08 October, 2011

Columbus Day

Today's session English Speaking club started with the introduction of the newcomers.
Our friends American volunteers were present today and we used this opportunity to talk to them. We decided to talk about the most memorable event of the week. For the Americans the worst news of the week was the death of Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs was a technology entrepreneur and visionary, the chief executive of Apple – the computer giant he co-founded in 1976.
The positive event of the week was described by Jana. She had a coach surfer guest from Greece who enlightened her on the situation in his country. Besides Jana reminded us all about the International day of Post service and suggested to everyone to greet their respective post office employees.
Peace Corp. Volunteer Kathryn asked our advice on how to go about sending a parcel to the US. The club members gave her numerous instructions about where to go, how to get prepared and what to expect from the local service.
One more topic for discussion was suggested – Jana’s recent travel to Europe. She shared with us her most treasured experiences – visits to the world known museums of Paris and Barcelona. The nightmares of the trip were mostly connected with the transport.
The second part of the session was dedicated to the celebration of the Columbus Day in theUSA. Across the United States people celebrate the day Columbus landed in America because it changed the course of history.
We watched videos illustrating the life of Christopher Columbus, the history of the Columbus day Celebration in New York. In the discussion we mentioned the events that commemorated different anniversaries of the American continent discovery.
“Columbus and the Discovery of America”, Imre Kiralfy's "grand dramatic, operatic, and ballet spectacle," is among the more elaborate tributes created for the 300th commemoration. The World's Columbian Exposition, by far the most ambitious event planned for the celebration, opened in Chicago the summer of 1893. 1992 marked the 500th anniversary of the Columbus discovery. Ohio, planned ''AmeriFlora,'' the first international floral and garden festival in the United States. Genoa, Italy, was having scholars compile everything Columbus, a Genoese home boy, ever wrote. Spain  had a World's Fair in Seville and sailed replicas of the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria across the Atlantic.
The session was resumed with the discussion about the controversy of the Colombo’s role in history.
The number of participants – 23 persons.

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