A narrative

One day, when I waswalking on the street, I met an old man, who said to me "Hey, son, I came from fifty years from now! If you don't follow my instructions, you will die today!"
When he said that, I was amazed, and shocked. What the hell was this crazy old man saying to me? Well, I didn't have anithing to do at the moment, so I decided to listen to him. He told me about this day, and he said that my death, like the death of all the people of the world, was an uncertain probability, but this day the probability had risen with no reason. "What have you done today?" He asked me. "Nothing special. I broke a mirror, I saw a black cat, and a wizard put me a curse." "You think about it as a normal situation?" He was impressed. I don't think it's pretty much the big thing. "Well, the mirror is new." I comented. After a while, he arrived to a conclusion: My bad luck was the main cause of my early death.
"To solve your bad luck, you need to travel to the far land of Phantomia, and kill the dragon who sleeps in the highest tower of that land. But you can only kill the dragon with the sacred sword of the fairies, so you first should..." "Stop it, stop it." I interrupted him "It's too much work for one person alone. Gotta know something? I preffer to die than do all of that amount of work." After that, I left, letting the old man alone, confused by my answer.
The next day, I was still alive, when someone knocked the door. It was the old man again. He was sweating, and he said with a fast speech "I... I know what happened! It's only a miscalcula..." I closed the door before he could finish the phrase. When I opened the door again, the old man wasn't here. And I never saw him again.

The situation of Spain

At present, in Spain we have a very important problem which is called crisis.
When one spanish person turn on the television it is the first piece of news that he can see.
In my view, yes, crisis is important and... Spain will get out of this crisis as long as we join and fight for this!.
Moreover, we have other problems, politicians, well not all.
I think that theta don't do anything for Spanish people!, most  families are being evicted every day, and if politicians don't do anything to stop this, poverty will increase.
I'm outraged!, apart from that, unemployement is also increasing and as a consequence people can't pay their mortatge and homelessness also rises.
But, what is more outragerous is that we must rescue banks that they are in my opinion those who have deceived Spanish people!
It is certainly true that we are in bad conditions and I wish it hadn't started, but as far as, I'm concerned that is not too late to fight for our rights and our future, because that is what is at stake, our future.

My dream house

My dream house would be very spacious, with an enormous swimmingpool, garden and with a sea view.
I don't like very ornate houses, so I think that I would decorate it with a minimalist touch.
The ligths of the house would be automatic like the blinds, the floor would be of wood, the walls would be white, windows wouldn't have curtains and every day I would have fresh flowers. Moreover, the garden would have a bench of wood and if I had time, I will have an orchard with vegetables, because I like ecologic products.
I don't know which shape would the swimmingpool have but I'm sure that it would be very big. For all this I need a lot of money so...
If I win the lottery or if I word hard I will have the house of my dreams! 

A nightmare journey

Two years ago I had a nightmare which consisted in a desired travel to New York.

I woke up one morning and my aunt called to say that all the familiy had to pack our cases because we were going on a trip to New York. Fortunately, the plane didn't take off until two hours later.

We returned to the house and we were looking for my passport and when we were leaving home a policeman was putting a fine in my cousin's car!. Afterwards, we arrived to the airport and the plane had already left!, I was really sad...

I woke up and feared for our next trip, but luckily we had a great time and no one forgot his passport!.

Barcelona To Berlin

I remember a few months ago when I travelled from Barcelona to Berlin by train. My journey wasn't as good as expected.

I was very anxious and happy when I arrived at the train station, but when the manager informed me that the train had already left I got uptight and I didn't know what to do. Then I asked at reception about the next train. Fortunately there was another train which was leaving for Berlin in six hours. That was indeed very good news. I briskly asked for a ticket for that train. I felt very relieved when the new ticket was in my hand.

I had been waiting in the station for hardly one hour when the train arrived. I jumped from the chair I was sitting on and I went toward the train with all my luggage.
I had several bags in each hand, that's why it was hard to move with agility. While I was trying to get in the train I got my elbow hurt very  badly. Despite my elbow's bad condition I somehow managed to get into the train.

There was a very sophisticated atmosphere inside the train: latest furniture, high-class food...... everything was very organised. I never imagined such an elegance in a train which only cost 75 €. That was  simply mind-blowing. I was still utterly amazed by the train when a man broke into the train and said to me: " Miss, Can I see your ticket please?" .
"Sure" I answered to him.  I put my bags down and sat in one of the sofas. The sofa was very fluffy and also very comfortable. I gave my ticket to the man. He looked quite surprised and so was I when he said: "Miss, I think you made a mistake. This is not your train".
It was too good to be true.

I got of the train and I went toward one of the benches in the station. The train left. While I was waiting for my train to come I got hungry so I decided to eat something. There were  some fast- food  restaurants in front of the station and I went in one of them.
It was late night so there wasn't any crowd in there. I ordered some pasta and they brought it to me immediately. It looked rotten but I was too hungry to think about it. Also I was feeling a little dizzy so I just ate it without thinking. That thing was the most tasteless dish I 've ever eaten in my life. But as an axiomatic truth i knew that, that was the only food I could expect from a such a place.


One by one the hours passed and finally my train arrived. I felt so grateful when I finally sat on my seat. My train wasn't as much impressing as the other one. Actually it was quite obnoxious, but I was too tired to think about it so I just closed my eyes and slept.

My bedroom

My favorite place in the house is my bedroom because it’s the room that I spend more time in. When I was young I shared the bedroom with my little brother, but now I have my own room. The room is near the bathroom and the livingroom.

My bedroom is spacious and warm. There is a big window. Ther walls are painted in blue and white, and there is a big yellow smile that I painted, under the smile there is a mirror that I use to look at myself before I go out. My bed is so big, so I sleep very well, infront  of the bed there is TV wich is such a convenient thing because I can watch TV in the bed. When I wake up I turn on the radio to get up in a good mood and I start dancing in the morning. The desk is so big up there, there is a telephone and the computer. In one wall I have a photo mural with presents and photos. The closet i cramped but I don’t mind because I have no got many clothes, but I have a lot of shoes.

I love my bedroom!!! Because I feel confortable when I’m in there.

A Nightmare journey

One of my worst day journeys was last August. One day when I was surfing on the internet I saw an ad, the announcement said “Go to La Rioja and save the storks” the project was of Cruz Roja, so I decided to go to La Rioja. I had never been there and I really wanted to go. My parents and I talked and they thought it was a good idea.

I was excited and nervous, I wanted to get to visit the city and the countryside. Although we just arrived, we all knew. Monitors taught us where we would sleep, it seemed a jail. The next day we worked in the field. It wasn't looking good... We worked ten hours every day, it was the third day and nobody had seen any stork.  

I had never been so afraid, but I couldn't call my parents because there wasn't any mobile phone. Finally I decided to flee from that "concentration camp". When I was out I called my parents to take me home and never again get back.

An opinion essay (2nd of Batx.)

You can choose one of the following options or propose a different one:

1. Hunting animals: a sport or a crime
2. Men should do 50% of housework.
3. The possession of marijuana must remain illegal.
4. Do you think people in your country are eating better or worse than they used to?
5. Playing video games is a waste of time. What do you think?
6. The best things in life are free. What do you think?
7. After school activities are important for students. 
8. The future of Catalan
9. What would you do to change the world? In your opinion, what are the most important problems? What would you do to solve them?  

Once you have written your first draft, go throught our "Writing Checklist" to see that you have not made any of the most common mistakes for a Catalan student. 

Some useful expressions to express you opinions:

• Personally, I think.....
• Personally speaking, I believe....

• In my opinion,......
• In my view, .........
• From my point of view, ........

• As I see it, ..............
• It seems to me, .......
• As far as I'm concerned, ...................
• I strongly believe, .........

Happy writing!!!

"Someday we'll all be free"

Dear all,
Remember Sharif from last week? Exactly as he promised us, he has just released a second video about his series on the Catalan issue.
I thought I would share it with you here and spread the word.
Bye for now!



Someday We'll All Be Free from Sharif on Vimeo.

Related posts: A trip to Barcelona

DYNAMO

On Saturday 25th June 2011, crowds gathered on the banks of the River Thames as an extraordinary feat unfolded. A man in a red jacket was seemingly ‘walking on water’, striding out across the great river under the iconic backdrop of the Houses of Parliament. As pictures emerged, the news travelled fast with initial coverage across the British mainstream media and later, pickup as far afield as China, Australia and South Africa. 
This had been one of the biggest and most audacious illusions in history, on a par with David Copperfield’s vanishing of the Statue of Liberty and Houdini’s great escapes… but this wasn’t the work of one of Vegas’s elite It had been performed by a young magician from a tough part of Bradford who went by the name of Dynamo. 

Tipped as the most exciting British magician to emerge in decades, Dynamo had stunned audiences and celebrities around the world with his genre-bending cocktail of large-scale illusions, incredible sleight of hand and innovative street magic. 

The 28 year-old’s list of celebrity fans now reads like a ‘who’s who’ of the Hollywood elite. Will Smith, Diddy, Jay Z, Coldplay, Russell Brand, Gwyneth Paltrow, The Black Eyed Peas and Paris Hilton are just a few of the names who’ve raved about his unique talent. 

Dynamo stunned Tinie Tempah by pulling a chain through his own neck and amazed US celebrity power couple Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore by eating a piece of string and pulling it down the length of his torso. Billionaire Richard Branson physically bowed down to him after watching one of his performances and Lindsay Lohan was left speechless after he levitated her from a chair. 

Growing up on the rundown Delph Hill housing estate in Bradford with a father who spent large periods of time away in prison, Dynamo (real name Steven Frayne) suffered with a debilitating form of Crohn’s disease as a youngster. Having been introduced to magic by his Granddad, the young Steven Frayne developed his skills as a means to fend off the bullies who teased him about his disease, quickly gaining a reputation as a unique talent within his local community with his incredible sleight of hand. 

Many years later Steven appeared at the New York Hilton during Houdini’s centenary celebrations where he performed in front of his peers, including acclaimed magicians Aaron Fisher and David Blaine. After a stunning display someone in the audience shouted “this kid’s a f***ing DYNAMO!” . The name stuck and a new era in magic was born.

From an early age, Dynamo was inspired by the impact of hip-hop culture. He was strongly influenced by local breakdancers who fused together a variety of styles and MC’s who promoted themselves through the use of the mix-tape circuit in order to create something new. Steven planned to modernise the magic scene by combining his skills with elements from the urban dance scene.

In 2004, after moving to London, Dynamo set out to fulfill stage one of his plan; the creation of the first ever magic ‘mix-tape’. Along with a small team he filmed his performances on the streets of London and backstage at events, where he managed to blag his way in front of the stars by impressing doormen and tour managers along the way.

2007 started with a bang. Actor Will Smith presented Dynamo with an award on behalf of the Prince’s Trust for his success after receiving a start-up loan from the charity. During his acceptance speech, Dynamo started to choke on a polo mint and without warning pulled a chain through his neck with the Polo attached. The audience were amazed, including Will Smith, who gave Dynamo a glowing endorsement, proclaiming “that man just pulled a lifesaver out of his neck! You scared my son with your magic tricks but that was absolutely stunning!” 

His debut TV series ‘Dynamo: Magician Impossible’ was broadcast on Sky Channel Watch on the 7th July 2011 and quickly broke all viewing records with over 1m viewers tuning in to the first episode in a slot which normally only commands an audience of 100K, total viewings now exceed 18 million. Series 2 starts 5th July 2012.

First video is in English, if you want it in Spanish check the video that's below.

Cristina Ibern Aguilar i Selena Rodriguez Castro

Acceptable or not

In groups discuss the following issues:

1. Smacking a child
2. Using a position of power to help a friend
3. Smoking marijuana
4. Nor paying your fare on the bus
5. Eating meat
6. Sentencing a serious criminal to death

Those issues that you decided were not acceptable, can you think of a particular situation when they would be acceptable? 

A trip to Barcelona 11/9

Hi there,
Today's listening practice will be a video by this New Yorker who found himself in the middle of Barcelona on 11th September.
Thanks Sharif for telling the world about us.
(Thanks Elena Romero for sending me the link)



A trip to Barcelona from Sharif on Vimeo.