25 facts about me

Hey, guys!
I thought it is time to get to know me a little bit better, so I thought of 25 facts to describe myself. I hope you enjoy reading this!


1. I love cakes and cupcakes and all kind of sweet things. 

2. I have three siblings, two older brothers and one younger sister.

3. I have three cats at my parent's home. They are called Minki, Blacky and Amy.

4. In September my little nephew Alexander was born. So I am an aunt now!

5. I danced at the Vienna Opera Ball last Tuesday!!! It was great! :)

6. I love tea, especially black and herbal tea.

7. I don't really like coffee but sometimes I have a cup of it.

8. I have had bright red hair for about a year when I was 15 or 16 years old. Sometimes I miss my red hair :(

9. I am using a glass bottle instead of a plastic bottle. Check out my bottle here if you are interested.

10. I love fluffy socks and I love them even more if they have cats or other cute figures on them :D

11. I have always wanted to travel through India but so far I didn't have the chance to ... 

12. I like summers more than winters.

13. But I wouldn't want to live in a country where it doesn't snow. 

14. I have been taking Standard and Latin dancing classes for five years and I still enjoy it :)

15. I can't stand house, techno or electro music. 

16. I like listening to punk rock, alternative rock, acoustic rock and sometimes even heavy metal. 

17. Some of my favourite bands/musicians are: Blink 182, Anti-Flag, Second Hand Serenade, Three Days Grace and Skillet. 

18. My favourite dish is lasagna. 

19. When I see a spider in my room I let it stay alive so that I won't have to touch it... or I scream for my dad. 

20. My passion is dancing. I'm also doing pole dance and acrobatics/acro-dance.

21. Since I have discovered booktube last summer I am even more into reading (and buying) books.

22. I am probably going on an Interrail journey through Europe with some friends in the summer. So excited!!!

23. I grew up in a one-horse town called Oberaich, in Styria.

24. I am collecting dolphin statues. I buy one every time I am on holiday abroad.

25. I want to write a book some day.

.

Larissi ♥

January Wrap-Up

Hello, everybody!

Today I want to talk about my January Wrap-Up :) Unfortunately, I didn't really read much since I had a lot of exams at the end of the month... Only two books! I am ashamed. Well, I started a third one on January 29, but I finished it in February so I won't count that. 

The first book I read was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling. This is my favourite Harry Potter book so far! In this book, Sirius Black, a wizard accused of being a supporter of Voldemort and murdering lots of people, escapes the prison Azkaban. Rumours, that he is looking for Harry in order to kill him, are spreading fast. What's more, the Hogwarts Divination teacher always predicts Harry's death.... All that seemed very depressing, but the turn in the end of the book took my breath away!! I still think, that this was one of the most brilliant "story changes" I have ever read. I know many people say that the third part of Harry Potter is the worst, but I can't understand them :P I gave it 4/5 stars on goodreads.com

P.S. If you haven't checked out my goodreads account, now is a good time! ;)

The second book is also a Harry Potter book, namely Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I have only seen one Harry Potter movie and it was this one. So I already knew what this book is about and maybe that's why I didn't like it so much. In fact, it is my least favourite Harry Potter book so far. 

In this book, the Triwizard Tournament takes place at Hogwarts. Strangely, Harry is elected as a fourth champion, even though he is actually too young to compete. He and the three other champions have to face three tasks through which a winner will be selected. But strange things are happening... Harry often feels Voldemort's presence in the scar on his forehead... No, I'm not going to spoil anything here now!
I enjoyed a lot of scenes in this book, so I gave it 3/5 stars although I didn't enjoy the book as a whole.


Have a nice day,

Larissi ♥

February TBR

Hey, guys!

Today I'm back with my February TBR :D

As it is already February 5, I have even finished two books by now. These are Looking for Alaska by John Green and Damals war es Friedrich by Hans Peter Richter. Actually I wanted to read both of them in January but I didn't manage to do so. However, I started LfA in January at least ;)
I have already told you the content of these books in my January TBR, so I won't repeat myself here.





The book I am currently reading is Ich schreib dir jeden Tag or in English I'll be seeing you by Suzanne Hayes and Loretta Nyhan. This book was a total cover buy. Look how beautiful it is! I think the German cover is just so much more charming than the original cover (on the right side).
So, a little bit about the content:
The book is about two women, Glory and Rita, who are pen friends in the Second World War. Their husbands and also Rita's son are soldiers who have to serve their home country. The book only consists of letters. Letters to and from Glory and Rita but also letters to their husbands/son. Glory and Rita help each other through the rough life of war and attempt to shorten the period of waiting. Waiting for the end of war and for their loved ones to come home.



The next book I'd like to read (but also have to for university) is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. I have wanted to read this book for a few years now, because I gave up on it when I started it in English at the age of 15. I guess I was just too young and my English wasn't good enough to understand the plot. But as I have to read it for an exam in March, I will do so now! Jane Eyre is about an orphan girl who lives with her aunt and cousins who they treat her really cruelly. The book shows her suffering childhood and adolescence as well as her grown-up life later. As a young woman she meets a man, Mr. Rochester and falls in love with him. Mr. Rochester, however, has a secret locked away in his attic.......





The book I am most excited to read this month is.... Blankets by Craig Thompson! This is going to be my first graphic novel ever! :D It just got delivered today (together with All the Light We Cannot See and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe) and I am soooo looking forward to reading this!! This autobiographical graphic novel follows Craig through his childhood into his early adulthood. His family is Evangelical Christian but Craig struggles with this belief. In a Christian camp he meets his first love Raina. Craig also has a brother, with whom he got along well as a child but they drift apart as they grow older. He has to face a lot of troubles, at home as well as at school, where he gets bullied.



So that is my TBR for February. Let me know what you are going to read this month! Have you read any of the books I mentioned?`:)

Have a great holiday,

Larissi ♥

Doing good while buying a book?

Well, maybe buying books and buying happiness are really not that distinct from each other. Because there are many online bookstores which support certain charity organizations to make people happy. And YOU can be part of it, if you just buy your books in the right store. 

Today I want to show you some of those bookstores. They are also good shopping alternatives to  Amazon. But why should I avoid buying things at Amazon? It is said, that Amazon treats its employees very badly. They are pushed to a very high working pace, are exposed to very high temperature (many pass out, actually) and don't receive the basic benefits like healthcare. What's more, the company wants to sell books at the lowest price, so they demand additional discounts from their suppliers. This is illegal but Amazon clearly makes good use of it. A few years ago, it has also been discovered that this company has sold customers' private information to other companies.

The Book People
There you can buy new books in all kind of genres for very little money. They deliver books worldwide. With the money they take in, they support various charities. You can also purchase eBooks in this shop. 

Better World Books
This bookstore offers new as well as used books. You can also buy textbooks and sell your own books. They ship worldwide and even free if you choose the standard shipping method. Every time you buy a book, BetterWorldBooks donates a book to someone in need, libraries or non-profit groups. That's their way to fight poverty: through education. On the website it also says, that they never throw away a book but recycle it. 

I have to say, I never tried out any of the shops mentioned above but they seem very serious to me. I always try to buy my books in local bookstores, but I often have to order online because most bookshops in Austria don't have a big range of books written in other languages. The next two online bookstores are located in Germany and I have tried out and liked both of them.

Buch7.de
This bookshop sells new books and also helps various non-profit organizations. Buch7.de ships to all countries in the EU. The delivery, however, takes quite long so be prepared to wait for about a month until you have your books. But as I don't order books I need urgently at this bookstore I don't care about the waiting when I can help people in need. Buch7.de supports social, environmental and cultural projects.

Ecobookstore
There you can also buy new books while supporting the rainforest conservation. Ecobookstore delivers to all countries in the EU and also to certain other countries. The shipping times vary from one week to three weeks depending on the destination.


I hope you'll try out one or two of these bookstores. Of course most prices won't be as low as the prices on Amazon but I think one or two dollars/euros won't hurt you too much, will they?

Keep reading, guys!
See you soon,

Larissi ♥

Monochronic and Polychronic Cultures

Hello, my lovely blog-readers :)

Are you wondering what these terms in the title mean? I did so too when I first stumbled over these words when I started studying for one of the upcoming exams! So I did some research and I have to say I found some really interesting stuff. I didn't know before, that this kind of classification even exists.

Those terms are part of Chronemics, the study of the use and understanding of time in nonverbal communication. Monochronic cultures are cultures where people like to concentrate on only one thing at a time. They take their job very seriously and mostly stick to a time schedule accurately. They view time as if it were linear. They are punctual and expect punctuality form the others. Monochronic cultures also show a great respect for private property, which means they don't borrow or lend things often and voluntarily. 
People from polychronic cultures, however, are likely to be doing more things simultaneously. They can be easily distracted while trying to complete a task, but they don't see the distraction as a bad thing. Polychronic cultures value the emotional and social life higher than a certain time schedule and they change plans easily and often. The events will happen when they happen. They don't have a linear view of time but a cyclical or also called vertical view. 
There are certain countries that belong either to monochronic or polychronic cultures. For example, the United States, as well as Canada and Alaska, is part of the monochronic world.  So is the Northern Europe and some countries in Asia, like Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. If you live in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Southern Europe or in India, China or Pakistan, you live in a polychronic culture. I also found out, that Hawaii is a little bit special regarding this topic. In Hawaii, there are two different time systems, the Haole time and the Hawaiian time. When somebody says "Let's meet at 5 p.m. haole time", it means you should be there punctually at 5 o' clock. But if someone says "Let's meet at 5 p.m. Hawaiian time", they mean they will be there around 5 o' clock and not on time. Within the Native American community there is the same lax time management as in Hawaii. There you often hear people say "we are on Indian time". 
Interactions between these two types of cultures could be quite problematic. You should always inform yourself about the time management habits of your meeting partner. If you are planning to meet a polychronic person, you should be prepared to wait and maybe talk about your personal experiences. Time can also be an indicator of hierarchy. For example, a boss can easily delay or call off a meeting, even in the middle of the event. An employee, however, has to obey the rules of the boss. Also communication can be affected by the different time systems. The length of the conversation, turn-taking and who initiates and ends the talk is influenced by the speakers cultural backgrounds. Research has shown that monochronic people, who are more organized, are more likely to speak longer and more often. 

As for me, I belong to the monochronic part of the world here in Austria. But somehow I don't think this can be generalized so easily. I, for example, feel like I belong more to the polychronic cultures. I like doing more things at the same time and I am also very easily distracted. Of course I don't always approve of the interruption but nevertheless I think I show more characteristics of a polychronic person than a monochronic. What about you? Do you live in a monochronic or polychronic country? Do you behave exactly like the definitions say?

I hope you found this post interesting even if it was a little bit dry. 

Enjoy your weekend!

Larissi ♥

December Wrap-Up

Hi, guys! :)

Here comes my Wrap-Up for the month December. Unfortunately, I read only three books but I had so much to do for university that I didn't have time to read more :(

The first book I finished in December was Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken. This is the second book in the Darkest Minds Trilogy. This trilogy is about a 16-year-old girl named Ruby, who lives in a world where a special virus has infected all children. Because of this virus, the kids have now certain abilities. There are some pretty harmless abilities, such as the power of moving objects and people with their thoughts or having a great knowledge in science. However, there are also some with dangerous abilities. Some can produce or destroy electricity with their hands or even thoughts, some can control other human’s minds, that means they can read their minds but sometimes they can also erase memories like Ruby can. The most dangerous ones are the kids who can produce fire with their hands. The kids have been put in special camps where they are being watched all the time and have to work very hard. In the second book, Ruby has already escaped a camp and is now with a league who wants to help the children. There she has a mission to complete which also includes looking for her (ex-) boyfriend whom she still loves. I didn’t like Never Fade as much as the first book but it still was a gripping read so I gave it 3 out of 5 stars on goodreads.com

The second book I read in December was Where She Went by Gayle Forman. This is the last book in the If I Stay duology. I’m sure most of you know If I Stay as the movie came out recently. Where She Went is written from Adam’s point of few. Three years after Mia has left him without a goodbye, he is nearly hitting the bottom after the huge success of his band. But then he meets Mia again and realizes he has to change…

At first I didn’t like the story so much because all you read about was Adams hard life with which he could not cope. But when he met Mia the book  got better and in the end I really enjoyed it, so this one also got 3 stars.

The last book I read in December was The Kill Order by James Dashner. This book is the fourth and last book of the Maze Runner Series. Also this book was made into a movie adaptation in 2014. The Kill Order is the prequel to the first book so you get to know what exactly happened when the sun flares hit the world. There are new characters and you follow them upon their dangerous and saddening tries to escape the horrors of the sun flares and a spreading virus which makes everyone who gets it go crazy. In the end you also know how WICKED, an organization trying to find a cure for this virus, was formed and how Thomas and Theresa (the main characters in the Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure) have gotten to WICKED. The book was quite good, but it didn’t draw me in all the time, and though I liked it more than the second and third book. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars as well.

I hope you enjoyed reading this!

Bye,

Larissi ♥

January TBR

Hey, guys!

I know it's a little bit late for  the January TBR (To-Be-Read) but I'd really like to do it, so here it is :)

The first book I have started in January was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling and I have already finished it by now. I think most of you know what Harry Potter is about and I feel like the only one who has never read it before! So I really want to read the whole series as quickly as possible. I already have all of them standing in my shelf in the beautiful scholastic box set edition :)

Therefore, one of the books I'd like to read in January is the fourth part of Harry Potter, namely Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Then I would really like to start Looking for Alaska by John Green as it has been on my TBR since I bought it in September. I am really looking forward to reading this book. I just hope it's  better than Paper Towns because I didn't like that book at all and I heard the plot is quite similar. Looking for Alaska is about a boy, Miles, who wants to go to a boarding school and there he meets Alaska, a beautiful but screwed-up girl. Miles also likes memorizing people's last words and that draws him into some adventures. 

Well, I don't think I'll read any more books in January because of all the exams but if I had time I'd like to read Damals war es Friedrich by Hans Peter Richter. I think its English  edition is just called Friedrich. This is a German book about the Second World War, particularly about two boys and their families of whom one is Jewish. The book shows how Friedrich's life changed after the rise of the Nazis. 







Let my know what you are planning to read in this month :)
Bye,

Larissi ♥

A Wedding in South Korea

Hi, guys!

As I have promised you, here is more about my brother's wedding in Seoul, South Korea.

The wedding took place in a Wedding Hall and consisted of a white wedding and a traditional Korean wedding. However, that wasn't an official wedding but more of a "fun-wedding" because you don't have to celebrate your marriage in Korea. You can just go to the register office and tell them you are married now. 


The ceremony started with the white wedding.
At first, my mum and Jinhee's mum had to walk down the aisle and light two candles on the altar. My mum had to wear a traditional Korean dress but everybody else could dress normal. Only the girls were not supposed to wear something sexy, for example a short dress with a plunging neckline.
Then the groom came in and at last the bride with her father.












Daniel and Jinhee had written a text as a marriage promise and together they read it out loud. Daniel said his part in English and Jinhee hers in Korean, so that everybody was able to understand something. Everything else, however, was in Korean, so we didn't really understand anything!

After that, my sister and I played a song on the piano for them. I played "River flows in You" by Yiruma (who is a Korean pianist) and my sister Jessica played "People help the People" by Birdy.

Then some friends of Jinhee danced to a Korean song and after a while Jinhee joined them as a surprise for Daniel. We thought that was hilarious because nobody would do that at a wedding in Austria :)

When the first part was over, the bride and the groom had to change into traditional wedding clothes. 

This was the wedding gown and suit →

← That were the clothes they had to wear overhead

There was a table with dried fruits and soju (the traditional alcohol in South Korea). The groom had to pour soju in a cup for the bride and the other way around. Then they had to eat a date together and whoever got the stone wears the pants, which was my brother. There was another tradition: the parents of the groom had to throw dates and chestnuts and the bridal couple had to catch them. The dates were a symbol for girls and the chestnuts symbolized boys. Daniel and Jinhee caught three dates so they are destined to have three girls according to that ritual! 

At the end, Daniel had to carry Jinhee on his back and had to run in a circle around the room and the bigger this circle was the bigger will be their house. 

All in all, I have to say I am really glad that I could be part of this experience. I really enjoyed the wedding and I was pretty curious about the traditions. 

Have a great weekend :)

See you soon,

Larissi ♥

Vegan breakfast ideas

Hello, my lovelies :)

Today I am back with some ideas for a vegan breakfast.  I made the experience that many people don't know what to eat in the morning and sometimes I also get quite bored of breakfast. So I made up my mind and summed up the most appetizing as well as some common vegan dishes. Let's start with the more common and simple ones and then go on to the more elaborate food.

Jam

Many people don't know that jam is without gelatin but usually made with a gelling agent called pectin which stems from plants, mostly apples. Also peanut butter is generally vegan, so you can enjoy a delicious peanut butter jelly sandwich :D
I also like so spread Tahini (sesame paste) on my bread or roll instead of peanut butter. Sesame contains a lot of iron and calcium so that is very healthy.

 

Cereals

There's no need to abandon cornflakes or cini minis because you can easily substitute cow's milk with plant-based milk like rice milk, soy milk or oat milk for example. Nowadays you find those milk replacements in nearly all the supermarkets. 

Smoothies

Many people like to start their day with a filling smoothie. For me, however, a smoothie is normally not enough except when I get up very late and there isn't much time left until lunch. A smoothie in general is blended fruit and vegetables with a little bit of water or (vegan) yogurt. I think the most essential ingredients for smoothies are bananas because they make the smoothie really creamy and also sweet. 

Porridge/Oatmeal
I really love Porridge for breakfast! It is also quite easy and quick to make. My recipe is 4-5 tablespoons of oat flakes and 1 1/2 cups of rice milk. Heat them up until they boil and then let them simmer for about 5-10 minutes. I don't add sugar because I think the oatmeal is sweet enough, but sometimes I add coconut flakes, a banana or berries at the end.







Scrambled Tofu

That meal is the vegan version of scrambled eggs. I mainly prepare it on the weekends because I don't have time to make a time-consuming breakfast during the week. You need:
☻plain tofu
☻vegetables you like (I usually take tomatoes and bell peppers)
a little bit of turmeric for the colour
☻Kala Namak salt (if you don't have this at hand, you can use normal salt, but this salt adds some "eggy" taste)

I also like to add pepper and a little bit of curry, but that's probably not everyone's taste.

I hope you liked my ideas and that you will try out some of them (if you haven't already)!

Larissi ♥

Enjoy the green side of life!

Welcome back to my blog!
Sorry I haven't posted something for so long but I wanted to celebrate a relaxed Christmas with my family. But I am back and I have a new topic to share with you :)

Some people who know me in person or have read some of my posts might know that I am a vegan. I have been living as a vegan for more than a year now and I still enjoy this lifestyle. I had been a vegetarian before so the adjustment was not that hard for me.

What means being vegan? 
To be vegan means you do not eat meat and and fish and also avoid all the other products stemming from an animal, therefore you also do not consume milk and dairy goods, eggs, butter, honey and gelatin. Vegans also don't use wool, leather, silk, pearls and pelt. Another area you have to take care of as a vegan are cosmetics. There are not only a lot of animal contents (for example dyes, honey, milk) but there also a lot of cosmetic companies who test their products on animals. About 300 million animals are used for testing cosmetics and drugs every year. For some quick information: here is an informative video and here are 11 facts about animal testing. 

Why vegan?
The obvious reason for going vegan is of course preventing the exploitation of animals. But that is not the only reason for a vegan way of living, though it remains the key factor in the decision to change. More and more people are turning to a plant-based diet because of the health benefits. Well-planned (!) vegan diets are rich in protein, iron, calcium and other essential vitamins and minerals. Fruits and vegetables tend to be low in saturated fat, high in fibre and packed with antioxidants. As a result they help to reduce the risk of falling ill with some of the modern world's biggest health issues like obesity, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Another reason for changing to veganism is that the production of meat and other animal products places a heavy burden on the environment. Crops and water required to feed animals, transportation and the processing cause a huge environmental problem. The enormous amount of grains needed for animals held for meat is a significant contributor to deforestation, species extinct and habitat loss. What's more, a plant-based nutrition only takes one third of the space we need for a meat-based diet. That means the land left could be used by people in the developing countries to produce their own food if we cultivated plants and not produced meat! 

But what do vegans eat???
That's probably the most asked question by non-vegans. I mean, guys, can't you be a little bit creative? It's so easy to find alternatives for the most essential things! For example, you can use margarine or other vegetal oils instead of butter; rice milk, soy milk, oat milk (and many more!!) instead of cow's milk; agar-agar instead of gelatin; With that you can cook most meals also a vegetarian would eat! Also replacing eggs is not that difficult. When I bake a cake I usually just leave them out and the cake turns out just as good. If you really have to substitute an egg you can use soy flour, lupin flour or commercial egg replacement powder. There are also alternatives of yogurt and cream, for example soy yogurt and soy, rice or oat cream. For people who really cannot (or don't want to) resist the taste of meat, ham, cheese etc. there also exist substitutions for that kind of food, though I have not found many that tasted really good so far. 
Here are some easy but yummy vegan recipes, if you want too try something new! Don't freak out if you can't find some of the ingredients, just try to use the ones you have at hand :)
Chilli-Sin-Carne
Coconut Vegetable Curry
Lentil Spaghetti Bolognese
Chocolate Cake
Blueberry Muffins

Note: Please do not feel offended if you eat meat and dairy products. I do not want to force someone to change their diet, I just want to give you some inspiration and I hope you see things a little different now. 

Have a nice (and delicious :D) day,

Larissi ♥

Prague, Czech Republic

Dobrý den!

This post will be about travelling again :D
A few days after I came home from Seoul, I went to Prague in the Czech Republic with some friends!
Because as Rumi, a Persian poet, has already said: 

“Travel brings power and love back into your life.”

We went there by bus because it was the cheapest way and it took only 4 hours to get there from Vienna. We had a nice apartment near the Dancing House.

Down our street there was this little book store, which I absolutely loved. I bought about 5 books there I think!

I had never been to Prague before and I was stunned by that town! I think Prague is one of the most beautiful cities I have been to so far! (The others one are Verona and San Gimignano ;)) 
We stayed only four days but it was enough to get a feeling for this town and do a little bit of sight-seeing. 


Of course we went to the Charles Bridge which is the probably the most known sight in Prague. It was nice in the daylight, but it was gorgeous in the evening when it was already dark!

 

We also went to the Astronomical Clock that shows the astronomical dials and the calendar dial representing the months. The most fascinating part however is, that every full hour the "Walk of the Apostles" happens where the 12 apostles move by the windows and the death comes out.

In this picture you can see two apostles above the clock and the death (skeleton) on the right side of the clock

Of course we also visited the Prague Castle, the official residence of the president of the Czech Republic. This castle is also the largest ancient castle in the world. And it really was huge! We just looked at it from the outside and went in only so far that we didn't have to buy a ticket :P

The castle is situated on a hill, so from up there you had a wonderful view over the town.

That's Kafkas house

In the area of the Prague Castle there is also a little street, called the "Golden Lane". It is called "Golden Lane" because in the 16th century alchemists looked there for a reaction the produce gold. The street consists of tiny, coloured houses. What's more, house no. 22 had also been Franz Kafka's house for two years. Today there are souvenir shops in nearly all of the houses.

One morning, when my friends were still asleep, I went out to explore our surroundings a little bit. And there I found a little park in the middle of the river Vltava. It was about nine o'clock and everything was quiet and the sun was already shining. I sat there at the wall by the river and just felt happy. This was the best moment of that trip really. 

You could even see the Charles Bridge from that park.







With that, I would like to finish this post about the wonderful city Prague. If you ever get the chance to go there -- do it! I would certainly go there again :)

Have a great weekend :D

Na shledanou!

Larissi ♥