Letter to a friend

Thanks , Victoria C. for sharing your work! It's great.  (FCE)

Dear Bob,

It is great to hear from you  after such a long time! You’ve told me about the travel scholarship but, to be honest, I don’t think it’s a good idea.

Firstly, the advertisement doesn’t say who the people that organise it are. You should look for further information before making a decision. Also, I can’t understand how it can be possible to choose a person just by an application form. They must have more details of your personality and your interests.

If I were you, I wouldn’t take a year off from my job. You’ve been working there only 3 months! As regards hitchhiking, are you talking seriously? You shouldn’t. It’s so dangerous! Don’t be irresponsible!

Please let me know about your decision.

Love,

Victoria

Read this great essay by Virginia D, from FCE B!

HOW MUCH DAMAGE HAVE WE CAUSED TO OUR WORLD?

We live in a really rich world.We have different kinds of soils, climates, animals and natural resources.But we are not aware of how much damage we cause to the environment every day,because of our daily activities
If we want to take care of our world we have to change our habits.You do not need to do complicated things, start with simple measures.For example, try buying reusable bags, they were made to reduce the consumption of single plastic and paper shopping bags, they are called “eco bags”.You buy one and you can use it every time you go shopping.These bags are 100% recyclable.We must not use plastic bags because it’s harmful to animals because they confuse them with food.The same happens with plastic bottles.
We should also separate our rubbish.In a wide range of cities there are different coloured containers to separate plastic, glass and paper.Then rubbish could be used to make new things.
Overall, it is not a big challenge to start changing the world.But we need every one’s help, so be responsible and take care of our home.

1st year compositions

I´m so proud of my 1st year students! Only three units dealt with!

By Susan
1. I AM LOOKING FOR ARGENTINEAN PENFRIEND- ADVERTISEMENT

I am Susana. I am 58.I am a music teacher.
I am from Rosario , Argentina.
I have a big family.
I like doing gym and listening to clasical music.
Please write to Susana M

2. WRITE ABOUT SOMEONE IMPORTANT IN YOUR LIFE
My mother is from Spain but she lives in Rosario. She is one the five siblings.
Her name is Maria de los Angeles. Her nickname is Lita.
She is 84.
She like knitting.She is beautiful. She is a great person.(I love my mother!..)


By Rosalía
1. My best friend
Her name is Susana. She is 58. She is from Argentina. She works as a teacher of music
She has a son and a grandchild. She visits them on Saturday night or she goes to the cinema
She loves walking in her free time.

2. Dear Mr Parker,My name is Rosalia. I wake up at six o'clock. I get up at half past six. I have breakfast at quarter to seven. Then, I go to the gymI work as a secretary in an office from eight to seven o'clockI feel stressed!
Please write to me soon
Love
Rosalía

Review

See how good this review is...! I would like to think Cortazar inspired you Dani! We share the same admiration!

RAYUELA
Rayuela is an amazing novel written by Julio Cortazar, a famous Argentinian writer, who died in Paris in 1984. Cortazar created this masterpiece in 1963. Soon, it became his most popular book and made him win several literature prizes due to its unusual and intelligent style.
The story takes place in Paris, city in which Cortazar lived most of his life. It is about two young people, a boy and a girl who arrive in Paris from Argentina and Uruguay to try their luck and who fall in love in a very strange way. Horacio Oliveira is addicted to literature and jazz. La Maga is a very kind and innocent woman who doesn’t know much about those issues, but who shares with Horacio his love for freedom and simplicity. They participate with other friends in a literature group called “La Serpiente”, in which they discuss different topics, usually about philosophy. Their love story gets complicated when they realize it has become part of their routine.
Although it is a novel with a high level of complexity and, therefore, it sometimes gets difficult to understand, I find it the most perfect piece of writing that has ever been written. Since I first read it, I have reread it many times because every time I go through it, I discover new ways of interpreting the story. Personally, I admire such breathtaking talent from a writer. I definitely recommend it!

If I could choose....

Thanks Daniela! (FCE Adults)
ABSOLUTELY, A PRINCESS

If I could spend 24 hours with a famous person, I would definitely choose the Princess of Monaco.
First of all, it is one of my dreams to live at least one day as a royal authority and to know the protocol they have to follow. I would like to ask the Princess whether it is true that they cannot cry in public, as we hear on TV shows, for example.
Moreover, I have heard that she is a fan of horses and that GUCCI is in charge of designing her clothes for special competitions. Therefore, I believe that accompanying her to a training class, could be the right occasion to meet other famous people!
Last but not least, it would be a pleasure for me to end up the day having a delicious cup of tea in the palace, organizing, with the Princess, all the activities which will have to be done the next day.

great email to an e-friend!

Thanks, Vale! (ER22 CLEC)

Dear María:
My teacher gave me your e-mail address. I´m Valeria, but I´m called Vale. I´m twenty one years old and I´m from San Genaro, but I´m living in Rosario because I´m studying Chemical Engineering at University. I want to learn English because I think it is an important language and I like meeting people.
I have a sister. She´s called Cele, but her name is María Celeste. She´s a student, because she is seventeen years old. My father is a farmer and my mother is a housewife.
I love returning to San Genaro because I love staying in my house with my family. My house is big. There are three bedrooms, three dinning rooms, two bathrooms, and most important´s there is a big garden. My mother likes gardening so there are a lot of flowers and fruit plants. I like my flat in Rosario but it´s smaller than my house.
I love walking with my friends or my sister. I like cooking, too, but I hardly ever cook because I don´t have time. However, last weekend I cooked pizza for my family. I love Italian food… I prefer pasta to asado!
Every Sunday I go to church with my family and I always meet my friends on Saturday evenings.
Next month I´m going to travel to Armstrong, where my two friends Jime y Dai live. I meet them three years ago, when I started University. I´m going to stay at Jimena´s house because it´s bigger than Dai´s house. I´m going to know the city and my friends’ families. I´ve never been to Armstrong, but I´m sure that we´re going to have a great time!
Oh! I almost forgot! I want to tell you I´ve worked in Rotary Club San Genaro for five years, but I left it because I moved to Rosario. I was very happy because I travelled a lot. I knew a lot of towns of Santa Fe and I travelled to Chile in 2006. There, I met Brazilian, American, Canadian and Mexican people.
In Rotary we worked a lot for the community.
What about you? Write soon!
Love,

Valeria

great compostion

Thanks , Sofi! (CLEC 1st year 2nd term)

Hello teacher! I give you the composition for your blog.


My name's Sofía and I'm 24. I study "Social Communication" at University and I work in the "Hospital Provincial Rosario".
I have a small family. My sister's name's Josefina. She's 18 and she's a student.
She enjoys watching movies with me at the weekend and I like trying on clothes with her.
Our mother's name's Adriana. She's 50 and she's a teacher. She likes cooking cakes at the weekends. I enjoy listening to cds by "Sabina" with her. We love her because she's a good mother.
I have a boyfriend. His name's Facundo and he's 24. He studies law at University and he works in a call centre. I like making plans with him, for example, going to the cinema, to the bar.. and we love walking in the park with our dog "Latika".
I have a cat too, her name' s Loli. She doesn't like Latika but Lati is in love with her.
They' re very good pets and they' re so funny!

have a nice weekend
see you on monday
Sofía

raindrops by Guille C.

sent in Dec. Sorry I didn't post it before! xxxx

Raindrops. Thousands. Falling from the top down. Taking place for a second in the space. Wondering “where do we go next?” Only Mother Nature knows that. If they’ll be snow, water or just more rain. There is when I ask myself “What’s the difference between raindrops and people?” We have the ability to choose our destiny. If we continue, stop, jump or talk. We make decisions about our lives and from there accept the consequences. We decide what to wear, what to eat and what to do. But beyond this, we are no more than different people. Thousands. Going from side to side. Taking place for a lifetime in this world. Asking ourselves “where do we go next?”

short story FCE

Some people are still working hard. Good!!! Thanks Vale V and Sofi T for sharing! You make me feel good,

By the way, good luck on Saturday! I´ll be thinking of you!

It was a perfectly normal day until I got to the train station. I got up early in the morning as usual, I put on my uniform and prepared my rucksack for school.When I was heading to the train station, Stacey texted me saying she wasn’t going to school so I had to travel alone. Suddenly I realized that two big men were following me from the other side of the street. I thought I was being paranoid so I tried to persuade myself that they were ordinary people.I got to the train station and bought my ticket. As I got to the platform I saw the two men out of the blue. I got distracted for just a second and one of them grabbed my arm while the other took my stuff.I burst crying, to my surprise the thieves came back and returned my belongings. I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard them saying they felt sorry for taking my First Certificate book and all my extra material for the exam.
By Valery and Sophie.

Time!

Thanks, Guillermina (pre first- iatel) for sending your opinion!

Do we waste time?

The other day we were thinking: “where the hell does our time go?” Why does time go by so fast?” Nobody really seemed to care but I decided to look for some information about it. Some people may say we are getting older and so we feel time flies away. The fact is I am only 16, if time flies at my age I’m lost! I believe there is “over education”. Young people spend most of their time studying because if you want to have a good job having a degree will not be enough. You must speak not only English but another one; you must have computer skills , and do other courses to complement your education.

Another reason I found is that people waste a lot of time in front of computers, and TV or using their phones. Three hours in front of the computer are like five minutes. Gadgets were invented to make communication with other people easier or to be updated. These gadgets improve all the time, but they are time-consuming. Nowadays mobile phones, for example, have as many functions as a camera or a computer. So how come we spend so much time on them?

I found a theory on the Internet called The Schumann resonances which talks about a global electromagnetic resonance phenomenon that occur because the space between the surface of the Earth and the conductive ionosphere acts as a closed waveguide. The Schumann Resonance (SR) is rising, and is approaching 13 Hz, from it's "normal" frequency of just 8 Hz. This is a complex theory so if you want to know more about it there is a lot of information on the web. It also has relation with global warming and the “end of the world at 2012”.

Writing a Biography

Osamu Tezuka

By

Soledad Suárez

Osamu Tezuka, the Japanese manga artist, who is best known as the creator of Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion, started to draw comics at the age of seven. He was born in 1928 in Osaka. After surviving World War II, he created his first piece of work at age 17, Diary of Ma-chan (1946) and then New Treasure Island (1947), which began the golden age of manga. Osamu created his first professional work while he was studying medicine at Osaka University, where he obtained his degree, and would use it later to enrich his sci-fi mangas, such as Black Jack. The distinctive "large eyes" style of Japanese animation was invented by Tezuka, drawing inspirations on cartoons of the time such as Betty Boop and Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse. Tezuka died of stomach cancer at the age of 60 in 1989, and he is considered all around the world as “the father of manga”.

A new story

Another composition by Paula B, one of my dearest students from FCE 2009! Thanks for sharing!

Was it a dream?
It was one of those days that you never forget. I had been woken up by a very loud noise at 3 am and a few minutes later I realized I was in a place I had never been before. However I wasn’t afraid of it because somewhere in my heart I knew I was safe. So I started to explore it thoroughly.
Everywhere you looked at there was a tree and flowers. I luckily could see part of the sky, which was full of stars.
Suddenly, I saw a very short person hiding behind a big tree. Actually it isn’t necessary to mention his size, he could have hidden behind a little rock. When he realized I was watching him; he got nearer me and threw some powder at me.
I heard a loud noise and I woke up in my room.

The promise. by Paula B

Once upon a time there was a boy called Malek. He had blue eyes and he wasn’t very tall. He was just ten years old. He lived in a city with his parents.
Every weekend Malek went to his grandparents’ house which was an old one, one of those with a lot of rooms and windows. His grandparents were also the owners of an ancient forest.
One day, he was walking through the forest when he realized he was in another place. When he looked at the trees he could see faces of magic creatures and he was such a curious boy, he continued walking and exploring the magic place. He usually visited this place and made wonderful friends. A few years later he became a wise wizard with incredible powers.
One night the creatures promised they would always be beside him, but, when he turned 16, he became an adult and he couldn’t find that place anymore. Despite that he still believes in magic and says he can feel his friends beside him all the time, as they had promised.

Favourite room

Thanks Marila (CLEC) for sharing such a nice composition. Keep on writing!

MY FAVOURITE ROOM

My favourite room in my house, of course, is my bedroom. I don’t know why but it’s the place which I like best. Perhaps because it’s very light and cosy and I have all my things there: my books, my notebook, my TV, it’s not only where I sleep but it’s also the place where I love to stay.
When I was young I lived in a house and my favourite room was the kitchen where all the family came together, but now my children have grown up and most of the time I’m alone with my puppy I love lying in my bed with the notebook on my lap chatting with friends or looking for a page on the Internet.
So what’s this room look like? It’s small but not too much, it has a double bed, which is the local point of the room. When my best friend comes we love lazing and putting the world to rights! There’s a French window leading into a balcony which overlooks the corner of the street 3 de Febrero and Balcarse. Almost always that window is open.
There’s a chest of drawers where are a lot of photographs of my family and memories of every place I have travelled to, of course, the most important object is a present given to me by my boyfriend last year. It’s a small box which he had bought in Bs As and I love it.
I don’t spend a lot of time in my apartment but when I’m in it and if my children stay at home they come to my bedroom and we share our time in my bedroom talking and relaxing.

“A Journey of a Lifetime” - FCE consolidation

Thanks Eduardo P. for sharing this composition. Lovely! And good luck on Saturday!

When I started on the Journey, I had no idea what was going to happen.
What began as a short trip ended up as a lifetime story.

It was June 2nd when I first arrived at Edinburgh Airport.
I checked in at a cheap hostel called “backpackers” and then I began to wander with the idea of seeing the city. I came across an old red-bearded man. We started to talk and soon it was almost midnight. We said goodbye and split in opposite directions.

As days went by, I visited each recommended place worthseeing in the city. I was dazzled by its history, battles and by the whisky culture. Although I enjoyed every moment, I knew that something was missing.

On my last day in the city, I was walking to the Airport and there he was. Still as a Greek Monument, staring at me. He approached me and said: “Stay, you won’t regret it”. And he faded away.
So I listened to him. And here I am. 30 years later, married to my beautiful Scottish wife, with 3 children and retired.

Some will call it “chance”. I prefer to call it “Fate”

My Favourite Room

Another great composition! Thanks Sole from CLEC!

My favourite room
The room in our house I like best is our living room. And not just because of the TV and the playstation, but because it's a place where we can all sit together as a family and have a good time.
There are a lot of good memories that come to my mind when I think of this room: watching movies with my family until midnight, having friends over and talking for hours, or lighting up the Christmas tree for the first time.
So what does this special room look like? It's (kind of) small but big enough to have three comfortable sofas and a small table in the middle. It also has a fireplace in one corner and a lot of shelves where we put our books.
My friends rarely stay in my bedroom, we always go straight to the living room. Whenever someone comes in to my house the first thing they do is to sit and enjoy the warm and cosy glow of the T.V. Some of the best times of my life have been spent in my living room.
Soledad Suarez.

Speaking class

They were given some words they had to use in a short paragraph. See how creative Silvina was ;)


Words given : van, banana, reddish, legging, stressful.
I tried to find someone who painted my van like my hair, reddish brown. I put my leggings to feel more comfortable and also to look younger. The real thing is that I was trying to start a new job : selling banana's icecreams and shakes at the front door of my neighborhood school. Someone told me that this could be a stressful job with so many children, but I would really try

A New Student in my Class

A New Student in my Class by Julia S. (2009)
A week ago, a new student joined my class. Her name is Camila and she is fifteen years old.
At the beginning, she dindn't know anybody in the class, so she didn't talk to anybody. But a few days later, I decided to talk to her. She told me she was very shy and she didn't know how to make friends in the group, so I decided that I would help her.
I talked to my friends and told them that Camila was a nice girl. I told them about her interests and her hobbies, so they started to talk to her, too. Camila suddenly became a confident person.
Now she has a lot of friends in the group, and she gets on really well with all of us. This experience has changed her. Now she's a sociable and outgoing person.

opinion composition

In this case, Lucía (5th J1) let me publish her composition. Thanks ,Lu! No money but a lot of love,though!
MOBILE PHONES


Nowadays, many people have a mobile phone. This device has really taken off in the last few years, and almost everybody has one.
There are several reasons for having a mobile phone. Firstly, if you are alone and you have a problem (on a motorway, for example) you can ask for help using your mobile. Secondly, if you spend a lot of time out of your house, working for instance, a mobile phone is the easiest way to be in touch with other people; moreover, if someone has to communicate with you, he or she would only have to call you at your mobile. Finally, you can also have fun with your mobile. With some of them you can take photos, listen to music and play games. It’s a good entertainment if you are travelling, and it fits in your pocket!
To conclude, mobile phones are very useful; since they were invented, communication has been easier and faster. If you don’t have one, it is a good idea to buy one!

An unforgivable betrayal

Thanks Carla. Original story! (FCE B)
And the rest...enjoy Carla's story.

I was planning to give my friend a surprise, but finally, the surprised one was me.
I had a friend called Ailén. We had been friends for more than 14 years but our relationship incredibly finished one day.
Last year it was her 18th birthday, so I wanted to give her a special present. As I love computers, I decided to make her a CD with some photos and music. The problem was that I didn’t have enough pictures of us together. So I asked her mum to give me some. She gave me the box where Ailén used to keep all her favourite photos.
I was just finishing my project when I found some pictures of Ailén kissing my boyfriend… I couldn’t believe my eyes! I started crying and that night I couldn’t sleep.
The following day I invited my boyfriend to my house. I did the same with my alleged friend.
When both arrived, I showed them the pictures and asked for an explanation. They couldn’t say a word…
I haven’t talked to them since that day. They hurt me in a way I never thought they could.
Luckily I’m much better now. I have a new boyfriend and lots of friends, and I’ve got over from that horrible experience.