Tag: Italy

Sports Culture +++ Why we do sports +++ Influence of sports +++ Absolutely Intercultural 281 +++

Hello and welcome to show 281 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”. Today, we are going to shed some light on the “Sports Culture” which is a non geographically determined culture that people from all over the world can be part of . From our international guests, we will hear what can motivate or inspire people to do sports. What are the values and beliefs that sports people share? Is it all about physical health and strength? Or is it actually about mental well-being? Some sports people go for the satisfaction produced by accomplishment. Some go for the collectivist idea of team spirit and equality and inclusion, working against discrimination based on gender or race.

Perhaps, the running and sweating is only a side issue and the sports culture is really about cultural values such as team spirit, resilience and shared achievement which would mean that sports have a much greater impact on us and on society than we may think.

absolutely impactful

In our first story “absolutely impactful”, we will listen to Brian from India. Brian shares with us how playing sports can bring amazing outcomes to people, especially when we look at mental health. He says, doing sports makes him feel at his best.             

absolutely competetive

In our second story, “absolutely competitive”, we will listen to Steph from Canada. Steph shares with us how she has played hockey for years and how it can be hard being the only woman on the field. No matter what, Steph never gave up, and biting comments from male players even encouraged her to become more competitive.

absolutely productive

In our third story, “absolutely productive”, we will listen to Albano from Italy. Albano tells us how he does sports to redirect his negative energy to something productive and manages to get both toxins and negative ideas out of his body and mind.

What about you? Are you part of this sports culture? What or who inspired you to start and what keeps you motivated? What benefits does it have in your professional and personal life? Do you believe sports may be able to solve problems that our politicians cannot? Or perhaps you are more critical of this culture? We would love to hear more perspectives on this topic. Get in touch, and feel free to share your unique story with us here on this podcast.

Write a comment or mail us, we could do a follow-up interview with you in one of our next shows. On our web page, absolutely-intercultural.com, you can get more information about this show and previous episodes, and you can leave comments. And if you enjoyed the show, please like us on Facebook too.   

By the way, did you know we are also on iTunes or Apple Podcasts? You can subscribe to us there for free and give us a rating and a comment. 

Our next show will be coming to you on 6 January.

Until then – think about what the sports culture means to you! –

Bleiben Sie absolut interkulturell! 

The host of this show is: Dr. Laurent Borgmann

Chief Editor: Natalia Obikhod

Assistant Editors: Kim Kyeongjin, Faisal  Faisal

 

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absolutely intercultural 39 +++ international family life +++ bi-lingualism and bi-culturalism +++

Is it always an advantage to grow up with more than one language? And what happens if a child does not speak the language of one of its parents? To answer these, and many other questions, we have interviewed four people from very different backgrounds, who all have in common that they grew up either bi-culturally, bi-lingually or both.

absolutely bi-lingual
First you’ll hear about a woman whose parents had grown up speaking English and German, who of course herself grew up with these two languages and now raises her little daughter the same way.
Then Peter from England talks about what it was like to grow up with an Austrian mother and an English father in England. And how that changed the whole look and feel of their house in England.

absolutely mixed
Right after that we go south to Italy, where Manuel, whose father is Italian, tells us why he had to take a beginners’ course in the Italian language a few years ago, and what, as a young boy, got on his nerves when he was visiting his family in Italy.
And for the last part of the show we go even further south to Brazil. Stefanie also doesn’t really talk the language of her mother’s family, but she does love to visit them in Brazil.
The next show will be coming to you on the 21st of September from Anne Fox in Denmark.

So long…stay tuned!

The host of this show is: Dr. Laurent Borgmann

Edited and co-hosted by: Karsten Kneese

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absolutely intercultural 37 +++ Leaving it all behind +++ Sabbatical +++ Opera in Thailand +++

Leaving it all behind – Sabbatical year – Opera in Thailand

Leave it all behindWe reserve a special welcome to all our new listeners in Africa, South America and Asia. As you can see on our cluster map we are getting more and more hits from these parts of the world, and it’s great to have you with us on our little intercultural journey.

Well, it’s August, and at least in the northern hemisphere the holiday season is in full swing. “Holidays” – even when I only see the written word in an email message, it quickly seems to create pleasant pictures in my mind. I immediately think about beaches, mountains, islands and maybe you, too, you think about your favourite places? And, when you are on a holiday, don’t you sometimes develop fantasies about leaving you normal life behind and not going back? About getting away from it all for good? Or at least for a little longer than just a holiday? Well, in this episode we have interviewed three people who have done exactly that – but all in their different ways.

absolutely itchy feet
We will start with Jens Alderath, one of our very internationally mobile students, who first went to Australia for 8 month for his practical semester 2 years ago, then went to South Africa twice since he returned, after that spent some weeks in Austria and Ireland and is as we are speaking planning now to go back to South Africa after he will have finished his studies. Although he is only 23 years old, Jens seems to have become a “world citizen”, but what do his family and friends think about the constant series of farewells?

absolutely musical
Alessandro from Italy tells us what brought him to the opera in Thailand three years ago and why his life has changed from heavy metal to classical music.

absolutely free
But what would happen if Alessandros job became so stressful and tiring that he wanted to take a longer break? Could he take a whole year off? Well, this is exactly what Ralf Klatt did. Ralf is a teacher, and he took a so-called “sabbatical year” to get away from his daily routine in school. He toured the USA for three month, with only one companion – his motorcycle.

absolutely lifelong
Are you looking for realistic ways to improve your English and have some fun at the same time? Have you tried watching films in the original versions? Well, then this will strike a chord with you. Lisa Martin, one of our students here at the RheinAhrCampus, has come up with some great ideas.
The next show will be coming to you on the 24th of August from Anne Fox in Denmark.

So long…stay tuned!

The host of this show is: Dr. Laurent Borgmann

Edited and co-hosted by: Karsten Kneese

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