Earlier this month, the college hosted a meeting enabling students to catch up with aMcDanielCollegealumnus. Estephania Luraschi was aMcDanielCollegestudent majoring in Political Science. She graduated in 2009 and is currently working on her master’s program in “Development Management and Policy” atGeorgetownUniversity’sBuenos Airescampus.

As the current students of McDaniel sat around the alumnus, pizzas were offered while the students past and present discussed the prospects of continuing their education after completing their bachelors degree.

Estephania had several pieces of advice for all those who are planning on applying for a master’s program aft

er graduation. Firstly she advised the students to begin getting in touch with universities in order to know if any specific courses would be required for admission, as she said thatGeorgetownUniversityasked her to take a few courses in economics which were unrelated to her major, but required by the university.

Secondly, she advised that students begin to research what field or specific program they would wish to enrol in. She said that she was overwhelmed with the different choices available and so she recommends that students begin researching and understanding the situation early on rather than remaining undecided after graduation, or even worse, to enrol and remain stuck in a program that you dislike.

Lastly, I asked her if starting a master’s program was hard for her after graduating and she responded by saying that she never had trouble with studying and so it was not a hard transition for her. I guess we should all start thinking beyond McDaniel and our Bachelors degrees. We really should start preparing ourselves if we wish to continue our education after McDaniel.

Can you imagine a world without war? I personally have not been able to do so but strongly believe it is possible so I was delighted to hear of a workshop offered by Professor Weiss that addressed precisely this issue, entitled “Imagine a world without war”.

Meeting up at school on a Saturday afternoon in February for more than four hours, none of the participants knew what to expect – neither did the organizers who conducted the workshop for the very first time. Around 20 people from different countries, from all age groups came together to discuss what seems to be the inherent wish of every human being: peace. Before we discussed a world without war, each one of us got the chance to talk about their experience with war and how it has affected their lives. Each story was moving and it was amazing how honest and open everyone who shared their stories was, just as it was remarkable how nobody was judged for their thoughts and opinions.

We then collected thoughts and words that we associated with the title of the workshop. There were more ideas than one could possibly list here but they included words such as “no fear”, “tolerance” and “education”. After this we looked for words that came into our mind when thinking of how to achieve a world without war. We probably came up with more than 50 thoughts within a few minutes including “less power to corporate lobbys” and “whitewash war” and at the end it was clear to all of us, that there seemed to be not one person who really wanted war.

The last task was by far the most fun. We were put into random groups and had to create a four-picture cartoon on how to remove war from our world. Working in smaller groups with randomly chosen people was a lot of fun and we had the chance to discuss the ideas we had discussed earlier in the workshop in more detail. Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time and most asked for follow-up or even regular meetings in the future to discuss the issue since it was very difficult to discuss the huge wave of information discussed.

One thought that came up in the workshop was the idea of war as an established institution that can be abolished and that many military personal see as outdated. This thought struck me a lot. Can I imagine a world without war now? To be honest, I find it very hard to. Do I believe that it is possible, yes I do – and after the workshop I do see an even greater chance that we can come up with a solution if we just train our brains to do so.

At the beginning of the workshop we watched and listened to Bob Marley’s “One Love” on youtube performed by “Playing for Change” – an amazing project by a great number of musicians from all over the world. If you want to be inspired to imagine a world without peace, have a look at what they do.

On Monday, February 20 at 7:00 in Room 220, there will be a screening of the Croatian comedy, What Is A Man Without A Moustache?, directed by Hrvoje Hribar. Set in post-warCroatia, the plot involves several threads, as a family profits from a darkly comic windfall, and the town priest struggles to please an aggressive bishop by scrounging up the money to rebuild a bell tower, all the while struggling to keep his vows as an attractive young woman with an eye on him arrives in the parish. The film is based on Ante Tomić’s acclaimed 2000 novel.

All students in College International programs are invited to attend.

Advent starts four weeks before Christmas (December 25) and it goes on up until Christmas. It started in the 4^th century and in the past people went on a fast during the period. This is meant that people did not have noisy celebrations and there were no marriages taking place during the fast. People generally stopped fasting from the middle of the 20^th century.

Between the 19^th and 20^th century it became a tradition to make a wreath –

a flower arrangement consisting of a circular band of foliage or flowers for ornamental purposes, which is usually made from pine wood and decorated with four candles. Three of the candles are purple and one is pink, and it is very commonly used by Catholics. On the first, second and fourth Sunday they light the purple candles because it signifies repentance and on the third day they light the pink candle which signifies happiness that comes with the birth of Christ. Nowadays different other colours of candles are used and each of the candles have to be lit each Sunday before Christmas.

InHungary, every family celebrates Advent by lighting the candles together on each Sunday until Christmas. And the wreath can be bought in flower shops rather than making it.

By Alfonso Majetic

Christmas is fast upon us and the diverse ways of celebrating this holiday around the world are fascinating. On this occasion, I want to share with you how the South American country of Venezuelacelebrates this time of the year. December is a month of happiness for the Venezuelans and they enjoy it with loud music and delicious traditional dishes.

There are numerous cultural, gastronomical and musical expressions that identify the celebration of Christmas in Venezuela. So if you ever go to visit this Latin American nation during this holidays, take a look at the most important traditions of this country:

Aguinaldos is the type of music that Venezuelans listen during this time of the year. The word “aguinaldo” means, expected gift. This tradition goes back to the streets of Venezuelan capital Caracas during the 30′s when the aguinalderos – the performers of this music – invaded the streets to sing to baby Jesus. The families around the area used to give them sweet papaya and donkey milk in return for their beautiful melodies. Nowadays this tradition has changed. Aguinaldos are only sung in churches to honor baby Jesus and the aguinaldos that are sang in the street are now called parrandas. The parrandas, unlike the aguinaldos, are not only dedicated to baby Jesus but also to other Christmas traditions.  Parrandas are always played using a cuatro – a four-stringed Venezuelan guitar.  Unlike aguinaldos, the people frequently dance and sing along with the main parrandas.

Pesebre has its origins in the Spanish traditions brought by the colonizers and their Christian religion. The pesebre is the representation and cult for the nativity and especially for baby Jesus. This tradition starts on the first day of December and consists of the original representation of the nativity. Using small figurines to represent the Virgin Mary, Baby Jesus, Saint John and the three wise men, each Venezuelan home recreates this sacred moment in order to honor the birth of Christ. The originality plays a very important role in this tradition. Figurines made of everything from matchbooks to gold are used to honor this important moment. Finally, as a general rule, it is common to see that after the pesebre is created the face of baby Jesus is covered by a piece of cotton that will only be removed on Christmas night.

Hallaca, adopted by Venezuelans as their main Christmas dish, is probably one of the few elements that is not related to the Christian religion or the Spanish colonizers in this time of the year. Hallaca is a tradition left by the Indians and Africans who were the slaves of the Spanish in the colonization. The word hallaca comes from the Indian dialect guaraní and it means to mix. This tradition stems from a colonization practice whereby all the leftovers of the Spanish were given to the Africans and Indians to eat. The slaves found a way to put all these portions of old food inside a tortilla made by corn that was finally cooked inside a plantain leaf and so the hallaca was born. Today, despite all the negative connotations that you can give to this dish Venezuelans see it as an element that represents how mixed our race is. The plantain leaf represents our African heritage, corn flour our Indian heritage and all the meat and spices come within the realm of our European influence.

Overall, we can say that Venezuelan Christmas is a mixture of the traditions and influences of our ancestors. The unique way in which Venezuelans celebrate this holiday is full of happiness and joy. So to you amazing readers, and as the Venezuelan that I am, I want to send you a big hug and wish you a very Happy Christmas.

For everyone from a Christian culture Christmas is a very important holiday, and there’s no exception when it comes to Moldovans.Moldovais a small country situated in the eastern part ofEurope, where’s there been great influence from the Soviet regime, and like in many eastern European countries the religion is Christian Orthodox. This holy day makes us, as well as many other people, look at things differently, to accept and open our souls to our closest ones. There are a lot of similar traditions around the globe like the decoration of the Christmas tree that also happens inMoldova, as well as other traditions related specifically withMoldova. It is these special traditions that we’ll focus on here.

One of the major traditions is the Christmas fast which lasts for 40 days before Christmas, whereby people do not eat meat or any food that comes from animals like milk, eggs, and so on. Then on the morning of December 20, on Saint Ignat’s Day, the Christmas pig is cut up. No food is touched or eaten until the priest blesses the food. It is a more like a rite which still lives on in the majority of the Moldavian villages. The rite is a sacrifice to God which dies and is reborn. On this day no woman can work because it is considered a sin.

On Christmas Day, young men traditionally between 18 and 20 years old, but also maybe younger or older, sing carols, and also for New Year. It is a complex mix of good wishes, movement, dance and gestures. Some say it is a magical period so that what is wished for you or others will come true; so it is a tradition to wish people good luck for the following year, as well as prosperity and plenty in everything, plus many other positive wishes. For this event people get dressed in national costume. The carol singer first asks if the person accepts them or not, if yes they are thanked with sweets, pastry (bread and so on) and even money. If not welcomed, than all the good wishes and “magical effects”, which they bring to your house are turned away and will not come into your house.

Christmas or Craciun as we call it is a mythological God in parallel with the Roman God Saturn and the Persian parallel Mithra. Santa Claus in Romanian is called Mos Craciun, translated like Old Man Craciun which shows his age. In these carols they talk about how good he is to the people and how much good he brings to us. In the short term, Christmas is held for three days from December 25 till December 28, while in the long term Christmas is held for 19 days from December 20 till January 7. A curiosity of our traditions is that there was a change in the calendars from the old calendar (Julian calendar) to the new one (Gregorian calendar) so they could adjust the year cycle, since the split between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches there was a shift between these holidays this is why in our country we have the “New Christmas” which is on the 25^th of December and the “Old Christmas” which is on the 7^th of January. Also there is the New Year as there is the Old New Year.

One of the most important attributes of Christmas and I think I won`t be wrong in saying in every house on the earth is the Christmas tree. In our country the tree became very popular after the Second World War. Before that, pinewood was used at weddings as a symbol or at burials of young men or young women who hadn`t yet got married. The Christmas tree traditionally comes from German pagan traditions dating back to the 19^th century. The tradition today is explained that the pinewood is a symbol of Butucul (the dead God) since pinewood is an evergreen tree and doesn`t die. On the top of the tree is the Star which symbolizes the star which showed the way for the three kings where Jesus was born. These traditions are also known inRomania, Serbo-Croatian and Latvian cultures. In schools they sing and dance around the tree. Children wait for the presents brought to them by Mos Craciun (Santa Claus).

It is a holiday which has an impact on everyone’s attitudes. It tells us to be closer to our family, to be more positive to the ones who surround us, to think positively about this moment and the future. Also it reminds us that there is nothing more important than the warmth of the family. 

ThoughEgypthas a majority Muslim population, Christmas is still a very important holiday in the country, celebrated by both Muslims and Christians. The holiday gains a special importance as well because of the time the “Holy Family” spent in the country with the infant Jesus.

Many Muslims may not celebrate the holiday in full, but instead pick and choose certain aspects of the holiday to celebrate, in much the same way Christians join in the celebrations of major Muslim holidays. In my family for example, we would always have a Christmas tree with gifts at Christmas yet we would not celebrate the actually birth of Christ.

The Egyptian Christian church is Coptic Orthodox which means that Egyptian Copts celebrate Christmas on the 7th of January rather than on the 25th, similar to the Russian Orthodox Christians. Copts believe that their first pope was Saint Mark who introduced Christianity intoEgyptand had his residency inAlexandria. Today, the Pope’s residence is inCairoand the service is held in the Coptic language in Saint Mark’s Cathedral.

During Christmas, though many people go shopping for the holiday, it is not as commercialised as in the West. I believe this is intentionally done by the Coptic community to keep the holiday special. While you will still find the streets covered in Christmas lights and belly dancing Santas in store fronts, but still, shops are nowhere nearly as crowded as you would imagine them to be. Most Christians do their Christmas shopping in special Christmas bazaars that donate their profits to charity organisations.

On Christmas Eve, people go to church wearing new clothes. The service lasts until midnight, though some services last till 4 am. People then go home usually to eat some Fata, a traditional Christmas meal which is made of bread, rice, garlic and beef. Though Fata might be a Christmas meal, it is also very popular with almost all Egyptians, including the one writing this article.

For the lovers of energetic sport, the open air, racing and a party atmosphere, theBudapesthorse racingparkofKincsemis the place to be for a nice weekend. Located on an 84 hectare space,KincsemParkis used for both thoroughbred and harness racing.

Thoroughbred horses are specially crossbred over the years specifically for racing and they are ridden directly from their back, while Standardbred horses are used for harness racing in which the horse pulls a two-wheel cart behind it which seats the jockey.

The park is reachable by the red metro at the Pillangó metro stop, and an underpass leads you directly into the free entry KincsemParknamed after the Hungarian champion horse of the 19^th century “Kincsem”, its record of wins in European races is yet to be matched since then.

Like any other major racecourse bets are taken and you might just get lucky if you bet right. Going for less than 1 Euros or 200 forints, specialized bookmakers take the different bets for harness race which are for Saturdays and the different lengths of gallops which are held on Sundays, inexpensive but it’s always good to know at the back of your mind to place bets in moderation.

The atmosphere is always energetic as pounding hooves, muscle and man race to conquer the course and cross the finish line for a crowd which eagerly cheers them on the back of their toes in anticipation in a venue known for its inexpensive liquor and beer. There is a great flow of beer and sausage rolls to go with it in the electric atmosphere of old Austro-Hungarian glory.

The biggest event of the year is known as Ügetőszilveszter on the afternoon of New Years Eve and Hungarians are always eager to storm into Kincsem, especially since the revived interest in the sport since the Magyar nation produced another champion thoroughbred known as “Overdose” since 2007. Bought by Zoltán Mikóczy rather cheaply at an auction, fortune has smiled upon its owner as Overdose went on a winning streak right at the beginning of its career from its first twelve races in 2007.

Horses, like athletes, are symbols of national pride which carry the hopes of the people of nations either in the context of competitive sports or social needs. The Hungarian Champion “Overdose” certainly has been such; bought for a pittance and offered 6.5 million dollars for just a few months later, but the owner refused to sell. “You don’t sell dreams” he was quoted as saying.

Who knows you might just be betting on a champion when you visitKincsemPark, or even more, experiencing the birth of a new champion in the world of horse racing on your visit.

As you all know, we Hungarians like abusing our tummies with heavy dishes. These two basic facts don’t tend to change come Christmas. Here is a three-course traditional Hungarian Christmas Menu.

For Starters, we eat Fish Soup. To make it is not so complicated: you take 1.6 kilograms of carp, you wash and clean it, remove the heads and fins. You cut it up into quite thick slices and put salt on it. You wash the paprika and the tomatoes (two pcs of each) and cut them in half. Take five onions, cut them up and put them into a pan with two liters of water. You add the heads and fins of the fish, the vegetables, some salt and boil the mixture. After that you cook it for about 2 hours.

When you’re done with cooking this mixture, you strain it, add two tablespoons of red paprika to it and the previously sliced fish. You cook this for another ten minutes, stirring very carefully so you don’t mash up the fish.

For the Main Course, my all-time favorite: Stuffed Cabbage. Take about one kilo of sour cabbage, and wash it with cold water. You should also buy about eight-ten sour cabbage leaves and wash those, too.  Next, cut two onions, one clove of garlic and 50 grams of smoked bacon into small pieces. In a big pan, fry the bacon in oil and add it to the 400 grams of minced meat. Fry the onions in the pan you cooked the bacon in, and add half of it to the minced meat. To the other half of the onions, you add one tsp of red paprika and 1 dl water and half of the sour cabbage. You add the garlic, 80 grams of rice, one egg, one tsp of red paprika, a pinch of cumin and marjoram and some salt and pepper to the minced meat. You mix it in very thoroughly and form little balls of it. You wrap these balls into the cabbage leaves. When you’re done, you put these wraps into the large pan, onto the half of sour cabbage, and cover it with the other half. You put the lid on and cook it for one hour. When the one hour is up, you take out the wraps, thicken the sour cabbage and put the wraps back in. This is an incredibly delicious dish. Trust me!

Last, but not least, we have dessert. We call it “Beigli,” and it is basically a roll. This online recipe explains how to make it perfectly:

http://www.grouprecipes.com/31182/hungarian-beigli.html.

Jó Étvágyat és Boldog Karácsonyt!