Cleopatra VII

Hey Everyone ;)

I was just thinking what to blog about, when I remembered one of the books I read, Shakespeare’s Anthony and Cleopatra. Because I’ve heard so much about this historical character, and also because I am Egyptian myself and intrigued by the ancient history of my country, I decided to write a short biography about the latest Pharaoh that even Julius Caesar hadn’t been able to resist.

“For (as they say) it was not because her beauty in itself was so striking that it stunned the onlooker, but the inescapable impression produced by daily contact with her: the attractiveness in the persuasiveness of her talk, and the character that surrounded her conversation was stimulating. It was a pleasure to hear the sound of her voice, and she tuned her tongue like a many-stringed instrument expertly to whatever language she chose…” (From Plutarch’s Life of Mark Anthony)

Cleopatra VII, also known as Cleopatra Thea Philopater (meaning “the Goddess Cleopatra, the beloved of her father”), was born in 69 B.C. in the City of Alexandria (Egypt), and died aged only 39. In 51 B.C., Pharaoh Ptolemy XII passed away and left his kingdom to his eighteen year old daughter, Cleopatra, and her only twelve-year-old brother Ptolemy XIII, because a woman was legally oblige d to have either a brother or a son for her consort. However, she soon dropped his name from any official documents and did what was best for her country, regardless of the Ptolemaic rule. She was the last and most well-known queen of Egypt (the last of the Ptolemy dynasty), before the rule of Egypt finally passed to the Romans under the rule of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus. Though she was not of Egyptian but of Macedonian origin, she was a compassionate ruler, who truly cared for her folk. She had broken almost 300 years of Ptolemaic rule that had been filled with rebellion and high taxes. And to prove her loyalty to her people, she used the country’s native language to communicate with them, lowered taxes for farmers and helped to boost Egypt’s economy. Cassius Dio, one of the great ancient sources, describes her as the woman who was brilliant enough to use her feminine charm to captivate the two greatest Romans of her day, in order to maintain Egypt’s power. Her charisma, strength and indomitability made her one the greatest queens- and inspired scores of writers and artists through the centuries.

Shakespeare’s Cleopatra is portrayed as the unparalleled beauty, which is jealous, possessive, but fiercely loyal to the love of her life: Marc Anthony. No matter how often they fight, they always come back to each other, as if there is nothing more important than their love for each other. She has an obvious fondness for high drama, and wants to keep Anthony all by herself; of course, he can’t withstand her charm, and even neglects his duties as a Roman ruler. After Anthony’s tragic death, she feels that there is no reason for her to live and decides to follow his example to meet him in afterlife.

Do It Yoursef

Hey Everyone :)

Although I came across several, interesting kinds of food blogs this week, there was one in particular that struck me the most: http://www.livelovepasta.com/. LiveLovePasta is more like a family blog, set up by Kara, her husband Cliff and her sister Kelly, who started this blog to share their passion for food. Each day, one of them posts a recipe with step-by-step photos on various categories, from appetizers to desserts, including vegan and vegetarian recipes as well. With this blog, it’s all about creativity, and the best part is that most of the recipes don’t require a long preparation time and are super easy on the cook.

My sister and I tried like three dessert recipes (yeah, we definitely have a sweet tooth) and were really impressed by just how easy they were to do, and not to mention how delicious they were, especially the “Nutella Mug Cake” which took us only 5 minutes to do. Seriously. At first, we thought there is definitely a spelling mistake, because it said the preparation time was about 1,5-3 minutes in the microwave, but it turned out to be true. It’s simply delicious and perfect for those late night study sessions when you’re craving for something sweet and don’t want to settle for some old cookies. ;) So go ahead and give it a try!

Here is how it’s done:

Ingredients
3 tablespoons self-rising flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 tablespoons Nutella
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a large coffee mug. Whisk well with a fork until smooth. Microwave on high for 1½– 3 minutes. (Time depends on microwave)

ENJOY!

A 20-year-old student speaks 11 (!) languages!

Hey colleagues, check this out!  

Alex Rawlings is a student at Oxford University, who speaks 11 languages (including English, Greek, German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Afrikaans, French, Hebrew, Catalan and Italian), and who still wants to learn other languages.  

I just came across it and thought i'd share it with you guys, since this is pretty impressing :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gyLCm9SUkFY

All About All Hallow's Eve

Whenever I hear of the American holiday Halloween, I immediately think of spooky disguised little children trick-or-treating, playing tricks on random people, watching horror movies and telling scary stories to each other on the night of October 31. Little did I know that the origin of this indeed popular holiday- being the second most commercial holiday after Christmas with nearly 6 Billion dollars spent on costumes and candy annually - goes way back to a Celtic festival named Samhain. About 2000 years ago, the Celts, who resided in what is today the United Kingdom and Ireland, celebrated Samhain (meaning “summer’s end”) on November the 1^st, believing that the dead came back to life on the night before. They then used to lit bonfires, mask themselves, and put food in front of their houses to confuse the spirits, until the church declared the day as All Saints Day in the 8^th century, or All Hallow’s Eve, shortened to Halloween. The traditions known nowadays were revived around the 1950s, and are considered to be for the whole family and not only for children, as almost half of all Americans carve a pumpkin and decorate their yards for Halloween. All in all, the holiday with its ancient history certainly goes beyond the stereotypes depicted in movies.

England and America

"England and America are two countries divided by a common language." This interesting quote was said by the famous writer of more than 60 plays, George Bernard Shaw. The Nobel Prize Winner was born in Dublin in 1856, lived most of his life in London, and died in Hertfordshire in 1950. Known for being a dramatist, a critic, an active Socialist, a brilliant platform speaker, and a satirist, Shaw even got an adjective named after him, namely “Shavian”. As far as the quote is concerned, the differences between American English and British English are definitely there, and it does have an influence on the communication between Americans and the British. This might be a reason why it is possible to separate two nations who share a common language- they don’t understand each other because of the thousands of new words and phrases the Americans incorporated in their everyday lives after they became independent. In addition, the situation between the two countries was especially difficult during World War II. As for me as a language learner, I know that there are differences in meaning and spelling as well as cultural ones that I have to learn to avoid misunderstandings.