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Oktoberfest is coming to Dublin this

monthA smaller version of the famous

German festival is coming to

Dublin’s Docklands later this

month. The Dublin Oktoberfest

will take place in George’s Dock

from September 18 to October

5. Erdinger is sponsoring the

event and is bringing real

Bavarian cooks, waitresses

and an Alpine band to the

Irish capital. Apart from beer

Dublin Oktoberfest will have

plenty of traditional German

food, such as fried sausages

with sauerkraut and potatoes,

burgers, pretzels and lots more.

The event will be free to attend,

but expect big crowds and

arrive early as George’s Dock

can only hold a limited number

of people. Oktoberfest will be

open from noon until 11-30

pm from Monday to Thursday

and from noon until 00-30 on

Fridays and Saturdays. Let the

fun begin!

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Ten SEDA students from Venezuela, Brazil and Ukraine gave up their weekend to volunteer with Serve the City: a Dublin non-for-profit organisation helping the city’s elderly

residents. The project took them to Dublin 8 where they redecorated the house of Peggy O’Sullivan – an retired Irish lady living on her own.

The students came equipped with buckets of paint, brushes and rolls and within just a few hours they were able to re-do Ms O’Sullivan’s house! Students told SEDA News that the elderly Dubliner was very nice to them and expressed her deepest gratitude after they

were done. SEDA College first partnered up with Serve the City in May and since then students help the volunteers out on a regular basis. It

is a great activity where you can help a person in need, make new friends and practice your English at the same time. Check out SEDA’s events calendar for future volunteering opportunities!

By Netania Gomes

Experience local Culture at the

Ultimate Irish Night

On August 21st a group of 15 students from SEDA participated in one of the authentic Irish nights that are taking place in the River Bar, O’Connell Bridge. The ticket for the event costs €12, however our students paid only €5, as the college organized the event and compensated part of the price in order to encourage the students to participate. It was a night to remember – forever! The experience was really fun and every moment was enjoyable. During the event participants are taught how to play Bodhrán (pronounced: “bow-ran”)– a drum traditionally used in Irish music. It is believed by many that it is a descendant of ancient Celtic war drums. The students learned different beats that can be played with the instrument and were even able to play along to the Irish band that performed the song “Whiskey in the Jar”.After that we had a break to get hydrated before starting the most anticiapted part of the night: learning some

steps of the Céilí Dancing. The students who chose beer instead of water could pull their own drinks, with a bartender teaching them the secrets for creating a perfect pint of

Guinness. Céilí Dancing is a popular form of folk dancing in Ireland. As there were around 40 people participating, the atmosphere was great and everyone was excited to learn some steps. From the basic to more advanced steps of the dance, the teacher was leading and everybody enjoyed. Better than any cardio exercise, there was loads of fun, laugh and sweating.The Irish nights will happen until the end of September, so make sure you book

you place as soon as possible to have an unforgettable experience. Learn more on www.riverbar.ie

By Tais Auler

My internship in Ireland: the daily routine

Hi again guys! I hope all of you are enjoying the series about my internship experience in MUZU.TV. This is the last column, but there will be many challenges ahead and this is what I am going to talk about in this edition.After getting to know how the site works and getting to know what content appeals to its audience I got a new task: promoting the website and making sure it gets lots of visits. This is going to be my job until I finish the internship, provisionally in December. To achieve this goal, firstly, I had to understand that it is most important to update the website daily with new releases, create a new playlist and write an article for the blog at least once per week. That is why I started using social media. I created a fanpage on Facebook and I do four posts per day there. After that came Twitter.There is a certain pattern to making posts regarding the links, so Maria (I spoke about her in the previous column) was there one more time to help me. She taught me how to make posts the MUZU way and I moved on.Soon I realized that it was still

Tais Auler is one of the many SEDA students who applied for an internship via SEDA’s internship programme. She got a placement in Muzu.tv – a global online music video site with offices in

Dublin and other parts of the world. Tais is sharing her experience with SEDA News readers.

not enough to reach the desired audience. If I wanted to get the site famous I needed to “breathe” it. So I started posting music videos on my own Facebook profile and inviting my friends to like the MUZU fanpage. I also posted links in several groups, so I got some more likes and views. For this I had to spend more time engaged with the website then the 12 hours per week that I spend in the office. This could sound strange, but I am sure that this experience will have much value in Brazil, and in future this effort will pay off, so it’s all worth it.Now I just keep spreading the content and trying to get more likes and views. By the way, I would like to use this opportunity to invite all SEDA College students to access the site www.muzu.tv/br. Visit the site, like the fanpage and leave your suggestions for music videos which you want to watch and listen, all requests will be handled promptly!Again I hope all of you enjoyed this series. If any one of you have questions about my internship or just want to talk about MUZU.tv go ahead and email me on taisauler@yahoo.com.br. My Facebook is facebook.com/tais.auler. A warm thanks for your time and attention!

10 students volunteer with Serve the City Dublin

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How to pass the Cambridge English exam

SEDA: Why did you decide to take this exam?Netania: I did it because I wanted to test myself. I have been studying English for more than 6 years already, but for the last 3 years I didn’t take it seriously, so I thought it was time to see where I need to improve. I took the exam also because I think it’s important to have an international certification to be able to prove your level of English especially if you intend to enrol in a university or apply for a job.

S: How did you prepare for the test?N: I took part in the FCE Preparation Course that is organized by the academic department at SEDA to encourage students to sit the exam. But I also studied a lot by myself. There is loads of content on the internet to help you prepare. I also continued doing what I like to do to improve my English: watching TV series, but this time without English subtitles, that way I could improve my listening.

The Irish capital, Dublin, is welcoming and beautiful. With its flat and in most cases tree-lined streets, it has separate spaces for buses, cars and bicycles. That’s right, here most of the streets have cycle tracks for cyclists who are respected by drivers.In this city lots of people use their bikes daily to go to work or just go to the park or the supermarket. Those who do not have their own bike can use the Dublin Bike public service that is provided in the city.

How does the service work?In many places in the city you can find bikes stations, offering bikes for the collective use of the population. To use them you need to subscribe to an annual

S: Describe your preparation course in SEDA.N: As the college wants to encourage students to take the exam, the course is very cheap compared to the average price you would pay for a regular preparation course elsewhere. It was an eight-week program with a class once a week. During every class we got explanations about each part of the exam (there are 5 parts: reading, writing, use of English, listening and speaking). The teacher also helped us by giving some tips about how to take notes during the listening test and how to give better answers during the speaking test, for example.We also did a bunch of mock exams to learn managing the time and to get used to the format of the test.

S: What were the most difficult parts of the exam for you?N: As it was a long time since I attended an English class, Use of English and Writing were the most difficult parts of the exam for me.

card registering your credit card and paying an annual fee of €20, which will entitle you to the use of the bicycles free of charge for the first 30 minutes (each time). If you go over 30 minutes your credit card will be charged: rates range from €0.50 for the first hours to €2 – the more you use the bike the more you pay. But if you can manage to return your Dublin Bike to another station within 30 minutes then you don’t have to pay anything at all!Besides the annual service, Dublin Bike offers a special 3-day ticket – it costs €5. This option is perfect for tourists who come for short stays in the city. The price plan is similar – you can use the bikes for free for the first half an hour, and after that your credit card will

These sections require a good knowledge of grammar and rich vocabulary. On the other side, listening was the easiest one for me as I am used to chatting to native English speakers and, as I said before, I love watching TV series.

S: How did your exam day go?N: We met at SEDA early in the morning to go together in a bus that the college rented for us to guarantee everybody would be at the examination centre on time.The exam went smoothly, without any surprises. It took almost all

be charged automatically. If you do not return your Dublin Bike to one of the stations within 24 hours then your credit card will be charged €150.

How to register?Registration must be made online at www.dublinbikes.ie. Upon entering the page, go to Sing Up for the subscription – don’t forget that it is the annual subscription. The payment can be made by credit card or direct debit. If you choose the direct debit option you will need to have a proof of address, preferably an electricity bill from last three months. After completing the subscription you just need to wait. Your card will arrive by post – usually within a

day, so it was very tiresome, but everybody was very concentrated and during breaks we would get together to see how everyone was doing.

S: How did you feel during the test?N: The main day of the test is the day we do the reading, writing, use of English and listening. I was pretty calm and focused on that day, however the speaking test was one day before and I was more anxious than I expected. The reason is I am always a bit nervous to speak in public and the thought that I’d have to speak in front of someone testing me... it got me uneasy. It is a test that requires you to be extremely calm and I was too nervous to think and put my thoughts together properly. Anyway... I passed, but I am still not very happy with my performance, I know I could do better.

S: Were there any surprises for you at the exam?N: Apart from the speaking test, everything was as I expected. The

week or two.

Checking the balanceThe balance of your bike rental card can be seen in the terminals of the stations or on the website.

What to do with the bike after use?When finishing your journey, just go to the nearest station to return it to one of the stands provided. Remember, you can’t keep the bike for more than 24 hours, otherwise the bike will be considered lost or stolen and your credit card will be charged for the amount of €150 as a fine. Remember: the stations are open

only surprise was a very good one: at the writing part I was afraid they would ask us to write a formal letter as I didn’t have much time to prepare for that, so I was thrilled when I read the task and realised I had to answer a friend’s email about an anniversary party they we were organizing for the school where they study. Coincidentally, I was organizing SEDA’s anniversary party on the week of the exam. So all the vocabulary about anniversary parties and great ideas to organise them were all fresh in my mind. What a great surprise it was!

S: Are you planning to take other international exams in future?N: I’m thinking about sitting the CAE (Cambridge English: Advanced) next year, because having a challenge ahead will keep me motivated to study more. I would encourage other students to take these exams as well - you won’t regret it!

from 5 am to 00:30.It is also important to remember that when cycling in the city you must respect the road rules. Some examples are:

• Make sure you keep to the left;• Never cycle in the dark without adequate lighting;• Never run traffic lights.

Non-compliance with these rules might result in fines. It is better to follow them for the sake of everybody’s safety and for the sake of your own financial well being.

Dublin Bikes: what they are and how to use themIf you’re new to Dublin you’ve probably seen them: green bikes with ads on them parked at stations all around town: St Stephen’s Green, the Liffey, the Grand Canal and many places beyond. The bikes are locked to their posts and to get one you have to work some magic at a terminal which is just beside every station. So how does it work? SEDA News has all the answers.

Netania Gomes, who works in SEDA’s marketing team, took the FCE Cambridge English exam on July 25, achieving level C1 – the highest you can get! SEDA News asked Netania about her exam experience and any tips for other students who are thinking about taking these exams in future.

By Valeria Moreira

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Sudoku

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