Today I´ve asked you to write about an ideal job on paper. Once you´ve finished that task, please answer the following mini-post:
Write about a song you are listening to at the moment.
Say:
Who it´s by,
What genre it is,
When you heard it for the first time,
Why you like it,
Mention anything else you think is important or interesting. Try to write at least 100 words.
Leave a comment on your teacher´s blog and on the blogs of 3 classmates.
The song I have been listening to recently is Little Foot Big Foot by Childish Gambino.
It´s a R n´B infused rap song with an amazing video. I guess I like the production of the song and the amazing choreography in the video. I first heard it about 2 months ago.
I like it because it´s a catchy tune with a fun video (a special kind of humour). I think there is a definite message behind all the Childish Gambino videos that try to show modern reality and how it can impact poor, especially black, people in America.
I like most of the Childish Gambino tracks I´ve heard and I hope to see him on tour next year.
Actually, I´m watching the series Ätlanta¨ that stars Childish Gambino (actor Donald Glover). It´s really enjoyable watching but it shows a tough side of life.
This has been a busy semester for me so far. I usually teach 3 English courses and an a cross-curricular elective on Manga & Anime which I participate in with FAU Academic Diego Vallejos However, this semester, I started teaching a pilot of a new CFG FAU called English for Work Purposes. Also, for the last 12-months I've been the coordinator of Home Working (teletrabajo) in FAU.
The English for Work Purposes course has been very time consuming because I'm creating all the materials from scratch and trying to teach career-related content to students from the 4 careers in FAU. I enjoy doing this sort of thing but I think I'm going to get a teaching assistant or do some co-teaching next semester. The teletrabajo work was very busy in August and September but it's been a little quieter since fiestas patrias.
On a personal note, life in general has also been busy. It was my wife's birthday in September and her sister visited (she's from Santiago but she lives in London), and we went to the beach for a few days (I wrote about it in my fiesta's patrias post). Apart from that, we have also got together with friends and socialised a fair bit. For example, last Saturday, we went to visit an ex secretary from FAU, and on Sunday we caught up with some friends for lunch at my favourite Indian restaurant.
Although I've been busy, I still found some time to practice my hobbies, I dedicated some time to music making and released a new single (Electrified) last Saturday:)
I also did some reading and manage to finish the Neal Stephenson novel Anathem - which I really enjoyed. It's a science fiction novel about alien contact with earth 2,000 years in the future. It's not short, almost a 1,000 pages long but it's a satisfying read.
Write about your semester so far.
Mention:
Your favourite classes. Explain why.
Classes that you aren't enjoying, Explain why.
How you manage your time.
Why you do in your free time.
The highlight of the semester so far. Explain why.
Mention anything else you find interesting or important. Try to write at least 200 words. Leave a comment on your teacher's blogs and one the blogs of at least 3 classmates.
I read the article ¨Dramatic images show the first floods in the Sahara in half a century: by Eromo Egbjule, published in today´s Guardian. The main topic is climate change or extreme weather conditions. The report talks about recent rainfall in the Sahara region and how it has filled reservoirs and created new bodies of water. Additionally, a lake that had been dry for 50 years started to fill up. The article describes the rainfall in different parts of Morocco and how 18 people have died has a result of this situation.
The key facts discuss the amount of rain in relation to previous years. The people quoted are Houssine Youabeb for Morocco´s meteorology agency, and Secetary General of the World Metrorological Organization, Celeste Saulo. Images from NASA satelites are also used.
The only bias I noticed was the in headline which mentions weather conditions unseen for 50 years whilst the body of the text talks about 30 - 50 years.
This article caught my eye because climate change is a big issue now. However, global warning might not be the only cause of the change in weather as according to the article in the link below, the Earth's magmnetic field is overdue a flip ........
A school teacher I remember was Mrs Burrows, who was my first English teacher when I moved to school in England. I was born in Wales between Mold and Buckley, but I moved to Chester, in England, when I was 6 years old.
I don't really remember any of my teachers in Wales but Mrs Burrows made a big impression. She was always jolly. She smiled a lot, and I remember her as a very gentle person. The main thing I remember from the English classes is the stories she used to tell us. Her and her husband had lived many years in China working as missionaries and she loved to tell us about her travels and experiences.
I also remember we read short stories and poems in class and then worked to create our own stories and poems. It was a long time ago but I distinctly remember being very proud of a poem I wrote about a leaf. I can't remember how many years Mrs Burrows taught me but it can only have been 2 or 3. Unfortunately, her and her husband died in a car crash whilst on holiday in Italy. If my memory is correct, that happened in my final year at High School (but I'm not 100% sure). I think the last I saw Mrs Burrows was at the end of my penultimate year at Middle School.
I think the most important thing Mrs Burrows taught me was to use my imagination. I was inspired by her stories and I guess her encouragement to write poems was the start of me writing songs.
Here's a photo of my Middle School.
Write about a teacher from school that you remember.
Say:
Who they were.
What subject they taught,
What you remember about the teacher,
What you learnt from this teacher,
When you saw this teacher for the last time.
Mention anything else you think is important or interesting. Try to write a least 200 words.
Leave a comment on your teacher´s blog, and the blogs of at least 3 classmates.
Being a non-meat eater (my diet is 99% plant-based), Fiestas Patrias is not my favourite celebration because it centres around barbecues and the smell of cooked meat. However, what I do enjoy is having a few days holiday, and I guess this year was special because we had 10 days off.
My wife´s birthday was on September 12th so, from the 13th to the 17th we went to Isla Negra with her sister and mum. We rented a little cabin in the middle of nowhere (about 15 minutes walk from the centre of the town). It was a really relaxing place, surrounded by trees so the only sounds were the birds and the wind in the trees.
It was a really lazy few days. We cooked, ate, drank, read and went for the occasional walk. In the evenings we played table games (Ticket to Ride and Yatzee).
On the way back to Santiago on the 17th, we went via Limache and visited some friends there.
On September 18 & 19, I just chilled, making music, watching some movies and reading.
A good break:)
How about you?
Write about your Fiestas Patrias 2024
Say:
Where you went,
What you did,
Who you saw.
Mention anything else you think is important or interesting. Try to write a least 100 words.
Leave a comment on your Teacher´s blog and the blogs of at least 3 cñlassmates.
Today I'm going to ask you to write about 5 favourites & why.
The categories are:
A song, a film, a piece of technology, a book, and a souvenir or trinket.
The song I'm going to share with you is a song from 1971 by David Bowie called Quicksand. I really love the lyrics and all the images they conjure up. Bowie was about 24 years old when he wrote this song but he sounds so wise. I love this track because it reminds me of my youth (as well as demonstrating Bowie's versatility).
My favourite film is most probably Brazil by Terry Gilliam. Released in 1985, it's is a "dystopian science fiction black comedy" (Wikipedia), which I must have seen at least 10 times. Actually, it's a nightmarish love story. I love it because it has so many bits of hidden humour. It may look a little dated nowadays but I still think it's amazing.
A piece of technology I use a lot is my Macbook laptop. I bought it refurbished in the UK during COVID, mainly to run with a DAW I use to make music. As far as I'm concerned, it was a real bargain. It's still running faithfully 4 years since I bought it.
If your interesting in hearing more of my music this is a link to a playlist of my 3 musical projects:)
My favourite book is Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake. It is an amazing piece of fiction. The first volume of a trilogy that tells the story of Titus and the inhabitants of an isolated citadel called Gormenghast. Actually, it's a highly observant and imaginative mix of Chinese and British culture from the mind of a hugely creative writer. Mervyn Peake was born in China in 1911, where his parents were missionaries. The humour in the book is very dark. Peake was an artist who produced educational books teaching people how to draw. He was also an artist, illustrator and poet. Check him out:)
A souvenir I really like is a photo collage i found in a thrift shop in New York in 2011. It only cost me 50 cents but I think it's really cool. I like bring outlandish souvenirs from places I visit, especially things from craft markets or junk stores. I would love to find out who created it.
Write about 5 Favourites. Include a song, a film, a piece of technology, a book, and a souvenir (or trinket). Say a little bit about what each of these things mean to you or why you like them.
Please include photos and or videos (there are insert image and insert video buttons on the tool bar).
