Sunday, 16 December 2012

Living with my classmates



I present to you my dear readers, my classmates who have very interesting characters and behaviours.



JACKY

She is from Singapore and has two grasshoppers as pets. She lives with a family and is doing an au-pair program in a Spanish home with two naughty children who always break her boots.  She has an interesting relationship with her boyfriend; a very enviable one because they have lots of fun together. She is the first person you see in my class because she always has the first seat. I think her favourite colour is green though her surname means the colour yellow. She likes the cold weather and cooks "curry" so well. Her favourite phrase is "errm...bueno"

  


SONG
He is from South Korea and it is said that he is the finest in the class. His favourite song is "No one" by Alicia Keys. He does not like coming to class but i think an angel told if he doesn't make it to class, he will be deported to Korea. He is a "tae-Kwan do" instructor. He speaks more of street Spanish than written Spanish. I think his favourite colours are white and black. His favourite phrase is "urgh" and he does this by hitting his hands on the table.




MENGQI
She is Chinese and uses very cool contact lenses. Normally she wears boots and always has flu. She has this fascinating voice and speaks in a funny way because she starts in a high tone and swallows the rest of the conversation. She always gets to class late because I think she spends an hour putting on make-up, but she looks really cool after. She also has the cutest nails in the class. i think her favourite colours are pink and green and her favourite phrase is "ta,ta,ta"





MOSORE
He is the only Ghanaian boy in the class. He is tall and likes dancing in class during breaks. His nicknames are " Mosore, Mosore" or "Mr Ghana". The meaning of his name if translated from the Korean language means "a corner". He's got a nice haircut and always wears thermic shirts to class. He is also always late to class because he likes sleeping. His favourite colour is grey and his favourite phrases are " herh, herh, herh' or "um hum"



MARISA
She is american but her mother is spanish. she is the baby of the class but she looked 30 years the first time i saw her. She is tall and loves to cross her legs in class. she has red lips and has a nice smile. she has a crush on Song, and a thing for Jun and a crush on  everyone in class. Her favourite colour is army green and her favourite phrase is "omg"


JOSEFINE
She is Norwegian but has spent almost all her life in Sweden. she is the cheerleader of the class. she is so lively, loves to smile and dresses in super hot clothes with black boots. She enjoys drawing and surfing the internet. She is so fun to hang out with because she is normally happy. Her favourite phrase is "ouuuu" with a cute smile after she says it. I am so sad i didn't get to know her for long because she has to leave us this december  and i already feel like crying.
 

SAKURA
she is the youngest japanese in the class. she has a cute smile and the coolest haircut in the class. she is really fun to hang out with. she is a journalist who likes to drink beer. she loves cats and her favorite fruit is tangerine. she has an interesting blog but unfortunately its currently in japanese but she has the idea of translating it to spanish very soon. her favourite phrase is "vale, vale, vale"




Life as a camp commandant




In the year 2010, I helped the Airport west district to organize a three day camp for the girls in the district (brownies – rangers).

It started out well with the adult leaders from the schools paying in their monies collected to enhance the smooth running of the camp. The girls arrived on Friday, which was the first day of camp. They were put into patrols at about six in the evening after supper had been served and then the district commissioner introduced the camp leaders to them of which I was a camp commandant. I then took the opportunity to read out the camp rules to them an also notified them on safety issues and also dealt with their accommodation issues. I allowed them to go to bed after singing three guide songs due to the hectic day ahead of them. 
 
The second day of camp started well with a few exercises to keep them fit. I with the help of the other leaders monitored the cleaning of the camp site. The guides then had their baths and had breakfast.

As a camp commandant, it was my duty to lead them in the morning prayers before breakfast and make sure that each guide had food on her plate. I was also responsible for reading out the itinery for the day to the guides to avoid any confusions or misunderstandings that day.

After breakfast, I led the girl guides to the playground of the camp site to set up tables for the first session of the day. They had a talk from one of the resource personnel invited. Lunch was served after this session and the second session began thirty minutes after the one hour lunch break. I coordinated the leaders to help with the second session since it was a craft session. It was very fun since we had ice breakers and songs after every thirty minutes to curb boredom. The most beautiful craftwork was rewarded. 

 I taught the guides a very simple outdoor game and then we tried to play it for few minutes. I then instructed them using the whistle to gather round for an announcement to move to the dining area for their supper. They took their baths after and had an hour to prepare for the evening session which was a talent show competition among the schools present at the camp.

It was fun but just had a bit of improper organization due to the reluctant attitude of some adult leaders to help. I took it upon myself to talk to them and when they helped, the ending of the program was well organized. I was then confronted with quarrels among some of the guides, of which I had to mediate with another adult leader to bring about peace and harmony.  We had a good night and I hoped for a better day on the final camp day.

The final camp day began with a bit of exercising again and then cleaning, but this time I had to do less supervision at all sites since there were adult leaders everywhere to help. The guides took their bath and a short enrollment session was held to enroll new recruits into the Association.

We had breakfast and then a thanksgiving service during which the district made some donations to the Association. Lunch was served afterwards and then we awarded badges to some guides who had distinguished themselves as hardworking. The camp came to a close after a closing address from the district commissioner. 

On the whole the camp was interesting and very helpful to me. I learned
 a lot especially in areas of time management, good planning, interacting with younger and older guides, and mediation of conflicts among others.

Friday, 14 December 2012

A Spanish mother

The lifestyle of a Spanish mother


The lifestyle of the Spaniard on average is different from that of those from the other countries and continents. For instance at 7:00am in the morning, most of the Spaniard mothers are awake because they have to prepare breakfast for their family. This meal she prepares is known as "el desayuno". About 30 minutes or an hour later, she helps the children to get out of bed and get ready for school. After breakfast is done, she gives them kisses and walks them to the bus stop or takes them to school herself that’s if she has a car to take them. 

Upon arrival to the house, she dresses up and either gets ready to go to work, but if she is a housewife , she can go to the town square or centre or mall to do some shopping. On the other hand, she can stay at home and do the laundry or chat with her neighbours on the staircase. This can take about an hour or more, and it gets even worse if she gets interested in the conversation. It is said that it is difficult to hear them from this point onwards because it doesn't seem like they are talking any longer. It is referred to as “chiller” not “hablar” hence the common saying that you can’t take the noise away from the Spaniard but you can take the Spaniard away from the noise.

At about 10:00 am or between this hour and two hours more, the Spaniards then prepare or have an in-between meal which is referred to as a snack. This is called “el almuerzo”. Though it seems impossible for everyone to go home to get this snack, their mothers pack them up before leaving home with it and during this period, most of them are on a break either in school or at work. So all they do is to walk to a bar (the most common thing to find in Spain) to have a hot cup of coffee or an espresso. ¡que aproveche! They say!

A few hours later, something i consider a little strange to me happens in Spain. Everybody tries to find their way home between 1:30 -2:30 pm, because it’s time for the main meal of the day, lunch, which is called "la comida". All schools, banks, shops owned by nationals, libraries, bookshops and bakeries close or go on a break because it’s time to have lunch. The only odd ones are the bars. During this break that lasts for about three hours, the Spaniards prepare a variety of dishes ranging from salads, roast chicken, paella, shrimps all the way to their favourite ham. Upon having entered a Spanish home and you are being invited to dine, please never reject it because it’s going to be a three or four course meal that you will not want to miss
.
The most boring part of the day is observed after this because it is time for siesta for the Spaniards. The towns are as quiet as the pathways leading to cemeteries but there is a bit of noise in the streets due to the moving cars.
When siesta is over about 5pm in the evening, our dear Spaniard mother has a lot of work to do in the kitchen again because she has to prepare another meal or preferably a snack called "la merienda". This also involves pastries or savories with a juice or coffee. The Spaniard children enjoy this a lot because they get pampered by their parents

The cities and towns become very busy again for the next three hours until 8:00pm or 9:00 pm. Then comes the last meal of the day called "la cena" which is taken about 10:00 pm or a bit later than that. This meal involves very light food such as a salad or a few drinks. They then spend time to chat with their friends or loved ones till they get to bed which to them is called "acostar" and when you finally sleep, that is called "dormir"

How interesting the life of the Spaniard, right?




Sunday, 9 December 2012

Sweet Mistake




After a hectic day and suffering the torments of a week, i decided to attend a masquerade party in a night club called "Mile End".  I got into a pair of jeans trousers, a red and white striped top and a pair of black flat shoes. i picked my marron looking mask and headed out with three friends of mine for the party.
We took a nice walk while licking on lollipops and chatting. Upon arrival at the party, we got a mask for a friend who didn't have one and went to leave our coats for safekeeping. The dance floor was getting heated so we joined in the dancing.
It was good and so interesting. We danced to songs with different genres and sang along with the ones we knew. It got more fun and fun as time flew past and tensions kept on rising. Happy, fine, tipsy and drunk are adjectives that I can use to describe the different groups of people that were present.
I was dancing next a friend when something caught my eye in the right corner of the club. There were two beautiful ladies or girls (because I couldn’t really tell their ages) who were dancing and screaming loudly at every song that was played by the DJ. Minutes, a friend of mine tried to catch her attention by dancing in her direction. Lo and behold, his trick worked and within minutes, he was under the grind. It was so good a visual sight that I couldn’t take my eyes off.
The way and manner she tilted and twisted whiles dancing fascinated me. This made me understand something about we girls. We do almost everything humanly possible to attract the attention of the opposite sex. They danced so closely and tightly for about 3 hours and when the heightened tensions couldn’t push any longer, feelings had to be definitely expressed. Within a blink and another, their lips overlapped the other with their heads tilted in opposite angles facing each other. Her small fingers kept on running down his head to his neck and back. Her left thigh was up his right thigh and her heel locking his right calf; making it difficult for him to move that leg unless force was applied. This scenery looked like a padlock with a small rusty key. How difficult!
I was really enjoying the scene so I perched my aching back on the wooden plank next to me and to my surprise, this angle enhanced my vision of the scene that lain before me. It was so hilarious to know what your hormones can make you do while standing.
Few minutes later, he excused himself and went to the washroom, he then begged us to leave the bar because he was tired, but we found out later than he just wanted to get away from the situation. He confessed that he enjoyed the time spent with her but also admitted that it was a mistake, but of course a sweet mistake.



Saturday, 24 November 2012

"Open your eyes"



Timeless . . .
half a bottle of wine, two bottles of juice
and six bottles of beer were what lay before him.
some minutes ago, he was tipsy but now
he is soaring in a land of unfulfilled dreams.
thoughts of her filled his mind. 

flashbacks of their good times scratched his feelings.
They pierced that heart of his that was as hard as rock
and he tried to ignore those innate feelings
but nature always has its crafty hands
on whosoever it chooses to play with.
with the hope of seeing him once again.

she prayed and cried as time flew past,
that destiny would shed a golden tear
and bring him a breath away.
Love scratched his feelings once again
making him feel a cold palm rubbing his neck
and in a meek voice, she whispered; “open your eyes”
and there she was all dressed in blue and white

Monday, 17 October 2011

La violencia doméstica como asunto de todos


La violencia doméstica en la sociedad; sugerencias para abordarla y medidas para hacerlo un problema público.

El tema tratado por Isabel Cristina Jaramillo y Helena Alviar es la violencia doméstica como asunto de todos. La violencia doméstica es una acción mala en que las victimas sufren mucho.Hay leyes para abordarla o castigarla pero estos leyes no son realmente forzadas. Entonces, debemos endurecer la legislación penal, aumentar las penas e impedir la excarcelación. Tenemos que hacer también énfasis en la prevención y la educación de los efectos de la violencia doméstica.

Un otro sugerencia para abordar está acción es la adopción del habito de dejar de ver la violencia doméstica como un problema  privado. Para adoptar eso habito, debemos revelar la existencia de otros mecanismos para resolver las situaciones y también reflexionar sobre las dificultades que las victimas enfrentan. Debemos involucrar a la comunidad en el problema de una manera porque el problema no es solo un asunto de la pareja, y demostrar a otras mujeres victimas del problema que no está solas y estamos luchando para resolver su situación.

La violencia doméstica es un tema muy serio y por lo tanto todo debemos unir esfuerzos para detenerlo en la sociedad.

Monday, 3 October 2011

De inmigrantes a emigrantes

Edmundo Paz Soldán es el escritor de este articulo que se llama “De inmigrantes a emigrantes”.Se publicó este articulo el 28 de noviembre 2009. este aticulo hable de los efectos positivos de la emigración y la inmigración en el continente americano.
A causa de la inmigración y la emigración, hay comunidades italianas en Venezuela, croatas en Bolivia y japoneses en el Perú. Estos inmigrantes contribuyen en una manera que puede encontrarse tanto en el sector político como en el empresarial, artistico y deportivo.En estas últimas decades en el latinoamericano, ya existe tres tipos de la emigración ; la emigración al interior de una nación, la de un país a otro del mismo continente y la tercera que es la emigración de un continente a un otro continente.
La emigración  tiene efectos positivos como las remesas enviadas de un país a un otro que sostienen economías familiares y apoyan la estabilidad macroeconómica. Tambien hay lengues como el español que haya logrado establecerse en los países latinoamericanos.
Sin embargo, La emigración puede ser un problema cuando se causa ‘la fuga de cerebros’ o ‘la emigración de la mano obra cualificada.’
Estos son los opiniones del autor, pero a mi, creo que cada emigrante o inmigrante tiene su propio razón de mover  o  emigrar ; el razón puede ser bueno o malo.