A human little cutie.

Do you remember that in one of my previous posts I told you that I love watching videos about babies and the crazy things they do? Well, I am writing about that topic one more time. 

You must have heard about this new video because it's everywhere : on the web, on many social networks and in the news. 

This time the video is about a baby girl who.. who... NO. I don't want to say what happens in the video. I want you to face it for the first time (if you haven't watched it) and experience it with all your senses. The only thing I will say is that IT MADE ME CRY. Now it's your turn to see it. 

Here it goes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSCZWQjTm6s

I am really sensitive. I cry when I watch movies, when I read something that awakens something in me. I cry with sad pieces of news. Oh my goodness! I cry for every little thing. Anyway, I tend to watch these videos to have fun because I enjoy babies (funny) behaviors. And as I told you, I will record my babies all the time when I am a mom. Unlike the rest of the videos, this one in particular really touched me. I didn't have words to express what I was feeling. It is quite moving. 

My dad aked me whether I have watched the video or not and that's the reason why I faced it for the very first time. When I watched the whole situation, I couldn't believe it. This baby girl feels a special connection with her mother's voice or with the song, this we'll never know. But, for sure, this little beautiful baby has and exceptional interpersonal intelligence.  It can be easily seen that this baby is not crying due to fear or pain. She is crying from the emotions of listening to her mother's singing. She cries and smiles at the same time. At the very first note her mother sings, she bursts into tears of emotion on listening to her tender voice. 

This is the last post. :(  I've enjoyed this a lot! 

I hope you liked my posts. I really loved yours.

See you soon girls.

BYE :)

What would you do..?

"THE ONLY THING WE HAVE TO FEAR IS FEAR ITSELF"

Franklin Roosevelt

Hi people. How are you? Here I am, I'm catching up with the blog. I think this is one of the greatest tasks we've been asked during the Teaching Training Program. I really enjoy it! 

Well, I had been trying to find a thought-provoking topic for the blog during the weekend but nothing really catchy came to my mind. 

But today, while I was coming back home from work by bus, I was caught by a quote that is written in one of the walls of our city. I always see the quote when I go by, but I've never paid very much attention to it. The quotes says: "What would you do if you weren't afraid?" (In Spanish , of course.)

The quote got me thinking the whole way back home. However, I couldn't find any personal answer to the question. I want to do many things in life, I AM A DREAMER as Lennon put it. 

I want to be independent, I want to work a lot, I want to keep on studying and developing some skills, I want to have some spare time to do all the activities that fill my soul and make me feel alive, I want to TRAVEL THE WORLD, I want to follow the process of construction of my own house, I want to be a good mom and have a "perfect" family. I don't know. I want EVERYTHING that could make me happy. Nevertheless, I still don't have these things because I think it's not the time yet, it's not because I'm afraid. 

I think I'm only afraid of little bugs and those tiny and flying insects, ha ha. 

So, as I don't completely believe in my not being afraid of anything I would like your comments to be full of questions in relation to this. Questions like "are you afraid of...?" "Aren't you afraid of..?" Or things like these. I will definitely answer and I will thank you for making me think about it.  And I also would like to know about your fears, if you happen to have any.. :)

Hope you like it. 

See you then. 

Bye :)

Unplanned plans

If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience.

George Bernard Shaw

Have you ever realized that the more you plan, the less things work out? It's incredible. It seems there's someone up there or down there or wherever observing you and witnessing how hard you work for things to go the way you want and then this being says: "Sorry, but I'm gonna mess everything up". 

This can be analyzed from different perspectives. On the one hand, this is something positive. This has the factor of the unexpected which, sometimes, can be surprising and great and can light up your day or, why not, your life. A clear example of this is what happened to me last night. 

I finally came back home after work. It was 8.30 p.m. My mother commented me that she was going with a group of trekkers to Cerro de la Cruz. I've trekked this hill several times so I said: "Ok, nice! Have a good time". But then I realized that I had never trekked at night. Suddenly, this idea crossed my mind and I decided to go as well. I invited my boyfriend since we didn't have any plan and most of the members of my family went too: my aunts, my uncles and my dad. It was an unforgettable familiar experience. The weather was good to us, even though there were some parts in which the wind blew us all haha. We had some sandwiches when we reached the peak. We listened to music, we talked, we laughed. The conclusion is that this wasn't planned and everything was OK. We had fun and wasted some energy at the same time. 

(Good for you, Carl)

Now, I work really hard during the week, I study a lot and try to be responsible and fulfill all the requirements. Taking this into account, you can imagine how much I wait for weekends. I do everything I can during the week so as to have free weekends. I don't plan anything I just want to rest and enjoy my free time. Well, this unknown being that seems to enjoy ruining everything appears from time to time. I would like to ask him/her/it why? Why are you so mean? Why don’t you let me enjoy my weekends!

What do you think about this? Is there a similar being in your lives?

Fortunately, there is something good about the unexpected and unplanned. I'm not completely against this and I receive with a huge smile everything that can bring something positive for me. However, I hate it when it happens that you are striving for something or waiting for something and you work hard to get it and this being says HA HA as Nelson from The Simpsons does. 

IT'S SATURDAY, SO THERE IS A CHANCE YET. The weekend is not over. Everything can change in a day.

Thank you for reading

See you soon, girls! J

(I add a photo for you to see how beautiful the view from Cerro de la Cruz is)

OUR TIME

Hello there!! How are you doing? I'm quite relaxed I must admit and I don't know why. 

I enjoy so much posting in my blog and commenting yours and I hate the fact of not being able to post when I have to: On Fridays. 

This is related to TIME. The time that we don't have or the time we have but we don't know how to allot to our daily activities.

But, first of all, what is time?  I share with you this definition of TIME taken from Wikipedia (such a reliable source, but well, we all go there from time to time, haha)

"Time is a dimension in which events can be ordered from the past through the present into the future,  and also the measure of durations of events and the intervals between them"

Now, have you ever thought about how relative the concept of time is in relation to each individual and the context in which we are? I always complain about the difference between the duration of hours during the week and the duration of hours during the weekend. Technically, there are 60 minutes in an hour. However, it seems hours are looooooonger when we are working or studying and when we are having fun time flies. This is completely unfair, don't you think? 

Time dimensions also depend on the people and the moment they are living. 

For instance: Some of us are about to graduate, right? And, technically we'll be "free" in two months. Now, TWO months is just two months, 8 weeks or 60 days. No more than that, no less than that. But FOR ME, and for sure for the rest of the girls, two months is like TWO DECADES. WHY? This may happen to most students. The last two months are the busiest ones. We have to hand in billions of practical works, assignments, and we have to deliver oral presentations and finish our practicums, and then we have the colloquiums, the final exams, and .. and... and.. EVERYTHING IN TWO MONTHS. So, two months seem to be so far away from us and maybe, for a person that has an ordinary routine two months is nothing in comparison to the whole year. That's why I'm saying it depends.

What follows has nothing to do with my reflection about time. The thing is that I love IDIOMS and IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS. It's really hard for me to learn them. That's why I try to add some of them to all my writings. 

Here you have the ones that I learnt today. 

TIME AND TIDE WAIT FOR NO MAN. This can be applied to those moments in which we have to hand in something and we wish time to stop for a while. It's impossible because time and tide wait for no man. 

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Time+and+tide+wait+for+no+man

LIFE IS SHORT AND TIME IS SWIFT. We have to appreciate our time and our lives because they are not going to last forever. 

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Life+is+short+and+time+is+swift

TO HAVE A WHALE OF A TIME. When I finish the training program and I go on holidays I'll have a whale of a time, haha!

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/have+a+whale+of+a+time

QUALITY TIME. You know this one. Even when I'm running out of time or I am in a rush I try to spend quality time with my people. 

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/quality+time

RACE AGAINST TIME. That's where we are. 

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/race+against+time

TO HAVE TIME TO KILL. That's what I want!! 

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/have+time+to+kill

SEE YOU GIRLS AND HAVE A GOOD TIME!

SECOND PART

Hi Girls! How are you doing? I’m fine. REALLY REALLY TIRED. I’m waiting for this year to come to an end once and for all.

As you know, last Wednesday, Nadya and I gave a presentation about interesting facts about the animal world. Did you enjoy it? WE CERTAINLY DID. The presentation was supposed to last half an hour and, of course, we couldn’t talk about everything we found out on the web. That’s why I decided to post the TOP 5 of the EXCLUDED from AMAZING AND INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE ANIMAL WORLD THAT MAKE OUR WORL WONDERFUL (The title of our presentation, remember? Haha)

Let’s start.

NUMBER FIVE

SEA HORSES (hippocampus)

Beautiful Creatures. I know we included this animal in our presentation, but I wanted to add more information. We said that they are monogamous life mates and travel holding each other’s tails. Another interesting fact, which Valeria mentioned in class, is that the male is the one who carries the eggs.  Take a look at this explanation.

“Male seahorses are equipped with a brood pouch on their ventral, or front-facing, side. When mating, the female deposits her eggs into his pouch, and the male fertilizes them internally. He carries the eggs in his pouch until they hatch, then releases fully formed, miniature seahorses into the water.”

Here, unlike most species, the male is the mom. Really interesting.

Source: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/sea-horse/

(Just in case) Brood pouch: a saclike structure in any of various animals, such as the abdominal receptacle marsupium in marsupials or the cheek fold in rodents  http://www.wordreference.com/

NUMBER FOUR

GEESE

These animals are well-known for the long-term relationships they have. It would be great to believe that they have a never-ending love just for LOVE’s sake. But the truth is that they have this agreement, let’s say, in order to maximize breeding opportunities. However, they are not always faithful. They tend to engage in extra-pair mating. Just like some humans, right? Haha

Source: http://ingenira.hubpages.com/hub/Do-Animals-Fall-in-Love

NUMBER THREE

HORNED TOAD

Even though the name is HORNED TOAD, this animal is, in fact, a lizard. “The short-horned lizard is often referred to as a “horned toad” or “horny toad” because its squat, flattened shape and short, blunt snout give it a toad-ish look.” Interesting, uh?

Now, you won’t believe what’s next. I couldn’t believe it when I read it. Imagine when I actually SAW it. THESE ANIMALS SHOOT BLOOD FROM THEIR EYES AS A DEFENSIVE MECHANISM. Yes, girls, that’s what I’m saying. And, as I know this is hard to get , I added a short video for you to picture it.

Source: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/horned-toad/

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI5t_VmHWWI

NUMBER TWO

PENGUINS

Penguins are beautiful to me.  While searching the net, I found out that they have a lot of fun. How do they do it? They do TOBOGGANING. What’s that? Look at the picture! They slide on their tummies over the ice and the snow. Of course, this has a more useful function. Penguins use this part of their body to travel more efficiently.

Source: http://facts.randomhistory.com/penguin-facts.html

NUMBER ONE.

GIANT GOLDEN-CROWNED FLYING FOX (or Acerodon Jubatus)

The name of the animals says it all, doesn’t it? Ok, I’ve just realized that the name just confuses everyone. This is A BAT! Of course, the largest bat in the world. And, as human beings are always there ruining everything, this not-ordinary-at-all animal is on the verge of extinction thanks to poaching and forest destruction. Take a look at the images. Rare, uh?

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_golden-crowned_flying_fox

I’ve enjoyed pretty much writing this post, I hope you enjoy it as well.

I will be looking forward reading your opinions, your reactions, and everything you want to add.

See you soon! 

I want it back.

"A child's smile can light up a day. A child's innocence charms many hearts. That's why it must be protected. Love your child and you will get abundance of love in return."

Hi  there! How are you dear mates? I want to tell you something that happened to me yesterday. In fact, I've thinking about this idea lately and I'm getting more and more certain with the passing of the days.

Yesterday afternoon, I was in the supermarket with my grandma buying some things to accompany the mate.  While we were waiting in the queue, a group of five eleven-year-old girls were walking around the gondola whooping and behaving as if they were alone in this world. I know this is a typical characteristic of pre-adolescents. However, there was something I didn’t expect from them. They said: “Llevamos un Fernet para esta noche?” I repeat: THEY WERE ELEVEN YEARS OLD.

The idea behind this is INNOCENCE. This innocence our children don’t have. They are little by little losing it. What is happening? How is it possible that this group of little girls want to have FERNET?

I see it in my little students who are seven and say or think things they shouldn’t.  I see it in my cousins who are 11 and 13 and they want to behave as adults. They have some attitudes that shock me. I see it in every child. We don’t have any more children in our world. We have little adults. And I don’t think this is ok

.

I remember my pre-adolescence. I wanted to be an adult as well. I wanted to act independently. I believed I was the queen of the world and I could do whatever I wanted. I WANTED TO. Today’s children and adolescents ARE and BEHAVE as adults. It’s not a wish for them. It’s a reality.

The worst thing here is that it seems that REAL ADULTS allow this. Their parents, their teachers or whoever is in charge laugh at this situation. I don’t think it’s funny. First, it’s not funny because children end up believing they have some rights they don’t really should be having. They are authoritarian and bad-tempered. Second, because they HAVE TO enjoy this stage in their lives. INNOCENCE. They should be willing to play in the parks, to have dolls and little cars, to enjoy the fact of not having responsibilities.

I’m worried. I’ve been thinking about this a lot. It seems there’s nothing we can do about it. THERE IS.

I’m not a mother and I don’t know what I am going to do by then. However, I think LIMITS and RULES are really important and LEADING BY THE EXAMPLE is absolutely necessary.

Well girls, I shared my thought about this new trend our children and adolescents are following. I just want to know whether I’m the only one worrying about this and noticing these changes or not.

See you soon. Have a nice day!

Por cuatro esquinitas de nada

Hi there! How are you? Happy Monday! I know I should have posted this on Friday but I couldn't make time. Better late than never! Here it is.

Last Friday, my partners and I had the opportunity to listen to an English teacher, Susana, who works in a school for students with special needs. It was great to know the dynamics of those schools. She explained to us how the different levels are reached and the varied strategies they have to use. This teacher put emphasis on how hard it is to find material to be used in those cases. It is difficult but not impossible. Susana showed us some authentic and home-made videos in order to get us closer to their reality.  It was very clear that working for those students means hard work. Nonetheless, with a huge smile in her face, she made us feel how gratifying her job is. Everything was new to me. I knew these people (I don’t say children because there are many adults as well) were educated in a different establishment. But I didn’t know how they did it.

It was Friday afternoon and it was almost the end of a long long week and I just wanted to get home. However, I learnt a lot and I enjoyed this talk pretty much.

But it was the way in which Susana gave a closure to the talk what I liked the most: she showed us a video which told a story about Cuadradito y Redonditos. I really want you to see it.

 

My reflection: Again, I have mixed feelings towards this topic.

On the one hand, I think it is ok they have a specific school where trained people take care of their individual needs and use the means these students really need in order to educate them. On the other hand, it is a way of differentiating them and excluding them and that's not the idea.  In addition to this, in these schools, teachers have few students and it is possible, though hard, to pay attention to each of them. In ordinary schools, there are 30 students in a classroom and it’s really difficult to pay attention to and take control of all of them, even when these children don’t have special needs.

The story of Cuadradito and Redonditos is really touching. It got me thinking all the weekend long. And, once again, I don’t know what to think. 

Best day of their lives.

Today I want to share with you two experiences. Last Friday, I went to work and I experienced to different situations. I don’t know what shape I can give to this writing. I will just write and describe the moments.

On Friday morning, I entered the school where I work and I ran into the headmistress. She told me that my students, first graders, had just arrived from Casa De Gobierno. They went there to get their netbooks. 

First experience. 

When I entered the classroom, students were all sitting down, in silence and looking straight to the small screens of their new netbooks. The teacher in charge of the course, la seño, asked me to teach them how to turn the computer on and off correctly and to show them how to get an internet connection. She also recommended me to forget about the class I had planned and let them play and use the computer. It was the first time my students were quiet and paying attention to something for more than an hour. While I was helping them to manipulate the computer, Vitto, a really naughty student, approached me and told me "Teacher, today is the best day of my life". I couldn't answer. I just thought about what he said and the quote kept resounding in my mind over and over. It seems something stupid, but what he told me really shocked me. I know he didn't mean it, he is just a child and everything is new for him. I think that they have many best days of their lives. At least, that's what I want to believe. But, how is it possible that the fact of getting their netbooks made their day?   

My students were so excited; they wanted me to teach them everything. And that's what I did. I had no option.

Normally, whenever the bell rings, they go out running and smiling, they want to enjoy their break, they are eager to play and to run all over the playground. On Friday, the bell rang, and they didn't move a muscle. "Ok, children, the bell rang, you have to go out" That’s what I said. So, I made them put the computers in the boxes and only 5 students ran to the door and went out. "Teacher, we don't want to go out, we want to keep on playing" said the rest. Of course I didn't let them. I told them they HAD to go out and with the saddest faces ever, they finally went to the playground. 

While walking to the teacher’s room I thought: do this children really need a computer? They don't know how to write and read. Maybe in four years it is useful for them, but not now. What do you think? I am not against technology in education at all. I strongly believe it's necessary and useful. But they are seven.

I will be looking forward your opinions. 

Now, second experience. Same day, another course, first graders too. 

They had already used the computers in the previous hour, they had been taught everything they needed to know. However, they asked me to use it and I improvised something and said YES. I asked them to open PAINT. Aahh? /peint/? what's that??. They know the program as Paint as it sounds. At least I could teach something in English, ha ha. I asked them to draw their favorite Wild Animal because that’s the topic we’re dealing with. They were all doing it, very enthusiastically.

In this course, there is a student who presents some sings of autism. He is a beautiful and sweet boy, but he is always flying. He lives in his own world. So, all my students were using the computer, drawing and painting. But Bauti wasn't. I asked him to turn his computer on, I opened Paint for him and I asked him to draw whatever he wanted to. He didn't know how to use it, so I taught him. When he saw the first color line I drew, his eyes were bright and his mouth was opened. He looked at me, and gave me a strong hug and he said GRACIAS SEÑO. And he kept on drawing. I was shocked again. He called me several times to show me what he was doing. He was so happy I couldn't believe it.

That day, I couldn’t help thinking about the computers and the different reactions students had. Probably, this is nothing new and this is children’s reality today. But it’s difficult for me to get the idea. They should be playing in the playground but, on the contrary, they are playing computer games.

I don’t know what to think.

Something different

Hello there!! 

I've been writing many philosophical things since our teacher gave us the writing freedom we needed. But today, I'm not thinking of anything. I'm not evaluating anything. Today, I JUST WANNA HAVE FUN ♪♪

I wanted to share with you a video my boyfriend showed me last night. This is the type of video we watch when we don't feel like watching a whole film. 

Yesterday at 8 pm, I finally got home after a looooooong and crazy Friday and he was there waiting for me. After a few words, he asked me: "Have you seen the video about the little boy who eats...?” 

I don't want to give you so many details. I want you to WATCH IT. It's hilarious! Enjoy it!

Omg! He's so cute. His expressions are so funny! This little boy keeps on eating the onion even when it should have an awful taste!

After watching the video I thought: "I'll be a really mean mom!" I will do this to my child for sure, with onions and lemons, ha ha ! 

This video was the daily dose of laughter I needed!

Ok girls, that’s all for today. 

Enjoy your weekend and keep on watching videos like this one. 

The world is getting weird

I was trying to think of anything to write about and nothing came to my mind. It went blank. As always happens, when I stopped thinking and wondering about my post, I found out that there's something I've been worrying about lately: our world.

Life in this world has always been complicated since HUMANS are part of it. Human societies are made up by plenty of individuals. Accordingly, diverse needs, feelings, desires are going to come up. We are supposed to be superior to the other inhabitants of this world since we can reason and use our intelligence. However, it seems this world would be much better if humans weren't here. And this includes me, I know. 

Even when I’m saying this, I try to be positive. I’m hopeful. I want this world to change. People are selfish, and selfishness is getting worse and worse with time. People are egocentric. People don’t care about the consequences of their decisions. As regards this, companies deforesting woods is a very descriptive example. What about nature in some years? What about the clean air we need? fruits, vegetables? C’mon Agus, don’t worry about that. TECHNOLOGY will solve our lives. Machines will create fruits for everybody, don’t worry. I don’t want technology to control us, though it’s a little too late. People don’t have dreams, people are depressed and their only aim is to depress the few that continue dreaming. People are mean, it has always been like that.

I’m not sure you know this about me, but I don’t believe in God. However, I’m convinced that there is something somewhere that somehow will change the mind of humans and our meanness and selfishness will disappear and, our positive values will be stronger than the negative ones.

I really hope this happens!

Once Einstein said:

“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the Evil, but because of the people that don’t do anything about it.”

Maybe, we are, deep inside, the ones who have the WILL and the TOOLS to change this world.

STAY HUNGRY, STAY FOOLISH.

“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important,  have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” 

Everything Steve Jobs said in the commencement talk he delivered in Standford in 2005 (see link below) really touched me. But this particular quote is the one I want to HIGHLIGHT. I would like to have a sort of sensor in my brain that activates whenever I start worrying about something insignificant or whenever I start being or acting as someone ithat is not the real me, and in that precise moment, a loud  but pleasant melody should start resounding within my brain in order to remind me  of all the quotes I’ve read and the speeches I’ve listened to which, for some reason, it seems I can’t always apply in real life. That would be a great solution. However, we, in general, KNOW when something is not taking the way we want and our WILL should start playing a role and making us change that aspect we don’t like. It is not easy. It’s hard but not impossible.

Sadly, there have been moments in my life in which I used to live a life that I didn’t want to live. However, I wasn’t conscious of that. I don’t regret anything I’ve done because I’ve learnt a lot. Now, everything is clearer. That is why I agree with Steve Jobs when he said we can only connect dots looking backwards. Once you've  lived it, once you' ve experienced it, you can make it yours, internalize it and make sense out of it.

In addition to that, Jobs makes reference to the way we think. At times, people, including me, of course, think the same way, share the same opinions. If not, something is wrong with you. The question is WHY. Why? I think differently because I AM DIFFERENT. And there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, that makes this world special. We are allowed, fortunately, to think what we want to think. But there is a stronger force out there that spreads an idea, and we realize everybody agrees with that except from us. And there we start wondering…Why is it that the rest of the people think that way? They have to be right. I am the odd one out.

It is not always like that. I am not  a confronting person so, I am not going to speak up, but there is something certain here: I REFUSE TO THINK LIKE THE REST JUST BECAUSE I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO THINKS THAT WAY. I must have a point… whether I am right or not, that’s the way I think.

“Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition” Wow! What would we do if we weren’t afraid? That’s something I always ask myself. It is not always easy to follow our hearts and intuition. We are limited sometimes. But, I follow my heart whenever I have the chance to. My heart drives 50% of my actions. The other 50% is driven by my mind. That part of me that knows everything about rules and restrictions. I am just a tiny part of the whole society. I have to respect that. 

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough”  Mae West 

So, LET’S DO IT RIGHT. NO REGRETS. LIVE IT UP. 

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd_ptbiPoXM

So true.