Happiness)

Answers were given by my friends: Zaslavskaya Anastasia, Ermilova Evgenia, Reysner Ekaterina and Cherevko Maria) Thank you very much for your answers))

My first experience.                                  

I want to tell you about my first experience as a make-up artist. It’s one of my best and exciting memories.

I finished a make-up school this summer. Our tutors invited all the trainees to a playboy party which was held in the Izvestia Hall. We were able to do different kinds of make-up, for example, a pin-up style for girls who perform on the stage. It’s a bright make-up which stars like Merlin Monroe and other actresses wear. It’s a beautiful and perfect black eyeliner and nice red lips. I believe that every woman can look more feminine when she puts on this kind of make-up.

I felt a little bit nervous because it was my first day at work as a make-up artist. There were seven of us, young make-up artists in the make-up room and everyone tried to pretend to be confident as if to say, you know, “I’m very professional”.

We had to do lots of make-ups, for almost 40 or 50 girls. It was hard and we had to work very quickly. First I spent some time looking at the other make-up artists wondering how experienced they were.

After the event I found lots of photos of the girls whose faces I made up and when I saw  those photos I realized that in one case  I did wrong using a highlighter on the cheekbones of one of the girls and because of this her face looked very shiny. I felt frustrated and embarrassed. But my tutors said that my make ups were pretty good and it was a very good experience to start a career. But nevertheless now I know that sometimes it isn’t necessary to use a highlighter. 

As you can see on these photos the result of our work is professional and now I feel myself very confident)

Japanese wedding traditions

Today I’m going to tell you something about Japanese wedding traditions. 

                                                    

   I would like to begin by general information. There are many different wedding rituals such as Christian, Buddhist and Shinto in modern Japan. Firstly, weddings used to be organized by parents and newlyweds didn’t know each other before their wedding. But now this situation is completely different. Now like in other countries young people usually start going out and then if they fall in love, they can get married. Of course, all couples have their ups and downs, and if family life is not successful and people realise that they want to go their separate ways, they usually get divorced. Unfortunately, the divorce rate in Japan is rather high and it is nearly about 30%.

   But now I want to tell you about more optimistic things and I think you will be glad to hear about Japanese Shinto wedding.

   So, when it comes to wedding traditions, the Japanese is one of the most colorful cultures. There are a lot of details in a traditional Japanese wedding, so it costs a lot. But everyone who has been a guest at a Japanese wedding will tell you that the results are more than worth both the effort and the expense.

                                              Getting married in a Japanese Shinto Shrine.

Historically, Japanese wedding ceremonies were performed in Shinto Shrines. And even today many of Japan's weddings, therefore, are held in shrines for couples who want to follow Japanese wedding traditions.

Let’s now turn to Japanese Wedding Day and wedding dress.

The Japanese bride-to-be is painted pure white from head to toe. The bride wears a white kimono and an elaborate headpiece which is covered with many ornaments to invite good luck to the happy couple. The bride wears this kimono only once, because, in Japan, this kimono is worn only by young, unmarried women. 

Red is the most popular kimono color, but they are also available in other colors. 

  A white hood is attached to the kimono, which the bride wears like a veil to hide her 'horns of jealousy' from the groom's mother, who will now become the head of the family. Japanese grooms wear black kimonos to their wedding ceremony.

 It isn’t an easy task to put on this kimono, so the bride and groom will get some help from assistants. Tying the obi, or belt, is particularly difficult. Accessories are also an important component in the traditional wedding clothes.

 The traditional Japanese wedding costume for the groom consists of an outer garment (Hakama) worn over a full-length kimono. It is split between the legs like pants. Hakama pants originally were designed to protect the legs of samurai warriors when they were riding a horse. The hakama today is worn as formal dress for wedding ceremonies and also for dances, martial arts and by artists. The pants are made of cotton and other materials. The traditional color of the hakama is black, gray or brown with a white pinstripe. Today pants are available in many colors to suit the bride and groom ' s taste.

While the bride and groom exchange their wedding vows, their families face each other. Central to the traditional Japanese marriage ceremony is the ritual of drinking nine cups of sake, after which newlyweds are considered united. Families and guests also drink sake, to symbolize the bonding of the couple as well as of the two families. The father of the groom, and of the bride, then introduce their family members.

Let me move on to Japanese Reception Celebration

For the wedding reception, the new bride changes into a red kimono and again later into a western-style gown for the wedding party. The  invited guests are engaged in games and karaoke during the wedding reception. Guests are expected to offer the couple goshugi -- money -- in a festive envelope either before or after the wedding ceremony.

Many Japanese brides prefer spring and autumn for wedding. Wedding anniversaries are thought to be lucky, so it is common to see dozens of newlywed couples going for their honeymoon on the same day.

Next we come to the most pleasant thing it’s Gifts and after that I’ll tell you some words about the cost of this ceremony.

Traditionally the bridal couple receives two gifts from each guest. Friends and relatives send a wedding gift to the couple before or after, but never on the wedding day. Guests are also expected to bring cash for a gift. The amount of money depends on their degree of closeness to the couple and the family. In traditional Japanese invitations, that relationship will be indicated on the invitation card. The average cash gift is 30,000 yen ($250) for a close friend's wedding, but gifts can be from $30 to $200.

The money is placed into a special envelope, or Shugibukuro, and the guest's name is written on the front of the envelope. Envelopes, called iwaibukuro, can be bought at Japanese supermarkets or grocery shops.

At the end of the evening, the couple thanks all the guest for attending the ceremony.

Cost 

The average Japanese reception in Japan can be from several million yen ($20,000-$30,000), to $100,000.

The number of guests is either 50 or 200 people, on average. The scale of reception has begun to decline in Japan and couples are beginning to like more simple weddings.

Unfortunately today, only 30% of young couples in Japan marry in traditional Shinto style. Most of a Japanese weddings tend to copy modern Western culture.

How I communicate with my friends

Well, I like talking with my friends and try to do it every day. I think that the best way to communicate with my friends is to meet them face to face. This sort of communication helps me to understand a person’s feelings and gives me a great pleasure. I can see my friend’s emotions through gesture, body language, posture, facial expression and eye contact. 

I have classes at the institute five days a week and I can meet my friends there. We like to discuss interesting news, films and books. Unfortunately, I can’t meet  my former classmates very often, but I talk with them by phone at least twice a week. I usually speak to them on the phone, because for me it’s like a real face to face communication. I can feel voice quality, emotion and speaking style, as well as rhythm, intonation and stress. Some of my friends live and study in other cities and even countries, so it’s too expensive to talk with them by phone. Instead of that I use Skype, e-mail and social networking. Thanks to Skype I can even see my friends, although it’s not so good like real communication.

Of course, I check my e-mails twice a day. It’s one more way of my communication with friends. My friends often mail me and I answer their messages. I use texting from time to time and always use emoticons. I think that emoticons are a very nice way to express your emotions and attitudes to other people. I also use texting when I want to send very important and urgent news to my friends.

To sum it up, I want to add that all these ways of communication are very useful and important in our life. It helps us to stay in touch and have more close relationships.

The Carnival of Venice.

The Carnival of Venice is truly an amazing event. Last year  my friends and I were lucky enough to attend the festival and experience it ourselves.

The Carnival of Venice is an annual festival, held in Venice, Italy. The Carnival starts 40 days before Easter and ends on Shrove Tuesday (Fat Tuesday or Martedi Grasso), the day before Ash Wednesday.

The Carnival started as a time for celebration and expression of obliteration of bounds throughout the classes, as wearing masks hid any form of identity between social classes. During the 1970s, the Italian government decided to bring back the history and culture of Venice, and sought to use the traditional Carnival as the centerpiece of their efforts.

Today, approximately 30,000 visitors come to Venice each day for Carnivals. One of the most important events is the contest for the best mask, held  at the last weekend of the Carnival. A jury of international costume and fashion designers votes for "La Maschera piu bella".

We stayed in the Antico Capon Hotel. It is a very friendly, family-run place situated on one of the city’s most atmospheric squares, in the heart of the student district. We had breakfast at one of the cafes on the square. Prices in this hotel are hugely varied, so we booked our rooms in advance.

My friends and I bought traditional carnival masks and we took part in the party which was organized in our hotel by the owner. We met with many interesting people and, participated in the contest of masks.

The owner of the hotel organized a holiday supper with traditional Italian dishes which were delicious and tasty. All people were in festive dresses and at the end of the day we had a chance to see salute in celebration of  the festival.

This party was fun and entertaining. The memory of the happy music and the colorful costumes will stay with me all my life. It was an occasion I’ll always remember and I hope I will have the chance to go there again next year.