Tag Archives: Introduction

“Leve Som Dem”

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Hej. Mit navn er Mariah, og jeg kan godt lide den farv grøn. Jeg snakker dansk ikke godt, men jeg lærer det. Jeg har lært det i et år. Jeg underviser mig selv med Duolingo. Jeg er ikke en “polyglot” (de taler meget sprogene flydende) men jeg ønsker at være en dag.

Hi. My name is Mariah, and I like the color green. I don’t speak Danish well, but I am learning it. I have learned it for a year [on and off–I’m worse at practicing than I like to think]. I am teaching myself with Duolingo. I am not a “polyglot” (they speak many languages fluently) but I wish to be one day.

Watch this excellent TED talk by Lýdia Machová on the secret to becoming a polyglot.

One of the things that I do to make language learning fun is to listen to music and learn the lyrics. I recently found the Danish version of “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid on YouTube, and was excited to discover that, by the fifth listen or so, I could understand some of the lines and sing along.

It’s not an exact translation from the English version–even the title of the song, “Leve Som Dem,” means “live like them,” not “part of your world”–but it’s even more interesting, because the Danish version still rhymes. While the lyrics were altered from an exact translation, they still have roughly the same meaning, and they also maintain that sort of musical poetry that we would expect in a Disney/children’s song. That’s super cool on a number of different levels.

I really want to find a copy of the whole movie. The utter appropriateness of a Danish Little Mermaid is indescribably appealing.

(I’m a total nerd, so I couldn’t write an introductory post without going all-in. So hey. Hi. This is me. Nice to meet ya.)

STAR_mdst

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STAR_mdst is a group of Metro State students working to increase awareness of sex trafficking. Our group was tasked with selecting an issue and developing a social media campaign for it. We chose sex trafficking because we felt there are multiple pieces to this issue that we can highlight and there are real opportunities for our readers to make a change.

According to Merriam-Webster, the legal definition of sex trafficking is the illegal business of recruiting, harboring, transporting, obtaining, or providing a person and especially a minor for the purpose of sex.

Equality Now states that at least 20.9 million adults and children are bought and sold worldwide into commercial sexual servitude, forced labor and bonded labor. Victims of sex trafficking are often isolated, intimidated, sold into debt bondage and subject to physical and sexual assault by their traffickers.  Most live under constant mental and physical threat. Many suffer severe emotional trauma, including symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and disassociation. They are at greater risk of contracting sexually transmissible infections, including HIV/AIDS. Many become pregnant and are forced to undergo often unsafe abortions.

Our plan is to inform readers about:

  1. sex trafficking including definitions, statistics & basic facts
  2. local & federal laws pertaining to the various forms of sex trafficking
  3. organizations in Minnesota making a difference in sex trafficking
  4. national & worldwide organizations supporting change in sex trafficking
  5. the impact large scale events (super bowl, national conventions, Olympics) have on sex trafficking numbers

Our goal is to share pertinent accurate information about sex trafficking with our readers. We will link to local, national and worldwide organizations, create YouTube videos, and deliver relevant information through our blog, Facebook and Twitter.

It is important readers understand they can help:

  1. support an organization (with time and/or financially)
  2. lobby for change
  3. speak out (if you see something say something)
  4. promote awareness

Our hope is that the research we share will motivate our readers to act which will in turn reduce the occurrences of sex trafficking.

Check our Facebook and Twitter feeds.

https://twitter.com/star_mdst