Ace of an evening: Pub-Golf Tournament an ultimate success

Photo credit: Amanda Cochran

By Amanda Cochran

With Webster being an international University it is no wonder that a few frosty pitchers of beer will bring students together.

With that in mind, Webster’s SGA organized a Pub Golf Tournament on April 6, 2012 open to all students and willing participants.

How it Works

Each pub or “hole” has a different designated challenge or “par” and like golf, the lower the score the better. Points can be added to the team’s score when you fail to complete the challenge under par or for other reasons like arguing with other teams, spilling, and even puking.

The Competition

The night began at De Kroeg for a 3-par challenge. Those up for the job raised their glass with determination to down the beer in three gulps or less.

Photo credit: Amanda Cochran

Next stop was a wine-chugging challenge down under at The Duke of Oz. A surprise task for extra negative points was presented in the form of Jagermeister shots for the brave and willing.

The third hole was held at the sports bar Vikings with a hearty Guiness and Bailey’s Irish Cream bomb shot challenge, better known as an Irish Car Bomb.

Shortly afterwards, students stumbled over to the famous Webster watering hole, Shooters, for a tasty shot race. The red, yellow and green spirits lined the bar and one by one disappeared inside eager competitors.

The final stop in the tournament was at Next, and ended with flaming Absinthe shots. Shortly afterwards the awards ceremony was held, where medals were awarded to the best dressed, “king and queen” of the evening, and overall winning team.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Photo credit: Amanda Cochran

Best Dressed: Boris van Tol; Team Winners: “The League of Extraordinary Alcoholic Gentleman”: Sebastian Fliege, Reeve Lanham, Gus Dijkstra, Jonathan Rogles, Kolbe Olszwski (King).

The night was an overall success! I personally have never seen so many people out for a Webster event and I highly recommend something like this be planned again. New friends and memories were made thanks to Danielle Kate, Savanna Wilson, Taryn Putinta, and Michelle Weaver who worked hard organizing the event. To those who missed out, we hope to see you out next time!

“A union between body, mind, and spirit”

By Safia Elwakil

We are living in an age where the world is changing so fast. Everybody is constantly busy and there is definitely no time to breathe. These are some of the reasons why yoga has gained in popularity during the last few years.

Yoga is a practice that originated in India four thousand years ago, back then it was a way to reach a deeper state of meditation. Meditation is a state where the mind stops thinking for a period of time and temporarily disconnects itself from the hectic surroundings in order to find balance. As a result the one who meditates often feels relaxed and calmed down. Today yoga still has the same function, but now it is more focused on training body and mind, in combination with a healthy food pattern; yoga certainly improves the quality of life.

Paulina Pirskanen is a student at Webster University Leiden, who has been teaching yoga at the Webster Leiden Living and Learning Center (LLC) since last semester. She is a certified Sivananda yoga instructor, a specialty she has chosen with care, owing to the fact that her interest lies with the body and mind conflict. Sivananda is a classical form of yoga with basic poses, which “focuses on learning how to control the body and mind.” Her fascination with yoga is thanks to her grandfather, who used to initiate philosophical conversations, as well as practice breathing exercises and physical training, although she states that he does not regard it as yoga. Her curiosity started with the peace of meditation, and then later on, she started to commit to the physical aspect of yoga. “What attracted me to yoga is the positive feeling or relief for mental and physical pain.”

Paulina is fascinated by the power of yoga, and says many psychological benefits accompany the practice. The relaxing poses and postures activate blood circulation which leads to a decrease in blood pressure and an increase in cardiovascular efficiency, in addition to the improvement of the digestive system and the respiratory system; as a result the person’s energy levels rise, muscles strengthen and the body reaches a great level of flexibility.

An important rule in psychology is “with a high self-esteem, you stand stronger.” Yoga has a positive impact on the psychology of the human being, through self-acceptance, a stable mood, and a decline in depression and anxiety. Yoga practitioners develop social skills that make it easier for them to adapt to the community around them and help them socialize more effectively. Studies prove that practicing yoga improves memory, attention, and concentration, which are essential elements that enhance learning efficiency.

Students can attend yoga classes on Tuesdays (11-12:30) and Wednesdays (11:30-12:30) at the LLC, in exchange for a small donation or a different skill. Paulina said, “If one practices how to focus, feels comfortable in one’s skin, and reacts well to stressful situations, studying becomes more efficient and pleasant.” So, don’t forget to leave an opening in your schedule; improve your academic performance while simultaneously relaxing and releasing the stress of a long day.

Football and its lesser known achievements

Photo credit: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Football_iu_1996.jpg/300px-Football_iu_1996.jpg

By Tom Hakes

When you come across the name of Ciar Sekander van Holstein you might remember that he once played for Sparta Rotterdam, a professional football team in The Netherlands. For most of the children in Kosovo however, his name comes with a completely different reputation.

After van Holstein stayed in Kosovo for the first time, he couldn’t help but notice the destruction that is visible on the buildings, streets and most shockingly, the people. Of course, it is close to impossible for him to improve life for a whole population, but he thought to himself that he could at least help the younger generation.

To be more precise, he chose to start with 25 young children and began to help them through the only way he knew, by playing football. For his next visit he prepared secondhand football shoes and football jerseys for these 25 kids and split them into two teams. Both teams formed the club called “Luna Gladiators” but were split up by having the name Team A and Team B. Team B consisted of all the kids who weren’t doing so well in school while Team A consisted of the ones that were doing that extra bit of work to be at the top of their class. Both teams were motivated enough to rapidly improve in their school work.

Ciar Sekander van Holstein also taught some local trainers the way they were supposed to organize the football practices for the kids so they could continue whenever he had to travel back home. After some time of him being away, van Holstein returned to find that there are currently 7 teams, one of them only for girls, all of whom shared the same enthusiasm. In addition, he also organized a yearly tournament where more than 12 teams participate and even the Dutch Ambassador and the Dutch Minister of Culture and Sport came to be a part of the action. Von Holstein himself said that the main motivation was the “many changes, the biggest change for me was to see these kids laugh again and their eyes were not sad anymore.” Personally I believe that we need more people like Ciar Sekander to take things into their own hands.

Football madness

 

Photo credit: Tom Hakes

By Tom Hakes

You could feel the tension in the air during the arrival of the participating teams of last week’s Webster University’s football tournament. Teams from the Webster campuses in London, Geneva and Vienna traveled all the way to the Leiden Campus in The Netherlands for one simple reason: To play football. The idea behind this tournament was that the different teams would come together, play a few games and get a chance to connect with the opposing team to create a better connection among campuses. However, what was thought of as friendly matches between schools turned out to be a handful of hard fought battles between what seemed like hateful rivals.

While the first match up seemed to be over in a matter of seconds, the second game fought out by Webster Leiden and Webster Vienna, seemed to last much longer. Most viewers got this feeling not because the game was so menacing or so uneventful. No, this was all related to the fact that most of the time was spent arguing and insulting the referee. The game had started and in a matter of seconds the fans and followers heard shouting by the players on Vienna’s team. They swore that one of Leiden’s strikers had touched the ball with his hand and could not understand how the referee had not seen this. They should have just continued playing, since once the referee has decided on something he will not be convinced by what seems like 5 maniacs screaming insults and protests in his face. After a few more hindrances like this, the game ended up in a tie in not only the score but also in the feeling of anger and resentment between both teams.

This, of course, was not the only match where things got out of hand, and near the end of the tournament a lot of players were at the end of their patience. When I tried to get some opinions of players from the Vienna campus, I was either shut down or I received comments like “This would be a lot more fun if I was on the team from Leiden” and “Leiden has an obvious advantage because the referees favor their team.” When the tournament came to an end and the team that had traveled all the way from London became victorious, most of the players calmed down and everybody was able to come together in peace for dinner and the giving out of the trophies.

London team beats all with handicap

Photo credit: Edwin van der Velden

By Edwin van der Velden

With a big grin on his face, the coach of the Webster London team holds up the “#1 at the Webster Leiden Football Club” trophy. As he  smiles along with several team members for a photo, you can already see the team spirit at work. The joy of a victory, their hard work and training having paid off as they receive a most splendid reward: to be the number one for the entire next year.

Passion, communication, good organization, and determination,” Renee, the coach of the London team, states when asked about what helped their team win the game. Their team is composed of many different nationalities, from Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Algeria, Morocco, and Sweden. “Feels great, even with a handicap(-3 points) we won,” Renee tells  with pride, as it means he had trained the team very well.

Because their team was composed of non-Webster members they were given this handicap to make it fairer for the other teams. “Weekly challenges against other teams,” Renee answers when asked how often they train. In their matches their ability to predict what other teams would do was visible, which only many matches of experience could provide. Their last match was against Vienna A, a match that was very close because both teams were of equal talent. In the first half they were losing the game, yet in the 2nd half with a swift change of strategy they finally succeeded in winning.

When asked which Webster team they found the hardest, their coach Renee responded, “Geneva, they were very organized and beat us in the 1st game, the second time we met them we were better prepared, however.” Lastly, when asked to provide advice to all the other teams Renee said, “You’re getting better , but you can still get even better.”

Webster wins at World Cup–Part V–An appreciation of our visit to Derek Gripper’s farm on the edge of the Cape Point Nature Reserve

(On 5 July  we drove two hours down the Cape peninsula to visit a musician Leonard and Anne had met in Utrecht, when another Webster instructor, Anne Ku, hosted him at one of her famous house concerts. Derek Gripper is a concert classical guitarist who, as a composer, has morphed his own kind of acoustic guitar music. Derek is from Cape Town, but now lives with his wife and four children, basically on the edge of a national park. For more information, click here for his website, and here for details about the new record label he is launching, New Cape Records, where he brings together musicians of all colors in a “forest” of musical traditions. The song Derek quotes at the end of this blog entry calls for courage and a triumph of individual creativity, and an end to shame.)

By Dr. Leonard Suransky

We have been to many places so far on this trip, but for me and some others, visiting Derek was my highlight. The home you and your wife have built, and your home study Montessori school for your kids, was intriguing in your concert talk in Utrecht at Anne Ku’s home.

However, being there on your farm community was different. Immediately I entered your home I felt such positive vibes….such shakti (spiritual energy) and this was expressed by everything we saw and experienced in your home, your garden, the fynbos walk, your food, the samoosas and tea on arrival.

After our hour hike around your home, you played your classical-guitar own compositions for us, and the fact that many of our younger students insisted on buying CDs of your music attested to an appreciation of your wizardry. It’s not their usual dose of music.

Then you offered us lunch. We enjoyed the delicious dal, rice, and potatoes. What a feast! You had some hard-core carnivores eating what they’ve never eaten before. (To be fair a few were shocked about your ecological toilet which makes useful manure for your garden, and wondered what they may be eating.)

You saw how your music turned people on….but more than that….your bringing together of the best musicians from all communities in the region, playing their different styles with sometimes indigenous instruments most impressed me. Reconciliation is one theme of our course, and people have been upset about some of the immense disparities we’ve seen here in this beautiful, schizophrenic country. We loved the way in which you are building such respectful inter-musical, inter-cultural bridges, and returning dignity to those who deserve it.

Quite frankly I could have just stayed there forever….what a dream you seem to be living, though no doubt it has its inevitable hardships and negativities.

I think your modest and unassuming work and lifestyle are symptomatic of human creative points in this society which could make all the difference to South Africa’s gradual making it.

(Response from Derek follows below.)

Ha ha – wonderful! Yes many hardships but mostly we have a good time and things get better and better. I am very excited about the New Cape project so am wonderfully happy to hear that you see it in such a positive light – this is the kind of thumbs up we need in the dark moments (when dealing with printers for instance!).

Of course for me it was wonderful to see our surroundings with new eyes – the fresh eyes of the visitor. I suppose this can be the positive contribution to SA by a group of musicians such as New Cape – without hyping the music or changing it in any way – just South African people making South African music – not American music… It has a huge potential to make a few of us start to think about just what we do have to offer and who we are – rather than asking “how can I make myself more like everybody else? How can I escape this place through music?”

Here is the text of Die Vastrap by Alex van Heerden – I think you will appreciate it!

Die Vastrap

O Geliefdes,

Ons is hier vergader om hulde te bring aan iets wat ontsaglik mooi en magtig is, oud en kragtig is – die Vastrap.

Ja, die Vastrap, wat blydskap en sterkte bring, en tog so maklik vergete is.

Ja, die Vastrap wat hierdie land ontstaan het, en nog steeds weerklink in die kranse van die berge en oor die vlaktes van die karoo, en nog steeds weerkaats in die harte van die mense wie hier woon, en hier hoort.

Maar hier lê die probleem, broeders and susters:

Ja, want soveel van hierdie einste mense, hoor die ritme, en ontken dit, want hulle is besit deur die bose mag van ‘n diep skaamte. ‘n Skaamte vir wie hulle is, ‘n skaamte om lekker te kry, ‘n vrees vir alles wat waar is, hier is, en nou is.

Maar daar is hoop Geliefdes.

Daar is ‘n nuwe gees aan die opkoms. ‘n Gees van herdenking en oorwinning. ‘n Gees van sterk wees en trots wees, van jouself wees en ons wees, hier wees en nou wees.

En hierdie gees het net een naam…

Die Vastrap en die los trap

Die alleen-trap en die skuins-trap

Die om-trap en die skeef-trap

Ja die Vastrap

Webster wins at World Cup–Part IV–What it’s like in the stadium

Around midnight on the night between June 29 and 30th, the first of our group to actually go to the Green Point stadium in Cape Town and watch a World Cup match staggered through the door. This is what they had to say about the Spain-Portugal game.

Nnamdi: “Wow.”

Chike: (Big smile, glowing face, twinkling eyes)

Leonard: “Incredibly functional, everything worked beautifully, the facilities were state-of-the-art. There were no problems, no bottlenecks, getting out of town afterwards was like a miracle.”

Nnamdi: “Wow.”

Chike: “Those who were for Portugal at the beginning, or for Spain, by the end of the game, everyone was for both teams.”

Nnamdi: “Perfect.” (Deep sigh) “Perfect. Wow. Pristine, beautiful, I can’t explain it because I couldn’t imagine it. The energy of the crowd was like we were part of one whole, 62,000 people were one. Everyone was happy, everyone making noise, even those who were losing were happy. There was no way anyone could be angry.”

Chike: “It was a theater of beauty, pure football.”

Nnamdi: “It was a football show.”

Tom: “Ronaldo should be given a different passport. Spain was fun to watch.”

Nnamdi: “It surpassed my expectations. I could never have imagined this. It was heaven, it was that beautiful.”

Chike: “Angels were playing the vuvuzelas.”

Nnamdi: “Before the game started the pitch was so pristine, the excitement was building. The sounds—an ole, ole chant, then, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, please give us a round of applause for the team from Portugal.’ It was incredible, man.”

Chike: “There was an overwhelming police presence.”

Nnamdi: “The players must feel like gods, there’s no way you can’t have an ego trip. They call your name, you throw your head back, the whole crowd goes mad when they call your name.”

Nnamdi: “During the national anthem, it was amazing. If I were a player, I would have died.”

Leonard: “The police presence was absolutely benign, there was one guy watching the steps near us, but he kept turning around and looking at the game more than at the crowd. The most extraordinary thing was there were two Spanish fans in front of us with no clothes on, just shorts and body paint, all in red.”

Nnamdi: “People stamp and the whole stadium shakes, it feels like a wave is coming toward you. It was crazy. Best 90 minutes ever.”

Leonard: “The crowd was so good-natured, even the half-naked guys in front of us.”

Nnamdi: “If you are a player, this is the closest you come to being a god.”

Chike: “I probably would choke on a field like that.”

Nnamdi: “Top, top, top level. The most incredible performance ever. You have to be sure of your game.”

Leonard: “One of the things I resented was that the two big screens on the field did not show any reruns.”

Chike: “The single most-exciting moment for me when I saw Ronaldo sprint into the box, pick off the ball, zig zag, and I thought, oh my god, how quick this guy is.”

Rutger: “Oh wow, it was so much better than on tv, you could see the whole game, not just focus on one part of the field. It was much more relaxed than watching on tv, 62,000 people sitting there watching 22 guys bring all these people together.”

Leonard: “The best part for me was the coordination of the Spanish game. Once they had that goal, their game became even better.”

Nnamdi: “The best part for me was during halftime, when a player came out practicing crossing the ball and heading it, then five minutes later, he did exactly the same thing on the field. Tactically it was brilliant, he was heading the ball, during the warm up. The first chance he has, he does the exact same thing during the game. Tactically, that’s the best.”

Rutger: “At the beginning of the match, everyone was shouting at each other, but afterwards, everyone was rooting for both teams. Great atmosphere. So well organized.”

Chike: “There was no animosity or anything.”

Nnamdi: “This lady behind us kept shouting, ‘Pass, pass, shoot, shoot, give him the ball, give him the ball!’”

Rutger: “Ronaldo was just so bad.”

Nnamdi: “He doesn’t track back well. And everyone was singing the national anthem except him.”

Ronaldo: “He just stood there, then lost the ball and walked back slowly, he didn’t even run.”

Nnamdi: “All I can say is . . . wow.”

Webster wins at World Cup–Part III–Visiting Ajax Cape Town

By Tom Fadrhonc (co-instructor of INTL 5860, the class visiting South Africa for the World Cup)

It is late after Spain vs. Portugal. What an experience in such a short time. I want to add a few words about how football is a metaphor for al things in life, and how that was exemplified today during our visit to Ajax Cape Town.

Football is business and it is about talent. And today we learned a thing or two about how Ajax is trying to make that work in Cape Town. The ultimate goal is to find, develop and pass on talent that makes it in the European football leagues. And where that talent originates is irrelevant. From a wealthy South African family, from a colored background, or from the most deprived township where age, parents, and family are unknown, it does not matter.

Ultimately the goal of Ajax is to find great talent, and that goal is blended with the goal of doing this in a socially responsible fashion where the kids that advance are taken care of, as well as the kids who do not make it to the next level. The care with which they deal with the players’original clubs, their parents, schools and teachers was, I believe, a surprise to most students, who may have thought that football is just about arrogant young men who make way too much money and do so little to advance social causes. I hope that today the face of football changed a bit, not at the level of country teams that are competing here at the World Cup, but at the level of all that football does for the many levels below.

We also talked a bit about the challenges for coaches. How they want to develop players who are outgoing, who take initiative and take control, and how that conflicts with their cultural background, something instilled since their early years of waiting to be told what to do.

Sport is an integrator, and football is that here.

Webster wins at World Cup–Part II–Township “tour”

Photo of the week--Township with nuclear power plant and Table Mountain in the background. Photo credit: Kaitlyn

By Anne de Graaf

Today it rained. Yesterday we were at the beach and today it rained.

Today we’re into contrasts. The name of the township we visited is “Langa,” and it means the sun in Xhosa. Yesterday was 25 degrees, today it’s 10 degrees and pouring rain. The day before yesterday we walked in a place where an orange was a gift. Today we ate from food bought at the shopping mall down the street, bigger than any mall I’ve ever seen in The Netherlands.

Today Angel, Sahil and Aaron tried to do something illegal, but failed. They tried to scalp tickets at the stadium where Leonard, Tom, Chike, Rutger and Nnamdi had tickets for the Spain-Portugal game. Did I mention they failed?

This morning we visited Ajax-Cape Town and listened to how they recruit kids from the townships, and check up on their school and home situations, and if they have enough talent, they get sent to Amsterdam. If they don’t have enough talent, they get sent back to their community football clubs. Questions we didn’t ask and wish we had: do you test the kids for HIV beforehand? If they prove HIV-positive, will they get dropped from the team?

Tonight’s quotes:

Sahil: “What? Vasco da Gama came here too? He was in Goa, as well. Straight up?”

South African sports commentators with all the same suits and ties on: “No European team has ever won the World Cup outside the European continent. You’ve gotten a lot of red cards in your life, huh?”

Favorite things of the trip so far, off the top of your head:

Angel—”Going to Langa because it was humbling; group dinners; becoming family.”

Sahil—”I don’t have a top of my head.”

Kaitlyn—”Ajax-Cape Town because it was interesting to see where some of the Ajax players come from and how they’re recruited and the whole process; wishing each other good night.”

Aaron—”Everything, everything. Being in South Africa, the World Cup, visiting the township even though I still sort-of disagree with that, the eclectic group of people we’re in; coming together for a meal despite a match being on.”

Funniest thing that’s happened so far off the top of your head:

Aaron—”Sahil’s quotes.”

Angel—”Seeing the garden shack that Tom had to sleep in the first night without heat despite 0-degree temps.”

Kaitlyn—”Angel’s face.”

Sahil—”Stop trying to get into our heads for The CANAL!!!”

Webster Wins at the World Cup–Part I–Arrival

By Anne de Graaf

Chike made a bet of €200,000 on Holland in the Holland- Slovakia match. What do you think happened? He won it and now we’re spending the remaining time here on a luxury yacht being waited on 24 hours a day by beautiful Spanish models.

Sahil wishes.

This is how things really happen. You read an article in The CANAL back in the fall, and in the summer you find yourself meeting up with some friends at Schiphol airport, too early in the morning. You get in a plane and 11 hours later you get out of the plane and now you’re teetering on the edge of Africa.

Only at Webster would you find yourself at the first African World Cup in a group consisting of: two Nigerians (Chike and Nnamdi), a Can-Indian (Sahil), an American Dutchman (Tom), a Dutch American (Anne), a Korean-American (Aaron), a Dutchman we’re stealing from Univ. College Utrecht (Rutger), an American (Kaitlyn), another American (Angel), and our fearless co-leader with Tom, a South African (Dr. Suransky). And please don’t forget that we’re here studying really hard and earning credit for our degrees because this is a class: Sports, Politics and Reconciliation. Let’s hear it for INTL 5860!!!

My highlights of the trip so far:

June 24: Arriving safely.

June 25: Tour of Cape Town. Strolling along the waterfront and taking in the World Cup buzz and party atmosphere. Literally getting lost in the shopping mall. Buying books!! Picking up our match tickets in an amazingly efficient and clean and friendly Cape Town. Dr. Suransky’s hamburgers and the braai (bbq) that would not light. (How many Webster students does it take to light a fire?)

June 26: Driving past the 12 Apostles (mountain peaks) and watching cloud roll over them like a fountain of foam as coastal cliffs dropped down to stunning beaches. Then watching the South Korea-Uruguay game on a big screen in downtown Cape Town with a great mixed crowd. We found the seven South Koreans and hung out with them. Listening to Nnamdi try to master the vuzuvela. Also, Kaitlyn’s cooking.

June 27: Visiting a township and drinking the local beer with people, visiting a one-room church of a shack, and realizing yet again that IR is about international relationships. Also, watching Sahil’s hair take on a life of its own. The four of us doing yoga under the palm trees.

Famous quotes so far:

• Angel: “I wish it was a better story, but I bought it because she was cute.” Anne: “Men have done worse things for worse reasons.” Sahil: “Yeah, like for ugly women.”
• Sahil: “We could go jump in the cloud and see if it holds us.” Angel: “You keep saying we.”

Some things I’ve learned so far:

• A possible solution to Nigeria’s beleaguered government structure (thanks to Nnamdi via Chike)
• That football is a great metaphor for just about everything in life, and it gives you an excuse to make friends with strangers.
  

  Photo credit: Kaitlyn