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Us Europeans - 1989 testimonials

Daniel, designer

Frankfurt Main, DE (View on map)
Posted 29 Jul 2008:

Quitting a prestigious job is not a typical German thing to do. Still, I found somebody today who has made `fun` the most important part is career. Daniel Siegl (27) has worked on graphic design projects of some of German best-known companies, but he has decided that it`s time to move on to work that really pleases him.... Read more

Cem from Malm?

Malm?, SE (View on map)
Posted 13 Jul 2008:

According to tourist brochures, Malm? is a very international city with more than 170 nationalities represented within its borders. Reality is barely different from that. A big share of the people walking around in the centre today does not have a particular Swedish look. I feel invited to do the opposite from what I usually do: instead of looking for a typically local person to interview, I try my luck aiming for a non-local. I partly succeed, but the story is nonetheless an interesting one:... Read more

Danish Camilla

Copenhagen, DK (View on map)
Posted 10 Jul 2008:

While on this trip, it took me some time before I felt comfortable interviewing people about their own lives rather than about abstract subjects. I must say I enjoy I have come to enjoy doing these interviews, not in the least because it takes less effort to understand one person than to understand an entire society. Today`s one-(wo)man interview is about the life of Danish Camilla who is 30 years old and works in an afterschool institution that takes care of children with brain damage. This is a short synopsis of her life so far:... Read more

Constructive psychology

Gdansk, PL (View on map)
Posted 26 Jun 2008:

Following interviews with a railway employee in Hungary, a photographer from Slovenia, a social worker in Austria, a pub manager in Czech Republic and a forest girl in Slovakia, today is the right day for another one-person interview. This time, I am talking with Mateusz, a 25-year-old psychology student who lives in Gdansk and hopes to graduate within the next year.... Read more

In the Irish pub

Trutnov, CZ (View on map)
Posted 18 May 2008:

If there`s one cultural concept that has proved to be worth exporting, it`s the Irish Pub. Anywhere outside Northern Ireland, the Irish tricolore and the Guinness logo stand for a warm welcome, no matter whether the local reality comes anywhere near that promise. The Irish Pub in Trutnov is doing better than that. It was set up by a real Irishman, and is now run by Gabriela, 27, Czech, who speaks perfect English with a subtle Irish accent.... Read more

Austrian Elisabeth

Graz, AT (View on map)
Posted 9 May 2008:

Throughout the `Us Europeans` project, I have found it increasingly easy to just step up to people in the street and start asking them questions. Interviewing people is a perfect way to collect surprising opinions and to learn about how many stories hide behind a single face. Today, I am interviewing Elisabeth (22), a social sciences student from Graz who recently spent half a year in Tanzania and will soon start working as a social caretaker in Austria. Or possibly in India..... Read more

European love story

Montegrotto, IT (View on map)
Posted 30 Apr 2008:

Spending a study semester abroad is a perfect way to get to know a new country, new customs and new people. The European student program `Erasmus` was set up to facilitate exchanges between European universities. The experience of living in another country for one or two semesters is refreshing, confronting and intense. Because of this, `Erasmus` students tend to spend a lot of time together and create strong bonds between each other. Most of those turn out to be of temporary nature ? explaining the nickname `Orgasmus`, but there`s always a few that stretch beyond the exchange period.... Read more

Portrait of a Slovenian

Koper, SI (View on map)
Posted 27 Apr 2008:

Selecting respondents for my daily interviews is a rather random process. While walking around town, the very few criteria I use to decide whether somebody is a suitable respondents are the following: 1) Looks like speaks English, 2) Looks friendly 3) aged roughly between 20 and 30 years old. I thought of today as a suitable day to write another small biography, just interviewing one person and finding out about his or her life. Presenting today: a 20-minute interview with Simon, 31, photographer.... Read more

Hungarian Ang?la

Sz?kesfeh?rv?r, HU (View on map)
Posted 13 Apr 2008:

Upon completion of `Us Europeans`, scheduled for 1 August 2008, I will have spoken to several thousands of young people living in the European Union. About their daily lives, their countries, their traditions and ambitions, their frustrations and hopes. Up until now, most of the articles have been related to a subject rather than a person. Starting from today, I will dedicate one article per country to just one single person ? as was by the way the original plan for the entire project. Today, I am presenting the first victim of this new practice: Ang?la from Sz?kesfeh?rv?r in Hungary.... Read more

Canadian in Lappland

Torvinen, FI (View on map)
Posted 27 Sep 2007:

If you have had enough of everybody around you, try Finnish Lappland. You will meet some people during the day, I would estimate as many in a day as you see in the main street of Helsinki in half a minute. Feeling like there is no-one else around has certain advantages, but it doesn`t make it easier to stick to my self-imposed deadline of writing an article every day and trying to speak to a few people to collect their views. As an alternative, I am interviewing Philippe today since he`s the one to blame for the fact that I even got here in the first place. He invited two other Couch Surfers to his house near Sodankyl? (Lappland) and introduced us to the Finnish forest and its free hospitality cabins: fires, sausages and wood chopping included.... Read more

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