"Don't think. Just do !"

Recently I did a project with my 11th year English group and as they wanted to see a Jackie Chan movie, I chose "The Forbidden Kingdom", which came to the cinemas in 2008 and united the action stars Jackie Chan and Jet Li. The plot is a typical story of initiation: Jason, a Boston teenager, is thrown into a mythic world by a magic staff, where he has to fulfill a task and learns how to become a man.

One thing I did in class was take some quotes from this movie and discuss them with the students. The quote I want to talk about here is taken from the beginning of the relationship between Jason and the Drunken Scholar, Lu Yan, played by Jackie Chan. In a tea house they are attacked by the soldiers of the evil Jade Warlord and have to flee. At one point Jason is standing on the roof top, in front of him darkness, behind him the soldiers, but he hesitates. Lu Yan shouts: "Jump!", but Jason replies: "I don't think so." Lu Yan's order : "Don't think. Just do!"

Now Jason is torn between two evils: he can be killed by the soldiers or he can be seriously hurt or even killed by jumping down the roof. In the end he jumps, is caught by Lu Yan and they fall together, both surviving and making their escape.

I thought that life is sometimes like that. Like my first jump from the three-meter board in the local swimming-pool: it scared me to death, but the thought of all these people seeing me climb down again was even more scary, so I stopped thinking and jumped. My students gave another example: falling in love.It can give you happiness, but it can also cause you a broken heart. You can try to reflect and think about it for ages, trying to eliminate every risk, in the end you still have to "just do". Or remain lonely and wonder what you might have missed.

There definitely are situations in life when too much pondering means not going forward, when you have to stop thinking and jump. In the end it might be better than just standing there paralyzed and being killed by the soldiers. At least you have the chance to be caught and saved...

(Photo JC Group, 2007, www.jackiechan.com)

Berlin: Buddy Bears

Everywhere in Berlin you can find these guys. This  is not the famous "Berliner Bär", the bear of the Berlin coat-of-arms, but a Buddy Bear. Never heard of them? What a pity.

They are the invention of two Berlin residents, Eva and Klaus Herlitz. They thought of the idea to ask artists around the world to decorate these fiberglass bears and then the United Circle of Buddy Bears travelled around the world to promote the message of global peace, tolerance and friendship. In the cities, where the bears are shown, charity auctions and activities raise money for good causes and from time to time some of them are sold for charity.

I was introduced to the Buddy Bears by Jackie Chan's website, to be more precise, the Kids Corner of it. When Jackie Chan learnt about these bears, he became a fan and has supported the project ever since. You can find more information on his website and you can also download your own Buddy Bear to decorate.

http://www.jackiechankids.com/files/Buddy_Bears.htm

Oh, I forgot, the Buddy Bear is the chap in the suit, the bear in the anorak is me on a cool May day in Berlin...

Berlin: The Reichstag

Berlin has not always been the German capital, mainly, because for most of our history there was no "Germany" that needed a capital. In the Middle Ages there was a German Empire that consisted of a loose connection of territories. After the Thirty-Years-War in 1648 they gained a lot of independence and the Kaiser just had a pretty crown, but no power over the whole Reich. So Berlin was the capital of the territory of Brandenburg that later became the kingdom of Preußen (Prussia).

In 1806 even this loose-knit empire was dismantled and not restored after Napoleon had been sent to exile. It was not until 1871 that a German national state was founded by Otto von Bismarck. The capital was Berlin and the King of Prussia became the German Kaiser (emperor).
This Reich had a constitution and even a parliament that was called "Reichstag", just like the building where the representatives met. However, at that time the main power still was with the Kaiser. After World War I the German people established the first real democratic state on German soil and the Reichstag became the building where the representatives of the people controlled the government and made the laws.

But in 1933 Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor. In February 1933 there was a fire in the Reichstag, which Hitler took as an excuse to abolish the basic human rights of the constitution, which was the first step to establishing the Nazi dictatorship.

After the war the building was restored, but without the dome that was blown up in 1945. It was situated next to the Berlin Wall and hosted an exhibition about German history. When Germany was reunited in 1990 and Berlin became capital again, also the Reichstag got its old function back: since 1999 it has been the place where the representatives of the German people meet, discuss and rule. Today it is one of the most famous attractions of the city - from the roof and the top of the new glass dome you have a wonderful view of the city.

Berlin: The divided city

Last week I was in Berlin with a group of students. Berlin is not only the capital of Germany, but it is also a city with a lot of tragic history, particularly when you consider the time of the Cold War. Between 1949 and 1990 there were two German states, a Communist eastern state (German Democratic Republic) and a parliamentary democracy in the west, the Federal Republic of Germany. West Berlin was sort of part of the FRG, whereas East Berlin was the capital of the GDR. And West Berlin was an like an island in the Communist system, always in danger of being cut off from supplies. This happened in 1948/49, when the Soviets blocked all the roads and railways from West Germany to West Berlin and American and British planes flew everything that was needed into the city. There is a monument for this "Luftbrücke" (literally: air bridge) at Frankfurt airport and when you see that the planes used were so small compared to modern freight planes, you get an idea of the enormous task that was done then.

In 1961 the East German government decided to stop people from trying to leave the GDR via West Berlin and built a wall that was to divide the city until 1989. Today you can only see a line on the ground where the wall once was and some remains that show visitors how it was. The most famous one is "Checkpoint Charlie", which was the place where international military and diplomats could cross to the other half of the city. In October 1961, Soviet and American tanks stood here facing each other and ready to shoot ... Berlin was right in the middle of all the tension of those days.

The first picture shows the Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate), which used to be on East Berlin territory - how wonderful that everybody can walk through it again ! The other pictures show how "Checkpoint Charlie" looked when it was still in use and the line that signifies where the wall used to be.

Cave Woman

Last weekend my computer crashed - first I thought it was only the system that had been affected by a virus, but in the end it was the hard drive that was broken and had to be substituted by a new one. On Sunday morning it ceased to function, on Tuesday evening I was reconnected to the world. THREE WHOLE DAYS without computer !!!!!!

To give you the good news first, I had done a backup of my files on Saturday morning, so in the end only one school worksheet and five photos were lost. But I found it amazing, how handicapped I felt without my computer. To mention just a few things:

- I had to write an important letter
- I had to design a test for my 5th year English group
- I wanted to work on some more writing
- I wanted to upload and send away some photos I had taken that day
- I needed some information for my lessons
- I could not talk to my friends around the world

I had to go down on my knees to beg my son to allow me to use his computer for five minutes for two emails, one professional and one private one. Reluctantly he let me approach his precious machine for five minutes, standing next to me counting the seconds and suspiciously viewing my every move. After all, my role in this household is that of the computer idiot and I probably had done something that caused the hard drive to break. I could also do some things at school on Monday and Tuesday afternoon, but that meant I had to stay in school longer on days with an already very busy schedule.

So, the computer makes my professional life a lot easier. But what I missed most were the conversations with my online friends - sure, we could exchange emails, and those are faster than the old, pre-Internet method, but still, I have so gotten used to a little chat here and there with someone on the other side of the globe.

Well, in the end I could leave the age of smoke signals and was reconnected to the world again. But it makes me wonder, what would happen, if by some disaster we were thrown back to an age without electricity and gadgets that pass a message around the world at the click of a button...

PS:
I have to add that after my son had built in the new hard drive, I was able to set up everything that was needed, but had problems with my old monitor. I asked my son to help me and that caused him to raise eyes to the sky and declare mothers the most annoying people on this planet. I pointed out to him that his annoying mother was paying for the new brakes for his car... it turned out to be a convincing argument...