News of Africa

I read the international section, specifically news about Africa that turns around violence and deaths. For example, a new called "South africans outraged after police drag man" said that there a lot of causes of police brutality because they likely to be white and establish a racial dictatorship (In 1994, the apartheid ended and the African National Congress was voted into power in the country's first fully democratic election. It spend a lot of money to trained officials).
Issues such as unemployment, freedom and wars are the most important because they affect to the people and world economy and shows a negative side. In my opinion issues such as mode, artists and other banal things are least important because they don't contribute to the reflection of social problems.
We have to remember that the media has the control and it decide what kind of news the people can know.  I think that always behind the news there is a secret intention that helps to increase the control on something or someone. TV, radio stations, newspapers and magazines decide what and how to inform what is convenient for them.
We must be critics at the moment of acceding to the news.

Exercise 12 SB page 108

I think that the robot that cleans the house and glasses that send you to another place are amazing inventions because you won’t spend time cleaning your house or hearing boring conversations of your boss at office.

The invention that might help the world is the pill that can substitute for food because poor people can obtain some proteins and vitamins with this product. Maybe the world’s governments have invest in this invention for help to people who don’t have anything to eat but I’d have to think really about it because I don’t think in disadvantages.

Other inventions that might help us at home it’s a good question. I would like a machine that wash my clothes in some minutes but doesn’t need much water because is a way to care not renewable resources. Let me to see, maybe an ecological machine that uses natural light and made by solar panels.

What invention couldn’t you do without? That’s a difficult question because all inventions don’t exist still. I think the pills to increase the intelligent are most common because the people said that oil of liver of cod help you for a faster mind. When I was a child my grandmother gave me those pills.

                                                                                                         

Oaxaca: a place that you will never forget!

Going to Oaxaca means discovering a paradise because it has a different contrasting and spectacular landscapes such as mountains and beaches. The capital is a climatological dichotomy: hot and cold.

The last December I went with my boyfriend to Oaxaca, a wonderful place where I never saw before a lot of cultural wealth I really wanted this journey because was my opportunity for enjoyed my vacations. My scholar agenda is strict and I don’t have much free time until I finishes my thesis.

I visited  a lot of places, one of my favorite is Cascadas de Piedra, a tourist side where you saw many foreign people who were parched because the raise was difficult and it had the form of zigzag. When you arrive and feel vibrant if you throw something, the object will crumble.

The oaxacan food is delicious and I love the chocolate and cheese. I prefer the tasajo (a soft and juicy meat) than cecina. I miss the glorious glorious smell of the meat in the heart of central market. The second day I went to a trapiche where people did mezcal, the most popular drink in Oaxaca. I drank an exquisite mezcal’s cream of different flavors such as coffee, vanilla and pineapple.

There are some beaches that I visited: Huatulco, Escondido port, Angel port, Zicatela and Zipolite. In Escondido port the below sea level was striking because all waves were higher and I can’t remain in sea for a long time. In these moments I missed Progreso.

When the people said “It is better to travel than to arrive” I don’t agree with this proverb because if you travel by bus, you will arrive to the place! The most important thing is enjoy the landscapes, food, people and be happy because is a good opportunity for take a free time within pressure or work.

I will return to Oaxaca!

A delicious breakfast :)

                                                                 The  "Trapiche"

In the Cascadas de Piedra

An amazing landscape!

Colourings for handcrafts

My Uxmal experience 

I have not had an extreme adventure in one of my trips, but I live a particular experience in my last trip to Uxmal.

Uxmal is my favorite archeological zone in Yucatan because is some virgin yet and It is touristic place but not like Chichen Itza.  In that occasion I traveled with my brother, his girlfriend, my sister and my boyfriend; We had a good time on road and arrived in perfect conditions, we walked around the place until found a Sir who asked us about our studies and where we were from?, He was a experimented man, He knew very well the jungle and told us about the hallucinogenic properties of a certain kind of plants there and  a beautiful “cenote”. He showed us the way to arrive it, we did not know that place so we decided looked for it and started to walk, was midday and the sun shining hard on our heads. We followed the way for 25 minutes more or less but abort the mission because the weather was very hot.

We stayed in Muna in a friend´s house, we asked him about the “cenote”, he did not know then He asked to his family, some of them had heard about it but nobody had gone. The old man had told us that the cenote appears in the olds maps and only old people know how arrive, but nobody in my friend´s family Knew the way.

At the end of day we return to Uxmal for the light and sound show, pyramids looks amazing with the colorful lights in the night and the speaker´s story was interesting. I want come back soon to find the cenote.

Oaxaca a charmin place

This is a Mexican city and state with stunning views; it is also off the beaten track. There are a lot of mountains from Oaxaca City to beautiful beaches on the sea side. In the Oaxaca coastal there are lot kinds of beaches with extreme waves to surf. The waves are the most important attractive thing for tourism coming. Zicatela beach in the Escondido port is the famed one where each year takes place the contest surf.

In Oaxaca city is possible taste a great variety of mexican food such us tlayudas (making with beef, beans and cheese over a big tortilla). The heart of Oaxaca city is very tranquil, a lot of people wader a long visiting museum and one the most beautiful mexican churches, one of them is Santo Domingo. The bus transportation is far away from the central park, this is very important in a quiet city where people want to avoid cars and motorcycles noise for a while they are walking and enjoying the place.

Monte Alban is located close to Oaxaca city; just 30 minutes by bus. It is a place with a lot of ruins of the Zapotec age (indigenous). From this place is seen the beautiful landscape of the Oaxaca valley where Oaxaca city is located.

Oaxaca is nice place that everybody should know!

 

monte Alban and the Oaxaca valley

 

This is Monte Alban.

 

 

Escondido port (Carrizalillo beach), when the sun set.

High waves in Ventanilla, Oxaca.

 

Issues - the News On-line

We hope you have been reading newspaper articles sometime during the week, it is an excellent way to be updated, to build vocabulary and to exercise your critical thinking abilities by analyzing and supporting your position on different issues that affect the world.

In case you have not got the chance to buy a newspaper in English, here is a link to the global edition of the New York Times. Visit the page at least once a week, choose an article and exercise your vocabulary and analysis abilities. You are welcome to post your opinion and analysis on the articles you read and share your views with the group.

The link is:

http://global.nytimes.com/?iht

It is also possible get access to diverse magazines and newspapers around the world. I found this site which includes magazines on a great variety of topics so you can select something you are really keen of and keep up with current information and articles you might really enjoy, try it at:

 http://www.world-newspapers.com/

Participate!

Electric Guitar for Sale!

White Peavy beautiful guitar, with a classic design but a distinguished colour. Even if it is second hand, it is in excellent conditions. It features its own fund, bringing the best protection you can give to your instrument.
Ask for it now and rock like a boss!

ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACES IN CAMPECHE... CHAMPOTON

Champoton is one of the most beautiful and important places in Campeche.

People love going to Champoton because is really calm and tranquil, you can go with your familly and I'm pretty sure that you'll enjoy the beach, the food and the friendly people. 

We will start explaining the beach!!! is really beautiful because while you are swimming you can see the colorful fish and the water is a convination between blue and green, and at sunset the contrast of sun with the water is the most beautiful view.

the second one is the food, you can eat differents kind of plates like a ceviche, breaded fish, fried fish, camaron cocktail and while you are eating you can dance!!!!  because on the restaurants you can listen salsa or cumbia music and then I'm very sure that you will enjoy your stay at Champoton. 

Hello Guys!!!!today I bring for you these beautiful Sony Stereo Headphones, They are in excellent condition, only used for Five months. Their features are super lightweight with a slim headband, perfect to maintain your hair style; a convenient cord adjuster lets you control the length of the cable and a good sound system.  I only ask $250 (Mexicans pesos). Do not waste time It´s a bargain. More information lindasece@gmail.com

Ramata by senegalese writer Abasse Ndione it's an interesting detective novel where a beautiful woman has dark secrets. The book it's in excellent condition (see photo) and it's the last copy. The price is $90 mexican pesos. If you live in another country, I will send you by certified mail. Please write me if you are interest in the book: aotrinidad@gmail.com

The complete 'Basaseachic waterfall experience'

The Basaseachic Waterfall is located in the Sierra Tarahumara in Chihuahua, México, close to the Copper Canyon, which is three times bigger than the Colorado Canyon. Words cannot describe the spectacular landscape and the vastness of the space in that place. I remember like it was yesterday how it was my first view of the Basaseachic Waterfall: after a long car ride along a semi-desertic area we stopped, got out of the car and walked a few minutes until we found a very big depression and in the opposite side of that a giant column of water appeared between the soil and rocks. The view of the giant waterfall changed my attitude and that of the ones who were with me, as we walked to reach the place of origin of the waterfall the mood of the group turned more and more vibrant. In our way we found big rocks that loomed out of the landscape with the strangest shapes, and as we arrived to the place in which a small stream fell to the soil hundreds of meters below we noticed a change in the landscape: here we found vegetation and drenched soil. We passed over the waterfall on a little bridge that crumbled under our feet. The view of the water falling 246 meters under us was at the same time amazing and frightening. But the experience doesn’t end there: we went to the place where the water actually falls. We walked thru a road that went down zigzagging until we reached the bottom of the big depression and then we walked along a stream and started to hear more clearly the drone sound of the water falling. Then we take a bath right under the big column of water!. The return was very difficult because the road up hill is always more tired, but we were happy because we did all what is required to complete the 'Basaseachic waterfall experience', and we don’t regret it!.

Cultural Differences..An Englishman in New York

Here is the link to the video we watched in class (level 7) so you practice singning the song -good for pronunciation and entonation practice- Think about the "sayings" in the song - What do they mean to you? Can you think of a similar saying in Spanish?

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d27gTrPPAyk

Pronunciation Video and Conferences

As promised, I am trying to make available for you the video we watched last class so you can access it whenever you want:

I hope it will help you in your pronunciation practice. 

I think it will also be very useful to visit the BBC page. The pronunciation section is very good, there are quizzes for you to check your knowledge, there are three Programmes in which the one you listened in class is included (Programme 1) and more. Enjoy!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/

February Upcoming Holidays

VALENTINE´S DAY

HISTORY

MARKETING STRATEGY?

Take a look at the numbers in the US

LET´S GET ROMANTIC, REMEMBER THESE QUOTES??

MARDI GRASS / CARNIVAL / FAT TUESDAY

Would you like to know a little more about its origins and history?? Go on reading... 

Nature and Animals (Unit 7 Level 8)

Animals A to Z

Just in case you were wondering if there really was a tiny minority of animals which names contain 10 letters or more, here you have a link that displays a list of common names and species, from A to Z along with some  fabulous images.

Challenge:

Try to find as many 10-letter-or-more names as you can and post them. I bet your list won´t be long. (no compund words allowed...)

And just for fun!!

Looking for names????

Living abroad (Lesson 2.1 Level 7)

Cultural Gaffes

Hi everyone,

today we were talking about customs and habits in different cultures and, among others, we mentioned being polite so here you have a video with some situations in which you´d prefer not to be involved.

So remember, if you are planning to go abroad, you must do some research about culture in your destination.

Would it be possible for you to post a comment about this video?

Have you ever been in a similar situation?

Did you have knowledege of some of them?

Which ones do you consider very important?

Hope this is helpful!!  

Vocabulary Practice

At this level it is very important that you work on enriching your vocabulary. Acquiring vocabulary is not a matter of simply "adding" new words to our log, but actually using the words in a meaningful way and of course, knowing how to use them. Having a wide vocabulary is just like having a variety of spices in the kitchen to create new flavours and dishes! 

Here is a link to a site which gives you the opportunity to test your vocabulary knowledge and to increase the number of words in your personal "repertoire". Are you ready to take the challenge?

http://www.vocabularycoach.com/default.aspx

Idioms

Another way to make a difference in your speech, is to try to use "idioms".
If you would like to become familiar with some of them, here is a web page which has an ample number of them: Dave´s ESL Cafe
On the menu at your left, go directly to the "Stuff for Students" area and click on "Idioms". You´ll see two options displayed from which I recommend the second one with meanings and examples.
To go over them once in a while, will be very handy during this 7th and 8th levels.
Browse through this site and you might find some interesting topics.
Practice, practice!!!

Add variety and flavor to your writing and to your speech.

Here you have some ideas to pick from in order to enhance your writing as well as the way you speak.

Try to include some of them instead of the usual words you have already used in your writing homeworks and you´ll notice the difference. 

Start Today!!!

Welcome and some suggestions

We would like to welcome you to this space. We invite you to participate with comments, opinions, essays or articles you would like to share with all the group. This blog is open for levels 7th. and 8th. students and teachers. By posting your work, the other group members will be able to read and comment on it, make suggestions, ask questions, etc.

Here are some suggestions to start with:

If you haven't got a book to read in English, here is a site which has lots of stories on different topics and at different levels, you may start with it:

 http://www.short-stories.co.uk/

Also, for level 8th. students here is a useful link get more information and examples on relative clauses:

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/elc/sample/advanced/gs/gs_59.htm

There is a great resource to start exploring urban language and expressions:

 http://www.urbandictionary.com/popular.php?character=A

Finally, especially for level 8th students, the link to the video on Danakil Depression so you are able to do your homework.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebM7G4hyFFw&list=PLA7E0A3687E49AC33

Good luck and enjoy your course!