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The results of
Nichtsdestotrotz
Hi!
We are the fabulous 3 named Mark, Melanie and Bernd. We are interested in
talking with other youths all around the world. We attend 11th grade at
Mariengymnasium Jever and work with our class in this learning circle in
order to communicate with others in this circle.
About us:
Hi, my name is Bernd "the madman". I am 18 years old and live
in a village near Jever. I am interested in any kind of metal, hard rock
or gothic music, Roleplay Games (PC or Pen&Paper), horror, action or
fantasy movies like Braindead, Matrix, Resident Evil or Lord of the Rings.
I also like to philosophise about life and death. I like reading as well.
Hi, this is Melanie "Melli". I am 16 years old an live near
Jever, too. I am interested in sports like dancing. I like all kinds of
metal, hard rock or gothic music. Chatting is also one of my hobbies as
well as meeting friends and going to discos. My favourite films are Dirty
Dancing, Matrix, Lord of the Rings, Resident Evil, Here on Earth and so
on.
For your own good, listen! I am Mark, the great, invincible, impeccable,
unforgettable, almost immortal titan, the observer of your puny human
existence. I absolutely hate you, so don't you dare talking to me!
Unfortunately I have to take part in this annoying project, called the
learning circle. My fellow titans and our lords told me to do so. And
there is no way you can ever disagree with one of those truly adorable
creatures, without hurting yourself in the end.
Certainly, it is not me you would want to talk to, so you're just
better off if you don't.
Knowing, that you might have lost the desire to participate in this
project after you have read the last few lines, I'm going to tell you one
last thing: Don't ever lose the faith in yourself, especially not, because
of one idiot like me who is writing nothing but nonsense.
Things we want to talk about:
We want to talk with you about drugs in your country. What about drug
usage in your region? What do you think about drugs and drug usage? What
is your definition of drugs?
Talking about illusion of life is one of our subjects, too. What do you
want to achieve in your life, do you want to achieve anything at all? Is
there a meaning of life? What is your meaning of life?
To Ramallah, 13.2.:
Hi Shabnam!
How are you? Your hobbies and interest sound interesting. I do also like
to listen to Metal like Metallica, Hammerfall or Manowar for example. But
I also like observing the stars or to inform myself about the universe and
the galaxy. And beside of that I do philosophise about the meaning of life
and the subject of existance itself.
Hope to read you soon ...
See ya
Bernd
to New Mexico, 18.2.:
Hi there!
I am happy to read that there are people out there who are interested in
fantasy stories like Lord of the Rings, etc.! Even the music you listen to
is very good. =)Metallica rules! Metal is one of the best music styles in
the world. Hope to read you soon. So long ... live long and prosper!
Bernd
to Bernd from Seattle, 26.2.:
Dear Bernd,
Hi! My name is Randy. I live in Lynnwood, WA by Seattle. I'm a seventh
grader at Alderwood Middle School. Anyway I was reading your letter and
noticed that you like sci-fi and action movies. They are some of my
favorites! I especially like the Lord of the Rings and the matrix. I also
like reading and I was wondering what kinds of books you like. The last
question I have is do you no when Matrix2 and Matrix3 are coming out?
Thanks!
from Bernd to Iran, 14.3.:
Hi there!
I just have to say one thing: Life itself is hell! Every day you just get
hurt in an emotional way. And so after death there must be paradise! It's
quiet, peaceful and you can do whatever you want to! Even if you get to
hell it would be better than your days on earth. I think if I die I will
go to hell, because I'm not one of the guys who believe in god, angels,
heaven and all the other things. How will the other world be? I think the
other world will be full of pain, sulfur, fire and blood. I will be
tortured all day. My body will be ripped apart a thousand times. And many
other very cruel things I don't want to mention now. If I just have one
more day to live I would have a great party and enjoy the last few minutes
of my life. I think I would just get drunk and await the Grim Reaper to
take me with him. I think nobody can say that he's ready to die. You just
can't prepare yourself for death. One day you die and you wouldn't even
know your dead.
Have a nice day
Bernd
Melanie and Mark to Iran, 14.3.:
Hi!
We think with the end of your life comes the end of your existence id est
you disappear into nothingness. The idea of nice people coming into heaven
or paradise and bad people going to hell seems to be outdated. Created by
some religious leaders to give some meaning to the life of their followers,
to take away their fear of death in general and to keep them from the
wrong way id est breaking laws, killing their neighbours et cetera. In our
opinion soldiers exempli gratia must still believe in life after death.
Otherwise they would never willingly agree to go to war, because they
could eventually get killed. If they were convinced that their existences
would definitely end with their deaths they might reconsider going to war.
Howerever, as far as we know heaven and hell exist... in life. On the one
hand life can be enjoyable, beautiful - perfect if you're satisfied with
your career, your private life (love life, friends, social contacts,
family et cetera). That's of course paradise/heaven like one might think
of it in afterlife. On the other hand life can be horrible. Imagine you
have no friends, no girlfriend/boyfriend, only get bad results in school
or in your job, or you don't even have a job or a home. That would be hell
on earth.
Are we ready for death? Who is? How can you ever prepare for it? Is it
just an act of nature beyond control (coincidence) or an act of god, if
however there is any such thing like god. -
M&M (Melanie&Mark)
from Kz., 18.3.:
(1) Death! This word makes me be frightened. Many people say that they are
not afraid of death, but I suppose that it™s not so. First of all I™m
scared of death because I don™t know what will happen to me and to my
soul after it. I believe in life after death, may be I™ve read and heard
too much about it. I think that every man has read the śBibleť and from
it we™ve learnt a lot about Jesus and life after death. In the śBibleť
it™s said that if you live a good life here (in this world) you™ll
live a better life there, but if you™ve made too many bad deeds, you™ll
go to hell. I believe in hell and paradise and I think that we™re all
sinny and will be punished for our bad acts. Talking about another world I
can say that life there will be better. I™ve seen some programs and read
some books about life after death. People who had a clinic death told us
about a black tunnel and a light in the end of it. During the time that a
soul flies through the tunnel it sees different fragments of his/her life.
Many people go mad after clinic death, some of them even don™t want to
come back in this real life and commit a suicide. Some time ago I had a
dream: I saw myself dead and saw how my soul left the body. My parents
were crying, but I didn™t come back and my soul flew away in a black
tunnel with the light in the end. When I woke up and realized that it was
just a dream and I really felt relief. But still this dream is in my mind.
And makes me think about it more and more. Zhenya Baranovich
(2) Death Oh, I think that it™s a very difficult and philosophic
theme (śblackť theme) I think the question śdo you believe in the life
after death?ť is the same question as śdo you believe in godť Some
people believe but some do not. I cannot say śnoť or śyesť because I
am a materialist and know something about it. But if we imagine another
world it can be hell and paradise¦ imagine¦ imagine¦but I couldn™t do
it. Imagine is too hard for me. It is not for me. But, on the last day of
my life I would try to do as many good deeds as I can to leave good memory
about me. But I™m really afraid of death; I™m not ready for it because
it is something unknown and terrible. Vitalya Dmitriyev
(3) Death I don™t believe in life after death. Of course, there are
spirits and life of spirits but there isn™t outside world. Life is here
(on the earth and probably on other planets) but not there. If scientists
prove with the special facts that there is the life after death, probably
I will believe in it. First of all I have heard about hell and paradise
from the bible when I was only 7 years old. My parents gave me this
religious book to get acquainted with it. That year I was baptized. So
since that time we have been visiting to the church every year. I believe
in god, but I don™t believe in the life after death so I can™t tell
you anything about hell and paradise, there isn™t another world so I can™t
imagine what this world look like. But I™d like to show you my
imagination about clinic death. When this thing happens people see a black
tunnel and bright light at the end of the tunnel. While the soul leaves
the body, it usually goes up through this tunnel and reminds different
moment of his/her life, relatives, friends, deeds and any other things
that have happened in the life. When the soul turns back to the body the
person keeps all moments of the clinic death on his/her mind. I think that
all people are afraid of the death and so do I. I™m afraid not of this
word, but of the process of dying. There is no more terrible ¦.. Natasha
Brovarnik
(4) Hi everyone who's in I*EARN! My name is Art (actually it's Artyom,
but it's kinda difficult to pronounce in English). I'm from Kazakhstan.
Yesterday we got new topics from other participants. There is one that I'd
like to write about. It's "Death". There are really interesting
questions to answer for this topic, but before you read my answers please
read the following carefully! I do not believe in god (so I'm not writing
this word capitalized), but I think many of you might believe in god. When
you come across anti-religious opinions of mine, don't get offended. I
have NOTHING AGAINST religion and people who believe in god. Now let me
get straight to it. 1) Do you believe in life after death? No, I don't.
There is no scientific fact to prove existance of life after death. The
first thing that life taught me was not to take anything on trust. I'm
really thankful to the streets of my home city for this lesson, because it
still helps me to stay out of big problems. It seems that the author of
this project is a Christian :) I'm not trying to offend anyone, but I
think the biggest problem of all the Christians is not taking into
consideration other religions. Life after death is a typical issue for a
Christian. Christianity says that people have to suffer a lot during their
lifetime, but if they live a life the way that is encouraged by the
religion, they will have another life after death full of pleasures in
so-called heaven. This is considered the best destiny for a man. But hey,
all the Christians out there! Do you know that Buddhism considers the best
destiny for a man having no life after death? Christians around the world
are trying to teach their religion to people of other countries.
Especially those in the USA! I have personally met and talked to many of 'em
in their mother country. They look at global problems from their point of
view and have no idea that somebody might think differently. They do
really nice things except religious things, though. They help many poor
people in the countries of so-called "third world" with food and
clothes, so they're not the worst people in the world :) just kidding :)
:) 2) Do you believe in hell and paradise? No, I don't! Having another
life is disgusting. If there were heaven or hell, I'd be really upset,
because I don't find getting stuck in either of these places attractive. I
think that going to heaven would be even worse than going to hell. What
can be more annoying than having no problems to solve, and no struggles to
fight? Endless pleasures are not for me. P.S. No one so far has proved
existance of hell and heaven. 3) Do you think you'll go to paradise or
hell? Why? As for me, I ain't going anywhere. I'm just going to die one
day. According to biology my heart will stop beating, and the grey
substance inside my brain will stop working. My body will stop functioning,
and my mind will stop to exist. That's gonna be the end of my life :)
Well, if there were heaven and hell, I would certainly go to hell 'cause I
have done some really bad things in my life. I learn out of my own
mistakes, though. I think that street, but not religion, is the best
school of life for people. I'm thankful to my hood and people around me
for giving me good (and bad) life lessons. This makes me a smarter and
stronger individual. That's important to me. 4)Do you think another world
will be better than this world? No, I don't think so. There's nothing more
beautiful than life in this world, no matter how hard it is. I love my
city, my country, and this planet, no matter how much dirt and evil there
is around. Believing in a better world for people after death means not
being satisfied with your real life. Does anyone believe in a better world
for a man after death? If someone does, listen to me now please! If you
think this world is too bad, then stop dreaming of "green pastures"
and DO SOMETHING to make this world better! That will make you satisfied,
I bet. All you need to make your life better is just to set your mind to
something, be active and patient. Never give up, and you'll succeed.
"If you can't have the best, make the best of what you have!" 5)
What would another world be like? Hey people! Do you really believe there
would be something out there for you some day? Stop being curious about
what another world (heaven or hell) can be like. You better imagine what
our real world will be like if we keep thinking about such stupid things!
Religious people say that god is the creator and the ruler of this world.
If something good happens, they thank god. If something bad happens, they
say it was god's will. Well, let me say that there are about 6 billion
creators and rulers of this world, and god is not one of them! These
creatures are more powerful than any god of any religion of all the times.
We call them "human beings". Human beings are really powerful,
they have a lot of power in their hands. This power should be used in a
proper way in order to make this world better. Still curious about hell
and heaven, and all that "another world" rubbish? If you like
that stuff, then let me offer you an interesting game to play. It's
objective is to create your own world. :) :) :) You are to create your own
rules for the game. It is your own world, it's name is planet Earth. There
are already some good and bad things on Earth, but the world is still
under construction, so you can take part in creating it. I ain't offering
no crap! Earth is a real world, it's not a fake imaginary thing, so please
be careful with it. It's kind of an old world, though, but taking part in
its creation is still worth it. You can build a new awesome world on
Earth. You can start when you're ready! C'mon join the game! You'd better
hurry up 'cause we take no charge for the game ONLY DURING THIS WEEK! :)
:) :) 6) Your deeds on the last day of your life. If I knew I would die
next day, I'd do the following. On my last day of life I'd hang out with
my friends. We'd have a lot of fun and consume a little alcohol. No drugs!
I'd like to have clear mind on the last day of my life in order to be able
to enjoy it a lot. If I had a chance, I'd have sex with a beautiful and
sexy girl. I'd thank my friends and relatives for being by my side during
my lifetime. Then I'd die :) 7) Do you think you are ready to die? No. I
don't think I'm ready to die. No one can get ready to die. It's impossible.
Like all human beings I have an instinct of self-preservation. Moreover,
I'm not tired of existing as a part of this amazing world. Sometimes it
gives me a lot of crap, but still I love it. Peace to you all, Art. :) :)
:)
from Seattle, 2.4.:
What do you want to achieve in your life? Group 5: Nichtdestotrotz from
Jever, Germany I want to write stories, particularly fantasy with magic
types. I really don't know why I want to write stories. All I know is that
they're fun. It's easy for me to release my creativity in this way. I can
also release my anger against people I don't like. Fantasy stories are my
favorite and no story I write, or start to write, goes without some magic
twisted into it. I like fantasy because it has no boundaries. For example,
history is bounded by historic facts and you can't really go off track to
what you really want to do. Also, science fiction is bounded by scientific
fact which is a little more flexible than history, but still has many
boundaries. With fantasy, I can't see any boundaries. The only limit is my
imagination. One nice thing is that no one can yell at me for writing
strange, unusual, absurd things. For example, a story I'm writing now
includes a girl who falls through a magic portal into a half- flooded
forest. In the forest she meets some guy who tries to speak to her. Her
mind doesn't understand what he's saying, but her heart does. That's
strange and unusual and no one can do anything about it because it's
fantasy. There's a lot to say about magical quality in fantasy stories.
Magic can make absurd things makes sense. Other types of stories have a
tougher time or no way to make sense of absurd things. Once I sealed a
demon inside a world. It was sealed inside by some magical people with
magical powers (not superheroes - that's different!) Unless science was
extremely advanced, I don't see how someone could seal a demon inside a
world. I absolutely have no idea how science or history could make sense
of that. Speaking of doing anything I want . . . I can create characters
that are extremely like people I hate and then make bad things like that
happen to them. I can make them suffer beyond anyone's belief and the real
people won't get hurt unless of course they read the story. If you have a
friend that writes stories, don't anger them or you could find a character,
horribly resembling you, drowning in a pit of steaming hot lava. I really
enjoy writing fantasy stories and I really want to continue writing
stories in the future. None of my stories will go without a hint of magic
in them though, no matter how many I write. As I have told you I use the
stories to let out my anger, maybe you'll find a way to release anger
against people you don't like without hurting them in any way. In a way
writing a story is like being a Dungeons and Dragons dungeon master,
anything you say goes, if the players don't listen to you they get fried
by lightning or dropped down a pit.
By Megan
from Iran, 23.4.:
(1) Hi dear all ! 1st of all we want to thank all the lovely people who
have been working on different projects in our learning circle ! Can u
remember our project ? ouch ! "The death and after the death !"
it is our project ! we r introducing it again and again because when we
looked at the list of project we couldn't see our project !!!! so plz take
a look at our discussion again and help us to do it better and better !
and if u have any questions about anything (the projects !) plz let us
know !we will be very happy to help u ! Ummmmm ! we r looking forward to
hearing from u more !? bests iRAN iEARN TEAM ;)
(2) About the Death : 1)Do you believe the life after death? yes of
course ! cos i have thought about it a lot ! 2)Do you believe Hell and
Paradise? yes because death without these 2 worlds has no meaning ! 3)Do
you think you will go to Paradise or Hell?Why? hope to go to paradise and
i think i will ! but everything belongs to my activities in my whole life
!i like it cos paradise is the best place ! 4)do you think the other world
will be bette r than this world? am sure it will be wonderful ! 5)Could
you imagine how the other world would be? describe it... the other world
would be very beautiful but i don't know how ! (i mean the paradise!)i
know nothing more ! 6)Which world do you like more?Why? that world may be
! but i haven't seen it yet ! so i can't say anything for sure ! 7)if you
understand you will die tomorrow,what do you do in this day? will do my
daily work ! and activities ! 8)Do you think you are ready for death?
yeahhhh ! death is not that much terrible that people think ! bests for u
Gilava ;) Wow
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
to Kz., 25.4.:
Hi all!
In most cases it's the military which drives science to progress. The
internet e.g. was developed by the military to make the exchange of
information quicker andeasier. Furthermore itwas possible to transmit
information without attracting too much attention. This very first
internet-like network was called the ARPA-Net (Advanced Research Projects
Agency-Network). And I wouldn't be very surprised if a great percentage of
the technology we are using in our everyday lifes has been
originallyinvented for military purposes. Greetings M&M P.S.: We hope
you'll write back soon =)
to Garbsen, 25.4.:
Hi all!
In our freetime we do alot of different things, cause if we'd always do
the same it surely will be extremely boring. We like to meet friends in
the afternoon and hangoutwith them. Sometimes we do extensive bicycle
tours, go skating, go swimming,play soccer or something like that, IF the
weather allows us to do so. If the weather is rather bad we like to go
bowling, hang around inside our homes, collect some stamps ;) or something
similar. If we are financially able to, we usually go out. We go tovarious
discos then and meet with our friends and try tomake new ones. If our
parents know where we are and with whom we are there, they allow us to
stay away as long aswe want to. Of course a private party is no less
exciting. Meeting with your best friends is always the greatest fun of
all, isn't it? Greetings M&M
from Iran, 25.4.:
Hi dear all !
here is our new questions ! please try your best to answer them as soon as
possible and try to give us your right answer ;) thank u for this lovely
course together ! 1-Why do we say that there is "a life after DEATH
" ? 2-What will you do if u understand that u will die in 24 hours ?
3-Have u ever thought about the way that u will die ? what is that ? 4-Is
the DEATH scare full ?why ? 5-If somebody kills him/herself what will you
think about his/her activity ? is it bad or it is just normal ? 6-Have u
ever dreamed of your DEATH ?explain it ! 7-Is Death bad ? Do u hate it or
u have a normal view or u love it (which one ?) ??? 8-Have u ever thought
about it : imagine that u has died so what will happen after that ? if
there won't be time there so what will u do there forever ? 9-What does
forever mean ? people say that when we die we will go to another world and
then we will live there forever ! what does it mean ? how can it happen ?
10-When will u die ? we mean what do u think about the time of your death
! of course nobody knows but what do u guess ? iRAN TEAM ;)
to Iran, 28.4.:
1. I don't say that there is life after death! 2. I would have a great
party and die when I'm drunk. 3. I will get shot by myself or in war. 4.
No I don't think that death is something to be afraid of because everyone
is going to die some day. 5. I won't think anything. He/She's already
dead. 6. Yes I have but I won't share my dreams. They're just to cruel and
brutal. 7. I don't think that death is a bad thing. It's just the end of
existence. Everybody dies, so it's just normal. 8. As I already said:
There is no life after death. When you die nothing will happen... it just
stays dark. 9. It can't happen because there is no otherworld. 10. It
could be possible that I die every day, minute oreven second. It is not
possible to say how your own death will be.
from VHS, 1.5.:
(In response to topic #6, Jever, Germany, Nichtsdestotrotz: Mark, Melanie,
and Bernd- Is there a meaning of life?) The Meaning of Life: Does it exist
and what does it mean to me? Life is certainly one of those subjects to
which all humans can relate because we all share it. However, to each
person, life has so many different meanings. Each person has different
goals, and each person follows his or her own path. The meaning and
purpose of life are definitely unique to each individual. It all depends
on how you live it, and your experiences throughout life. I have goals for
my life, but since I am still young, they are not really developed yet. I
would like to graduate from high school and attend college. When my
education is finally finished, I wo uld like to become a print journalist,
and work for a newspaper. Other than that, I want what most people want
out of life, happiness and prosperity. I would like to get married
eventually, have my own house, and have children. I would like to grow old
wi th my husband, and think that I lived a very nice life. That is mostly
what I want, to be happy wherever I am. I want to be old and happy,
content with the life that has passed before me; not old and miserable,
discontented with the extent to which I live d my life. I also want to do
something that makes a difference. If you have read the book "Miss
Rumpheus," by Barbara Cooney, you can certainly relate to this point.
Miss Rumpheus tells the story of her magnificent life as an old woman to
her granddau ghter and her friends. She looks back at all her travels and
amazing accomplishments. Miss Rumpheus claims that the most important
thing she did was a contribution to make the world beautiful. She planted
lupines all over her town, and she made the town a better place. Yes, this
is a children's story, so it is not quite in touch with reality, but you
can grasp the main idea. I want to do something important that will touch
someone. What that will be, I have no idea. This is the other point of
"Miss Ru mpheus" because all the children want to know what they
can do to make the world more beautiful, but Miss Rumpheus tells them that
only they can figure out what that can be, and that everybody must chose
their own paths. But I suppose that this is what mo st everyone wants in
life. Perhaps I will have a more original response when I am older and
know more about the world. I think that there is a meaning of life, but
one that is different for every person. The meaning of life is not
something universal, and it is not something that can be looked up on the
Internet and researched. It is an idea of what life is really about formed
from personal beliefs, experiences, values, and pretty much anything else.
Perhaps some people do not believe that there is a meaning of life because
they do not care to find one. Perhaps other people spend their entire
lives trying to figure out just what it may be. I would like to consider
the meaning of life something that one cannot achieve from looking. One
day, when you ha ve accumulated enough of whatever is necessary, your
meaning of life will come to you. That is just what I think. These are my
own opinions that are pure and unblemished by outside influences. After I
let my opinions be blemished by outside influences, though, they change.
In the Bible, "The Book of Ecclesiastes" claims that human life
is futile and purposeless. This is because humans are incapable of
grasping that meaning. The narrator of the Book, Quoheleth, performs many
"experiments" on human life, investigating wisdom, happiness,
and life processes. All of his investigations prove human life to be
futile and purposeless. But Quoheleth has great faith in God, and he
decides that all his investigations only prove just how powerful God is.
God create d both humans and a meaning, but did not give humans the
capability of reaching beyond their finiteness and grasping that meaning.
"The Book of Ecclesiastes" claims that there is a greater
meaning to life, but one that only God has the power to understand .
However, in "City Slickers," a movie, Curly claims that the
meaning of life is finding just one thing. This one thing can be anything,
but I would assume that it has to be something kind of important. Then
again, I do not really know. For every pers on it is different, but when
you find it, it is obvious what it is, at least to you. During the movie,
Mitch finds out that his "one thing" is his family, and he
realizes that recently he has not been very good to them. I believe that
the meaning of li fe is a very important thing, one that I am still too
young to fully grasp. I believe that I have not lived long enough to
really know what the meaning of life could be. However, it is possible
that humans are incapable of grasping the meaning of life. I have a lot of
faith in God, and it does not seem impossible to me that He would be the
only one to know the meaning of life. "City Slickers" presents a
point that aligns more with my own opinions. I believe that just one thing
can be the meaning of life f or someone. The key is finding out just what
that one thing is. By: Emily Groves Age: 16 Virtual High School USA
www.govhs.org Sutton Junior/Senior School Sutton, Massachusetts USA April
22, 2003
from Iran, 1.5.:
hi dears thanx for ur answers .if u go and see "Death and after
Death"u can see our answers. again thanx for ur answers very much.
with best wishes iran team
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