibles are also popular and they have a Rolls-Royce manufacturing company.  Aston-Martins is a very nice car and you will see them on any street there, yet they are extremely rare in America.  Jeeps and Chryslers are also popular and they have plenty of them here but they are not as popular there.  Here is a picture of an amazing car from Latvia. 

Sports in Iceland

Hello again! I, just like nearly all of the other citizens in Iceland, love to play sports. Although we live in a relatively small country, we enjoy many sports. Most of them are sports that you can play in other countries, such as America. Some of them include volleyball, football, and tennis. Football is extremely well-loved in my country. It is one of the most popular sports here. Both men and women can play football; some of them even participate in games played all of the nation. One of the largest games is Deild Karla; it started in 1955. Another well-known game is the Landsbankadeild. Although football is rather popular, tennis is also popular. However, it does not have the same number of fans. It has not always been popular; it took quite some time for the sport to catch on here in Iceland. The most popular sport, however, is ice skating. Many love to participate in ice skating competitions, but some enjoy going out to an ice skating rink just to play around on the ice. There are multiple rinks in Iceland for both adults and children. Many citizens enjoy going to ice skating schools merely to have fun skating about the rink. However, skating is not just plain skating. There is figure skating, ice hockey, and various sports that require ice skating skills. Well, I need to hurry; I'm going to the famous Reykjavik rink with my friends today!

famous people in britian

there is a lot of famous people in britian. sir winston churchill, charles darwin, william shakespear, oliver cromwell, and a lot of other people that have inspired many today.

Worlds First Turkish sports car

This is our first sports car in turkey and its called the Zafer made by "E-tox". My father got one the first day they came out. Its a two seater that packs 272 bhp with a top-of-the-range 3-liter v6 engine. It came out on August 30. Which is also victory day in turkey. It is very fun and very fast.

hugh jass here

Today I want to talk about the types of cars in Amsterdam. In amsterdam Most of the city streets are really narrow so thats why we use small cars here. Over here it is really rare to see big trucks except for cars of constrution or those white vans that you see that people work in. Here the cars are very cheap because cars are made here like the porsche. Also smart cars are a everyday part of life and they are not that rare here like in the united states.

Cat Festival

Hey I'm back! For the next couple of posts I'm going to tell you about some interesting things I've recently learned. One is a festival called the Cat Festival, just the name made me wonder about it. Back in the 962 A.D. the Count of Flanders, Baudoin the third, made his people throw two or three cats out of his castle to show the end to worshiping the animal. It became a festival, but was stopped in the 18th century. Then in 1817 one person went to the castle and throw a cat out of it. In 1938, the festival was assigned to the second Sunday in May. Instead of throwing live cats out of the castle, they now throw stuffed animal cats. Just like many parades in America, they have a Cat Parade with cat floats! I thought you'd think this was pretty crazy, so hope you enjoyed it
~Write later Jenna

Irish Foods

Hey! It's Troy O'Sullivan again to tell you about Irish foods. Irish food is often characterized as bland due to our frequency to use cabbage and potatoes. In 1845, a fungus struck a potato crop and the Irish Potato Famine was a result. We also enjoy milk very much here in Ireland. Here in Ireland we drink the most milk on average in the world. Oats are also a stable in Irish diets. Oatmeal porridge and Oatmeal bread are common, but I don't like them very much.

Hugh Jass here

Today i want to talk to you about the Holidays they celebrate here in Amsterdam. First We always celebrate our first Queens birthday on April 30. On may 5 we celebrate our liberation day. We also celebrate Christmas on december 26. We eat rabbit ,turkey, and goose on that day. Also on thst day we also celebrate something similar to easter day.Because poeple scatter around candy around the house and kids have to find them.

MIRABILANDIA

THEME PARKS IN ITALY!! Here when I wanna go chill with a friend, girlfriend, or just with my family in general, I love goin to the zoo, amusment, and theme parks. I usually go to Edenlandia,Gardaland, Luneur, or Italia in Miniatura, and I love the Parco Natura Viva. They have many beautiful animals. I love going every year to see what new species of animal they've brought in. The theme parks give me a chill, but I love the adrenaline I get on a big ride. Matter of fact I think Guchi and I are going to a different theme park called Mirabilandia. (Above is a picture).

-Kobe Dwyane DiCaprio

things we eat here in Germany

Hi it is Hans Meier again! Today I want to talk more about what we eat here in Germany. What I normally eat for breakfast here are toast, cold cuts and eggs. This obviously does not go for everyone, a lot of people simply drink fruit juice for breakfast. For lunch we typically have full meals instead of a petty sandwich. We typically don't eat much for dinner though. I like to eat wurst for dinner when we do have it though

Hello its Krzysztof again. The food here is really good. I especially like the Babka witch is coffee cake. We have many types of foods. I like to eat veil a lot and drink white wine. We have many pubs. We have tea a lot during the day. Poland has many restaurants that cook the best food you will ever have in your life.

Italy's Spirituality

Giovanni here. I had to go to a cathedral Sunday. I am Roman Catholic. Other Italians are as well (well you probably would of already known, I mean, it's not like I am the only one). Although the Catholic faith has a major influence on Italian culture and civic life, only about a third of Italians go to Sunday Mass regularly. History has it that Christianity came to Rome about 10 years after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In the early years, Christians were persecuted by the Romans, but eventually Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. During the Middle Ages the pope ruled an influential state in central Italy. Rome then became the centre of the Catholic world and a place of pilgrimage.

CARS

Today i will be talking about about cars in Italy. As many know a bunch of the top notch sports cars come from Italy. Such as Ferrari, Lamborghini,Fiat,lancia,pagani,and maserati

Russian Holidays

Hey its Ivan,

Holidays are an important part of a family. Even

though the new year is celebrated on the same day as America, some Russian holidays have differences, like Christmas instead of Santa we have Grandfather Frost and the Snow Maiden to distribute presents. It is celebrated on January 7 because we go on the Julian calender which is 13 days behind the calender used in America. Seven weeks before Easter we celebrate Shrovetide that is a week long. Many activity's like noise making and people wear costumes. Most couples get married during this week. On May Day is the celebration of the first day of spring, we shoot off fireworks, and sing songs. Victory day is celebrate on May 9 and we celebrate the end of World War 2.

clothes in sweden

Hey its Isabella again. I have been trying to find some cute clothes in Sweden but it is not easy. The clothes in Sweden are not very stylish. They are plain and they wear lots of skirts and dresses. The colors are very duel, light colors there are not a lot of bright colors. Some of my old outfits that I had well if I wear them here in Sweden people just stare at me because I don't look like everyone else.

Germany's Religion

Hey it Sophie, I am a Roman Catholic and we celebrate the sabbath on Friday and Saturday. Which is when we go to church. Most of you may be more familiar with Christianity and going to church on Sunday, but that is how we celebrate ours. The biggest religions in Germany are the Protestant and Catholic Churches. Muslim makes up the second largest and Jew makes up the third largest religion. Public holidays in Germany are based in Christian religions.

Road Trip to Rome

Some of my relatives live in Rome so ride down to meet them about once a month. They live near the Vatican City where the pope resides. I always look forward to the trip down because there are so many new sights and smells. Rome is a city of history. Every step I take brings me to new places and new adventures. Greatness is everywhere and the food is fantastic. I consider Rome to be one of the five greatest cities in the world.

Driving Here in France

It is almost my fifteenth birthday so I thought I would talk about our driving laws. Here in France, you can drive a motorcycle under 125cc at the age of fifteen. You need to be over eighteen to drive a motorcycle with a stronger engine(over 125cc). To own a car, you must be eighteen or over too. The speed limits here for the highway are 130 km/h for the highways. In the cities you have a limit of 50 km/h. On on open road you are allowed to go 90 km/h unless its wet. If its wet then you have to go 80 km/h. I'm glad I remember all these facts. I will need them for my driving test in a few weeks.

Food

Hey its me again. Food in Germany is outstanding. After World War II they had very little food left. The styles of food are very different in the northern part than the South part of Germany. Some favorites are pretzels, brautwurst, and schnitzel. And there famous for there candies and beer as I have posted on before. In there food here they have little to none preservatives in there food, so families normally go every other day to the market.They have thousands of recipes like the United States and countries all over the world.

In ancient Greece, people beleived in fourteen gods, some are Zeus, Hades, Ares, Athena, and Poseidon are just a few examples. Zeus god of thunder, Hades god of the underworld, Ares god of war, Athena goddess of wisdom, and Poseidon god of sea. The gods lived in their own territorys', such as Hades, underworld Poseidon, sea.

My Ukraine Hobby's

One of my hobby's in Ukraine is to collect dolls that are handmade of not handmade. My room is becoming very full of dolls! I just love to look at them and sometimes play with them if they are not to breakable. On the left is one of my favorite dolls that I have. This one is a handmade doll, so it is even more special to me.

Soon I will be able to drive which I am very excited about!! I know my family can not afford a new car for me or even really an old car, but if they could I would really like this car that's on the right. This car is called Ypsilon.

Cars in Athens!

Whats up, everybody! It's me (Percy) again! Today I want to talk to you about cars! Cars are one of my favorite things in the entire world. Plus, soon I'll be able to drive and I want to get an awesome car. ;) Here in Greece, it's very similiar to America. We have all sorts of different cars and some are expensive and some are extremely cheap! Also, here in Athens, transportation is our main way of getting around and it is extremely important as well. Oh and by the way, our road network covers 117,000 kilometers total. Pretty cool huh?

Religion In Norway

Today, most people in Norway are Christians. We take it as a big deal and teach it in our schools. Before we were Christians, we believed in Norse mythology. People believed that there used to be a place called Midgard, where all the humans lived. In the middle of Midgard was Asgard, where all of the gods lived. Norse mythology wasn't based on a religious community. It had more to do with actions with faith. Humans worshipped the gods through ceremonies and offerings. The turning point from Norse mythology to Christianity was around the year 1030. This was when the battle of Stiklstad happened. Olaf the second tried to take back Norway, but failed. He was remembered by his churches that he built and later became known as Saint Olaf. Now, almost all of the people in Norway have become christian.

Music

Hey, it's Ceana i am going to talk about music today. We still listen to some bag-pipe music but its better than you think. We listen to great artists like Dougie Mclean. Yes Scotland tried to compete in the pop culture age, but failed. But we listen to traditional music that has stayed the same throughout the 20th century. Guitars, bagpipes, and accordians are easy to find is Scottish music.

Religion in Spain

It's me, Carolina, and I'm back to tell y'all about the religion in the great country of Spain. Roman Catholicism is the most prominent religion in Spain by far. About 76% of Spainiards identify themselves as Catholic, 19% no religion, and 5% other. Most Spainiards do not participate regularly in religious ceremonies. The Catholic church is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians, and more than one-sixth of the world's population is Catholic. The basic "leader" of the Catholic church is the Pope, currently Pope Benedict XVI. That's all for now, see you later, Carolina.

famous people

There are a lot of famous people from austria is me Arnold, Natalie Portman, Franz West, Herbert,and Michael Glawogger. There are many more famoust people from austria but these are some of the most known.But, the most known person from austria is Adolf Hitler. Most people think that he is from germany but he isnt.

Holidays in sweden

Hey its Isabella again, so lately I have been trying to find a costume for Halloween since its coming up soon. The date for Halloween is October 31-November 6 and in Sweden they call Halloween "Alla helgons dag". The next holiday after that is Christmas. The date for Christmas is December 25 and in Sweden they call Christmas "Juldagen". Another holiday in Sweden that is the same in America is Easter. The Friday before Easter is called "Langfredagen" and Easter Monday is called "Paskdagen". In Sweden they have a lot of different holidays then America for example boxing day "Annandag jul" is on December 26 right after Christmas.

Ukraine Holidays and Traditions

This is Ukraine's Flag.

Before I tell you about my holidays and traditions there is one thing I was thinking about that is kind of interesting. Did you know that if you were to send a letter to me in Ukraine that was about more than 3 dollar bills thick I would not get it? This is because the people in the mail room go threw the mail and take letters that are thick because they think that it is just money. Even if there is no money on the inside they will take it anyway!

One of my favorite holidays is March 8. March 8 is International Women's Day. This day is to celebrates the day women fought for their rights. In America this holiday is called Day of Motherhood and Beauty and it is celebrated on April 7. We also have Christmas on December 25 just like you do. If you want to visit Ukraine the best day to come is on World Tourism Day which is September 27. Which means you just missed it for this year! But you can still come any time you want to! And today September 30 is my birthday! I am turning 16 years old!

Haggis

Hello, it's me, Ian. First of all, modern haggis is generally produced in a case, instead of a sheep stomach. It contains the sheep's heart, lungs, and liver, minced with oatmeal, onions, suet, spices, and salt. It may sound disgusting, but it is really quite delicious. No one really knows how haggis started, so many people have made up origins, which can be really... well... creative.

Dario's Vacation

Hello everyone today I am going on a vacation to explore new things. I will be going to the the Grand Northen Italy Escape for about ten days and nine nights. I plan to have a great time and really enjoy the nothen part of Italy in the mountains. Itay as many great places you can go on a vacation and really learn new things and have fun. I also will be going to a mini art tour in the spring. Last year i went to one it was amazing. When I am up at the moutains i will be going to a mini tour so that i can learn some more things about the Grand Northen. Italy is probly one of the most beautiful places to go on a vacation and see amazing new things. Another great place to go is Venice, which is located in the water. By doing that you can really look at Italy and enjoy yourself without having to do a lot of work but look and have fun. Italy is always a great place to come relax and find cool things.

Vactions in Italy

My family always enjoys a trip to the Alps in the winter. The skying is thought to be some of the best in the world. We usually visit the Cortina resort. It is known as one of the nicest in Europe. The usual food served is cofee and regular Italian foods such as spaghetti and pizza. As more foreighners come in sometimes the menues change a little. If anyone ever visits my country then they are more than welcome to attend with my family!

When I walked outside this morning, I found it to be a lot colder than yesterday. The temperature was about 50 degrees F. That is not typical in September in America, but here in Paris, it is a typical Autumn day. In January and July you get the most extreme weather. In January, the average temperature here in paris is about 36 degrees F though it can get a lot colder. Even in the summer the temperature doesn't get much warmer. The average temperature here is about 64 degrees F even in July.

Oh, Holy Athens!

Hey, it's me Percy again! Today was sunday, which was pretty boring for me. We never really do anything on sunday except to go church. Yup, we're just like more Americans because we attend church on sundays. We don't go to church on wednesdays though. Anyway, I was curious as to how many of us here in Greece actually believe in God, and my dad says that, according to statistics, 81% of us believe in God. 16% of us believe there is some kind of life force that isn't God and only 3% of us don't believe in anything. I myself believe in God. Our religion is basically called the Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

German Music

in germany we generally like 6 types of music. hip hop, punk, metal, neue deutsche härte, goth and techno. so we like alot of the music that you guys like. even though we are from different countries there are alot of similarities between us. that is about a much as i can say about music.

History of Spain

Hey, Carolina's back again, and I want to tell you about the history of my country, Spain. We are a proud member of the European Union. Modern humans entered the Iberian Peninsula more than thirty-five thousand(35,000) years ago. The Celts, Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, and Visigoths were only a few of the peoples that tried to invade and take over Spain, but we held our own. In 711, an Arab army, known amongst our people as the Moors, invaded and nearly conquered the entire peninsula. In the next 750 years, the muslim states were established and referred to as a whole as Al-Andalus. Meanwhile, the Christian states, called the Reconquista, were recovering. That's all for now, bye y'all!

The Music of Italy

Here in Italy, we have a wide range of taste in our music. Our main categories are classical, opera, pop, hip hop, rock, jazz, and folk. Also, Italy has many aspiring songwriters called cantautori. One of my favorite Italian singers is Gianna Nannini whose genre is rock, and she recorded the CD Perle. Another awesome singer I listen to is Alexia whose music is hip-hop, and she has sold over 6,000,000 albums worldwide. Most of all, my friends and I listen to Laura Pausini, famous for her love songs and strong voice. Of course, I love Italy's classic tunes too as they are a major part of our country's atmosphere. Well, it's time for dinner and you know it's such a big deal here. See ya!

Wether in Germanyyyyyyy.

Hey its Sophie from Germany. Today the sunrise was at 7:06 AM and is said to set at 6:46 PM. It is about 55*F and is partly cloudy with winds about 10 mph, so today is a pretty good day as far as the weather goes.

Germany has mild winters and hot summers. Its rain during the year, but they get most of their rain in July. They consider it to be a Continental climate. During the summer the temperature is about 30*C and in the winter, a little above or a little below freezing.