something you'd like to learn

something you'd like to learn

There are lots of things I would love to learn to do. However, to be realistic, some of them would be too complicated. For example, I’d love to learn to play the flute but you need a lot of time and dedication to become a competent musician and I don’t think it would be a feasible instrument to learn at this stage of my life. One thing that I would like to learn well would be to play the guitar. I can play basic stuff and I know some chords but I'd like to be able to play any old song nicely and in rythm. I I just wish I wanted it more so I devoted more time to it and improved. I feel and been told I am good. I took singing lessons for some time and made no progress whatsoever, so even though I'd like to sing better, I have little hope. It is all related to my lack of commitment, I suppose. Work and studies really take most of my time and I cannot seem to find time for pleasurable activities more than, watching movies and socialize at the weekends.  Another thing I'd like to learn is more about the mother of all sciences =philosophy (This would help me with my studies!). It is also the kind of thing I don't think I find the time to do. Finally, Improving my pc skills and dancing salsa is also on my list but I think I am one of the stiffest people ever:(
Last but not least, I really think this life is a constant learning experience. In everything we do, interaction we have we have something to take with us. I love that.
Write about yourself.
Is there something in particular you would like to learn?
Is there something you started learning and stopped that you would like to pursue?
Tell us about your interest!
write a minimum of 205 words plus 3 comments on blogs where you have not commented before and 1 anywhere you like.

gender

Watch this video and post a short comment on this blog


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VqsbvG40Ww

glorious food

When I was younger, I loved to go out clubbing or to parties. However, in recent years I tend to go out to eat rather than to dance. Santiago has some great restaurants and you can eat out quite cheaply. There are "picadas" like Golfo di Napoli for wonderful pizza or pasta or slightly more expensive places with wonderful International cuisine like Thai House or Olan (Peruvian). I am a Pescatarian, I eat fish and seafood but not meat (of any kind) so that is always a factor when I eat out.

I don’t think I have a favorite kind of food. There are some foods that I do not like much, for example Korean food. I suppose it is because the meat dishes are the specialty. I love very hot food, lots of spices and taste. There is a nice Indian in Santiago. It is a bit pricy but it is really nice.  It is called Rishtedar . Many of the dishes are spicy hot and there is a scale of spiciness from 1 to 6 (from mild to blow-your-head-off). I love spicy food but grade 4 is as hot as I can stand.

I also love places like “el naturista” in the center, where you can enjoy porotos Granados or fantastic quinoa dishes for a very reasonable price.

Write about a place you like to eat out. A restaurant, bar, pub, fast food place, etc.

 Say:

What it’s called,

Where it is,

What it serves,

What you like to eat there.

Mention anything else you thing is important. Write at least 190 words. Leave a comment on my blog and on the blogs of 3 classmates.

Hello Everyone,

Today you will do an activity that will help you prepare for next week.

Write about the topic or character you have chosen for your presentation.

Write:

Why you chose it

The specific (more or less) elements you will include

How you will organize it

Include anything else you consider relevant.

Write a minimum of 180 words and 3 comments to classmates.

My presentation will be about linguist, philosopher and political activist Noam Chomsky.

I will divide my presentation into 3 parts.: The area of linguistics and his initial studies, his political involvement and also the reason why I chose him.

I think it is difficult to do this since there so much information to include. This is why I selected some main points as a sample presentation.

I have chosen him above other people because I admire his contributions in the area of linguistics but also because I feel his involvement in the area of politics and his acknowledgement of the injustice present in many places, plus the terrible American /British foreign policy, has cost him a lot and still he perseveres to make people aware of what happens. As a Jewish, he has gone against the Jewish community and the right wing in the US to make strong statements. There are few intellectuals that take the time to do this. I value it.

Good evening everyone,

Today we have the chance to write about a free topic.

Sometimes this poses a difficult task. Freedom can be challenging since we are used to being told what to do since we are little. I have issues when it comes to having too many choices..... Okay, here we go...

Even though I have always loved nature and green areas, my interested in plants and growing started say 7 years ago... More particularly, when I heard about the effect genetically modified food had had in rats and the possibility of Upov 91 being passed here. This modification of the law was proposed by our lady president in her prior administration.

It made me think a lot in what we eat. Fortunately, I have never been a big fan of sweets (only chocolate) so eating fairly healthy stuff is not a problem. But I know that for a lot of people this is a problem and they see no way out of loads of junk food. It is cheaper and it is addictive.

I live in a flat so growing veggies did not seem like an easy task but with determination and not knowing much about this; I started my little orchard on my balcony. This enterprise has shown me that having your own food is not free from stress. It is amazing the number of plagues you find even in the city. No wonder organic vegetables are so expensive.

Anyway, it makes me happy to have my own lettuce, rocket, tomatoes, mint, parsley, coriander and other pesticide free stuff.

I could go on for ever but I will finish this post by adding I strongly believe many of the illnesses we see today (attentional deficit, diabetes, obesity, allergies,etc.) are partly caused by the food we eat. Many of the additives used here are forbidden in developed countries. And many harmful ones (like aspartame) are still legal worldwide.  We don’t seem to read labels enough; we are not aware what we put in our body and I feel this should change.

In conclusion,  I feel we need to pay more attention in general. It is not about being radical about anything. Just to be more mindful and more careful with what we eat and when we eat it. 

Please remember to use www.wordreference.com

Write about something that motivates you.

Write a minimum of 180 words and 2 comments in new blogs (where you have not commented before) and 2 comments in any blog you like. Don't forget I am part of the class, too. 

Try to give a structure to your text, something like intro, body, ending . Add a picture if you like.

You have 48 hours to fulfill this task (Sunday evening) .

Online

I like the internet. I love the fact that I can learn about anything I am interested in or just ask about particular things. I spend some time on the internet every day, I think. I use google a lot , I use gmail, youtube and facebook sometimes, etc.

I am interested in politics even though I despise most politicians. Politics is present everywhere and in all areas, and I suppose I became interested the day I realized how Education was affected by political decisions. How educational research to a large extent was determined by the administration at the time.

A few years back, I was reading about genetically modified food and found a website by chance. The site is http://www.democraciadirecta.cl. I liked it immediately because it shows news about communities and ordinary people  like you or me, about decisions taken and affecting a lot of citizens. I like to know about the people in general and not just about those around me. It is good to see articles about issues that do not appear in mass media. I visit this website once a week and I look at interesting articles. Another website I like is www. ciperchile.cl. This website shows a lot of serious journalistic research that would never appear on TV. A friend of mine told me about this site by chance. I visit it every two weeks more or less.

Write about a website you like.

Why you like it.

How you discovered it and how often you visit it. You can upload a picture if you like.
Remember to use wordreference.com or ask me if you have questions. There is also the verb list here on this blog

Write a minimum of 170 words. Put 1 comment on a blog on which you have not commented before and 2 comments on 2 different classmates or teacherJ

Evaluation +

Dear all,
On this post I will explain how the blog work will be assessed.

Two marks will be averaged. Mark 1 is for continuous assessment (i.e. coming to class and posting IN class).If you come to class & write the right number of words, plus the ideas your are asked to express AND comments, you get 2 points. If you don't come to class & post from anywhere else within 24 hours, you get 1 point. After that there are no points,but you can still write for the sake of learning & because of mark 2.

Mark 2 is for 2 particular posts that will be evaluated in terms of (ideas (n° of words), word range & grammar). If the post is not there when it is marked, you get a 1.0 for that post. These 3 marks are evaluated and give an average final mark = mark 2.

Ps: You can use www.wordreference.com but NO translators.If you do the latter, you get a 1.0 & no points for your post. The worst of all, you don't learn. :(

MARK 1 +MARK 2= /2 = FINAL MARK

These two marks will be averaged and will give your final mark :) If you have any doubts, let me know.Kind regards,
Beatriz

Today I'd like to tell you about a place I have enjoyed. The truth is, I have been lucky enough to visit several places. Having said this, there are still a lot of places I'd like to visit in and outside Chile.
Even though there are many places in the north and south of our country I could mention because Chile is an AMAZING coutry, today I'll refer to a place I fell in love with in 2010. This is a National park called “Abel Tasman” in the north of the south island of New Zealand. I guess the reason why I liked it so much has to do with many factors. It was a very particular day which started cloudy but it was sunny at times. I think it also rained at one point. I did a 4 hour- walk through this park which had some really dry bits, some really wet parts, deserted bits, and dark areas due to the thick vegetation. I also got to meet people from different places. I even got to hear some Chileans on the ferry crossing from one island to the other

The most amazing thing about it was the giant ferns (helechos). I had never seen such big ferns before. They were actual trees (They are a national symbol of NZ). Moreover, I got to see a number of birds & insects and the whole scenery was awesome. 
What I really like best about New Zealand in general is how “relaxed” people seem. Even in Auckland! I guess it has to do with the fact that there are so few people (Around 4 million in the whole country!). You can travel for miles and not see anyone. I really like that.

Well, now it is time for you to share. You can use www.wordreference.com as a dictionary. 

Write about a place that you enjoyed visiting  Upload a picture.
Say:
When you went there
Who you went with
What you did there 
Why you liked this place (140 words Minimum)

Post 3 short comments on different class blogs. This is part of the marked task.

Remember this has mostly to do with the experience we had, any place can be the perfect place.

Remember to ask if you have doubts.