Last but not least

It is assumed I wrote my lines about the course we did. It was awesome, no doubt. However, I would not say goodbye without a recommendation. This is a film I have just finished, and it was good. Nevertheless, what I find remarkable is the friendship-love between the young woman and the old man. Needless to say, the opinion of others members of the family is amazing. They need each other, the other people understand it. 

I remember the story of my life. When we started the course, with our speeches, Emilio incited us to speak about ourselves. If you remember I told you about my anxiety and some problems of my family. Do not bother because I consider you a new family. Well, I should say that I recognize the fact that a relationship with an old man is not easy, not like is representing during the film.  It is more than that. People are incomprehensible, mean and a little bit jealous. You ought to fight so hard and sometimes you feel that you must give up. Have happy endings finished in a good way, we would have been happily ever after.  

The film is called 'The invisible woman'

P.S. My forty blog post!!!!! :)

How could anyone know me if I didn’t’ know myself

This was one of my favourite sentences in the book ‘Kronen Stories’, I spoke once about it in my blog. The reason why I love it is because I identify with the same. I do not know myself. When Emilio asked for a resume of the class, or an opinion, I decided to write about me.

This year has been difficult to me. I am aware that all of us have had a lot of problems to deal with. In my case it was similar. Despite of these things, I found our classes funny and hard. I have felt that I could learn a lot, my English is know much better than before, what is matter anyway.

Otherwise, I believe than our teacher, as much as we, hate this kind of evaluation. I agree with him in some way when he said he would pass us. Maybe I do not think that it is fair, but it is true that we should be stared under other look. We are their pupils and he taught us a lot. Moreover, what I mean is that we did a symbiosis where the whole people into our room have learnt more than we have expected.

Nowadays, I continue having problems with my own identity, sometimes I feel lost. However, in no way has these lessons made trouble in me. Most of time I realize than going to class was my best medicine. Maybe I missed more class in a week; even so more free time to study a little more. I would not bother pass if that means to live another year with this bussiness. 

P. S. : Enlgish always helps you to go abroad and have fun ;)

A little effort to make a self-portrait

Straight, black hair, sometimes frizzy; short or long depends on the period of time; light lines are appearing in the wide forehead; pencil thin eyebrows, not so long eyelashes, which move quick  and gracefully as in a flirt. You do not know what color you can see in these eyes; mixing light brown and light green, it is all up to the light. But surely they are deep and mysterious. How have you ever seen into them what are they saying? Rosy cheeks, those express the happiness of a soul, and an oval jaw, let you admire an old snub nose which it became roman with the pass of life; and a mean mouth with thin, pale lips. No bags under the eye, maybe a little blue because of the tiredness. No pimples, no freckles; just only funny dimples, deeper in the left side. What are behind this mask? Happiness, worry, confusion… Everybody knows but none is sure. You can watch in it kindness, smiles and this feeling to conquer the world.

Life (our last exercise in class)

Rarely does a situation like this happen to making you happy. In the past, she might have passed through it once. Would she not have been in trouble if she had learnt the simple lesson? But she is. I hope she changed her life. It is essential she do not give up now. It was her own problem what carried her here. Though, books are not known to have been written alone, neither life. It is time she open her eyes and move on.

How to be alone

I would like to share with you another poetic video in which is taught us how to be alone. In our technology society we have not the possibility to do that. So we forgot. Nowadays, when we ought to be on our own under no circumstances are our feelings safe. We are nervous, impatient and we turn to our mobile, ipod, iphone, tablet, whatever… Simple, we should be occupied with something to forget we are alone. It is stressful for most of the population. This feeling disappear when we love ourselves. If we felt good, it would be fine go out without company. Listen and see this link, it is interesting, excessive in some parts, in my opinion, maybe because I would never go out to a disco alone. It could be I do not love myself as much as I would.

The other side of the new generation

Have you ever feel alone? Isolation is not a good thing. But almost people do every day. I wish we had not more technology advanced than free time to look into the other’s eyes. This is a video which surprised me the other day; so, I would like to share with you. I had these feelings about the situation that the link is talking about. The curious stuff here is the rhythm. I believe that it is a funny way to be aware of the communication problems we are suffering right know in our world. If you want poetry, it is not necessary to read to the oldest. Listen and watch, I am sure that it is worth.

About Intercultural competence

Every time you hear a conference some questions jump into your mind. I agree with the words were offered to us yesterday. However, I wonder if is possible to acquire this skill if you live in a place and do not move from there. I mean, the way to learn a culture, in my opinion, is living with people who had it; when you are learning English, for example, you should live in England, mix with them and watch them in their own settle. Just only study at home you will speak, but not get the competence. The only thing you can see from here is a stereotype, not the real life.

In my job as a teacher, the competences are abilities that you ought to teach. You must teach not only Mathematics or linguistic, but social, learning to learn, etc. However, Intercultural competence is an unreal process to breed it them into if you are not the suitable means to do it. Maybe we, as teachers, should promote the digital communication, chats and social nets to get this aim, or the exchange programs. Would not be awesome if the government promotes a campaign about living abroad for a year before the University? Probably we must change the political system…

Sacrifice

My father told me when I was a child that everything needs a sacrifice if you really want it. It is completely true, but it is not fair. Every little thing I have had in my life was preceded by a sacrifice. It is amazing how bad you can feel when your plans are not working. Sometimes is worth, sometimes not. But you always have to fight. So, what would happen if you were tired? I am aware that other people are in the same situation. I mean, I know that things do not just fall in one’s lap. I try to understand why are so difficult to face some issues. In other words, I am tired.

I spoke with a mate of our class and I realized that we are a little bit tired, all of us, because this course is very hard. Maybe you are not conscious how much English you know. However, I admire you. When I heard you in class, I think that you are fantastic and I know nothing. It is said that I can speak English; this is because I speak a lot, but I am not so good. So, since my laptop, I would like to send you a message: ‘everyone of you, in your deeper inside, carry a good English speaker; fight for this course, face yourselves, we are in the final countdown and we will do together’. Sacrifice will be worth. What the matter is if we fail or pass. At least, we have tried.

My exhaustion comes from a lot of places, like yours. Nevertheless, I choose keep going, slow but steady. Come on, raise your spirits! See you in class...

Adolfo Suárez

After watching the video that Emilio left, I remember two things. One of them is that I have no idea about politic, the other one is that in my family this man is loved and my sister has a photo with him. I don't care if we speak about him or not in class, but I 'm sure I will investigate more about that person, just in case I lost something good. I should say that I think he was loved because of good actions.

A bad feeling about nothing

Today is my birthday. I am not sure if is a good thing or not. Only in that day does my heart throb in a different way. I do not find a reason to be happy or sad. I feel confused. You know you have one year more; you are aware that you are alive. Furthermore, I should say that I have everything I have always wanted to. In fact, it is often believed that you ought to be glad expecting a ‘happy birthday’ and some presents. However, what the matter is I have no idea, but I can not feel anything. I wish it didn't exist this day, neither the next, nor also the previous.

Gym culture

It’s said that you should keep fit, not only your body but your mind. When you go to the gym every day, you realize how different people are.

Firstly, you can find those who go every day, like you. Some of them are normal people who would like to keep fit. Others would be those who want to meet people there. Most of them are those who love their body. What the goal is I have no idea, but you always can see into the gym someone who usually watches himself in the mirror. He (or she) has a sculptural structure; however, they want more.

In order to personality, you have everything there. A person who doesn’t speak with anybody, he or she is just thinking. Nothing more. Others talk with everyone; sometimes is fantastic, sometimes not. It can be annoyed. There are guys who make noise, speak loud, joking about nonsense, maybe bothering to the others. These are my favourites. They are an entertainment different to the TV.

Looking farther, you have there those who want to get fit for the summer. They appear in February or March, when it’s getting hotter and you are worried for your bikini. It’s a little bit funny considering that they are the new people, but it’s seemed they were in the group since ever. They have so much energy… The same they pass around. Though, they could come the whole year because of the space. We are so many bodies in a small place!

To sum up, different kind of people can be found in a gym, different behaviors. Nevertheless, gym culture is growing up. More each time people go to the gym to be fit as oppose to exercise outdoors. Personally I prefer, you can find interesting persons there; so you are not alone…

Lead from the front

 ‘Even from the sidelines, Mandela was leading from the front’. It’s a very nice sentence, which implies the consideration as a hero by the person who wrote it. This was one of my favorite chapters, maybe because I am in the same line.

In that case, Stengel shows several ways to lead from the front. The most interesting could be ‘being accountable’. You should have the courage of having responsibilities about the things you do. Under no circumstances is it arguable.

Other interesting impression by the author is the fact to ‘seize the initiative.’ If you joined this idea with ‘never let your colleagues get too far behind’, you would have a leader here. Both of them connect the situation of being a really boss for other people without losing their trust.

However, I’d rather this one: ‘you ought to do things that did not necessary attract attention’, which is means ‘not accepting any special preferences and doing the same tasks as others’. Even in education this is the best rule. With education I mean at school and home. You always have to teach with your example. If you do the same things as others, they will consider you one more guy in their group. You must lead among them.

Last but not least, I consider the point to 'change your mind when the circumstances change'. This is a good reference to be able to move on. Rarely does a sensible person admit to coming back in his or her precepts. People tend to remain firm in their decisions, but sometimes you should be honest with yourself and change them. Lead from the front means to be aware of all the possibilities; indeed, it also means to be able to use other movements.   

What is done is done, isn’t it?

 ‘If I’m sincere today, what does it matter if I regret it tomorrow?,’ said José Saramago. Have you ever had any kind of regrets? I used to have. Not only for things I had done, but for things I couldn’t. Then, I learnt this sentence I chose as a title: what is done is done.

You maybe think that you are agreeing with me. However, it can be something that you believe but not do it. It’s assumed that everyone did whatever they want, though it is not true. The way to face that is easy. If I were you, I regretted about the things I could do it but I didn’t. This is the rule.

Rarely does a person admit to having remorse. Taking into account that, people goes through life feigning to be strong, without anything to make them feeling guilty. Nevertheless, they have it. So, please, let the cat out of the bag. Just don’t feel bad for something that happened in the past. Actually, you don’t need to pretend anymore.

Having a brief look to the other side, regrets are not so bad if they teach you to move on. In that case, you should try to get over the things you are dealing with. Let them go after learning about them.

I specially recommend you to live according to your daily routine. The only thing that it’s true is your present. Don’t look at the past, don’t expect the future. Just enjoy your own life. After all, what is done is done, isn’t it?

If only we knew what will happen after death…

Unfortunately I have just known that the father of one of my best friend died. After a week thinking about he would be here only a few months, it has been a bad surprise; in fact, this is an event I cannot deal with. I am so affected that I realize how lucky religious people are. Not only Catholicism but Buddhism, Islamic fundamentalism or whatever is able to find a kind of consolation in death. However, if you are not a true believer, if you think that everything finish when you die, you have to say goodbye to a close friend, to your relatives, to your family. So, how could you console a person who is suffering by his or her lost? You simply cannot. In no way does this man or woman feel some kind of relax. This person is moving on, you should respect that. Whether you gave him or her space, you would be the best friend. Don’t forget being close in case of necessity.

In addition to this, I come back to the idea of life after death. What future can be there? What is expecting us? I am so sorry about the answer… I don’t know. I have been trying very hard to find a response, but I couldn’t. For that reason I envy the other’s beliefs. I wish I had the certainty of a different way of life, in order to reply the questions that someone did me. It’s horrible, terrible, hideous. Nevertheless, there is a hope in that desolation. When you decide to live each day as the last in your life, when you seize the day, you let them know that you should enjoy every moment; you ought to live and learnt. Every day is a present that life gave to us. Don’t waste your time. Just live. You will never know how inmense the universe is. 

Babette’s feast

I have been gratefully surprised by this film. I have never watched, but I love it. Babette’s feast is not only about food, is about feelings. No sooner have you started the film than you realize how intense it is. You can appreciate the power of the singing, how the religion involves everything, or how the passage of time works on people. Going further, I could see, as Sabina sang once, future in pupils of mature men (and women). In the last scene, when they are having dinner, you ought to gaze at the expression of their faces. It seems they had a blank stare, thinking about the past, about something they lost. Nevertheless, they are happy. They look like teenagers full of life. It is amazing. Though, the most important business here is food. Babette wants to be grateful, so spends the whole money in a dinner to do honor to father’s ladies’ name. You can see the moment of the change, how that feast becomes better than was at the beginning, when they thought that could be a sin. The taste of drinks and dishes changes the faces of people, making them happier, more human, understanding with the others, capable of forgiveness.

Another film I strongly recommend is ‘Like water for chocolate’, by Laura Esquivel. I watched in my twenties and I fell in love with it. It is about food, the whole scene. And love. A young girl has to give up on love in order to take care of her mother because she is the little sister. So she put all her love on cooking for her family, and for her man, who has married with her elder’s sister. It is essential for us to understand how love and food are connected here. The final picture is awesome. You should watch if you have time. Let me give you part of the film, where Tita, the girl, receives some flowers that she must throw because they are from her husband’s sister. However, she cooks a delicious dish with them. Love is the most powerful weapon. Learn the lesson.

Music: Good for every moment in your life.

 It is important for me to listen to music the whole day. When I was a child, I learnt music studies, but I cannot play well any instrument. Terrible! Only the day I left the school of music would I realize the mistake I had made. I usually search in youtube some relax music when I am reading a good book. This video is one of my favorite. Not only the artist, but the ambience is amazing. The Alhambra is my place; this kind of music is my religion. I wish I had more time to spend doing that, I wish I could read and listen to Celtic Music more than twice a week…

I would like to share with you this video. It is appropriate if you are stress. Forget the world, focus on yourself.

In response to Estrella’s amazing article: Neuroplasticity

As a psychology student, I can no imagine a better comment like this one. After reading the article (Estrella’s comments too, of course), I should say that there are more than words on it. I have passed a lot of years hearing about how neurons can die, how they will not reproduce anymore. If you remember the cartoons called ‘Once upon a time… Life’, you should know what I am speaking about. These little red blood cells died at the end. Nevertheless, Science confirms nowadays that this is not true. Your neurons can be born in your mature period (not all of them but some specific ones). You will get this with practice. Little did I suspect that this fact could be real; surprisingly, it does.

Estrella told us about the happiness, the importance to find new routines in order to get it. She is right. Our brain is ready to get up if we fall, it is up to us. I would like to add that there are many different new solutions to discover how to be happy. Not only do you come across with them searching by the net, but you may look around and see them. One of this solutions that is coming to my mind is something called ‘Attraction law’. There are so many different ways to face this concept, but in summary deal with the fact that everything you can imagine or think, it will come back to you. If you see in your mind, you will have it. ‘Attraction law’ is in relation with the paragraph before because of the idea of habits. If you think every day that you can get whatever you want, turning your happiness into a routine, you will feel fantastic as a result of training.

To conclude I would like to say that my anxiety disappeared with exercises, I could fight against it with new habits, which support the theory that Estrella brought us. Thanks for your article, I loved it!!!!

RECIPES

No sooner had the class finished yesterday than I put my mind to work. I made a few recipes for all of you, I hope you like them. They are cheap and easy. (The photographs are real. I made them)

Curried couscous with chicken and raisins

Ingredients:

1 cup couscous                                                      ½  cup raisins

1 cup chicken soup                                                1 pinch salt

200 gr breast chicken                                            1 table spoon curry

1 onion, sliced                                                        1 dash black pepper

¼ cup white wine

                                      

Directions:

1.    Fried the onion for five minutes, dice the breast and add to the pan with the salt and the pepper. When the chicken is almost done, add the wine.

2.    After the wine is evaporated, add the curry, the raisins and wait a few minutes. Then, you can put apart the pan.

3.    Meanwhile, hot the chicken soup and stir with the couscous into a container. Cover for three or four minutes.

4.    Stir everything with the couscous and it’s done!

Advices:

You can add other vegetables like zucchini or red and green pepper (add at the same time to the onion).

You can also put some apple to this mixture (add with the raisins).

Sponge cake

Ingredients:

1 white yoghurt (take the yoghurt as a cup)

3 cups of flour                     4 eggs

2 cups of sugar                   1 cup of oil

1 pinch salt                           orange peel

1 table spoon leavening (an envelope) 

Directions:

1.    Put the egg yolks into a container and combine. Add the egg white and the salt. Stir everything. Add the sugar and the yoghurt and combine very quickly until you see a cream.

2.    Mix with the flour slowly, with movements from down to up. Add the leavening and oil, too. When the dough is almost done, add the orange peel and mix a little bit.

3.    Grease the container with oil and flour, put the dough inside and add some sugar on the top.

4.    Bake for 30 or 40 minutes in a preheated oven at 180º. Use a knife to check if it is done. It should be clean when you inserted in the cake.

5.    Let it cool on a table. The house ought to smell very well!!

Time to go, Lady Death

That is the way I remember her,

her wrinkled face, her white hair

her body expanding over the big mattress,

like a huge deformed mass.

That is the way I remember her,

With unintelligible speech

Not comprehending anything

Living prostrating in bed

Just watching life pass by.

Where is that one named Death now?

Where is she, who forgets that wrinkled face?

Maybe taking young people, full of life

Cutting their last breath and happiness

in a cruel, sadden blow

Always doing everything it shouldn’t

Damned Death! Learn to be fair!

Take her to a heavenly place with no pain,

Leave here other people, who should enjoy their life yet,

Don’t scare them anymore.

Nowadays, I still remember her

Because she is still here, in moaning pain

Though she hurts everyone in the middle of her suffering;

She never feels any better

Get the torture out of her, please, Lady Death

Give us a little peace in our lives.

Review

 ‘The Sailor-Boy’s Tale,’ by Isak Dinesen, was first published in 1942 in Winter’s Tales, the second collection of short stories written by this woman. Isak Dinesen was the name how she was best known, but she had a lot of them, as Karen Blixen, for example. She passed through many different tragedies like her father’s suicide at ten years, or the lost of her last love in Africa, where she was famous because of her stories. After this, she came back to Denmark and began to write her first collection of stories.

The plot of the tale it seems to be a simple tale about a sailor, but it goes farther. The main character, Simon, is a boy who one day rescued a falcon. Two years after that, he is a man on his seventeen who meets a girl. With the promise of a kiss he pretends to come back the day after, but he meets Ivan, a Russian sailor whom he has befriended. He runs to Nora, the girl, but he has taken by an old woman (maybe a witch), who helps him to avoid a murder by pretending that he is her son. This woman was the falcon he saved two years before.

Only after reading the tale you realize that it is a simple story which give us a lesson of how helping people can be the best way to live. Not only the lesson, but the transition to a man of the boy (into the typical elements of Dinesen’s fiction) is a point to be considered when you finish ‘The Sailor-Boy’s Tale’.

Would you reach your happiness in everyplace?

After watching a series named ‘Homeland’ and the article in which we were working in class the last day, adding the video we saw and the new one that Emilio suggested, my request is about how we can be happy. Where is the real problem?

In the show I mentioned before, an American soldier came back from the Iran war (after the fall of the twins towers) under suspicion to have been converted into a Muslim as they are. The problem here is that this man could be a spy and working with the others, a traitor, I mean. But, after six or eight years living in a very bad way, when you have lost your faith and someone offers you a hand, clean your wounds and make you a sense for your life, what would you do? This made me think a lot. 

Only later I watched and read this news it was remained to me the importance to find your own happiness in every situation. If we had a peek at the time magazine again, we would realize that they are fighting for themselves. The examples include people who normalize the way they live. They have a main street where they can buy things, even steal like they would do in another place. The most impression I had was that these people protect the area as a real home.

No far away from here we have the videos about the refugees. The one that was watching in class spoke about a NGO and the protection that it offers to the children. The link our teacher wrote in the website lead to suppose more example of this kind of life. In the first one we could appreciate how a teenager had to lie to their brothers about their parents. She hoped they were alive, but she told them they were death because of the protection of a new life for the children. In Emilio’s video, you can find hope too.. a father tells their children about their grandparents, making them to see how lucky they are because they are all together. In other situations, the family is also close, but they are relatives, not parents.

The point is that you can have a glance not only to the part of the feelings they have, but to the whole. All of us are trying to build our life as better as we could. Sometimes we have problems with money, maybe drugs, familiar troubles, diseases, it doesn’t matter. All of us choose a way to find peace and redemption in everything we do. So, if you ask whether you can be able to be happy with all this problems in the world, the answer is yes, of course. You can do that. Just think about they have found their own way. Happiness is not so far away from any settlement. When I peer at this kind of news, I feel that I can do something for them, like give some money, or even go there to set up some tents. In my really inside, I consider that, more than feel sorry for them, I admire people who can find flowers into the garbage.

Kronen's stories...

It has passed a lot from the last time. However, I am with you, my classmates… and I would like to share the first poem I read in English. It is not mine, of course, I will publish mine when it had finished. Meanwhile, I give you a little present. This was from a film I watched when I was seventeen. I loved this film at the moment I watched, but the book is always more interesting than the scene. The title is “Historias del Kronen”, a Spanish film from the 90’s where you can discover the dark side of the life. Drugs, doubts... and the wild side of life. The poem is not appeared in the film, but it does in the book. It is a song from a group named The The, from his album ‘Soul Mining’. I hope you enjoy as much as I did, and I do.

'Giant'

‘The sun is high and I'm surrounded by sand
For as far as my eyes can see
I'm strapped into a rocking chair
With a blanket all over my knees

I, I am a stranger to myself
And nobody knows I'm here
When I looked into my face it wasn't myself I'd seen
But who I've tried to be

I'm thinking of things I'd hoped to forget
I'm choking to death in a sun that never sets
I clogged up my mind with perpetual greed
And turned all of my friends into enemies
And now the past has returned to haunt me

I'm scared of God and scared of hell
And I'm caving in upon myself
I'm scared of God and scared of hell
And I'm caving in upon myself

How can anyone know me when I don't even know myself?’

The last sentence is the one that has walked with me during my whole life...