week2

Jan 24, 2013
6:00pm
Foreign Language Building
Eurochannel Short Films Tour: Laugh in Europe
"Everything You Wanted to Know About Europe but Were Afraid to Ask"

For this weeks event i attended the European Union's Eurochannel Short Film Tour, where six different European short films were played all of which varied in time and country yet all shared a comedic quality.
I arrived to the Foreign Language a half hour early and the door was locked. about ten to the door was unlocked and we filed in the room. there we were presented with popcorn and various flyers on upcoming events sponsored by the European Union. the man showing the films started the night with a little trivia to raffle off two posters. im assuming this presentation was aimed towards europeans studies students because there was a sign in sheet for two different classes and everyone seemed to know most if not all of the questions asked.

Trivia questions asked:
name 10 European Union official languages? (23 total)
a question dealing with the referendum on EU membership
how many countries make up the Union (27)
who was recently added to the 5euro banknote? (princess Europa from greek mythology)
next EU member state (Croatia 7/1/13)

Films watched:
"Bye Bye Now" -Ireland
A short film about one towns memories of the "phone-box" and the recent decline and demolishing of them.
-One couple's memory of how they would walk miles just so they could talk to each other for 5min because of the cost and how they have been married for 50 years because of it.
-Another mans memory on how he would always see people getting stuck in there because they were doing "dirty" things  and since the door opened inward and there wasn't really all that much room for more then one person. his story was my favorite because he was this little old man who couldn't stop laughing at those awkward encounters with people who get themselves stuck in there.
-Others liked the booth for a shelter when waiting for the bus and also for its historical aspect. Yet when asked when the last time someone actually used it to make a call everyone responded with at least a few years.
more information and a video clip -------> http://www.byebyenowfilm.com/

"The Shoemaker"-Greece
this film was the shortest of the bunch and was shorter then five minutes
It had subtitles and followed the steps and process of making a genuine leather boot in Greece.

"Stolen Rhythm"- Hungry (watch)----------------> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cOfeyJSbTM
-This one was an entertaining and comical piece that showed how the Hip Hop we have come to know today was originated from a forbidden Hungarian dance known as "Hipi Hopi". They also had a name for rap, "Fast talking" which was also forbidden or looked down upon. 
-video compares then to now
-Hemp harvesting was a common type of work and harvest and as for a celebration for their long work season they would have a sort of celebration filled with these forbidden things.
-the video also proposed that when they first had a showing of this dance there were two african american janitors in the back who then saw this dance and a few years later was the first Hip Hop group the "Sugar-hill Gang"

"20 yrs Old"- Albania 
-this one was probably my least favorite of the bunch
-found it to be boring and not as entertaining as the others
-was about the city of Korca and how its on a decline in almost every aspect
-toursim,gangster, no money, no jobs went from aristocrats to filth
-"the world is fine, the people are fucked" was what was graffitied all over 

"The Slovenian Way"- Slovenia
-this short film compared how the people of Slovenia saw themselves and what characteristics and tastes they had compared to other people from the united kingdom
-comical how different they thought of themselves as to what they really were like
-get up early to go home early/rude/aggressive drivers(uk)great drivers(Slovenia)/thought they had a great variety of music(Slovenia) all 80s pop hits(uk)

"Do you Really Love Me"- Serbia
different couples of different backgrounds/languages/sex switched off reading lines of poems
language barriers and love

flyer for upcoming european films for the spring

first few people to arrive about 23 people were there in all

 amusing ourselves waiting for the films to start

 man in the plaid shirt sat in the squeakiest chair of all time

 my notes after the films...probs should have moved onto another page

PLUS FREE POPCORN was provided :)

week one

Mining the University

Week One

1/19/13

“Middle East Story Time” @ Urbana Free Library

Middle East Story Time - The Illustrator's Notebook

Speaker

Angela Williams: Associate Director, CSAMES

Date Jan 19, 2013

Time2:00 pm - 2:45 pm  

Location

Megan's Reading Room at the Urbana Free Library; 210 West Green Street; Urbana, Illinois

Info: “The Illustrator's Notebook by Egyptian author Mohieddin Ellabbad is a book with many levels of meaning. It is an account of an artist's creative sources and of how he grew up to be a famous illustrator. It is an appeal to children to see the world and find inspiration in the most ordinary visual sources. It is a testament to the value of diversity, exemplified by the fact that while some people read from let to right, others read the opposite way, which affects how they see and even dream. It is an introduction to Egypt and its extraordinary visual world and, finally, it is a demonstration of the beauty of written Arabic. After reading the book, children will make their own small notebooks.”

Own observations:

Angela brought in a helper who spoke the language of the book (Arabic). They each read passages from the book in both languages stopping to ask questions to the children present. Some questions asked were what’s your name? What’s an illustrator? Have you ever heard of Egypt? They also taught the kids the Arabic words for “good morning” and “thank you”. The book that was chosen at this presentation/lecture was The Illustrator’s Notebook by Mohieddin Ellabbad. In my opinion I don’t think that this was a wise choice of book to read to the age group present. The book was about how the author became an illustrator so it acted as a journal/autobiography. Because of this I feel the kids were distracted and not following what was going on or being said. Also reading it in both languages caused the reading to drag on causing more confusion and restlessness. After reading and going over two or three pages Angela passed around souvenirs from when she herself visited Egypt. The kids seemed to like that because it was something a little more interesting to see and handle.

            Then she showed a YouTube video “Ya Salam Ya Balady” with was a slideshow of the various people and places that are popular in Egypt. After the video she opened up for any questions the audience may have had and then the lecture moved to the children’s section of the library for an activity. For the activity kids were able to create their own mini journals/scrapbooks on some of the things that are important to them as Mohieddin Ellabbad did in his book.

Fun Facts:

Arabic read from right to left so Mohieddin Ellabbad’s book opened that way as well.