the afs press (dec '10)

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The Official Student Newspaper of the American Farm School The AFS Press December 2010 AFS Students Travel the Globe! ΠΡΟΓΡΑΜΜΑ ΑΝΤΑΛΛΑΓΩΝ - ΟΥΓΓΑΡΙΑ Από τις 24/6 έως τις 2/7 του 2010 6 μαθητές της περσινής τάξης Α ΓΕΛ με συνοδό - καθηγήτρια την κα Χει μ άρα , φιλόλογο, επισκεφτήκαμε ένα γεωργικό σχολείο στην πόλη Kiskoros, που απέχει δύο περίπου ώρες από τη Βουδαπέστη. Είχαμε την ευκαιρία να ξεναγηθούμε σε διάφορα αξιοθέατα της περιοχής αλλά και της Βουδαπέστης, να κάνουμε πρακτική άσκηση στο αγρόκτημα του σχολείου που πήρε το όνομα από τον εθνικό ποιητή της Ουγγαρίας Petofi. Γεινκά, οι εντυπώσεις μας ήταν πολύ όμορφες και ξεχωριστές για όλους μας διότι ήταν μια καινούρια εμπειρία που δεν είχαμε ξαναζήσει στο παρελθόν . Συστήνου μ ε ανεπιφύλακτα το πρόγραμμα αυτό σε κάθε μαθητή που τον ενδιαφέρει να γνωρίσει νέους τόπους και παραδόσεις. AFS Students Travel to Sweden In the early morning of August 22nd, Mr. Pougouras, Ms. Chism, Alex Dimitriou, Debbie Giadpoudzi, Dina Grigoriadou, Dina Kaltsidou and I took off from the Thessaloniki airport, headed to Stockholm, Sweden. After hours of traveling by plane, train and minibus, we finally arrived at Kvinnerstaskolan, a school in the city of Orebro. Our first thought was to settle into our rooms. The rules of the dormitory were a little different than ours. Boys and girls lived in the same buildings, there was no study hall, and the students could stay up at night as long as they wanted. Our first week passed with meeting the Kvinnerstaskolan students and staff, touring the school facilities and nearby areas and attending lessons like forestry, animal care and gardening. We also went to a nearby lake for fishing and swimming. We spent the weekend at the school all alone because it was closed. It wasn’t the best experience, but we did have a nice meal at a Greek restaurant with two Swedish teachers, and we sang Greek songs on our walk home. The second week we attended trotting training (a sport with chariots attached to horses) and watched a race of the same sport. We also went to Stockholm and stayed with different host families, which was wonderful. Visiting Sweden was an unforgettable experience. We learned and did so many things while we were there. But the best thing we all experienced was the bonding that occurred between us during those two weeks abroad. - Alexander Pantazis Miteloudis Sweden Hungary Find the newsletter online on the Library’s facebook page! - 1 -

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The AFS Press, the School's student newspaper as released on December '10 for the staff and students of the School. Enjoy!

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The Official Student Newspaper of the American Farm School

The AFS PressDecember 2010

AFS Students Travel the Globe!

ΠΡΟΓΡΑΜΜΑ ΑΝΤΑΛΛΑΓΩΝ - ΟΥΓΓΑΡΙΑ

Από τις 24/6 έως τις 2/7 του 2010 6 µαθητές της περσινής τάξης Α’ ΓΕΛ µε συνοδό-καθηγήτρια την κα Χειµάρα, φιλόλογο, επισκεφτήκαµε ένα γεωργικό σχολείο στην πόλη Kiskoros, που απέχει δύο περίπου ώρες από τη Βουδαπέστη. Είχαµε την ευκαιρία να ξεναγηθούµε σε διάφορα αξιοθέατα της περιοχής αλλά και της Βουδαπέστης, να κάνουµε πρακτική άσκηση στο αγρόκτηµα του σχολείου που πήρε το όνοµα από τον εθνικό ποιητή της Ουγγαρίας Petofi. Γεινκά, οι εντυπώσεις µας ήταν πολύ όµορφες και ξεχωριστές για όλους µας διότι ήταν µια καινούρια εµπειρία που δεν είχαµε ξαναζήσει στο παρελθόν. Συστήνουµε ανεπιφύλακτα το πρόγραµµα αυτό σε κάθε µαθητή που τον ενδιαφέρει να γνωρίσει νέους τόπους και παραδόσεις.

AFS Students Travel to Sweden

In the early morning of August 22nd, Mr. Pougouras, Ms. Chism, Alex Dimitriou, Debbie Giadpoudzi, Dina Grigoriadou, Dina Kaltsidou and I took off from the Thessaloniki airport, headed to Stockholm, Sweden. After hours of traveling by plane, train and minibus, we finally arrived at Kvinnerstaskolan, a school in the city of Orebro. Our first thought was to settle into our rooms. The rules of the dormitory were a little different than ours. Boys and girls lived in the same buildings, there was no study hall, and the students could stay up at night as long as they wanted. Our first week passed with meeting the Kvinnerstaskolan students and staff, touring the school facilities and nearby areas and attending lessons like forestry, animal care and gardening. We also went to a nearby lake for fishing and swimming. We spent the weekend at the school all alone because it was closed. It wasn’t the best experience, but we did have a nice meal at a Greek restaurant with two Swedish teachers, and we sang Greek songs on our walk home. The second week we attended trotting training (a sport with chariots attached to horses) and watched a race of the same sport. We also went to Stockholm and stayed with different host families, which was wonderful. Visiting Sweden was an unforgettable experience. We learned and did so many things while we were there. But the best thing we all experienced was the bonding that occurred between us during those two weeks abroad. - Alexander Pantazis Miteloudis

Sweden

Hungary

Find the newsletter online on the Library’s facebook page!

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We are sure you can’t—that’s why we are here. Ok, it was crazy from the first day until the last. After spending two days sightseeing (and SHOPPING!) in New York City, we went to camp. CRS. A leadership camp for international campers located at Clinton, Rhinebeck, New York, 7.838 km away from Greece. We are not going to lie; The first days were hard. There were only 4 showers for 62 campers! But we had each other. We slept in tents and every night we had fights with millions of mosquitoes. The hiking trip was a really amazing and challenging experience for both of us. We hiked two mountains in four days. After that we felt like we could do anything.

The most interesting thing at camp was teaching the rest of the campers the Greek language (You cannot imagine how many times Marianthi felt at home when she was l i s tening to the phrase “Marianthi skase!”). By the end of the camp, Asian, African, European

and American girls were able to sing Greek songs with us! Every day, a camper was in charge of the whole camp—the “sachem” as we called them. It wasn’t easy, but it was educational and challenging. Actually, everything was challenging about this experience. It was life-changing; the problem is that we can’t explain exactly why. You can only understand it if you experience it.

CanyouimaginewhatwouldhappenifMarianthiandDimitrawereintheUSAtogetherfortwomonths??byMarianthiTagiliandDimitraChina

New York

Can you spell it? We can!

“Thanks to a program of the American Farm School, three other AFS students and I spent one month last summer at the University

of Mississippi. I chose to participate in this program because I wanted a chance to visit the USA and improve my English. It is an ideal program for people who want to live in the USA and experience its culture. The location of the University of Mississippi is perfect for people who love jazz because it is in the hometown of this music. The program fulfilled my expectations; I had a great time visiting the USA, improving my English and befriending people from other cultures. Additionally, the food was great. I would recommend this program to other students because it is educational and the staff is kind and helpful. Moreover, it is a great chance to visit the USA.” - Tryfon Bouvoukidis

“Last summer Tryfon Boukouvidis, Vivian Sotiriou, Panagiotis Topolidis and I visited the Univers i ty of Miss iss ippi . The

experience was amazing even though we sometimes felt homesick. We met new people from other countries like Venezuela, Afghanistan, China, Korea, Japan, Brazil, Ecuador and the USA. At the beginning I was bored, but when the classes started it was great. We got to know each other and enjoyed diverse activities on campus like swimming, basketball and gymnastics. Every night we gathered in the lobby of our dorms, ordered pizza and had fun with the other students. We also went to a mall, took a ride on a riverboat and visited Elvis Presley’s house “Graceland.” We took lots and lots of pictures. I am going to miss this place and I will remember it for ever!” - Olga Tsioxari

Olga says...

Mississippi

Tryfon says...

Our Trip to Mississippi

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Έλληνας στις Ηνωµένες Πολιτείες

Το καλοκαίρι που µας πέρασε συµµετείχα σε ένα πρόγραµµα ανταλλαγών που ονοµάζεται 4H. Στο πλαίσιο του προγράµµατος επισκέφθηκα αγροτικές οικογένειες στη Μοντάνα και το Κολοράντο και έµεινα µαζί τους έξι εβδοµάδες. Η εµπειρία αυτή θα µου µείνει αξέχαστη γιατί γνώρισα καινούργιους ανθρώπους, έκανα νέους φίλους, βελτίωσα τα αγγλικά µου και έµαθα να χορεύω αµερικάνικους χορούς. Πέρασα θαυµάσια και κάποιους από αυτούς που γνώρισα στο ταξίδι µου δέθηκα πραγµατικά και ουσιαστικά. Μάλιστα µου υποσχέθηκαν ότι θα µε επισκεφθούν στην αυτό το καλοκαίρι

στην Ελλάδα. Με εντυπωσίασε το γεγονός ότι όλοι ήταν χαρούµενοι και φιλόξενοι. Ποτέ δεν µε άφηναν να κουραστώ και πάντοτε φρόντιζαν να µη µου λείψει τίποτε. Για’ αυτό και όταν ήρθε η στιγµή να κάνω τις βαλίτσες µου για να επιστρέψω στην Ελλάδα ένιωσα σα να επρόκειτο να αφήσω στην Αµερική ένα κοµµάτι από τον εαυτό µου.

- Nikos Bertsimas

Αυστρία 2010

Δύο εβδοµάδες του καλοκαιριού µας τις περάσαµε στην Αυστρία. Ξεκινήσαµε Δευτέρα µεσηµέρι από το αεροδρόµιο, όλοι µαζί! Ήµασταν εκεί απογευµατάκι. Μας περίµενε στο αεροδρόµιο ένας καθηγητής τους ο οποίος µας πήγε στη σχολή, όπου µας περίµενε ένας µπουφές µε διάφορα φαγητά. Την επόµενη µέρα ξεναγηθήκαµε σε όλους τους χώρους της σχολής. Επισκεφτήκαµε το γαλακτοκοµείο, το ξυλουργείο και τα δάση που βρίσκονταν γύρω από τη σχολή. Επίσης, µας δόθηκε η ευκαιρία να φτιάξουµε τυρί. Κάναµε πολλές εκδροµές και γνωρίσαµε διάφορα µέρη της Αυστρίας, επίσης επισκεφτήκαµε άλλα χωριά, άλλα σχολεία και την Βιέννη. Η Αυστρία είναι γενικά µια πολύ όµορφη χώρα και η διαµονή µας στη σχολή ήταν πολύ ευχάριστη, καθώς και τα παιδιά φέρονταν φιλικά σε µας αλλά και οι καθηγητές µας βοηθούσαν και µας φέρονταν µε τον καλύτερο τρόπο. Ήταν µια τόσο όµορφη εµπειρία, που πιστεύω πως θα µείνει σε όλους µας αξέχαστη. - Artemis Papadopoulou

Montana

Austria

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Take Care of Our Planet Nowadays the existence of a huge e n v i r o n m e n t a l c r i s i s i s k n o w n worldwide. Our planet is facing a lot of problems that have been caused by human action. Although there are some organizations trying to protect the environment, the majority of the global population is not concerned about these issues. The Earth’s problems are many. O n e b a s i c p r o b l e m i s t h a t o f biodiversity. A lot of species have disappeared, and nature’s balance has been disturbed. Moreover, air pollution is a serious environmental problem. The ef fects of a ir pol lut ion are the greenhouse effect, acid rain and ozone depletion. The greenhouse effect contributes to global warming. It also causes the melting of ice and glaciers,

resulting in sea level rise and threatening coastal countries. Acid rain, rain with polluted gases, can also cause harm to the environment. It can destroy ancient monuments and crops, pollute water and even cause human health problems. Seas, lakes and rivers are often polluted by industries. Industrial waste containing small amounts of radioactive materials and heavy metals end up in bodies of water, causing oil slicks and health problems for people and animals. Finally, ground pollution is the destruction of the earth’s thin layer of healthy productive soil, where much of our food is grown. Consequently, we eat polluted vegetables and fruits. Taking all the above into account, I believe that the Earth faces a lot of problems. We must think maturely and help our planet! - Dimitris Passalidis

Opinion

Fur is a cloth often considered to be beautiful. But most people are not aware of the fact that animals are suffering so that some women can feel elegant. These animals are skinned alive— their fur is taken off them while they’re still alive, and they suffer in pain until they finally die. In my view, this couldn’t be more cruel and inhuman. What kind of person would do such a thing and why? It would be much more appropriate if they killed the animals first and did not torment them this way. So ladies, next time you want to buy a real fur, know that wearing something that used to be alive is not fashionable. - Michaela Orfanidou

Advice from OlgaHere is some advice from me to all of you:1) Stay true to yourself.2) Don’t waste your life for nothing. Just live your life.3) Stay bizarre, if you are. To be strange is good.4) Don’t hear the others. Do your job.5) Learn from your mistakes.6) Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.- Olga Tialiou

The Truth About Fur

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Foreign Faces on Campus

Merhaba! :) My name is N a z l i . I a m f r o m K i r k l a r e l i , T u r k e y. I graduated in June 2010 f r o m t h e E n g l i s h L a n g u a g e Te a c h i n g department of Uludag Un ivers i t y in Bursa , Turkey. I have been in Greece since October and I am teaching Turkish at AFS. I enjoy teaching here and I love my students! I believe that I will make my

students more familiar with my culture and interested in language and we will be speaking only in Turkish by summer! :)

Γεια σας! I'm Kate from Montana, and I'm here on a Fulbright scholarship to teach English in Greece. I graduated from Linfield College in 2009 with a major in English and a minor in French, and when I return to the States, I'll begin studying for my Master's in English at Boise State University. I l ike running, reading,

writing, acting, and, most of all, I love to cook and eat! I’ve had a blast here so far and am looking forward to many more adventures!!

Hi! I’m Carrie and I’m one of the high school interns this year—I help with classes, coach the girls soccer team, and organize events for students. I ’m from Connecticut, in the northeast part of the United States. I graduated in June from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire with a degree in Environmental Studies and a minor in Geography; my interests in teach ing and sus ta inab le agriculture are what led me to the American Farm School. I also love sports, traveling, reading, writing, playing the guitar, singing and cooking.

Hey! My name is Ashley and I'm the college intern this year at AFS. I am from Florida. I just graduated in May from Florida State University with a degree in Religion and Classics. When I go back to the United States I will move to North Carolina and begin my Masters in Divinity at Duke University. I love playing sports and anything to do with the water. I really love kayaking, swimming, rock climbing, sewing and exploring the world.

Yeia sas! I am Micah, one of the secondary school interns. I grew up in Kentucky and graduated from Berea College in 2008 with a degree in Mathematics. I have three main reasons for coming to the farm school: I love to travel and Greece has always been a country I wanted to see; I love teaching and interacting with students; and I love learning about agricultural development in foreign countries. I also like, reading, writing, playing the violin and guitar, playing sports and doing any outdoor adventure. I look forward to getting to know the students better and cannot wait to go on more home visits.

Hi, I’m Matt and I come form Havre, Montana. I have lived in Montana my whole life and plan to settle down there when I get back. I'm here on a 4-H trip called IFYE. It's an international exchange program in the States for young adults. I like to do many things outdoors. Camping, hiking, fishing, and hunting are my top interests. I also hang out a lot with my friends. Lastly, I work two jobs to keep myself very busy and entertain myself by working on cars and building metal sculptures.

My name is Kathy Li Yue, and I’m a Masters student at Peking University, China. Now I’m teaching Chinese language and culture at AFS. It’s a wonderful internship in Greece! During these months, I hope to learn more about my students and Greek culture. I hope my students can visit China one day!

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Campus EventsΕπέτειος 28ης ΟκτωβρίουΗ φετινή γιορτή της 28ης Οκτωβρίου δ ιοργανώθηκε από τους µαθητές των τελειόφοιτων τάξεων και παρουσιάστηκε στο Ασέµπλι Χολ. Περιελάµβανε θεατρικά δρώµενα, βίντεο, ποιήµατα και τραγούδια από τον καθηγητή και µουσικό κ. Βουρβαχάκη. Στόχοι της γιορτής ήταν η όσο το δυνατόν καλύτερη παρουσίαση των γεγονότων του Ελληνοϊταλικού πολέµου, της γιορτής του Αγίου Δηµητρίου, αλλά και η συνειδητοποίηση των µαθητών για τη χρησιµότητα και την αναγκαιότητα των σχολικών γιορτών για τις οποίες µέρα µε τη µέρα ατονεί το ενδιαφέρον.

Γιορτή Πολυτεχνείου 2010Στις 17 Νοεµβρίου πραγµατοποιήθηκε η γιορτή του Πολυτεχνείου από µαθητές των τελειόφοιτων τάξεων της Αµερικανικής Γεωργικής Σχολής. Τα παιδιά µίλησαν µε ενθουσιασµό για το νόηµα της επετείου, αλλά και για την ανάγκη της νεολαίας να αγωνιστεί και σήµερα για καλύτερες συνθήκες διαβίωσης, καλύτερη εκπαίδευση και δικαίωµα σε µια δικαιότερη κοινωνία.

Γιατί µε έφτιαξες έτσι ρε µάνα;Γιατί µε έφτιαξες έτσι ρε µάνα;µου έµαθες να περπατάω µε το κεφάλι ψηλά,µα δεν µου είπες πως µπορεί να σκοντάψω. Μου επαναλάµβανες συνεχώς πως υπάρχειµια θέση στην κοινωνία για µένα, µα δενµου έδειξες τα στηµένα τείχη της.Μου είπες πως πρέπει να πετύχω , µα δενανέφερες ποτέ και τίποτα για την απογοήτευση. Με άφηνες σαν λευκό περιστέρι να δηµιουργώτα όνειρα µου, µα δεν µου έµαθες να φτιάχνω την φωλιά µου.Με πήγαινες να βηµατίζω στον παράδεισο µα προτίµησεςνα µην σχολιάσεις την κόλαση.Με έβαζες να άκουω τα φτερά των αγγέλωνµα δεν µου µαρτύρησες το ψέµα σου. Μου έλεγες να ζωγραφίζω µε λαµπερά χρώµατα,να µισώ το µαύρο, µα ξέχασες να µου πεις για το γκρίζο. Μου δίδαξες τον δρόµο της εµπιστοσύνης,µα δεν µε προειδοποίησες για την ασχήµια του κόσµου.Μου έφερες να κρατήσω την αγάπη στα χέρια µου,µα προσπέρασες να µου πεις για τον πόνο της. Μου έδωσες το δικαίωµα να συνοδηγώ τη φιλία,µα µου έκρυψες τις δονήσεις της προδοσίας. Μου είπες να ζω µε πάθος το κάθε λεπτό,µα δεν µου είπες πως είναι φτερά οι στιγµές. Μου έδειξες το γέλιο, µα αποφάσισες πως έπρεπε να µάθω µόνη µου για την απελπισία.Μου είπες πως υπάρχει χρόνος να διορθώσω τα λάθη µου, µα η ζωή µου ψιθύρισε το τέλος της. Με έκανες να φοβάµαι την πολλή αγάπη µάνα,µα κανένας δεν την πήρε πίσω.Γιατί µε έφτιαξες έτσι ρε µάνα; Βάσω Τσιµπούκα

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Campus Events: Thessaloniki Model United Nations

This year, I decided to take part in the TMUN as an Officer. Officers are important to keep the whole conference under control and to manage the committees. My co-chair and I were in the Human Rights Council and we supervised the debates on affirmative action, discrimination, and refugees. Generally, I love the whole TMUN philosophy: dressing up in formal clothes like a real diplomat, making decisions that can change our future, using only English… all these make you feel different for 3 days. I have participated in 3 MUN conferences. To be an officer you need a good attitude, knowledge of the rules of the Conference and a few things about the United Nations in general. After your selection, a number of training sessions will be held prior to the conference. If you’re interested, don’t forget to apply during the summer at the following address: "http://www.hmuno.org." Despoina Giapoudzi

OfficerThe first thing that comes to mind after my experience as a Security Officer is my aching feet and waist after standing up for eight hours every day for a whole weekend! When I think about the whole experience more carefully though, I realize that it wasn't bad. I had the opportunity to take part in a unique event, without the stress of having to talk in front of an audience. The three days passed quickly and smoothly. Although the Administrative staff was one member short, we managed to get by just fine. The Chairs and De lega tes were ve ry po l i t e and cooperative. Generally T.M.U.N was a really pleasant and memorable experience, and I hope that I can take part again next year. Alexandros-Pantazis Miteloudis

Security Officer

As a delegate, it was my job to work with others to develop policies on global issues such as unsustainable consumption patterns, the demilitarization of the Arctic, racism and discrimination, territorial disputes in the East China Sea and the global economic crisis. All of these and many more were the “hot subjects” of this year’s TMUN. A must-see experience, the MUN as a whole is a remarkable event. Who wouldn’t want to spend 24 hours in a weekend debating? Well I wouldn’t have in the beginning, but once you actually begin, you’ll be sad it ended so fast. Why do it? For starters, it gives you the opportunity to speak English and “only” English for three days in a row. You also get to meet new people, uncover the beauty of debating and engage in some very strenuous research, which serves as great preparation for college. As a delegate, you are representing a country in a certain committee and you have to learn your country’s policy. It is hard work but who knows— it might prove to be helpful information later in the future. I mean, did you know that a person in Nigeria can literally lose his life for stealing 20 naira = 16 U.S cents!!! It’s amazing what the MUN has to offer in such a short span of time. You might want to consider applying for next year. It’s an event you don’t want to miss. Trust me, you’re going to regret it if you do!

- Antony Tsiakmakis -Representative of Nigeria in the Social Humanitarian and Cultural Committee

Delegate

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ΣΧΟΛΙΚΟ ΤΟΥΡΝΟΥΑ ANATOLIA COLLEGE

Ένα πολύ όµορφο γεγονός έλαβε χώρα από την Τετάρτη 17 έως την Κυριακή 21 Νοεµβρίου στο Κολέγιο Ανατόλια, το οποίο και το οργάνωσε. Κάποια απ’ τα σχολεία που συµµετείχαν ήταν τα εξής: American Farm School, Γερµανικό, Πάινγουντ, Μαντουλίδη, Αθηναϊκό Αµερικάνικο Κολέγιο, Αρσάκειο, Άξιον κ.α. Τα αθλήµατα στα οποία συµµετείχαν ήταν το ποδόσφαιρο, το µπάσκετ, το βόλεϊ και ο στίβος. Οι οµάδες της Αµερικάνικης Γεωργικής Σχολής ήταν: ποδόσφαιρο αγοριών και κοριτσιών, µπάσκετ αγοριών και κοριτσιών και βόλεϊ κοριτσιών. Οι συµµετέχοντες τα πήγαν περίφηµα, αν και δεν κατάφεραν να κατακτήσουν κάποια απ’ τις θέσεις του βάθρου. Συγχαρητήρια θα έπρεπε να δώσουµε και στα παιδιά που πήραν µέρος στα αθλήµατα του στίβου: Αναστασία Στάη, Κατερίνα Διδασκάλου, Φίλιππος Αντωνιάδης. Η κερκίδα µας κατάφερε όχι µόνο να εµψυχώσει τους παίκτες µε συνθήµατα, πανό και τύµπανα, αλλά και να δηµιουργήσει µια πανηγυρική ατµόσφαιρα, στην οποία νικητές και ηττηµένοι ένιωθαν την ίδια ικανοποίηση. Συνοψίζοντας, όλοι οι µαθητές που συµµετείχαν στο τουρνουά, έδωσαν τον καλύτερό τους εαυτό και διασκέδασαν µε την ψυχή τους.

Στάθης Σπηλιόπουλος, Μόρφη Χατζηφωτίου, Κατερίνα Διδασκάλου

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Campus Events

Campus Events

PanigiriTraditional dancing, church service and student family bazaar

ThanksgivingStudents performing Western line dances

25 November

13 Nove

mber

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Christmas is Here!

Christmas Through Five Continents

Africa: EthiopiaChristmas in Ethiopia is known as Ganna, and is celebrated on January 7th. In church, men sit separately from the women. Everyone lights candles and walks through the church three times before standing during a 3 hour mass. The traditional foods served are Injera, a type of bread, and Doro wat, a spicy chicken dish. In contrast to other countries, gift giving is not that important and children usually receive very simple presents. The whole Christmas day in Ethiopia is full of praying, dancing, playing sports and feasting.America: ArgentinaIn Argentina people go to church, and then have a family gathering. At midnight, adults dance and children go to see the fireworks. Before going to sleep they open their presents. The food usually is pork or turkey. The table is full of sweet things and drinks. Their houses are decorated with red and white garlands and they put Father Christmas boots on the doors. The Christmas tree has colored lights, ornaments and Father Christmas is placed on top of it.Asia: ChinaIn China there is no Santa Claus— they have the "Dun Che Lao Ren," which means "Christmas Old Man." They call their trees "Trees of Light" and children decorate them with colorful ornaments made from paper in the

shapes of flowers, chains and lanterns. They hang stockings, waiting for the Christmas Old Man to fill them with gifts and treats. The non-Christian Chinese call this season the Spring Festival. They have delicious meals and pay respect to their ancestors. This season is devoted to kids so they receive lots of gifts and watch firecracker displays.Europe: BulgariaIn Bulgaria, Christmas Eve is as important as Christmas day. They have at least 12 dishes for a special dinner. All of these dishes are without meat and represent a month of the year. One unique tradition is that they eat blood sausages while making Christmas wishes around the fire. Oceania: AustraliaIn some parts of Australia, Christmas is very hot. It is usual to have a 30 degrees Celsius Christmas Day. The dinner includes turkey and pork. A Christmas plum pudding is the dessert and has a small favor baked inside. Whoever finds it will have good luck through the year. Another treat is Mince Pies. Some people have their Christmas Dinner at midday on a local beach. Some beaches attract thousands of people on Christmas Day. Australians surround themselves with Christmas Bush, a native plant which has little red flowered leaves. Carols by candlelight are sung every year on Christmas Eve. - Theodore Saroglou

Christmas can be confusing and stressful for many people. We rush out to buy expensive gifts, meet relatives or stay at home alone. These are some of the sad facts about Christmas. But how does this celebration unite people all over the world? Since the beginning of the first millennium, Christian communities celebrated Christmas as the anniversary of the birth of Jesus, their spiritual leader and teacher, whose lessons form the basis of their religion. Among others, popular customs during Christmas include gift exchanges and the decoration of Christmas trees. But if we look back on those communities of the first Christmas years, their celebrations were based on a completely different and fundamental concept. For them, Christmas was sharing meals with their families and friends and all together praising and thanking their God for the gifts that He gave to us: love, compassion, and support from the people that really matter. We should keep this spirit of Christmas in mind today! - Theodosis Dimitrasopoulos

On the book Truce, by Jim MurphyWith World War I raging on the battlefields of Europe, one unexpected and miraculous event unfolded one Christmas evening: in defiance of their commanding officer’s orders, a truce was declared by soliders on opposing sides, who stopped fighting to engage in a spontaneous Christmas celebration with their “enemies.” This act, which can only be described as a miracle, reminds everyone how love and brotherhood for each other can surpass war and politics. - Theodosis Dimitrasopoulos

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