reflection

THE TRADITION OF BIRTHDAY PARTIES

Birthday parties are always among the highlights of a child's year, but have you ever wondered how the tradition of birthday parties started?
The tradition of birthday parties started in Europe a long time ago. It was feared that evil spirits were particularly attracted to people on their birthdays. To protect them from harm, friends and family would come to be with the birthday person and bring good thoughts and wishes. Giving gifts brought even more good cheer to prevent from the evil spirits. This is how birthday parties began.
At first it was only kings who were recognized as important enough to have a birthday celebration. A formal ball was planned and announcements were sent through the land. As time went by, children became included in birthday celebrations. The first children's birthday parties occurred in Germany and were called Kinderfeste. As time went by, sending party invitations became more popular and now with the advent of the digital age you can even send photo party invitations with child’s photo on it.

Birthday traditions in some countries

China: The birthday child pays respect to his/her parents and receives a gift of money. Friends and relatives are invited to lunch and noodles are served to wish the birthday child a long life.

Germany: A member of the birthday person’s family wakes up at sunrise and lights the candles on the birthday cake. There are as many candles as the years of age of the birthday person plus one for good luck. The candles are left burning all day long. After dinner everyone sings the birthday song and the birthday person blows out the candles. If all of the candles are blown out in one try then the wish of the birthday person will come true. Presents are then opened and the party starts.

Japan: The birthday child wears entirely new clothes to mark the occasion. Certain birthdays are more important than others and these are celebrated with a visit to the local shrine.

Russia: Instead of a birthday cake, many Russian child receive a birthday pie with a birthday greeting carved into the crust.

United States: A cake is made, and candles are put on top based on how old the person is. Then everyone sings the "happy birthday" song, and at the end of the song, the birthday child blows out the candles. If they blow them all out with one blow, their birthday wishes will come true.

reflection

BEING AT METU

Ankara is  lovely city. I like it very much. I wanted to study in a university in Ankara, and that university was METU. Before the results of university entrance exam were announced i was very anxious whether i would study in METU or not. The results were announced and finally i was a member of METU family. :) Initially it came me different. I live in a small town. But Ankara is very big and crowded. I had a process to adapt to new friends, new environment, new school. It is getting easier day by day. That my brother and my sister is here is also a very big chance for me. Whenever i need something i can ask for help fromthem. Second advantage is that i stayed in a dormitory when i was in high school years. Thanks to this i can manage my time and cope with the things which i have to do. METU has a great campus. All of faculties are together. It is wonderful to see friends who are in the different deparments. It has lots of oppurtinities such as meals, student groups,sport center. There is a refectory and you can eat there by paying little. In addition to it another places are available. There are many different choices. Student groups are good to spend our spare time. We are free to choose whatever we want. Each fields such as music, sport, education, dancing have a group. We can do sport whenever we want. There is a sport center for this. On the other hand, i have seven lessons and i have to attend each classes. At the beginnig i am afraid of not being able to myself because education language is English but i have been adjusting this situation step by step. I  have a lot of things i have to do for each other. Sometimes they are very boring but there is nothing which can be done. My faculty is far way from my accomadation. It is a big problem especially i have a lesson in late hours. Because rings are not available after five and i have to walk. Besides it,ring drivers are very angry and rings are very crowded. Regardless of all these points education quality of metu is very good and i think this is the most important thing. I am a member of METU. I am very glad that i am here.

reflection

VALENTINE’S DAY

Every February 14th, candy, flowers, gifts are exchanged between lovers, all in the name of Saint Valentine. But, who is St. Valentine and why do we celebrate this day? There are some stories about it. One of them, which is the best known, began in Rome. At that time the emperor of Rome was Cladius 2. He was involved in many fighting bloody campaigns. He had difficult time getting soldiers to join his army. He believed that men did not want to leave their families and lovers, so he thought the reason was. Therefore, he cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. Saint Valentine was a priest in Rome in the year 269 A.D. He defied Cladius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers secretly. But, unfortunately, Valentine’s action was discovered and he was sent to the prison to be sentenced and to have his head cut off. He tried to stay cheerful and different things were happened. Many young people went to jail to visit him. They threw flowers and notes up to his window. They wanted him to know that they believed in love, too. One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit him in the cell. Sometimes they sit and talked for hours. She wanted to help him to keep his spirits keep up. She thought that Valentine did the right thing by ignoring the emperor’s law. On the day Valentine was to die he left her friend a little not thanking her for friendship and loyalty. He signed it: “Love from your Valentine.” It is believed that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine’s Day. It was written on the day he died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now every year people celebrate this day although most of them do not know the history. They think about love and friendship.

video reflection

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjosViCuqvQ

HYPERTENSION

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is chronically elevated. With every heart beat, the heart pumps blood through the arteries to the rest of the body. Blood pressure is the force of blood that is pushing up against the walls of the blood vessels. If the pressure is too high, the heart has to work harder to pump, and this could lead to organ damage. The normal level for blood pressure is below 120/80. Blood pressure between 120/80 and 139/89 is called prehypertension (to denote increased risk of hypertension), and a blood pressure of 140/90 or above is considered hypertension. Smoking, obesity, diabetes, lack of physical activity, insufficient calcium potassium and magnesium consumption, High levels of alcohol consumption, stress, aging, genetics and a family history of hypertension are the causes of hypertension. Extremely high blood pressure may lead to some symptoms such as severe headaches, problems with vision, breathing problems, irregular heartbeat, blood in the urine, nausea. Hypertension may be diagnosed by a health professional who measures blood pressure with a device called a sphygmomanometer - the device with the arm cuff, dial, pump, and valve. The systolic and diastolic numbers will be recorded and compared to a chart of values. If the pressure is greater than 140/90, you will be considered to have hypertension. High blood pressure may be treated medically, by changing lifestyle factors, or a combination of the two. Important lifestyle changes include losing weight, quitting smoking, eating a healthful diet, reducing sodium intake, exercising regularly.

reflection

COLORS

Colors mean many different things to different people and cultures. We all have our own favourite colors. People like different colors like they like different foodsThis is because can affect our moods so we surround ourselves in the colors that have a positive impact on our mood. Color also represents feelings, people, countries, cultures, and color symbolism. Red can boost your energy, yellow often makes people feel happier, and blue is proven to bring down blood pressure and slow your heart rate which is why it is often associated with being relaxing. If you combine the happiness of yellow and the relaxing feel of blue you get green, a very pleasing color for many people. Mental health units are known to use pastel tones on their walls so that patients feel calm, happy, and relaxed. Walls that are beige with a pink tint combined with mint green floors are a popular combination as it is said to create a soothing, harmonious and calm area. At the other end of the spectrum, literally, schools tend to user bright colors that appeal to children.

How some colours affect us mentally and physically

Blue: Calming and sedate, cooling

Green:  Soothing, relaxing mentally as well as physically, helps alleviate depression, nervousness and anxiety, offers a sense of renewal, self-control and harmony

Yellow:  Mentally stimulating, stimulates the nervous system, activates memory, encourages communication

Purple: Uplifting, calming to mind and nerves, offers a sense of spirituality,  encourages creativity

Orange: Stimulates activity, stimulates appetite, encourages socialization

Red: Increases enthusiasm, stimulates energy, encourages action and confidence, a sense of protection from fears and anxiety

Brown: Feeling of wholesomeness, stability, connection with the earth, offers a sense orderliness

White: encourages us to clear clutter or obstacles, evokes purification of thoughts or actions, enables fresh beginnings

Gray: unsettling, expectant

Black: feeling inconspicuous, a restful emptiness, mysterious evoking a sense of potential and possibility

video reflection

http://www.5min.com/Video/The-Art-of-Turkish-Calligraphy-315086117

CALLIGRAPHY

The art of Calligraphy has reached today's standards after undergoing various transformations throughout centuries, bringing invaluable works into existence. Turkish Calligraphy is the combination of letters of Latin alphabet which were adopted as of the foundation of the Turkish Republic in the 20th Century.Turkish calligraphy is a unique artistic creation although calligraphy itself is not of Turkish origin. Ottomans adopted it with religious fervour and inspiration, taking this art to its pinnacle over a five hundred year period. The literal meaning of the Turkish word for calligraphy (hat) is line or way. In essence, Husn-i Hat comprises the beautiful lines inscribed with reed pens on paper using ink made from soot. In the 13th century, Yakut-ul-Mustasimi, a calligraphist from Amasya, made a breakthrough in calligraphy by using nibs of various widths and sizes in one composition. Later calligraphists followed and developed his methods. Later, Sheyh Hamdullah, a famous calligraphist from the period of Fatih Sultan Mehmet, introduced major changes in the traditional seven writing styles and put the mark of the Turkish national character on Islamic writing. His followers further improved Turkish calligraphy over the centuries. Hafiz Osman, Mustafa Rakim, Yesari Mehmet, Sevki Efendi, Sefik Bey, Mahmut Celaleddin, Kadiasker Mustafa Izzet, Sultan Mahmut II, Aziz Efendi, Necmettin Efendi, Sami Efendi and Hamid Aytac are all noted Turkish calligraphists  who contributed to the development of this art. Turkish calligraphists have always made the paper, pens and ink they used. The paper used to be painted with natural dyes. Then it was polished with boiled starch and egg white. The paper dressed in this way allowed for easily correcting mistakes. Pens were made of hard reeds. Bigger pens (known as "celi") were made of wood. To produce ink, the calligraphists used to burn materials such as pine and linseed oils. Turkish calligraphy has shown a continuous development in strict conformity with tradition, without any deterioration in its essential character. A large number of works were produced over the years, each one surpassing those preceding it in beauty and maturity.

EXERCISES

COLD COMFORT

Not so long ago, many of us resisted separating the glass, cans, and paper out of our garbage. What a hassle. Today, of course, every second-grader knows that the world's resources are limited and that recycling helps preserve them. We act locally, while thinking globally. It's time to bring the same consciousness to health care as we face a growing medical crisis: the loss of antibiotic effectiveness against common bacterial illnesses. By personally refusing—or not demanding—antibiotics for viral illnesses they won't cure, we can each take a step toward prolonging overall antibiotic effectiveness.

Media reports have likely made you aware of this problem, but they have neglected the implications. Your brother catches a cold that turns into a sinus infection. His doctor treats him with antibiotics, but the bacteria are resistant to all of them. The infection enters his bloodstream—a condition known as septicemia—and a few days later, your brother dies. (Septicemia is what killed Muppets creator Jim Henson a few years ago.) Or instead of a cold, he has an infected cut that won't heal, or any other common bacterial disease, such as an ear or prostate infection.

Far-fetched? It's not. The antibiotics crisis is real. Consider Streptococcus pneumoniae: This common bacterium often causes post-flu pneumonia. (Pneumonia and influenza combined are the country's sixth leading cause of death, killing 82,500 Americans in 1996.) Before 1980, less than 1 percent of S. pneumoniae samples showed any resistance to penicillin. As of last May, researchers at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego discovered that 22 percent of S. pneumoniae samples were highly resistant to it, with another 15 percent moderately so. And the most recent statistics from the Sentry Antimicrobial Surveillance Program, which monitors bacterial resistance at 70 medical centers in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and South America, show that 44 percent of S. pneumoniae samples in the U.S. are highly resistant, and worldwide, resistance is at an all-time high (55 percent).

EXERCİSE 2

Soccer — or football (or foosball or futbol), as it is called by the rest of the world outside the United States is surely the most popular sport in the world. Every four years, the world championship of soccer, the World Cup is watched by literally billions all over the world, beating out the United States professional football's Superbowl by far. It is estimated that 1.7 billion television viewers watched the World Cup final between France and Brazil in July of 1998. And it is also a genuine world championship, involving teams from 32 countries in the final rounds, unlike the much more parochial and misnamed World Series in American baseball (that does’t even involve Japan or Cuba, two baseball hotbeds). But although soccer has become an important sport in the American sports scene, it will never make inroads into the hearts and markets of American sports the way that football, basketball, hockey, baseball, and even tennis and golf have done. There are many reasons for this.

Recently the New England Revolution beat the Tampa Bay Mutiny in a game played during a horrid rainstorm. Nearly 5000 fans showed up, which shows that soccer is, indeed, popular in the United States. However, the story of the game was buried near the back of the newspaper's sports section, and there was certainly no television coverage. In fact, the biggest reason for soccer's failure as a mass appeal sport in the United States is that it doesn't conform easily to the demands of television.

Basketball succeeds enormously in America because it regularly scheduled what it calls "television time-outs" as well as the time-outs that the teams themselves call to re-group, not to mention half-times and, on the professional level, quarter breaks. Those time-outs in the action are ideally made for television commercials. And television coverage is the lifeblood of American sports. College basketball lives for a game scheduled on CBS or ESPN (highly recruited high school players are more likely to go to a team that regularly gets national television exposure), and we could even say that television coverage has dictated the pace and feel of American football. Anyone who has attended a live football game knows how commercial time-outs slow the game and sometimes, at its most exciting moments disrupt the flow of events. There is no serious objection, however, because without television, football knows that it simply wouldn't remain in the homes and hearts of Americans. Also, without those advertising dollars, the teams couldn't afford the sky-high salaries of their high-priced superstars.