Austin – May 18 2013

Eurovision Song Contest Party

Come root for your favorite European country!

Where: Boundless Network office, 200 E 6th Street, Suite 300
When: Saturday, May 18th at 1pm. Show starts at 2pm.

PLEASE PURCHASE YOUR TICKET ONLINE BEFORE THE EVENT
(link on the right side of the page)
Cost: $10 including drinks and lighter snacks.

Hosted by SACC TX, SWEA and EuroCircle (and Boundless Network of course!)

What is Eurovision?

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries’ songs to determine the most popular song in the competition. The Contest has been broadcast every year since its inauguration in 1956 and is one of the longest-running television programs in the world. It is also one of the most-watched non-sporting events in the world, with audience figures having been quoted in recent years as anything between 100 million and 600 million internationally.

For questions please contact Rasmus at rwendt@boundlessnetwork.comne

See http://www.eurovision.tv/ for more info

Comment:

Malmö, Sweden – ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus have composed We Write the Story, with arrangement by Avicii, for the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö. The anthem is the main theme of the Swedish hosting as well as the music for the grand opening act of the Final

Finnish in Spain – Meet Kai Langel living in Cambrils, Catalonia

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to be living in Spain, but not in the BIG city like Barcelona, you’ll enjoy meeting Kai Langel from Finland. Kai lives with his family in Cambrils (maybe 1 h from Barcelona by car), a small fishing town 20km from Tarragona. Everyone’s story is unique, let’s hear HIS story.

Tell us about yourself – who are you and what would be the short story of your life? (where are you from,nationality/ies, where did you study, how did you come to etc)

I’ve always been a bit of an adventurer and traveler, probably partly because my mother works for Finnair and I’m used to traveling all over the place ever since I was a kid. My father is Spanish and I lived here when I was 2 years old and spent all my holidays in Spain with my grandparents when they were still living here. Spain has always felt like a second home country. However, most of my life I’ve spent in Finland, studying and working. In 2003, I got an opportunity to move into the US and lived around Boston with my family for 5 years or so and then returned to Finland. The plan was to settle down in Finland and let the kids finish their school there, but pretty soon we all realized we don’t really feel like we belong there anymore and didn’t want to commit to buying a house etc if we’re not comfortable.

That’s when we got the idea of moving to Spain and luckily my work at the time allowed be to basically live anywhere in Europe so we just went ahead with that plan very quickly. We didn’t know where in Spain we wanted to be, so we started with a 2,5 week road trip checking out various places. Before we started this, we thought that the Alicante area would be ideal, but when we visited, we didn’t like it that much. The whole Costa del Sol was a major turn off and we wanted as far away as possible from the expat communities. In the end, we liked Tarragona most and it was a good balance between being close to the rest of Europe and the right size of a city for us. However, when we moved in July/August, we couldn’t find a place to live and ended up in Cambrils, a small fishing town 20km from Tarragona and after initial disappointment, we’re now extremely happy with the choice. It’s quiet, but still close enough to everything to have good services etc. (note: 2013 they have 2 teenage kids and 5 furry “friends” at home)

What is THE thing about Spain captivates you the most?

Probably the outdoors lifestyle, compared to Finland or even Boston, we now spent so much more time outdoors.

Do you think living in Spain has in any way enhanced your work experience?

Yes / No. I work from home, so I miss some of the social interaction I’m used to previously, but I don’t have to deal with commute, sitting in traffic, etc, which leaves me more time and flexibility to do stuff I like. I also see my family much more than I used to. However, I could not see myself working in a typical Spanish job with siestas and long hours extending late into the evening. I have a good balance with work.

If someone asked you what I should NOT miss while in Spain (this area), what would reply?

Around Costa Dorada, I would advise visitors to go to the mountains nearby. The whole places changes totally when you go 2 km inland and becomes much more authentic. The mountains have rugged beauty that is hard to describe and visiting the small rural villages give you much more insight into the real lives of the Catalan people.

What do you do in Barcelona when you feel like you just want to chill out?

Because I work from home, I often get a little crazy inside the house and need to escape and see some people. For this, visiting one of the local tapas bars works well and this is a Friday tradition. During the weekends, I usually go trail running in the mountains, which is a great way to decompress. I also spend a lot of time at the sea, kayaking, SCUBA diving and swimming.

Anything truly memorable that has happened to you since you have lived in Spain?

Can’t really name any single one thing. There are lots of small ones, like discovering new foods, nature, language, way of life, etc. I’d say the whole experience has been truly memorable.

What really annoys you about Spain – or maybe nothing does?

Of course. Perhaps the customer service in some places, like having to deal with the phone companies. It seems that a lot of the employees don’t really care much about the customers and they’re there just to work. Sometimes the laid back attitude is great, but when you need to get things done, it’s not. Finns are often used to efficiency and things just often don’t work that way. Also the way banks are set up, you often have to deal with the manager at a specific branch where you have your account, whereas in Finland you could just do all that online. It’s nice to get personal service, but it’s not very efficient. Also, it’s surprising how much the individuals can affect things, we’ve had very different experiences dealing with two different managers at the same bank. With one, it was impossible to do anything and with the other one things went really smoothly.
Also, the high tourist season gets pretty annoying with increased traffic and too many people. That’s the time when we sometimes can’t find a table at our favourite restaurant. The very high season lasts surprisingly short time, basically only July and August and after that things get more pleasant and the off season is very quiet and we can almost have the whole place for ourselves. It’s a good balance too to have different tourist seasons, it’s also refreshing to see the crowds come in and the whole place becoming more lively after the quiet time.

Do you have a favorite local restaurants and why?

Yes, we have a couple of long-time favorites. One of them is a very busy Basque tapas bar, which is great as they have a good selection of wines by the glass and lots of different tapas which are good value. This is my standard place to go socialize on Friday’s when I’m half-crazy after having worked home all week. The other favourite place is a restaurant, where the owners know us well and we always get a bit of special service and they also have a good selection of different foods. This is where we often take our visitors as they have food that will suit most tastes.

Do you see there are benefits for someone from abroad to come to Spain for a few years?

Yes, there are many things that are very different and it will show a different perspective to life. For most people here, enjoying life is the first priority and other stuff comes second. Family is also very important. These are good values and I feel that many people would benefit from being reminded about this and not only focus on efficiency and performance.

What do you think about the cost of living in other countries vs Spain and the standard of life and life style?

Compared to Finland, almost everything is cheaper. The only things that might be more expensive are mobile phone and Internet expenses. Eating and drinking out is more affordable and people do it a lot more than in Finland. Standard of living is quite good, but some things like public schools are more basic than in Finland and for example, don’t offer free meals for students. Lifestyle is certainly different, people spend a lot of time out of the house and together with the family. Many people have meals together with their parents / grandparents almost every weekend and are much less independent than in Finland. Of course with the lower cost of things, that also means that salaries are also quite low and taxes are surprisingly high.

What do you miss most in Spain from other countries..,

Being a Finn, I miss the sauna and good Finnish rye bread.

In your opinion what is the best time to visit Spain?

September – November. Also the spring is great, from about April to June. I would avoid July and August, it’s too expensive, crowded and hot. The wintertime has some magical days with +20 degrees and sunshine, which means you can eat out in a t-shirt, but you’ll have to be a bit lucky to be here on the right day.

Anything else you feel you’d like to share with us about Spain or yourself?

It’s quite easy to move here, because the costs are so low, so I encourage everyone to do it. It was very clear to us that we want to try to integrate into the country so we intentionally avoided the expat circles. We expected it to be far easier to learn the language and really get integrated, but it has turned out to be quite difficult. Part of it has to do with working from home, but also the Spanish / Catalan people are actually surprisingly private and it can take a long time to make friends with them and feel like you belong here. It’s probably much easier in bigger cities with lots of expats like Barcelona, where most people speak English and where there are many people in the same situation as you. In Cambrils, we’re the only Finns and almost the only expats too.

My wife’s blog in Finnish: espanjanauringonalla.blogspot.com

If you visit the blog, you’ll find a million pictures about us / from here.

I think this describes Langel family well: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain

TARRAGONA , located in the northeastern corner of the Iberian Peninsula, is Catalonia’s southernmost capital city.
Thanks to the temperate climate, with an average yearly temperature of 18ºC (25ºC in summer, 12ºC in winter), the clean, sweeping beaches with their fine, golden sand and the singular artistic and architectural patrimony, officially declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO, Tarragona is one of the most important tourism hubs in Europe.
Well-connected to Europe and the rest of the Iberian peninsula, it offers easy access to two airports: the first in Reus, just 7 kilometres away, and the second in Barcelona, 82 kilometres away. It also has direct rail links to all major Spanish and European capitals.
What’s more, the city is home to one of the busiest commercial ports in the Mediterranean, as well as Port Tarraco, a stopover for luxury cruise ships.
Tarragona also marks the junction of two major Spanish motorways, the Mediterranean Motorway, which runs from Alicante to France and the rest of Europe, and the Northern Motorway, which begins in Tarragona and runs through to the Basque Country.” Quote from Tarragona’s official tourism site.

Expatriates: Finnish in New York – Meet Inka Juslin

Meet longtime EuroCircle member Inka Juslin, one of our EuroCircle members in New York originally from Finland.

What are you working on at the moment?

I am currently preparing a book; it will be sometime this year a first draft of it. Then we will see what the editors like and consider as relevant. It is an exiting time for me, but at the same time I think how much contemporary commercialism is ruling what is going to be media-attractive, what will be eventually something that will engage the market. This book will be about my research-process on European avant-garde performance and art. Time period is roughly (not only) between the two World Wars.

How long have you been a Eurocircle member?

I think first time I got to know people from EuroCircle was 2008, and they actually were helping us to get great audience to our performance project Yellow at the Ukrainian Institute on America in New York back then.

How long have you been performing as a dancer?

I did my first real? group dance performance when I was 16. This took place as a site specific performance in Germany. From that on, I got more interested in dancing, as previously I had thought that playing piano in a conservatory was far more important for me.

How has the last year been for you?

It has been really busy. I have been doing couple of years this kind of balancing between dancing, performing and doing my research. Then I started my blog Firstindigo Journal, which suddenly became so popular. So I keep doing that as well, and people are interested in being interviewed. I noticed that blogging is also one way to present ideas that normally tend to be so academia-bound, or quite narrowly represented to specific audience. Now there is a wider readership for some of the writings and thoughts.

What does dancing mean to you?

It means a whole lot. Going back to the story, I saw French ballet company Ballet du Nord perform in Finland, when I was young, and got very inspired by what I saw. I was familiar with Debussy from the music world, and when I saw ballerinas interpreting his music (Afternoon of a Faun), I thought the music was even more amazing with the dance. In dance, the body expresses the musicality that is within me. I do not really care if I look pretty all the time when I dance. It is the emotion that takes the lead. In that sense performing is not so horrible at all as an experience, even when you have one thousand people watching you perform live. What you basically have is the fact that you have to trust yourself, and the authenticity, to really be present in that moment. That is the most important factor, technique is one thing, and authenticity is the other layer, which is as important.

What kind style of dancing do you practice?

I started with jazz, and jazz ?ballet? (Luigi, Mattox), then took usual Vaganova school, as Finnish ballet world had teachers who were educated in St. Petersburg. Then I studied with Jill Miller, who was doing her American ballet school in Finland, and learned form her a lot. I went to London to study at the Laban Centre, and there I encountered Martha Graham?s technique, I had a former company member as a teacher. I did Jose Limon and ballet too (English style) while in London. Finally, I went to study at the University of Hawaii, where I took Classical Indian Kuchipudi-technique. It was brilliant, as it was very formal too. It was kind of easy to adopt the second position in that, but the plie was just deeper, and you had to stay in that a lot longer. Kuchipudi taught me so much new kind of coordination, new level of musicality, and storytelling, which you sometimes find only in expressive mime in the west (I worked with American Adam Darius, who combined his expressive mime and dance, so learned this).

Who has inspired you either past or present?

My own grandmother is my greatest inspiration of all time. She was a wife of a remarkable man, believed in the arts as a major way of communication, and was always there as a coach. Adam Darius is a great inspiration, as I worked with him. He is an American who immigrated to Europe. Then, Martha Graham gives me goose pimps, in a good way. Although I never met her personally, but studied with her student. Jill Miller is an inspiration, she was a real New Yorker who came to live and work in Helsinki, and was really making an impact there at the local scene. I have huge respect for her memory. My mentor, NYU Professor and theater director Richard Schechner is a great continuous source of inspiration. He is a guru of Indian theater, and knows the avant-garde scenes, and knows the theory of this all..

Where are you currently based?

I’m now based in New York. I still truly think that Helsinki is my hometown. Where my future home will be, the answer is, I don’t know.

What’s it like being where you’re from?

I like that question. It is not easy to answer. I think that Finland changed a lot when I was growing up. We went to schools where we got amazing education, I could study at the conservatory at the same time, and it was just wonderful time growing up, there was so much to learn about the world. I remember, though, learning very well that times were very different when our grandparents were growing up. It was the World Wars, and everything was scary, uncertain, and the history was so exiting, almost overwhelmingly so, learning that Finland had got its independence so recently. Finland is both Scandinavian country, and then it has a lot of Eastern European influence, as far as I experienced it growing up. I guess it also depends on your family how you experience it. We had quite international family.

What’s the highlight of your career to date?

I might have several. One is creating my own premiere for the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki in 2002; I loved the new museum, its new theater stage, and the fact that dance and contemporary art (which I truly love) could encounter. Its always a feast, when I can combine architecture, art etc. with performance.

Another one, which I really love, was in 2009 in New York. We did a show at the historical Kitchen in New York with Melinda Ring’s company. I started dancing with her in 2008. Melinda pushed me towards acting too, I had to learn to speak on stage, which was scary, but I eventually learned to love the production at the Kitchen. It was fun reactions from the audience, and the interaction with it gave me new directions.

What do you hope to achieve over the next 12 months?

I hope to make my book a more realistic project. I hope to start also new ideas and future plans, whatever the time frame to their realization will be. I hope to get new consulting gigs, speaking gigs, and share my knowledge and experience more to different audiences. I believe that being a dancer gives you lots of perspective about the social and the cultural life. And when I do my research, this double position gives me confidence to speak about many topics.!

What are you doing when you?re not performing? What (other) hobbies do you have?

I used to go to a lot of lectures to learn more about my research topic in New York, and I still go to seminars. I go to museums a lot, including art museums, history museums, galleries, design museums. I search for architectural landmarks, and I travel and go to nature. For me getting out of the city to nature is essential, even hiking. I used to ski in the winters, and eventually going back to that. I do different exercising program depending on the time of the year, time in general, and my mood.

What else should we know about you and your work?

I think one thing is the aspect of consulting, which I see myself doing more in the future. I have in the past been doing consulting/lecturing/speaking on different venues, starting with Universities, Art Schools, Tech Schools, with study groups, private clients, etc. Performing is of course one topic and what you can learn from that as a career, but I am also trained to talk about media, even advertising, about cultural differences, management, branding, and writing, to name a few. I am willing to do more gigs in the future, as my book will also get me more out there.

Where else can we find you? (Blog, website, twitter, facebook etc)

www.firstindigo.blogit.fi is my Firstindigo Journal that I mentioned. It has turned out to be an art journal. I am exited to see where it will develop in the future. I started also Lifestyle site: http://www.firstindigoandlifestyle.blogspot.com that to this date has been more of an introduction to people and lifestyles. I?m sure it can develop too. I am on Facebook as Inka/FirstindigoJournal ? you are so welcome to like it, as I am posting there interesting topics. On Twitter you can find me @inkadesignrosa. Additionally, I am on Academia.edu with my name, and on Linkedin.

New York – Petrina, A Bit of Norway, Texas, New York and Australia

I like mixing things up a bit so I asked Petrina as a brand-new member to be our member of the month. She is a real mix of everything which I think is typical in New York City. I have not met her in person given the fact that I now live in Austin, TX but maybe on May 15th when I visit NYC for one day really I get to meet her – and many of you as well.Everyone’s story is unique, let’s hear Petrina’s story.

Tell us about yourself – who are you and what would be the short story of your life?(where are you from, where did you study, how did you come to NYC etc)

My Name is Petrina Holoszyc. My background includes a little bit of everywhere I guess. My mother is Norwegian, but grew up in Texas and my father is first-generation American from New York with my grandparents being Polish Jewish. I was born in Houston, but I never actually lived there, as my mother was just visiting her parents when I was born. I lived in New York City until the end of elementary school and then moved to Norway for Junior High School and High School. In 2003 I moved to Australia and did my undergraduate degree at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, and then did my Master’s Degree at Monash University in Melbourne. I moved back to the US in 2009 and back to New York in 2010. And now I am here running www.nyfoodbox.com.

What is THE thing about New York City captivates you the most?

I think what sums up NYC the best for me, is a quote from my friend: “if you’re bored in New York, it’s your fault”. There are just so many options and things to do. I have lived here off and on for over 15 years, and the City still surprises me.

Do you think living in New York City has in any way enhanced your work experience?

I started my own food business. That is not something I think I would have done anywhere else. The opportunities you have here are very different than most places. The people you meet and the fact that so many others are also trying to start their own thing just leads to so many more opportunities. Also, no one moves here for the weather, which means there are a lot of very driven people here.

If someone asked you what I should NOT miss while in NYC, what would reply?

Walking around all the different neighborhood’s, especially in the older areas of lower Manhattan. Also, being a history nerd, I would say everyone should go to the Tenement Museum.

What do you do in New York City when you feel like you just want to chill out?

Find a nice chill bar and have a few beers with friends. Or when the weather is nice, walk along the water and sit down and read a book in the sun.

Anything truly memorable that has happened to you since you have lived in NYC?

There are all these food festivals in the summer, and Governors Island host’s one that is called Pig Fest. I took my dad a few years ago. It is just so amazing to be on this Island that has not changed at all since the 60’s and much of it since the turn of the century. Then turn around, beer in hand and look at the Manhattan skyline. Standing there with my dad, who is a born and breed New Yorker was just such an amazing feeling.

What really annoys you about NYC – or maybe nothing does?

Not so much annoys me, but I miss having private outdoor space… that is one thing that is hard to get in a city like this.

Do you have a favorite local restaurants and why?

I have so many places I love. Most of the restaurants I used to go to growing up are disappearing because of rent hikes. At the moment if I am craving Texas style BBQ I go to Hill Country. Old style Spanish I go to Spain or El Quixote. For French I love Buvette. For a great bagel with lox, Russ and Daughters. And Katz’s will also have a place in my heart, as I grew up going there with my Dad.

Do you see there are benefits for someone from abroad to come to NYC for a few years?

I think New York is a great place to find yourself and learn and experience new things. Though people should know that living in NYC has nothing to do with living in the rest of the US.

What do you think about the cost of living in other countries like Australia/Norway vs NYC and the standard of life and life style?

Because of the weak US dollar, Europe (read Scandinavia) and Australia are not really cheaper than New York. If you are coming with Norwegian Kr or Australian Dollars, New York is actually not bad price wise. In terms of standard of living… I do think 10 days a year is not enough vacation time. People work better and are more productive when they can have an actual break, and more than once a year. There is more of a work-life balance in Europe and Australia. Also having children here gets harder in terms of maternity leave. That said, I have no plans on leaving NYC anytime soon.

In your opinion what is the best time to visit NYC?

Spring and fall. Not too hot, not too cold… It’s the Goldilocks of seasons.

Anything else you feel you’d like to share with us about NYC or yourself?

I think what makes New York such a great place is that there is space for everyone, no matter your background or interest. My favorite thing to do on the weekends, now that the weather is better, is explore the different food areas of the boroughs. Chinese in Flushing, Greek in Astoria, Haitian in Flatbush, Indian in Jackson Heights etc. This is where I get a lot of the influence for my cooking and recipes for NYFoodBox.

Website: www.nyfoodbox.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/NyFoodBox
Twitter: @nyfoodbox
Instagram: nyfoodbox

Los Angeles – May 07 2013

 

Live jazz music

Extended the happy hour menu, more details to be posted

I am so excited to announce our next EuroCircle event – it will be on Tuesday May 7th at 7:30PM at “The Charlston Restaurant & Lounge” with live Jazz music…Happy hour menu.

Please invite your international friends to join EuroCircle – and help us to grow EuroCircle Los Angeles!

Tanya

About the venue:

The Charleston is a Santa Monica restaurant and gastrolounge featuring live entertainment and Chef Jet Tila’s take on American comfort food expressed in a menu of shared plates. Set in a lounge-style space with distinct 1930’s décor, the multifaceted venue features everything from nightly live entertainment such as jazz, rock, acoustic singer / songwriters and DJs.

Austin – May 04 2013

The Austin Polo Club Cordially Invites EuroCircle Austin Members To The 3rd Annual The 3rd Annual Derby Day Polo Benefit

Derby-Day Flyer – EuroCircle

EuroCircle Austin is proud to co-host

THE AUSTIN POLO CLUB

THE 3rd ANNUAL

Derby Day Polo Benefit

Hosting the Texas Polo Club and Texas A&M Polo Club

MAY 4TH, 2013 – NOON TO 6 PM

The Austin Polo Club  13628 Gregg Manor Rd.  Austin, TX 78653

FEATURING: POLO MATCHES AT 12:30 (UT VS. A&M) & 2:30 (APC VS. UT ALUMNI), KENTUCKY DERBY VIEWING AT 5PM (VIP), LIVE MUSIC, LADIES’ HAT CONTEST & CHAMPAGNE DIVOT STOMP, SILENT AUCTION, FARMER’S MARKET, CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES, FOOD VENDORS, AND MUCH MORE!

EuroCircle members receive a special promotion discount:

General Admission: (BYOB & Picnic Style) $20, Children free [$5 Discount using promo code “EC5”] *** VIP Admission: (Cash Bar, Tent Seating) $50, [$10 Discount using promo code “EC10”] *** VIP w/ Antonelli’s Cheese Basket: (Cash Bar, Tent Seating, Take Home Basket) $75

For Tickets: http://www.facebook.com/AustinPoloClub or search “Polo” on EventBrite.com

You can also redeem at the Entrance upon arrival to the Austin Polo Club!

Look for the EuroCircle registration desk at the VIP section.
(Adnan and Allison)

Atlanta – May 01 2013

Photos © Eurocircle. For privacy reasons we ask you not to copy these to Facebook or other social networks

Greetings everyone;

We will have our monthly EuroCircle cocktails on Wednesday, May 1st at the Mandarin Hotel, located at 3376 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta 30326 (behind Del Frescos) in Buckhead. Valet parking is available and we will meet at our usual start time (7:30pm) towards the back area of the hotel and also have access to the outside gardens.

We anticipate a great turnout so please be sure to RSVP once the invitation has been sent. Looking forward to seeing everyone on Wednesday.

Salutations,

Atlanta EuroCircle
atlanta@eurocircle.com