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Spanish Life-style, by ROSI

Hello everyone,

Nowadays  life-style in Spain isn't the same as it was five years ago, I mean, people had a work, a car, they paid their mortgage and went on holidays.

Today, everything has changed, in the family only a person works or even it's possible nobody works.  Families only have a car or none, they can't pay their mortgage, some of them have to go to live with their parents, others can pay their mortgage but cannot eat, then they have to ask for food.

In fact  this critical situation has a reason: politicians and councils raise the taxes, the light and water invoices, etc.. so it is difficult to be able to pay a mortgage and live, because they are almost doomed.

This is called crisis, although, I would call it bad and careless political planning.

Politicians instead of filling up their pockets and empty the ours, they ought to share and take control of the money.

I think  that if we had less politicians, the country would go better, since the excessive salaries  they earn, could be used  to reduce taxes.

I will  recommend to politicians to speak to people, and so to try to solve the country problems together.

I have real doubts about when our country will come back to be as it was before.

                        - WHAT DO YOU THINK ?
                                             
                       - DO YOU KNOW ANY PERSON IN THOSE CRITICAL CONDITIONS ?



See you soon,
ROSI.


                                     

I am Susana

Hello, good morning!

I'm Susana. I'm thirty-eight years old. I live in La Puebla since 2009.
I have got three children but I'm not married. I'm happily divorced.

I'm a middle height person, I'm putting on weight. My hair is black and wavy but I have got some grey hair and I like to wear my hair in a pony tail but I sometimes leave my hair loose and straight.

My eyes are green. They are beautiful!
I live in my mother's house with her, my children and my brother.
At this moment I'm unemployed but some days I go to Madrid to work.
I like working the paper with my hands, I'm a paper handler.

This is all. Goodbye!

OUR ENVIRONMENT

The environment is part of our life, we should protect it because it is very important and as a consequence, if we continue damaging the environment as we have done until now, the result will be humans and animals in danger of extinction.

Our habits have much to do with pollution.  We only have to change some of our habits and to reduce, re-use and recycle everything that could harm our planet.

If we protect our world, we will live better than before without being afraid of the end of the world.  In other words, if people made an effort to protect the environment, the world would be a healthier place to live in.

My opinion is that we have to look towards the future in a positive way.  People awareness may be negative and pessimistic but in same way or another it has to be changed to get a favourable planet.

NATALIA

A WEEKDAY VEGETARIAN?

We all know the arguments that being vegetarian is better for the environment and for the animals -- but in a carnivorous culture, it can be hard to make the change. Graham Hill has a powerful, pragmatic suggestion: Be a weekday veg.

http://www.ted.com/talks/graham_hill_weekday_vegetarian.html

It's quite understandable, but if you need it, you have the possibility of showing the subtitles in 40 different languages or getting the whole script just below the video.

Take care,

Loli

MY DAUGHTER

She is  Stefania.  She lives in La Puebla de Alfinden, she is from Zaragoza in Spain, she is four years old, she is a student from the first course in Kindergarten, she has got one brother called Camilo, he is six years older. Stefania is a tall person, skinny, her eyes are brown and beige. She is shy but very clever. She likes to play with her dog, Chiqui.  She enjoys riding  her bycicle and playing with her toys.  Soon I am going to say to you more about her.

  Goodbye, Diana.

 

My Love

Hi Friends,

My name is  Sergio, I'm in love with a woman and she is like this:
She has got dark eyes and hair, she is skinny and tall, she is pretty.
She is active, curious, sensitive, sociable, crazy and a bit clumsy.

I am Yoli

My name is Yoli. I am thirty-seven years old. I live with my family in La Puebla de Alfinden.

I am a short person.  My eyes are big and brown. My hair is short and redish because I have my hair dyed since I have many grey hairs.

My face is round, my lips are full  and moreover I am wearing glasses.

I am a cheerful person and I try to look at the positive side of things. Also  I consider myself careful, hard-working, sensitive and sometimes stubborn.
I am married and I have got three daughters. They are twelve, six and four years old.

My oldest daugther likes learning languages. Her dream is to go to New York with her friends.
My middle daugther is quite shy and the youngest  is very active.

I enjoy doing things with my family for example: riding the bike, going to an excursion, etc....

That is all.
See you soon 

Yoli

Describing by Azucena

Hello,
This is my personal description.
I am a Spainish woman and I live in La Puebla de Alfinden.  I work for Balay.

I am married, my husband's name is Jose Luis.  I have got two daughters.

They are eleven and eight years old. Their names are Sandra and Marta .

I am about forty years old. I have got brown eyes and hair.

My face is oval and fair.  My build is medium. I'm considerate, active, sensible and friendly.

My favourite colour is blue and my favourite hobby is reading mistery books.
That's all, classmates!

I am Ana Mar

Hello,

My name is Ana Mar. I live in La Puebla. I am married.  I have got a daughter and a son.  They are 21 and 15 years old.

I have got brown eyes and blonde hair.

My  hobbies are the music and reading; and also walking.

Bye, see you.

My description by Pilar

Hello,

My name is Pilar. I am thirty-nine years old. I live in La Puebla de Alfindén since 2005 but I was born in Málaga. I am a baker. I haven´t got children but I am married. I think, I am extrovert, broadminded, independent and a bit stubborn. 
My husband and I are in an English course although he is at the advanced level.

He is a shy but very funny person.  At present, he is unemployed but he is very active, he is a children's football trainer.  But, he really likes the theatre, he is a keen actor.

We both like walking, hiking, travelling, ... and we love the theatre and the cinema. 

See you soon. 



 

MY FAMILY AND ME.- BY JESUS

Hello, my name is Jesús, I am twenty-eight years old, I live in Santa Isabel district with my mother, my small brother and my dog (Toby). I have got another brother who lives in La Almozara district with his girlfriend and two babies.  Finally, my girlfriend lives in San Jose district.

I am an Administrative Assistant but at this moment I'm unemployed but sometimes I work as an inventory assistant for Alcampo. I'm middle height, thin and my eyes and my hair are brown. I'm wearing black glasses and a goatee beard. I consider myself sensitive, cheerful and sometimes a bit shy and careless.

My mother is a nurse assistant and she works in a hospital. She is middle height, thin, her eyes are brown and her hair is blonde. My mother is hard-working, practical and sociable.

My brother is a security guard and he works for El Corte Ingles. He is tall, thin, his eyes are brown and his hair is dark. My brother is hard-working, active but sometimes is stubborn.

My girlfriend is a psychologist but she works at home teaching private lessons to a child. She is middle height, putting on weight, her eyes are brown and her hair at this moment is purple. My girlfriend is sensitive, charming, imaginative, sociable and sometimes is stubborn but I like her.

Bye!

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF ANIMAL PRODUCTION

Have a look at this website and at this article about livestock and its environmental impact.

OPEN HERE 

THE HIDDEN COSTS OF HAMBURGERS

Do we really need to eat such amount of hamburgers and meat?

OPEN THIS SITE 

listen to the story, you can have a look at the tapescript 
and also have a look at the figures. 

And now have a look at this website and its video

OPEN HERE

Bali, The Island of the Gods – by Vanesa

Bali, The Island of the Gods – By Vanesa

Known as the Island of the Gods, this paradise island is famous for its thorough temple and its people's friendliness.

Palm-fringed beaches, the island is full of natural springs, thick jungle and villages with a wonderful culture. 

Bali has a tropical climate all year round. The average temperature is 30º Celsius. There are two seasons: rains are from October to March and the dry season runs from April to September but it can rain at any time.  The best months to visit Bali are from May to August.

You can not miss in Bali:

• The Royal Temple
• Sunsets
• The paddy fields
• The forest and Monkey Temple
• Lake Batur
• Kintamani ( a place to admire the active volcano)
• Riding a camel
• And for nature lovers, Bali Bird's Park.
• There are many more activities besides enjoying the Bali cookery.

         

 Do yo want to travel to this wonderful place? www.balitourismboard.org

See you soon. Bye, Bye.  

Andorra by María

Hi classmates!

Last 19th September, my boyfriend and I went to Andorra for three days. When we arrived, the strong smell from the big mountain’s vegetation reminds me when I was a child and I was going every winter to “Villanúa” which I liked a lot.

Andorra is a fantastic place for doing all kind of purchases because its duties are lower than in Spain. Almost all the tourists buy tobacco, alcoholic drinks and cosmetic products due to the high difference in price with other countries.

As well as a lot of shops, we also visited the Caldea thermoludic area, where we relaxed a lot. I recommend to visit it to all people who need switch off from work and spent a good time in family or in couple.

We liked its inhabitants' friendliness and their lifestyle, this is why we wish to go back again to Andorra.

Best regards,

María Escalante

 

My first article by Nuria

Hello classmates!

My name's Nuria. I'm forty years old. I'm from the district of Santa Isabel, but since I got married I live in the Montañana district.
I am employed, I was dismissed one year ago. I was a secretary. I would like to find a job soon, because life is boring being just a housewife.

I'm middle height and build.  My complexion is fair.  I have got an oval face. My hair is brown and my eyes are greenish.

I consider myself a sensitive, generous and friendly person.  I'm sometimes a bit shy.

I have got two children.  They are ten and six years old.  They don't look like each other.  My oldest son is very quite and my little boy is very talkative.  The two of them like playing football.  I'm quite busy with them.

When I'm sad, they give me lots of kisses.  I love my children!  They make me laugh.

During the English course you will know about me a bit more.

See you!

Describing myself by Vicente

What a hard work, describing myself!

Anyway, I will try it.

About my physical appearance, I am a tall and thin person  My eyes are brown and my hair, too.  My face is oval and my lips are thin. Moreover my ears are big and my nose, too.

About my age, I am thirty-seven years old and I have got a little belly, the rest, perfect. ha ha ha. Psychologically, I stand out,  I am strong-minded, practical, sensitive and shy, although sometimes I am tough and stubborn but generally I am charming. 

You will know about me along this course.

See you.

Article by Mary

Hi, I'm Mary.
I'm twenty-three years old, I live in La Puebla de Alfindén with my parents and my brother.
I'm not working in this moment but I study English.
I consider myself a curious and happy person but sometimes a little lazy.
I'm short and skinny and my hair is dark, straight and long.
I have got dark brown eyes. My nose is flat and my lips are very thin.
I'm wearing glasses and without them I don't distinguish any shape.

My mother is short and chubby, she has got black and short hair. She is charming but sometimes she has a bad temper.

My mother is not working now because she has a disability.

My father is tall and chubby, too.  He has black and short hair and he wears short trousers every day, all the year long.  He has an old-fashioned way of thinking.  My father is a welder.

My brother is tall and skinny, he has got dark and short hair. He is very lazy and he complains about everything.

And this is my family.
Bye, see you!!

REVIEW

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My description by Javier

Hello,

My name is Javier. I am 49 years old. I live in a house in La Puebla de Alfindén since 2003. I work for a building company. I am a salesman. I have got two children, one girl and one boy, the girl is eleven years old and she studies here in Los Albares school.  She likes studying English and she is a very good student and a sporty girl.  She has been practising karate for 4 years and she likes arts and crafts,  she makes bobbin lace.
My son is very funny. He is 4 years old, he's a sporty boy and brave, too. He likes playing martial arts, as her sister and as myself, but he is still a baby boy.
I'm medium height and built, I've got brown eyes and hair.  I am considerate but a little shy and not very chatty.
When I was younger, I liked alpine sports (such as free climbing, cross-country skiing and Btt) and Karate;  now, I only play Martial Arts (karate and Aikido) and I am very happy when my wife, my children and I ride our bicycles.

I love being with my family.

See you soon.

My family by Montse

Hello,

I'm Montse. I live in La Puebla de Alfindén. I'm forty years old. I'm married and I have got two children. They are four and two years old. Their hair is blond. They are little evils but they are very cheerful.

My husband has got short and straight hair. He has got a goatee beard but I don't like it. He's thirty-six years old.  He's sometimes shy. He's a bit plump.  He's a bricklayer. At present, he's building a house.  He likes going to the cinema with our older son.

I'm middle height. My eyes are brown and my hair is brown, too. I think I'm thin.
I consider myself quite extrovert, careful and chatty.
I'm a secretary but at this moment, I'm not working. I'm a housewife now.
I like reading books. Also, I like walking in the park with my family.

I'm glad because we are a happy family.

USHUAIA (Natacha Gormaz)

The city of Ushuaia (Argentina) is known to be the world's southernmost city.  It lies at the foot of the Andes, it is surrounded by the Martial mountain chain and its houses are around the famous glacier.

It is the capital of the Tierra de Fuego province, and its current population is 60,000.

It was founded around 1880 and  in the early 20th century the famous prision was built, which operated until 1947.

How to get there?

You can go by road, but it is not recommended because it is not good, and if you are not  accustomed to drive long distances, it can be exhausting.

And I think it can be dangerous. So, the best way to get to Ushuaia is by plane. The airport is very small but it is only about five minutes driving from the city.

I recommend to visit one by one its many attractions,  but first of all you can go for walk around the city. There is only one tourist Street.  There are lot of shops and restaurants where you can try the fueguino lamb, one of the typical meals.

I think this city has beautiful landscapes.

When you finish  your visit in the city, you can visit all the many different attractions and wonders this place offers.

You can start visiting the Museum of the End of the World.  In there you can see the most important collection of objects about the history of the region, from the prehistory to the 20th century , and also you can see  an incredible fauna.

I think this visit is wonderful and very interesting.  Moreover I recommend to take a train to the end of the world.

The route is wonderful, you can see a beautiful landscape, surrounded  by mountains, and the train stops to see the aboriginal people. It is very interesting and worth.


 


After that you can visit Bahía Lapataia into the National Park (Tierra de Fuego). This a wonderful place where you can see lot of species of birds, sea lions...

This is a chuchungo, it's an original species from this place.

There are different hotels, guest houses.. where you can be host,  I think they are quite affordable possibilities.

Finally you can take a boat to Beagle Channel, there you shouldn't miss out an essential visit to The Island of The Wolves,The Island of The Birds and The Lighthouse at The End of The World.

And now some questions :

Did you know this place?

Would you like to travel to Ushuaia?

Do you think it is an interesting place to visit?

Have you ever been to South America?

Two different experiences across Portugal

A few years ago, my husband and I travelled to Portugal by car .
Portugal is a country that offers a great number of places to visit.

Its calm life style,  people's kindness and the fact that not having any comunication problems, makes you feel comfortable.

The food is excellent, the time is different.  There, it's an hour minus than in Spain.
The coffee is a very important drink.

The first place we visit was the capital, Lisbon.  The public transport is very good, we took the  twenty-eight tram and  it was a very practical and low-cost way to look and visit the whole city.

Also we visited Coimbra, which is an ancient city where the traveller easily falls in love with it.

We spent the night at the Fatima shrine, a mixture of devotion and shopping.

Batalha and its monastery is one of the most important gothic places in Portugal.

Nazaré is a fishing village, you can take the funicular and go up to an impressive viewpoint.

It's typical to see  people walking by the street dressed up on their regional garments.
Portugal is magic, worth a visit.
I hope to return soon.

      
 By Elena

My last holiday destination was Portugal. As a preamble, we visited Extremadura; Cáceres which was precious; Badajoz, a mixture of desolation, aridity....

From there, we went to Lisboa, Evora, Setubal...

Our entry into the capital was the most unusual one: an emergency because of a black fly bite on my ankle.  With pain in the body and feeling my bad luck, I had to endure five hours waiting at the hospital.

Then, to the hotel where I had a glorious rest.  The rest lasted a day and being already more relaxed, we went to see the city.

Lisbon is a very old and dirty city but with the charm of  "European Cuba ".
We also visited Porto and sailed along the Duero river.
Portugal, always old, always fallen.
But that's its identity card... you can like it or cannot.

By Esperanza

TUSCANY BY CARLOS

HELLO CLASSMATES.

IN THESE LINES I AM GOING TO TELL YOU THE JOURNEY THAT I HAVE IN MIND DOING IN A NEXT FUTURE.

THIS IS A JOURNEY MY GIRLFRIEND AND I ARE THINKING OF DOING  FROM SOME TIME AGO.

THE TRIP WOULD CONSISTS OF PREPARING THE CAR WELL, STOCKING UP  SOME VICTUALS, TAKING OUR TENT AND A FEW MORE THINGS WE COULD NEED AND THEN TRAVEL TO  TUSCANY (ITALY)

Viñedos de la region de Chianti

WE HAVE CONSULTED POSSIBLE ROUTES TO SEE WHICH ONE WE MAY WANT MORE AND HAVE AN IDEA OF HOW MANY KILOMETERS TO DRIVE AND THE MONEY WE WILL HAVE TO SPEND IN TOLLS OR ROAD FEES AND FUEL.  APPROXIMATELY THERE ARE 1,400KM AND BETWEEN TOLLS AND FUEL  IT COULD COST ABOUT 300 €. 

Las torres de San Gimignano

AS DESTINATION, TUSCANY IS A REGION SITUATED IN THE NORTHWEST OF ITALY.  ITS CAPITAL IS FLORENCIA AND IN TOTAL THERE ARE TEN PROVINCIES (FIRENZE, MASSA-CARRARA, LUCCA, PISTOIA, PRATO, AREZZO, SIENA, PIZZA, LIVORNO AND GROSSETO)
TUSCANY IS WELL-KNOWN WORLDWIDE FOR ITS WEALTH OF MONUMENTS AND WORKS OF ART AND HISTORICAL AREAS OF THE CITIES .

La Via de' Tornabuoni en Florencia

ETRUSCAN CIVILIZATIONS AS THE RENAISSANCE ARTISTIC STYLES WERE ORIGINATED IN TUSCAN LAND.  CURRENTLY THERE ARE THEREFORE REMAINS, DEPOSITS AND TESTIMONIES OF IMPORTANCE OF THOSE CIVILIZATIONS.

WE  THINK THAT THERE ARE MANY THINGS OF BEAUTY WE CAN FIND ON THIS TRIP AND HOPEFULLY ONE DAY I CAN TELL  'WE DID IT'. 








 

SAINT MARTIN'S DAY IN GERMANY by Ana Belén

Hello classmates,

If you are travelling to Germany in November you can enjoy one of the most important traditions.

                                                    SAINT MARTIN'S DAY

First I will tell you a little story to let you know where this tradition comes from.

Martinius was the son of a soldier and when he was 15 years old, he had to join in the Roman military.  One day when he was riding a horse, he found an indigent person in the street. It was cold and Martinius ripped his cape with his sword and gave a half to the man.  He felt so good that from that moment dedicated to helping the others.

In the village the word was spread and everybody wanted to name him successor of the Bishop.  Martinius, who was very shy, didn't want that distinction and ran away hiding himself  at night in a goose stable. He made a few lanterns with the typical seasonal pumpkins putting a candle inside to see in the dark.  The angry geese screamed so much that discovered Martinius and he became Bishop of Saint Martin of Tours.

Since then in Germany it is a tradition for children at schools to make paper lanterns, which are made of plastic bottles of water just cutting the top and the cap and wrapping the bottle with painted and decorated paper.  Inside a candle or a bar with a little light bulb is placed.

Although Saint Martin's day is November 11th, on November 6th the parades begin.

Saint Martín goes ahead on horseback with a red cape. The children walk in processions carrying the lanterns that have done at school and singing songs to Saint Martín. " Torch, torch, sun, moon and stars".  People give them sweets also as part of the tradition.

Also it is a custom to light bonfires and to cook the geese which are the informers and snitchers of the story.  They are usually served with red cabbage like the typical dish in that day.

After the parade  a "Weckman" is given to the children. It's a man-shaped bun, whose eyes are two raisins and on their hands they hold a ceramic pipe.

It's very likely that this custom is the Anglosaxon predecessor of .........................




See you soon!!

Ana Belén

BERGAMO (MILAN) by Marisa

Hello everybody,

I want to talk about my travel to Bergamo (Milan).

In November 2005, I went to Bergamo with my husband and my friends, David and Jessi.  In Bergamo they were living David´s brother, called Mario and her wife, called Paola.

Mario and Paola invited us to stay in his house for a long weekend.

Bergamo is a city and a commune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 Km northeast from Milan. The commune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants.

THIS IS: The Palazzo della Ragione on the Piazza Vecchia.

One Day we travelled to Milan by train, and when I arrived to the Milano Centrale Railway Station, I just thought "this Station is amazing".

Milano Centrale is the main railway station in Milan, Italy, and one of the main railway stations in Europe. The station is a railway terminus and it was officialy inaugurated in 1984 to replace the old central station (built in 1931).

Other very beautiful place is Victor Manuel II Galery, placed inside you can find a lot of restaurants and shops under the best styles.

However for me, the best of this travel was the people and the food, I really love pasta, pizza and ice cream.

LEARN ENGLISH FOLLOWING ON LINE TEACHERS

You can learn and practice English through many different ways.  Each person has his or her own method or like something more or less.  The question is to keep in contact with the language.

I propose you to learn English with some Youtube Channels.  You can subscribe to one or more and get them very easily.

OPEN HERE and choose yours.

TRAVEL TO POLAND 2012

Travel to Poland 2012 by Jesus

In summer 2012 three friends, called Nacho, Miguel and Javi and I travelled to Poland to watch our Spanish selection to play football.

Our travel started in Zaragoza, we went from Zaragoza to Barcelona in my car, from there we flew to Warsaw. In Warsaw, Piot was waiting for us. Piot is Polish and he is Javi's friend, they studied together.

The currency used in Poland  is the zloty.

During our first day we visited: 

. The National Stadium   

. The Palace of Culture and Science

. The old city:  it was destroyed in World War II

. Praga´s neighbourhood:  in spite of the World War II many buildings has been preserved in good conditions,  there you can observe the bullet marks and holes.

. The Warsaw Ghetto: only a wall is preserved.

In the ghetto, we lived a great story, we met an old man, he fought in the World War II and in the Russian invasion.  He had three books with photos and signatures of people who had listened his story.  We signed in his book and when we arrived at Zaragoza, we sent him our photos.

At night we were at the fan zone, the night was fantastic.

At night, I observed that in Poland dawned at 4.30 but there weren't blinds in the Polish houses and daylight entered everywhere in the rooms.

The next day, we flied to Gdansk, there we spent three days.

On the first day,  we were to a rented flat, probably it was the worst place where I have ever slept, but it wasn´t important , we only wanted some fun. In the afternoon, we  visited Gdanks and its pubs, in Gdanks there were a lot of Spanish people, they were everywhere.   Polish people welcome  to Spanish in a very good way.

On the second day, we went to Sopot, in Sopot we had a good party.

On the third day it was the football mach: Spain vs Italy. We got up and got dressed with the Spanish football team T-shirts. We went to the center of Gdanks, the street was crowded of Spanish people.  We went from Gdanks center  to the Stadium  by an old train, at the end we saw the Stadium, the Stadium was relly beautiful.

 

 


The score was Spain 1 vs Italy 1.

On the next day , our travel finished, we bought the Polish press before going back to Zaragoza, the Polish press media thanked the Spanish fans for the great created atmosphere.

Our travel was fantastic, we will always remember Poland.