The Last Time Traveller: 2013

12 Haziran 2013 Çarşamba

Topic: Lifestyles

Sub-topics: British Lifestyle, Gothic Lifestyle, Hippie Lifestyle, Italian Lifestyle

If you are interested in these, you can visit our website. Have fun!

Link: http://4lifestyles.wikispaces.com/home

Group members: Ahmet BAYRAM, Buse ÇALIŞKAN, Emel ÇELİK, Tuğçe ASLAN

REVISION 2 = ARTICLE ENTRY 2: DEEPER IN MEANING

Reflection to the article “The Meanings of a Word” by Gloria Naylor

“The Meanings of a Word” is an outstanding title according to me because words have always been an object of curiosity. Have you ever thought how and when the words came up, who invented or produced them? Why does a word means something but not something else? Or, are the both possible?

Gloria Naylor starts her essay by comparing the written word and the spoken word. She says language in written form is what makes her sanity keep in a good situation while she writes in her diaries. I could not agree her more on this statement because I keep a diary too and I think it really helps me in terms of gaining a loyal and understanding friend. When I write, I feel my brain works fast and I want to make it work even faster. I cannot hold my thoughts and I just throw them on the pages of my diary so that I can breathe and relax. Thus, sharing such an interest with the writer was my biggest motive to read her essay. However, her essay is not about diaries, written language or written words because she thinks spoken word is superior to written word. Even though she likes writing much, she accepts the fact that writing can never display the whole ideas in our minds as dialogs in spoken language can do. Spoken forms of communication are somehow more alive and vivid, so they are better at conveying the message and reality of words. Indeed, I do not totally agree with her on these opinions because I believe that written language can be as effective as spoken language thanks to the stream of consciousness technique in literature. However, she has a point in her later explanations. She adds that the meanings and reality of words come from the consensus, which means people and different cases are the shapers of everything about a word. The example she uses in her essay is the word nigger. Today it is known that this word should not be used to call black people. It is known to be a humiliating word. Nevertheless, Naylor does not think so and claims that nigger can actually be used positively in some contexts. She tells a story before defining the other meanings of the word “nigger”. It is a story from her childhood when one of her friends said to her that she was a nigger as she received a higher mark than her friend, which made him get angry and rude. At that time, she knew that the boy wanted to upset her, so she understood that “nigger” was a bad word although she did not know its meaning. After she told that event to her mother, she learned and remembered the other usages of that word. Thanks to this essay, I also learned these usages that do not have any bad or insulting meanings at all. For example, according to her black acquaintances and as well as she remember their conversations, if a woman calls her husband as “my nigger”, it is okay because she use this term to show her love and respect in addition to emphasize the manhood of her husband. There is also another term: trifling niggers. Trifling niggers are only used when somebody wants to neglect people who have bad habits, but this indifference in this context is not because of hate or scorning. It is just like parents’ attitude when they want to teach a lesson to their children by keeping silent. Hence, Naylor believes that words themselves are nothing. They do not have a specific meaning or they do not exist on their own. What make them meaningful and dynamic are people, memoirs and the way we insert messages into them. I think she is totally right in her thesis because it makes sense to me.

In brief, the meanings of a word can change from person to person and from situation to situation. Words are innocent in that sense because they do not have any innate meanings at first. They gain different meanings in time with the contributions of people. Some may have bad meanings and connotations like “nigger”, some may seem perfect. However, even the word “nigger” may be harmless if you know how to use it. For this reason, I think Naylor’s essay is helpful for us to have a larger perspective on interesting history of words.

11 Haziran 2013 Salı

REVISION 1 = JOURNAL ENTRY 3: A Cup of Writing: COFFEE

Drinking is the building block of survival. Eating is not so important as drinking because our body is a kind of vessel that bears water and other liquids. I am the living proof of that fact because I feel like I cannot live without drinking anything. Sometimes I forget eating, but I never forget drinking. I feel tired, depressed and aggressive when I do not drink as much as I like. I may be a drink-addicted. One of my favourite beverages is coffee. Actually, it is the love of my life. I like its smell and taste so much. I also believe that coffee is something miraculous, and exploring its kingdom is absolutely worthy. Thus, I will try my best to let you know more about coffee. I am sure that you will feel like you have never come close to the world of coffee like that before.

There is an interesting and funny legend behind the history of coffee. The effects of caffeine in the coffee berries were noticed by Ethiopian shepherds when they saw their goats dancing after eating coffee berries. Then, the shepherds ate the coffee berries and felt frisky just like the goats. I cannot help laughing when I imagine the dance of goats and shepherds. Secondly, African tribes ate coffee berries by mixing them with fat, and the food they created was like energy balls for them. Then, coffee gained popularity with the rise of Islam. Drinking alcohol was prohibited, but drinking coffee was acceptable. Thus, coffee became the best-loved beverage among all other beverages.

There is a term called “Bean Belt”. Bean belt is the area where coffee trees grow. It is the area between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world. It is one of the most consumed beverages. What is more, September 29 is celebrated as the “National Coffee Day” in the United States. Nevertheless, I celebrate it every day by drinking at least two cups of coffee.

Besides giving energy and the feeling “happiness”, coffee is a healthy drink in some aspects. It may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. It may also lower the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease because coffee strengthens the memory and sharpens the brain. It is good for the liver and may prevent the liver cancer. Coffee beans contain vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. However, you should be careful when you are drinking coffee because it is like a medicine, and you may harm yourself when you overdose on it.

Making and drinking coffee have turned to be an art lately. There are different kinds of coffee making. There is even a huge technology behind coffee making. Some Scandinavian countries (Sweden and Finland) and Germany compete with each other to come up with the best coffee machine. Coffee is not cultivated in Finland, yet they have the leading technology and creativity to make coffee in the world. My favourite type is espresso because I like strong coffee. I like Turkish coffee too. I do not like the taste of milk and sugar in coffee. Other types such as Americano, cappuccino and caffe latte are prepared with different amounts of foam, milk and chocolate syrup.

Briefly, coffee is beneficial for mental and physical health. Making and drinking coffee is enjoyable. When I am sad, I know coffee will fix me. Even the thought of coffee makes me relax. I guess I am not just a coffee-lover but a coffee-addicted, but I am okay with that. I am going to finish my words here:

“Take time to smell coffee, and be happy!”

9 Haziran 2013 Pazar

COMMENTS ON MY FRIENDS’ ENTRIES

A) Comments on journal entries:

1. http://tugceaslan.blogspot.com/2013/06/of-beautifulhorses-is-known-as-one-of.html?showComment=1370813209318#c6318339254557118124

(Tuğçe Aslan / Land of the Beautiful Horses)

2. http://mervebayram94.blogspot.com/2013/05/second-term-tango.html?showComment=1370814352740#c4859808644397925705

(Merve Bayram / SECOND TERM 3-TANGO- )

B) Comments on article entries:

1. http://atamanes.blogspot.com/2013/04/second-term-second-article-reflection.html?showComment=1370818109926#c4060005712861479818

(Esra Ataman / SECOND TERM SECOND ARTICLE REFLECTION – ARTICLE 4: AT HOME WITH MAMMA)

2. http://serifbaltaci.blogspot.com/2013/05/secondterm-first-article-reflection.html?showComment=1370818978109#c7522062135235191760

(Hasan Şerif Baltacı / SECOND TERM: THE FIRST ARTICLE REFLECTION – “Show Me the Way to Go Home”)

JOURNAL ENTRY 4: EPONA

I am a crazy mythology lover. I really enjoy imagining the world of gods and goddesses. I like reading about ancient tribes. I feel like a member of the Celts. I adore horses and riding is my favourite sports. So, I love “Epona” because she is the combination of these things. Who is this “Epona”?

Epona is one of the Celtic goddesses. “Epona” means “divine mare” in Gaulish. She has many names such as “The Great Mare”, “Mare Goddess” and “Great Queen”. She is known as the goddess of horses. She protects horses and their owners. She is believed to be a shape-shifter. She has magical powers when she looks like a mare. She also represents fertility. What is more, she increases the women power to help them find their own unity. She carries the keys of the underworld. She is like a “Great Mother Goddess” because she has almost all the characteristics of mother goddesses. However, this is not the only reason. As she protects horses, she is thought to protect humankind. Horses are friendly animals and they serve humankind. Thus, Epona serves humankind in that sense. This shows her generosity and makes her mother goddess.

There is an interesting fact about Epona. I have found it while doing research. Women are equal to men in Celtic culture. They are depicted as strong and clever as men. Thus, Celtic mythology is full of powerful goddesses. However, these goddesses are not well-known because of the dominant effect of Greek mythology on the others. Unfortunately, Epona is among those goddesses. In fact, she is considered as the least-known goddess in Celtic mythology. On the other side, she is the only goddess adopted by the Romans. They worshipped Epona because they thought that the riding skills of the Celts came from their belief in Epona. Although there are many recorded legends and artefacts, Epona is still not known by most.

You can listen to Enya’s song below. It is short, yet I like the music and video. Especially the video is really fascinating according to me.

All in all, I think Epona deserves a better place in mythology. People should always look for more in mythology because there are always much more stories than guessed in that area. Knowing only Greek mythology does not make you a mythology professor. If you are really interested in mythology, you should get lost during your visits to the world of different mythologies. I think it is enjoyable.

ARTICLE ENTRY 3: WALKING THROUGH THE WAY OF DREAMS

Reflection to the article “ON DESIRES AND DREAMS”

“ON DESIRES AND DREAMS” is a great article because it is very inspirational to hold on to life. Seeing the words “desires” and “dreams” was a good reason for me to read this article. I think these are key words or should be key words to achieve our goals. The second reason for me to read this article was the relation between these words and the meaning of my name. All the words I like such as “wish”, “hope”, “dream” and “desire” are close to the meaning of my name. I always use these words to feel strong.

Firstly, I liked the theme of this article. Anything about life is worth reading to me. Briefly, the writer finds out the ways of reaching his desires with the help of his friend Tess Welch. She tells him that simple steps can make his life better. She calls these steps “magic”. She suggests that he should follow five steps to reach his aims. However, it is meaningless for me to count things to do because they are all the same. They are all about realizing what we want, finding strategies and making a move. In addition, strategies can change from person to person as everyone has a different attitude towards life. Consequently, the most important step for everyone is to find unique shortcuts to the way of manifesting desires.

Secondly, I liked this article because it is different from self-help books. I do not like reading those books. They are always telling you what to do. I think reading that kind of books is a waste of time because problems cannot be solved by reading self-help books. People should look at the real life and wake up. They should only do what they want to do instead of listening others. This article includes the dialogs between the writer and his friend. There are some parts where we can hear the writer’s own voice as well. I think this kind of writing is much more effective than a simple form because monologs and dialogs make people curious about the story. That is why it is impossible to stop once you start reading this article. It is not boring as self-help books.

Lastly, it is time to share my philosophy on this topic. I am not playing the glad game in life, but I like thinking positively. I believe in the power of positive thinking. Additionally, all the thoughts and feelings may really shape our little universe to some extent. What you think or want will come to you somehow. Thus, you can say that I also believe in karma energy. However, I am aware of the fact that positive thinking and karma should not be exaggerated much because they do not guarantee your achievements. They should not make you blind believers. Instead, they should enlighten your mind and way. Final step is to never give up. You should always remember your dreams and desires. You should fight for them and never lose hope.

11 Mayıs 2013 Cumartesi

JOURNAL ENTRY 3: A Cup of Writing: COFFEE

There is an interesting and funny legend behind the history of coffee. The effects of caffeine in the coffee berries were noticed by Ethiopian shepherds when they saw their goats dancing after eating coffee berries. Then, the shepherds ate the coffee berries and felt frisky just like the goats. I cannot help laughing when I imagine the dance of goats and shepherds. African tribes ate coffee berries by mixing them with fat, and the food they created was like energy balls for them. Coffee gained popularity with the rise of Islam. Drinking alcohol was prohibited, but drinking coffee was acceptable. Thus, coffee became the best-loved beverage among all other beverages.

There is a term called “Bean Belt”. Bean belt is the area where coffee trees grow. It is the area between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world. It is one of the most consumed beverages. September 29 is celebrated as the “National Coffee Day” in the United States. Nevertheless, I celebrate it every day by drinking at least two cups of coffee.