26th September: The European Day of Languages

The European Day of Languages
Originally uploaded by Cobra_11

I think that, since I'm an English teacher by profession, it is suitable that I post something for the European Day of Languages. I won't start writing about the history of the Day (you have the Wikipedia link for that), but I'll say a few words about my point of view on this Day.

I've always loved languages and learning new ones has been a hobby of mine ever since I can remember. I try to pick up as much as I can from as many different languages as I can from TV and the Internet (well, at least bits and pieces, phrases,...) and I think it's wonderful that we have the European Day of Languages. This way, people learn about the importance of learning new languages and about the diversity of languages around the world!

Nowadays there is a growing tendency around the world to learn the so called "little languages", i.e. langugages who have a relatively small number of native speakers. However, at the same time, exactly these native speakers often aren't aware of how precious their languages are... And I speak from experience here. Let me take Slovene as an example. It has about 2 million native speakers, who, instead of being proud of their language, try their hardest not to use our wonderful language! The names of shops, pubs, etc. are English, young people use wierd derivatives from English (I am fluent in English, but sometimes I have real problems understanding some of the words I hear in the street!!) and to top it all off, the language of the Internet chatrooms and SMS messages is taking over! Why is all this happening? Because it's "cooler" to use all those "LOLs", "BRBs" we're surrounded with in our everyday life than to use beautiful words we have in Slovene!

Another problem for such languages as Slovene is that there is usually a large number of immigrants among their speakers. Again, I speak from experience. I know Slovenes who moved to America. They speak Slovene, but don't teach their kids the language of their ancestors! Why? So that the kids would fit better into the new society! That is such a load of rubbish! In today's world, knowing a language such as Slovene could be a huge advantage, not a drawback!

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for learning new languages, but we should always be proud of our mother tongue and use it proudly and properly!

Environmentally friendly!!

A Day Without a Car
Originally uploaded by Cobra_11

How environmentally aware are we really? Well, I'd say we're quite enthusiastic and active on that area... on paper, at least. Hmmm... I suppose we have to start somewhere... Anyway, when it comes to practice, we're so far behind the whole save-the-planet-eco-green-environmentally-friendly plan that we would have to be dragged on by a herd of horses if we are to contribute to the cause of reducing the gass emissions and saving our planet eventually.

Last week was "Mobility Week" in Ljubljana. The rides on the city buses were free, which was absolutely fabulous! There was a bit less traffic in the city AND I saved about 5 € on the bus tokens. The city centre was a bit cleaner and a walk in the streets was quite pleasant. So, I guess I could say that the Mobility-Week project was successful. We were ready to enter the next eco-level.

So, to top off the "Mobility Week", we had "A Day Without a Car" in our capital today. But was it really a day WITHOUT a car? This shot was taken at about 8 o'clock in the morning. There was hardly a square inch of the road that was car-free!! WITHOUT a car? Come on... (And for those of you wondering whether I was sitting in my car in this metal mess: NO, I was travelling by bus today - and I think we all know why, right?)

So, let me conclude with these words: let's keep on being "environmentally friendly" and drive around in cars - one person pro car, if possible!

Peace

Peace
Originally uploaded by Cobra_11

21s September is the International Day of Peace. We all live on this beautiful planet called Earth and we could all have a splended time doing so, but we obviously don't feel like it. So, instead of making friends and living in peace and harmony, we do the one thing that is absolutely unnecessary: we fight and spend our time making wars and enemies, even killing ourselves.

I've been present on the Web for about 2 years now. I started on Blogger and now I have a Flickr site, too. During this time, I've made some great friends from all over the world. Lovely friendships, created just by talking to others! I've realized that we, the young people of the world, should be the world leaders! If that was the case, then the world would be a kind and warm place to live in! I do hope that that becomes reality one day!

Peace to the World!