What's Up spring 2015

Table 

of 

contents 

Editor-in-Chief 

ALENA CILÍKOVÁ 

SUPERVISOR 

Matt Haarman 

Staff-writers 

Nikoleta Allinová 

Daniela Kročianová 

Jakub Rybnikár 

Jarka Petrášová 

Linda Poláková 

Ľuboš Rybnikár 

Martin Krč 

Jakub Barszcz 

Mirka Račková 

Nina Nôžková 

Tamara Salibová 

Táňa Novomestská 

Tereza Ivančová 

Mrg. Ľubica Durcová 

3 My two cents 

introducing our language teachers 

4 Mrs. Čankyová 

5 Saying goodbye 

fashion 

6 Vienna- new fashion 

metropolis? 

8 Remedies 

WE are into science 

10 The story of glowing animals 

Lost girl’s diary 

12 Lost girl’s diary 

14 Living the life in Uppsala, 

Sweden 

16 Ed Sheeran 

18 We are still getting better 

word play 

19 Voyage 

Graphic Designer 


IT 


Online Publishing 


Language Correction 

Matt Haarman 

What’s cookin’? 

20 Muffins 

21 Jokes 

introducing our region 

22 Košariská 

2 WHAT’S UP the GYMY magazine

MY two cents 

My Two 

Cents 

by MATT HAARMAN 

Every year I venture into the 

topic of heroes and idols with my 

maturita students, and I am taken aback 

by the responses I get when I pose 

the question of who their heroes are. 

Many respond with something like 

Bieber, Beyoncé or Borat. Others spout out 

with perfect examples that they have been 

trained to say, such as, Ghandí, Mandela, 

or mother Theresa. Though these last three 

hold some weight, I don’t see them truly 

influencing the actions, ambitions and 

dreams of my students. The most common 

answer I am given is something like “Uh... 

I don’t know” or “I don’t have a hero.” 

Everyone needs a hero, someone to 

look up to. To learn from, and to model 

themselves after. I’m shocked to find 

that my students are lacking in the hero 

department, because my role model was 

so important in making me into the man 

I am today. My hero has been and always 

will be my father, or “Pops” as I used to 

call him. My Dad taught me more about 

life, the world, and what it means to be a 

good man, than anyone else on this earth. 

He taught me to ask intelligent questions, 

and to put others before myself. My father 

showed me what it means to be a loving 

husband, a great dad, and the world’s 

greatest grandfather. He always claimed 

that he “didn’t know everything, but that he 

knew a little about a lot.” He always seemed 

to have the right answer when I needed it. 

My dad is gone now. The cancer 

finally won. He passed on this past May. 

But I assure you that my “Pops” lives on. 

Every lesson he taught me, through words 

and his selfless actions will live on in me. 

You see, when you have this kind of hero, 

the gifts that they bless you with stick 

with you. The wisdom that they gave you 

will continue to mold you, influence the 

decisions you make, and the way you live 

your lives forever. The knowledge I gained 

from my father is priceless. The best part 

is that no one can ever take it from me. 

So I say to you, choose your heroes 

and role models with care. Put some 

thought into it. Choose someone that will 

stand behind you, and support you in your 

dreams and ambitions. Choose someone 

that will live on inside you. Even, when 

they are no longer with us. I want to leave 

you with some advice from my father 

in saying: “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” 

WHAT’S UP the GYMY magazine 3

Introducing our language teachers 

MRS. ČANKYOVÁ 

by ĽUBOŠ RYBNIKÁR 

Mrs. Čankyová has been my 

English teacher for nearly two 

years. Besides being a great 

teacher, she is also a very nice 

person and I am really pleased 

I could interview her. 

How are you today? 

As I teach my students. The correct 

answer is: 

“Fine, thank you.“ 

Did you also study at 

grammar school? 

Yes, I studied at grammar school in 

Piešťany, which is my birthplace. 

At which university did 

you study? 

I studied at Constantine the 

Philosopher University in Nitra, 

at the department of English 

and American studies and at the 

department of Ethnology and 

Ethnomusicology. 

What is more difficult 

for you? Teaching or 

studying? 

To be honest, as a teacher I spend a 

lot of time studying and preparing 

different materials for my lessons. 

Although it´s time-consuming, it 

is easier than teaching. Teaching 

requires a combination of different 

skills such as courage, calmness, 

understanding, empathy, 

knowledge, and the ability to 

adapt to different situations. 

Do you have any other 

interests besides English ? 

Of course I do. I adore singing 

and dancing, hiking, cycling, 

playing with my children, ironing, 

cooking…shall I continue? 

Is there something you 

want to say to all What´s 

up readers? 

Enjoy this gorgeous magazine 

full of exciting stories and 

contributions. 


Saying 

goodbye 

by VERONIKA MOLČANOVÁ 

Every year in May our school goes through 

some hard times. We have to say goodbye 

to the year’s graduates, our oldest and most 

beloved students. This is done through a 

rather cheerful ceremony. With a great joy, 

younger students prepare a program for 

them. The ceremony is opened with the 

students‘ anthem Gaudeamus. Next, comes 

a few touching words from our headmistress, 

which forces each of us to reflect on our 

fast-fleeing time. And finally, a series of 

the mentioned performances presented by 

students from all of the classes. This year 

there was unbelievable dancing from Las 

Babbass, followed by the amazing singing 

performances of Eva Bednáriková, Natália 

Štefancová and a newly discovered rising 

talent Andrej Pribiš. A huge hats off to the Trio 

kvinta, for their breathtaking interpretation 

of Imagine Dragons (boys, we would like 

to go to your concert). The ceremony also 

included a presentation of photos and videos 

of the graduates along with praise for their 

accomplishments throughout high school. 

The highlight of the „evening“ was a band 

with the mysterious name Überraschung. It 

consisted of Trio kvinta and FS Kopaničiar. 

This mash-up of modern and traditional 

instruments ended this year Ceremony with 

the song Neľutujem, with students dancing 

on the stage and in the audience. 

Unfortunately, all the beauty and joy has to 

come to an end, and tears replaced the laughter 

and dancing. With all the performances 

are over, flowers were given and there was 

nothing left but the last high school test, the 

test of maturity, graduation. 


Vienna 

new fashion metropolis ? 

by LINDA POLÁKOVÁ 

People claim that Vienna is not a city 

of fashion. Unlike Milan or Paris, it does 

not have a long standing Fashion Week 

tradition, and no presence of the world’s 

most popular designers. Nowadays, Vienna 

is bustling with its very own designers and 

new fashion, setting the mark for themselves 

both at home in Austria and overseas. 

The Life Ball 

The Life Ball, which takes place annually 

inside Vienna City Hall, is one of the biggest 

AIDS charity events in the world. The aim is 

to help affected people in an unconventional 

way and to fight against the taboo status 

of HIV/AIDS in our society. Therefore, Life 

Ball is an amazing festivity that celebrates 

life and makes a loud statement in the fight 

against HIV and AIDS – resounding across 

the boundaries of Vienna and Austria. 

Celebrating the joy of life and the diversity of 

cultures, Life Ball unites the social tradition 

of the Viennese ball culture with opulence, 

extravagance, glamour, fancy performances 

as well as emotional moments. Life Ball 

guests have always been encouraged to 

wear fancy, unusual outfits as creativity of 

style and costumes is part of the concept 

and contributes to the unique flair of the 

event. 

The fundraising from the Life Ball and its 

actions, which aim to raise donations for 

important aid projects, are significant and 

indispensable instruments that help to bring 

public discussion to the topic of AIDS and 

also to create awareness. 

This year’s theme was inspired by the ancient 

Roman festival “Ver Sanctum” or “Holy 

Spring”, turning the neo-Gothic City Hall into 

a gold-drenched fantasy world with birds of 

paradise, angels and Amazonian beauties. 

There were American celebrities included 

entertainer Paula Abdul and transgender 

model Carmen Carrera. 


It’s always been a very stylish event; there’s 

an annual catwalk show curated by different 

designers including Diane von Furstenberg 

and John Galliano, and this year it was 

masterminded by Jean Paul Gaultier, who 

showcased work from his 20-year-old career. 

Walking the runway for the French designer 

Jean Paul Gaultier is a blast but the show 

being planned during Life Ball was the cherry 

on the cake. 

Fashion for Europe 

The collections of 14 international fashion 

designers took our breath away. Colourful , 

brilliant fashion was seen at the fashion show 

during opening ceremony of the Eurovison 

song contest on Monday evening in the 

Town Hall Square in Vienna. The designers 

presented their latest creations here. 

As a representative of the host country, designer Lena Hoschek started the fashion show. 

We could see her work – a brightly colored, patterned dress in summer style. The charming 

collection with lots of lace, was shown by the Israeli label Galia Lahav. Eccentric hippie fashion 

was offered by Lithuanian Daily. 

An Elegant dress in the black and white 

clothing line offered “Blessus” from Poland, 

these simple lines were replaced by the 

sparkling and glittering collection of Albanian 

Agnesa Vuthaj. The Italian Calzedonia 

brought summer vibes. A Swimsuit collection 

was very well received by the audience. Lots 

of tulle and leather was seen in Belgian 

designer Bernard Depoorter. Romanian 

fashion designer Adelina Ivan made shiny 

sneakers. 

In tight jeans and rock style, fashion the 

house collection of Armenian Sinoian took 

place, followed by Finlish designer Ivana 

Helsinki who recieved attention with fabulous 

romantic, glittering clothes. Extravagant cuts 

were shown by Montenegrin Sanja Matijevic 

and Swiss Julian Zigerli presented a men’s 

collection with shiny coats. Azerbaijani 

designer Fakhriya Khalafova preffered ethnic 

and paisley prints. As a final label from 

Germany - Michalský mixed high-society 

This event had the motto “building bridges 

with fashion.” It was an opportunity for 

designer participating countries to show 

their work to an international audience. 

“We look forward to offer to many fashion 

enthusiasts and visitors a varied program 

that shows that Europe has amazing fashion 

sense . Trends and fashion, which you can 

see on the streets and catwalks. “ - Liliana 

Klein, who also organizes fashion events in 

Vienna. 


Remedies 

by NATÁLIA PRIBIŠOVÁ 

HERBAL SHAMPOO 

INGREDIENTS: 

• 125 ml water 

(For dark hair) 

• 1 tsp. dried lavender 

• 1 tsp. dried rosemary 

• 1/2 tsp. whole cloves 

Washing your hair with herbs helps to renew the natural pH of the skin and 

makes your hair shine. It also eases skin irritation caused by heat or chemical 

products. According to your hair type you should choose the combination of 

herbs. There are options for dark and fair hair. 

(For fair hair) 

• 1 tsp. lemon peel 

• 1 tsp. dried marigold 

• 1 tsp. dried chamomile 

PROCEDURE: 

1. Boil water with herbs in a covered mug. 

2. Let the herbs brew for 30 minutes. 

3. Rinse your hair with the mixture (or you can mix it with a natural unperfumed shampoo and use it like a 

normal shampoo) 

Refreshing body spray 

If you like fresh scents, and want to cool yourself on a 

hot day, this body spray is prefect for you. You will need 

witch hazel extract, which you can buy in drug stores or 

pharmacies. In some recipes vodka is used, but distillate 

from which hazel is more gentle and doesn’t have such 

a strong smell. 

INGREDIENTS: 

• 125 ml distillate from witch hazel 

• 10g chopped fresh mint 

• 1 sliced fresh lime 

• 125 ml filtered or mineral water 

PROCEDURE: 

1. Let the mint and lime brew in the witch hazel distillate in a covered mug for 5-6 days 

2. Squeeze the solution and pour it into a small bottle 

3. Add water and shake it. 


Homemade no-fluoride toothpaste 

Toothpastes for children do not contain fluoride. Why? Because fluoride 

is extremely toxic and eating a tube of paste (containing fluoride) could 

kill a child. Its effects could be harmful also for adults. Why not make 

our own non-toxic alternative? Sea salt is antibacterial, whitens teeth, 

and is good for the gums. A few ingredients in this recipe are optional, 

but they support the effectiveness- xylitol helps prevent tooth decay 

and sage is antimicrobial. 

INGREDIENTS: 

• 3tbsp baking soda 

• 1 tbsp. ground sea salt 

• A few drops of peppermint, spearmint, clove or 

cinnamon essential oil 

• Non liquefied coconut oil 

• 1 tsp. xylitol or a few drops of liquid stevia (optional) 

• 1/2 tsp. dried sage (optional) 

PROCEDURE: 

1. Mix all ingredients except the coconut oil. You can stop at this stage and use it as a toothpowder. 

2. Mix in a teaspoon of coconut oil until you find the right consistency for the paste. 

3. Put into a small jar or squeezable container and keep it in a cool place. 

Cooling cucumber 

This procedure is excellent for the hydration 

of eye tissue, lightening dark circles, and the 

elimination of puffy eyes. What is more, the 

procedure is not complicated at all. Try this 

simple but effective cure for your tired eyes! 

INGREDIENTS: 

• 1 large cucumber 

• 2 tbsp. unrefined coconut oil 

• 1/4-cup Aloe Vera gel 

• 8 drops carrot seed essential oil (optional) 

PROCEDURE: 

1. Blend all the ingredients together until it forms a smooth cream. 

2.Transfer to ice cube trays and freeze. You might have some left over. Why not pop it in the fridge so you 

can use your mask now? 

3. Apply around the eyes. Leave on for 10-15 minutes. (if you are using the Carrot Seed oil be very careful. 

If it gets in your eyes it will burn. If the oil does get into your eyes, rinse out your eyes with cool water. 

teaspoon = tsp 

tablespoon= tbsp 


We are into science 

by DANIELA KROČIANOVÁ 

Why do things glow? 

The story of glowing animals (or any other living thing) started with a man by the 

name of Osamu Shimomura, who was so passionate about science, that neither 

the bombing of the city he lived in during World War II, Nagasaki, nor the lack of 

opportunities for education could stop him from practicing science and making 

things glow. 

To be more accurate, the story starts with the first naturally occurring organisms 

with the ability to emit light - some bacteria hundreds of thousands years ago 

deep down in the prehistoric oceans. 

Although this is a very good question, the 

answer is in many cases still unknown. It’s easy to 

assume that marine creatures such as jellyfish glow, 

because it’s dark deep down in the oceans. We also 

know, that some animals glow to attract prey or the 

opposite sex. An interesting example of this is a 

female of an insect species that is able to emit light 

resembling another, smaller species, which attracts 

the male of the smaller species, and then guess 

what, she eats him! 

But what’s more important to our story is, 

how we can make things glow, and also our need for 

glowing animals. 

The discovery of GFP 

This brings us back to our Japanese hero, 

professor Shimomura, who was the first person to 

help people make things glow. And he did this by 

extracting a certain type of protein, called aequorin 

from a jellyfish species - Aequorea victoria. Not much, 

you think? Oh, I forgot to mention that to extract 

150 miligrams of this protein he needed 2.5 tons of 

jellyfish! And what’s more, the protein didn’t want to 

glow in his lab. 

So, after countless experiments with no results, 

the frustrated Shimomura poured the protein into 

the sink, and guess what - just before disappearing, 

the protein shone a little, and Shimomura found out 

that it simply needed sea water to glow - the sink he 

dumped the protein into was the same one where 

they poured dirty water from the aquarium in the lab. 

But his troubles did not end there. Next, he 

found out that although the protein glows blue, the 

jellyfish itself emits a green light. Why, you ask? 

Because in the jellyfish, aequorin gives its energy to 

another substance, which glows instead. And this 

substance has been helping scientists in countless 

ways ever since - it’s called green fluorescent protein, 

or GFP for short. 


That’s nice but...what is it good for? 

We are into science 

Well, countless things. 

Firstly, you can make a certain structure in an 

organism more visible, or you can see where exactly 

this structure, or a type of cell occurs, when it glows. 

The first experiment of this kind was performed by 

Martin Chalfie who made the neurons of a tiny wormlike 

animal called Caenorhabditis elegans glow green, 

and whose article has been quoted numerous times. 

You can also find similarities between different 

species. There is, for example, a green-glowing cat 

used to study HIV - cats have their own form called 

FIV - feline immunodeficiency virus. 

Then, there is a group of people designing 

plants to replace street lamps! 

Or, just for fun. Transgenic glowing fish are 

being sold in the United States - just because they are 

pretty. You can buy them for 5 - 7 dollars. 

Why Just green? 

We are talking mostly about green because 

the original GFP was green, as its name says. But 

nowadays the possibilities are limitless. You can 

have a glowing protein of any colour you desire and 

the man behind this is Roger Y. Tsein, who designed 

various colours from the original GFP by changing 

it’s aminoacids, and also Douglas Prasher who was 

the first man to clone GFP and without whom this 

wouldn’t be possible. 

So nowadays, you can have an animal 

glowing any colour you want - the tricky one was 

red, because it turned out to be toxic, but now it’s 

made from corals. 

To conclude, I would like to add that Shimomura, Chalfie and Tsein were awarded with a Nobel prize for 

chemistry in 2008. Douglas Prasher was not included since the Nobel prize can be shared by maximum three 

people. 

I would also like to add, that although this might not seem like such a big deal to most of you, genetic 

engineering is nowadays a big part of our world. Genetically modified organisms are used in many more ways 

than you can imagine, and GLOWING genetically altered organisms stand behind most of the discoveries in 

molecular science in the last decade. 

A little FAQ for those who might be interested: 

Q: Can I buy a glowing pet? 

A: Here and now...no. If you moved to the US, you could buy glowing fish. Although, if you wanted to 

ship them all the way here, you would pay a lot of money and the paperwork would be endless. Then, 

you might be able to buy a mouse from some university where it’s no longer needed, but the price 

would be somewhere around 30, 000 euros. 

Q: Can I make my pet glow myself? 

A: In theory, yes. But you would have to study some biology (I don’t mean the high school level, though) 

and rob a laboratory. Then you can start thinking about creating some glowing organisms… 

Q: Can I glow??? 

A: Wait for me to finish the university and we can make a deal :-). Just kidding. In theory, it is possible 

to alter a human genome too but for ethical reasons you can not. 



‘LOST’ 

GIRL’S 

DIARY 

by TAMARA SALIBOVÁ 

In my final story I want to introduce you to more of the people I got know, places I 

have visited and my best experiences. 

In the begging it was very difficult 

for me to speak to someone, even 

though I am quite a chatty person 

and I usually don’t have problems 

making new friends. However my 

host family helped me through 

this speaking barrier, and after two 

months I had less of a problem 

speaking and almost no problems 

understanding. 

Students in school were really 

helpful too, when someone saw that 

I had trouble finding my classroom 

or any other problems they were 

ready to help me. Politeness was a 

sure thing and since the beginning 

I haven’t met a rude person. During 

my lessons there wasn’t really time 

to talk with someone and create 

friendships, but thanks to my 

lessons I was able to meet people 

that I could talk to and we had 

common topics for conversation. 

I met an amazing, friendly, girl 

named Faith (yeah I know…haha), 

she was from the Philippines and 

we have been friends ever since. 

My other close friend was Iqra, she 

moved to my town from Pakistan 

and she lived with her grandparents. 

I met her in the first week of school, 

because she looked as lost as I was, 



and our friendship began. 

I know you must be thinking, “Only 

two friends?” The answer is simply, 

yes. I only had two good, close 

friends and the others were just 

people that I knew. I talked with a 

lot of people but I didn’t hang out 

with them after school. The thing 

is, all the students were quite nice 

and polite, but they were keeping 

a distance between us. It seemed 

difficult to melt the ice. 

After moving into a new family and 

a new school I had the opportunity 

to make even more friends, and I 

met more people to hang out with. 

The first day, I met my host sisters. 

Melissa was from Germany and 

Margherita was from Italy. It was 

nice to have someone who could 

show you how things had been 

working at school ect. Actually, 

we had some really nice moments 

during our trips as well. 

We went to London a few times, 

and every time we discovered a 

new exciting thing or place. Such 

as a food market with meals from 

around the world. There was Falafel 

from turkey, cannoli from Italy and 

English Cider. We took another 

interesting trip to Oxford where we 

saw all the university buildings and 

more. Did you know that the author 

of the Lord of the Rings was born 

and grew up there? No? Me neither, 

hah. In oxford, I was in the biggest 

bookshop I have ever seen. It had 

four big floors and a huge basement 

with a café. However my favorite 

place in Oxford was the original 

shop of Alice in Wonderland. You 

probably could have found anything 

you could think of there. There 

were whole costumes of Alice and 

“Eat Me” chocolate, to small golden 

charms of keys and cups of tea. 

The majority of my ‘holiday’ in the 

UK is over. I spent nine amazing 

months discovering knew life styles, 

visiting places I have never dreamed 

about, trying to fit into a collective 

and getting to know myself. After 

these nine months I can surely say, 

I am not lost anymore 

(finally, haha). However 

I still have my last 

month to enjoy this 

new experience in 

front of me. I hope I 

will come home with 

the feeling that I 

withdrew everything 

I could from my year 

abroad. 

Lastly, I would like 

to say something 

to people who are thinking 

about going to the UK. It is an 

amazing experience! Difficult 

in the beginning, but it will give 

you lot. You shouldn’t hesitate 

in making the decision. I am 

now more confident with myself 

then ever before. It gave me the 

opportunity to be responsible for 

myself even when I had incredible 

freedom in everything. There is 

no one here to tell you what to 

wear or how to behave, but it is 

expected that you should know 

that on your own. 

Also, I can say that it is not only 

about English, but also about the 

people, places and the feelings 

as well. In the beginning it was 

really scary and I thought I would 

never find any friends and that 

I would spend my whole year 

alone. I made a mistake though. 

I thought that they would come 

to me instead of me going to 

talk to them. Then I realized 

that everything had changed 

and I had many new friends. So, 

if you decide to go to UK (highly 

recommended) and you struggle 

with finding friends. My advice 

for you is not to hesitate, sitting 

in a corner with the expectation 

that someone will come to you. 

Stand up and go find someone, I bet 

you wouldn’t be only new student 

in school that feeing lost. Maybe 

next year I will read your “lost 

girl’s” diary. 

See you at home ;). 


Living the life in 

Uppsala, Sweden 

by ZUZANA PAGÁČOVÁ 

I have learned that life constantly 

supplies you with coincidences. I 

have been through a couple and I 

will share one of the biggest ones 

with you. 

It all started off by sheer serendipity. 

It was in the peak of last summer; I 

was soaking up the sun and enjoying 

the waves of the Mediterranean Sea 

when I met this lovably eccentric 

person who changed my life. 

Her name was Lorin. She came 

from Sweden. Not that I would have 

expected a Swede to be shy, but 

Lorin managed to reveal most of her 

fascinating life story to me in just 

couple of days. She spoke about her 

school with such enthusiasm and 

pride that I spent an awful lot of time 

trying to figure out how to apply and 

enroll as a student there. With only 

a few weeks left until the start of the 

new semester, everybody, including 

myself, thought it impossible for 

me to enroll so soon. Nevertheless, I 

learned that it is always good to try. 

Believe it or not, after some 

paperwork and grade conversion 

business, the head of the IB 

program, and the nicest person in 

the world, Sven, replied and told me 

that I could start at his school as an 

international student that semester. 

Excitement and happiness flooded 

my mind; my heartbeat a little 

bit faster but there was a tiny bit 

of worry hiding in the back of my 

mind. I knew that there was not 

going to be a host family waiting for 

me like a year ago in Michigan. In 

fact, I realized that I would not know 

anybody and the Viking language 

seemed too difficult and strange to 

teach myself. 

Even though I was pretty sure that 

nothing would ever beat America’s 

overwhelmingly friendly people, 

I was pleasantly surprised to see a 

tall, kind, man smiling from cheek 

to cheek while waiting for a stranger 

at the airport. Sven was holding a 

cardboard sign with my name spelled 

correctly -- as opposed to how it 

was misspelled in America. I quickly 

decided to forget about the coldhearted 

Swedish stereotypes and I 

am thankful to Sven for helping me 

with everything from the very first 

moment. He officially calls himself 

Zuzka’s Swedish dad now. Although 

a supply of the Tatiana chocolates 

might have motivated him to that 

end. 

When I arrived in Uppsala, I pretty 

much got the same warm impression 

as from my arrival at the airport. 

My first few days, when I didn’t 

know anyone or place, were a big 

adventure. I did not mind getting 

lost because it led me to discover 

that not all Swedish people are tall, 

blond, with sky-blue eyes, as they 

had said at home. Furthermore, I 

wondered at the charm of these oldschool 

Fjällräven backpacks with a 

fox logo that everybody wore and 

I was truly amazed by the number 

of bikes everywhere. Later on, my 

friends told me that you could even 

spot them in the river as some of the 

students find it fun to recycle them 

this way. 

Smart or not, Uppsala is proud 

of its students who attend the 

oldest university in Scandinavia. 

Uppsala University consists of many 

complexities and offers a wide range 

of degrees. The students even have 

a day to celebrate themselves and 

show their pride on last day of April 

called Valborg, when the students 

let their fantasy run wild and create 

small boats from all kinds materials 

that they can get hold of. Their goal 

is to stay on their boat while cruising 

down the Fyrisån river. Fortunately 

this is not usually the case as many 

of the boats crash and the students 

fall into the cold river --this is 

when the crowds start cheering 

the loudest. Do not get the Swedes 

wrong though. They usually are 

very nice and principled, especially 

people in school on a typical rainy 

Monday morning. 

Katedralskolan, or “Katte”, has a 

bit of a history of its own having 

been established in 1246. In the 

late 16th century, the school had 

a not-so-inspirational pupil called 

Gustav Eriksson who grew tired of 

studying, drove a dragger though his 

books and cursed the teachers. We 

did forgive him though, as he later 

became Sweden’s first king: King 

Gustav I of Sweden. Some other cool 


folks that went to Katte are Svante 

Arrhenius, who chemistry students 

might recognize from kinetics 

lectures, and Niklas Zennström, the 

co-founder of Skype, who anyone 

with a friend or two far away may 

appreciate. The school today is of 

course a bit different from what it 

used to be, although we still have 

many smart brains. The students 

are divided into different programs 

such as the sciences, humanities 

and International Baccalaureate 

(IB) which I am a part of. In addition 

to choosing six subjects from our 

interests, there are other classes 

that IB students need to attend 

in order to receive a diploma. One 

example is the Theory of Knowledge 

class which has started to convince 

me that Mathematics is a beautiful 

and elegant subject (even though we 

are still not best friends). The core 

of the school system is built on the 

responsibility and independence of 

students,which is a very good step 

in the preparation for university. 

Interestingly, in Chemistry and 

Biology, we get to design and 

conduct our own experiments. It is 

extremely challenging at times, but 

the feeling you get when the data 

recorded supports your hypothesis 

is worth it. Or the results may turn 

out completely random, in which 

case it brings much more fun to 

your work – although you still need 

to explain why. 

My schedule is similar in the number 

of classes per week but the actual 

lectures are longer. We do have 

plenty of breaks in between to work 

on our assignments, projects or to 

just relax and take in everything 

exciting that is happening. This is 

also the best time to “fika”! One of 

the most useful words in Swedish, 

fika is used to name a coffee’n cake 

break. Its deep meaning is not 

hidden in the high sugar intake 

but in the magic of the social 

gathering with your friend, teacher 

or grandma. For Swedes, it is an 

essential part of their lives to talk 

about everything and nothing while 

sipping their fifth cup of coffee and 

munching on a crispy cookie. A way 

to waste time with pleasure, isn’t it? 

So I no longer believe in shy, 

miserable Swedes. Although, I am 

not surprised that they sometimes do 

not jump out of bed with excitement 

in the morning considering that 

they get an unsatisfactory five 

hours of light in winter. But they 

still leave their cozy, warm, houses 

to sensibly ride their bicycles in two 

meters of snow and are never late 

to where they need to be. Obviously 

there is a lot of dedication and hard 

work going on, but they still do 

everything with style and grace and 

I truly wonder at how calm, relaxed 

and not bothered they can be with 

so much going on. Not to forget that 

they are the most polite and patient 

nation that even queues to get a 

number to be in a queue. No rush, 

hurry or stress. They know how to 

live their lives to the fullest even at 

the slowest speed. 

Sometimes, however, I have to 

question their common sense 

when they use the word lagom, for 

instance. The confusing translation 

is something like: not too much, 

not too little -- I guess you have 

to be a true Swede to know what it 

really means. Another curiosity is 

the strangely salty candy-- Swedish 

licorice – or, alternatively, the 

fermented fish – surströmming 

– whose smell you do not want to 

imagine. 

It might take a while to open up 

a Swedish not-so-cold heart, but 

when you succeed you will have a 

friend that will stick with you for 

the rest of your life. If you have not 

done so already, make sure to put 

Sweden on your list of places-tovisit. 

Also, do not hesitate with any 

coincidences in your life; 

they can provide a whole spectrum 

of alternative perspectives which 

help you see the world with new 

eyes when you come home. 


y NINA Nôžková 

LIFE 

Example invited him to tour with 

Edward Christopher “Ed” him. In April 2010, Sheeran bought 

Sheeran is a singer, songwriter and 

musician. He also plays the quitar. 

He plays many genres of music; Pop, 

R&B, folk, hip hop and acoustic. 

He was born February 17th 

1991 in Hebden Bridge near Halifax 

a ticket to Los Angeles, with no 

prior contacts. He played at open 

mic nights throughout the city, and 

was spotted at The Foxxhole by 

Jamie Foxx. Foxx, was so impressed 

that he offered Sheeran the use of 

West Yorkshire but moved to his recording studio and a bed in his 

Framlingham Suffolk when he was 

a child. His father, John Sheeran, 

is an art curator and lecturer. His 

mother, Imogen Lock, is a cultural 

Hollywood home for the rest of his 

stay. Throughout 2010, Ed began 

being noticed by more and more 

people on the internet via YouTube. 

publicist-turned-jewelry designer. After releasing “The A Team” as 

His parents ran the independent 

art consultancy from 1990 to 2010. 

He has an older brother, Matthew, 

who is a classical composer. He was 

raised as a Roman Catholic, and 

sang in a local church choir from 

the age of four. He learned to play 

guitar at a young age, and began 

writing songs in high school. When 

a digital download, it entered the 

UK Singles Chart at number three 

and also became a top ten hit in 

Australia, Germany, Ireland, Japan, 

Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway 

and the Netherlands. Sheeran cowrote 

the song “Moments“ with 

the boy band One Direction and 

contributed to two other songs. 

he was younger he used to listen to Taylor Swift contacted 

a variety of music. The Beatles, Van 

Morrison, Bob Dylan, Nizlopi and 

Sheeran after hearing his music 

while touring Australia in March 

Eminem became his biggest musical 2012. He later co-wrote and 

influences. He was accepted to the 

National Youth Theatre in London 

as a teenager. 

He began recording music 

in 2005, and released his first 

independent EP, The Orange Room 

EP. He moved to London in 2008, 

and began playing in small venues. 

In February 2010, Sheeran posted 

a video online and the rapper 

provided vocals for “Everything 

Has Changed”, a single featured 

on Swift’s fourth album Red. 

Sheeran got a Red tattoo to 

mark the career opportunity and 

remarked, “I think Taylor’s just 

opening up a lot of doors and it’s 

up to me to make sure that I get 

through to them. It’s a massive 

opportunity for me and I want 

to make sure to grab it with both 

hands.” Ed released his first single 

in two years, “I See Fire”, which is 

featured in the end credits of The 

Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 

as well as on the film’s soundtrack. 

In December 2013, Sheeran was 

nominated for Best New Artist at 

the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. 

His second studio album x 

(read as “multiply”) was released 

in 2014. It peaked at number one 

in both the UK Albums Chart. On 

the 8th of October 2014, Sheeran 

released the music video to the 

album’s third single, 

“Thinking Out Loud”, 

where he dances 

with his leading 

lady. The video 

achieved 


LYRICS 

(Reached almost 500 million view) 

THINKING OUT LOUD 

When your legs don’t work like they used to before 

And I can’t sweep you off of your feet 

Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love? 

Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks? 

almost three million views within 24 hours from its 

release. The song became his second single to reach 

number one on the UK Singles Chart. In November 

2014, Sheeran announced that he will play at London’s 

Wembley Stadium on July 10th 2015 as part of his x 

world tour, it is his biggest solo headlining. He had 

to add additional dates to his tour because tickets 

quickly sold out. The album also earned Sheeran the 

distinction of being iTunes’ biggest-selling artist in 

the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand for 

the same year. 

AWARDS 

He won two Brit Awards for Best British Male Solo 

Artist and British Breakthrough Act; in 2015, “x“ 

won the Brit Award for British Album of the Year; 

“The A Team” won the Ivor Novello Award for Best 

Song Musically and Lyrically and was nominated 

for Album of the Year at the 57th Annual Grammy 

Awards. 

SONGS 

2011/The A Team; Nina (probably about his exgirlfriend 

Nina Nesbitt); You Need Me, I Don’t Need 

You; Lego House;/ 

2012/Drunk; Give Me Love;/ 

2013/I See Fire (The Hobbit)/ 

2014/Sing; Don’t;Thinking Out Loud; Afire Love/ 

2015/Bloodstream; Photograph/ 

And, darling, I will be loving you ‘til we’re seventy 

And, baby, my heart could still fall as hard at twenty-three 

And I’m thinking ‘bout how 

People fall in love in mysterious ways 

Maybe just the touch of a hand 

Well me - I fall in love with you every single day 

And I just wanna tell you I am 

So honey now 

Take me into your lovin’ arms 

Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars 

Place your head on my beating heart 

I’m thinking out loud 

Maybe we found love right where we are 

When my hair’s all but gone 

And my memory fades 

And the crowds don’t remember my name 

When my hands don’t play the strings the same way 

I know you will still love me the same 

‘Cause honey your soul, could never grow old 

It’s evergreen 

And baby your smile’s 

Forever in my mind and memory 

I’m thinking about how 

People fall in love in mysterious ways 

And maybe it’s all part of a plan 

I’ll just keep on making the same mistakes 

Hoping that you’ll understand 

But, baby, now 

Take me into your loving arms 





Oh 

So, baby, now 

Take me into your loving arms 


Oh darlin’ 




Oh maybe we found love right where we are 

And we found love right where we are 


we are still getting better 

WE ARE STILL 

GETTING BETTER 

by ALENA CILÍKOVÁ 

Every year, students showing 

talent in field of information 

technologies, have a great opportunity 

to pit their strength against each 

other and present their work to the 

Faculty of informatics and information 

technologies at the Slovak Technical 

University in Bratislava. This year was 

exceptional for one of our members of 

the What´s Up family. Jarka Petrášová, 

a ´grey eminence´ of our magazine 

(because it could never look this great 

without this tiny, modest, exceptional 

girl) was chosen and together with 

other students from throughout 

Slovakia took part at the Conference – 

Junior Internet, which was granted by 

the Ministry of Education. The students 

could choose to present their work in 

the following categories: JuniorWEB, 

JuniorBLOG, JuniorDESIGN, JuniorERB, 

JuniorTEXT, JuniorAPP a JuniorLEARN. 

Jarka entered our magazine in the 

category of JuniorDESIGN and she 

was chosen by the professional jury 

to present her work at the conference. 

At the end of March we 

travelled to Bratislava and Jarka 

presented her work in front of the best´ 

ITers´ in Slovakia. She was excellent 

and our magazine was rated as very 

professional. Despite not taking the 

award-winning place it was a great 

experience and our magazine has 

become known among the professionals 

and Jarka received a valuable certificate 

that can help her in her future career. 

On behalf of the whole our 

editorial board I can say that we are 

so proud of Jarka and we are happy 

to have such an excellent graphic 

designer and a great friend to work 

with. Jarka, thank you so much. 


wORD PLAY 

VOYAGE 

by MARTIN KRČ 

Another day. I wondered 

if it still had any sense. It’s been 

almost two years since I came 

here. Swinging motion made me 

sick and reluctant to get off the 

bed. Well, bed. If I even had a bed. 

It was quite surprising to see how 

quickly I got used to these rags. I 

couldn’t stand them on the first 

night. And now? Look at me now, 

sleeping here like a baby in a 

cradle. I finally got up and looked 

for my bottle. It was the only thing 

that helped me with my stomach. 

Sweet grog. Some men were 

already awake, some didn’t go to 

sleep yet. They treated me like 

a dog, never accepted me as one 

of them. But what should have 

I expected? I staggered up the 

stairs. The sun forced me to cover 

my face with hand. I got up late. 

Everyone was busy as they were 

preparing to anchor. Soon one 

of them shouted at me “Sleeping 

till noon again, you slacker?” I 

swallowed all the curses that came 

to my tongue and got to work. 

Cleaning the deck, that was all I 

was good for. Everyone despised 

me and I knew that. One of men 

tripped on me “by an accident”. 

There were times when I would 

leave it be, but I was fed up with 

it. My fist hit his cheek before he 

could realise what happened. But 

it was not enough to settle man 

hardened by years on the sea. 

He hit me back. I was too drunk 

to avoid his punches. Again and 

again. I thought I would lose 

my consciousness when luckily 

captain came. “Stop it you fool! 

Do you want to kill him? Don’t you 

see he’s had enough?” It was no 

pity that made him stop the sailor. 

If he had killed me, captain would 

have had to pay toll for murder on 

his ship, perhaps even lose one of 

his sailors. It simply wasn’t worth 

it. Nothing more, nothing less. 

When ship anchored, I 

helped with unloading the cargo 

and loading new cargo afterwards. 

It was then when I met him. 

Desperate face, few bags on his 

back, running from sailor to sailor 

till he found the captain. It felt 

as if I looked at myself nineteen 

months ago. I could smell trouble 

from him from afar. It was so 

similar to my first day it made 

me doubt I was awake. When he 

finally got to talk to the captain, 

that old bastard knew as well as I 

did what was going on. He grinned 

at that lad and invited him to his 

cabin. How could I have fallen 

for that bloody pretended smile 

back then ? As I expected, guards 

came soon afterwards, looking 

for a young man. They weren’t 

lucky. Captain knew how to deal 

with them and they had to look 

elsewhere. I could almost hear 

what I knew he would tell them 

“This is private property! You have 

no right to beat about here!”. He 

would definitely add the phrase 

about his his ship being as clean 

as the deck if it weren’t for the 

blood after the fight. I’m sure the 

guards noticed it, but they knew 

the captain and they also knew it 

was pointless to mess with him. 

The lad signed, as I 

expected. It seemed as salvation 

in his situation. I knew that well 

enough. I remember meeting him 

face to face. It was like looking in 

the mirror, though our expressions 

were quite distinct. I had a face of 

a man who had nothing to lose, 

he was young man, anticipating 

new, adventurous life on sea. How 

wrong he was. If it weren’t for that 

unexpected event, he would have 

ended up just like me. He gave me 

a look of pity, oblivious of a fact, 

that he signed up for the same fate. 

At night he found out 

where he would sleep. They put 

him in the room with me. He finally 

introduced himself and was eager 

to talk me through his life story. 

I asked him no questions and he 

soon understood I had no interest 

in chatting. All night I could hear 

rustle. It felt as if I listened to my 

self that first night. I felt sorry for 

him, so I gave him some of rags 

I clustered during my service. 

He thanked me politely and fell 

asleep soon after. I woke up on 

creaking of the door. Young lad 

was eager to work. I told him to 

sleep for a while longer while he 

could. One of sailors heard me 

rushed into the room and kicked 

me while I was still on the ground. 

“Teaching him bad habits already 

Reek?” Reek, my most recent 

nickname. Just as I got used to 

last one. “Come young man, Reek 

here will show you what to do.” 


What’s coookin’? 

Muffins 

by TEREZA IVANČOVÁ 

Ingredients: 

2 cups white flour 

1 tablespoon baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/2 cup sugar 

1egg 

1 cup milk 

1 cup blueberries 

1/4 cup melted butter 

1. Preheat oven to 190°. 

Mix the flour, baking 

powder, salt and sugar 

2. 

Add the egg, milk and 

butter stiffing only enough 

to dampen the flour 

3. 

Add blueberries and stir 

them into the mixture 

4. Spoon into the muffin 

cups, filling each cup 

about two thirds full. 

5. 

Bake for about 20-25 

minutes. 

Enjoy it ! 


JOKES 

by Mgr. ĽUBICA DURCOVÁ 

In the kindergarten: 

-“Children, children!!! Gather around. We are going to make pancakes. 

Take up your clubs and Johnny here is going to be the first one.” 

Two ladies in black veils meet at the cemetery: 

-“I suppose you are also a widow.” 

-“Not at all, I´m just very ugly.” 

Chuck Norris ordered a Big Mac in KFC and he got it. 

At the doctor´s: 

-“So, how are you Mr Novak?” 

-“Not very well, doctor. I don´t even 

enjoy the food you forbid me to eat.” 

At the barber´s: 

-“Didn´t I shave you in the past, sir?” 

-“No, I lost that ear in a car accident.” 

Behind each successful man is a woman. Behind each dead man is Chuck Norris. 

The Lord and his servant James: 

- “Sir, should I buy a green parrot or a red parrot?” 

- “The red one James, the green one isn´t ripe.” 

----------------------------------- 

- “Tell me James, why are you drinking from an 

empty cup?” 

- “Because I´m not thirsty, sir.” 

------------------------------------- 

- “Did you say something, James?” 

- “No, sir.” 

- “Then, I heard well.” 

Two friends: 

-“I bought a skunk.” 

-“And where do you have it?” 

-“In my bedroom.” 

-“A skunk in a bedroom? Isn´t 

there a terrible smell?” 

-“Well, I think it will get use to it.” 

Chuck Norris doesn´t think. He knows. 

Chuck Norris destroyed the periodic table of elements because 

the only element he recognizes is the element of surprise. 

Chuck Norris doesn´t go to church. He believes in himself. 

Chuck Norris is capable of photosynthesis. 

There were no weapons of mass distraction in Iraq. Chuck Norris lives in Oklahoma. 

A bear is drunk in a forest. A rabbit takes advantage of the situation and beats 

the bear black and blue with a club. The next day the bear wakes up feeling sore 

but he doesn´t remember much. So, he summons all the forest animals in order 

to investigate the matter: 

- “It was someone quite small and two antennae were sticking out of his head.” 

The rabbit stands next to a snail; he leans towards the snail and says: 

- “See, he is getting close to you, you punk.” 


INTRODUCING OUR REGION 

by NIKOLETA ALLINOVÁ 

KOŠARISKÁ 

The village of Košariská is well known 

throughout Slovakia for being the birthplace 

of Milan Rastislav Štefánik – a famous Slovak 

patriot. This picturesque village is located 

in beautiful, natural, scenery composed 

of the Myjava highlands and the Small 

Carpathians. The first written reference to 

the village is dated in 1786. Nowadays, there 

are over 430 people living in Košariská. The 

current mayor, Anna Abramovičová has been 

running the village for more than 13 years. 

Košariská is the centre of many attractive and 

entertaining events. Each year, at the beginning 

of May, there is an event given in memory of 

the death of Štefánik. This event consists of 

speeches by Slovak politicians; a ceremonial 

prayer service and a resultant march along 

the historical path to Bradlo. The ceremonial 

prayer service takes place in the Evangelical 

church. This is the church, where Štefánik´s 

father, an evangelical priest, officiated. 

Next to the church, is the birthplace of 

Štefánik, which now serves as a museum 

dedicated to his life and accomplishments. 

Many tourists visit the museum from 

Slovakia, and other foreign countries. 

there are other possibilities to spend their time 

in Košariská. For sports lovers, there is a bike path 

leading from Brezová pod Bradlom to Košariská. 

After completing this trip, you can take a rest in 

one of the local restaurants, such as the pizzeria 

Gurmán or Holotéch víška. The second mentioned 

is a restaurant offers tratitonal Slovak meals and 

architecture. For the younger crowd there is the 

hunter’s ball in July and a popular football event 

“Košariská jedenástka” in August. It is an all-day 

tournament and a competition in the kicking of 

penalties. In the evening, there is an open-air disco. 

There are also other events, such as carnival, 

the lighting of the village Christmas tree or 

CYKLOBradlo. Košariská is an amazing village 

that could serve as a good example to other cities. 

For those who are not interested in history,

What's Up spring 2015

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