POST 4: INDEPENDENCE DAY HOLIDAYS

I find our national dance, the “cueca”, ugly, chicha gets me a splitting headache, and empanadas  upset my stomach.  I’m not a nationalistic person, so I never celebrate our independence in the typical way Chileans do, and  if I have the chance to be away at the time of these holidays, all the better.

Independence day holidays are something I always look forward to, but not to do the things most people usually do.  During these holidays I just relax, meet my friends and family, work around the house and finish doing the things I have put off.  But as from last year I started to write “payas”, which, as you may know, are Chilean folk-style verses. I do that  mainly on facebook, but I also send some funny payas to my friends, just for the fun of it.

What I don’t like about this celebration is that many Chileans suddenly feel this urge to do things they never do during the year and show off a chauvinistic spirit which I find ridiculous.

Last Independence day holidays I stayed home most of the time. I took the opportunity  to see some DVDs that were waiting to be seen,   finished a  wooden magazine rack, went to some open-air markets, did some shopping, listened to music, watched some good TV programs, visited some relatives, sang karaoke at home, and got rid of some old stuff I was not using any more. So, even though I didn’t go away I enjoyed these holidays all the same.

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This week you have decided to write about our Independance Day holidays. Please include the following in your post:

-How do you usually celebrate Independence day holidays?

-What do you like and/or dislike about them?

-What did you do these Independence day holidays? Did you enjoy them?

Remember to leave a comment on 3 of your classmates' posts and to write 200 words.

POST 3: MY BEST HOLIDAYS

The topic of this week’s post is your best holidays.  So get inspired and say:

- when they were

- people you were with

- where you travelled

- things you did

- reasons why these holidays were so good

- include images

Please have a look at my sample post below.  Don't forget to write comments on 3 of your partners’ posts and remember that the wordcount is 190 words.

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Holidays are the best part of our lives. I’ve had so many wonderful holidays that it’s difficult to say which have been the best , but probably the most memorable ones are the days I spent in London for the first time, when I had the chance of travelling around Europe, meeting  nice people, and doing lots of interesting things.

My  first time in London was back in 1991 and I remember how excited I was because I had only seen sights of this city in some movies and on the pages of the English text books that I used at the university.  It was like a dream come true where all the things I had seen in pictures came alive, and I was part of that reality this time!  So there I was,  looking at the Houses of Parliament, the Big Ben, the Tower of London, Thames River; window shopping in Harrods;  walking along the Serpentine, the artifical lake in Hide Park;  shopping  in Waterstones,  the famous bookshop; having a “nice cuppa” tea in Covent Garden, and so on and so forth. 

My Chilean and British friends made sure that I went to as many places as possible, so  they took me to the best museums and art galleries, the amazing antique fair in Portobello Market Road,  the lively Camdem Town Market, Holland Park, and a long etcetera.

Besides having fun,  I also took up a course to improve my English skills, so I had to spend some time studying and doing homework, but I enjoyed doing that. And I also learnt a lot of new things just by watching television.

As I mentioned before,  I took the advantage of the proximity and visited some other European cities like, the romantic Paris, the colourful Lisbon, and the the spectacular Amsterdam.  I took lots of pictures, but that was a long time before digital cameras were available, so I only have printed photos of that trip.

As you can see I had so much fun, did so many amazing things, and went through so many good experiences, that I will never forget those days in London.

VIDEO 1

Here is a reminder of your first Continuous Assessment activity, a video:

The topic of your first video is "A hobby".

You have to record a phone video presentation about a hobby that you have for 2 minutes.

Say:

What the hobby is.

How long you have done it for.

Why you enjoy it.

Mention anything else you think is important.

Make sure you end it before Independence Day holidays.

POST 2: A COUNTRY I WOULD LIKE TO VISIT

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” This quote was written by St. Augustine and I absolutely agree with him on this one.  Travelling is one of the things I enjoy the most in life. Besides, I have learnt lots of  things by talking to  different people from other countries and by seeing them do things in so many different ways.  I’ve been to many places but Guatemala is one of the countries I have always wanted to visit but have never been to. 

I’d like to visit Guatemala because I have heard lots of people say that antigua and Chichicastenango –two of the most important touristic places there- are even more colourful and interesting than some Mexican cities that I have already visited. Antigua is a city which was destroyed by an earthquake centuries ago, but  then it was rebuilt and became the most beautiful colonial Guatemalan city, and Chichicastenango is a place that has an important market where you can buy good fruit and vegetables, along with high quality handcraft –which is something I’m very interested in.

If I went there I would like to walk around the places, eat in nice restaurants, talk to the locals, visit the museums and buy some textiles and pottery. However I wouldn’t like to work or live there, because I think that after spending a few months there I would probably get bored -I’m a city person and I would surely miss the things that a big city like Santiago can offer.

As the saying goes: Where there's a will, there's a way, so I'm saving money and one day lady luck will help me make another dream come true.

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What about you?

Today you’re supposed to write about a country you would like to visit.  Make sure you answer these questions when you write your post.

- Which country would you like to go to? Why?

- What do you know about it?

- What would you like to do there?

- Would you like to study/work/live there? Explain.

Remember to make comments on 3 of your classmates’ posts and to write 170 words