BY SWORD AND WALL When there is something with lots of importance in my life, it is common that I feel afraid, nervous and anxious; my hands sweat and I want to do number one. Moreover, I feel insecure and start a fight against myself because even I know what to do or say my mind plays a hard game trying to block all the information I have in there.
In every presentation I have had to do during my life as a student I have been afraid about the expectations people have of what I am going to say or show due to the fact that I do not know if those expectations are going to be satisfied or they are not. I also feel nervous because I know that there are many people who know more English than me and speak more fluently; moreover, I have, found that some people behave and act in a disgusted way when other is speaking in front of us, so I think they will do the same when I speak in front of them too.
Likewise, the anxious I feel before I am presenting something is terrible, it is due to the fact that at the moment to start my speech I want to finish it as soon as possible and for that reason, I begin to speak faster than I usually do and when I realize that sometimes I lose the way and I have to look for a word making a fast connection in order that nobody know what is happening to me.
Another important symptom I feel when I have something important to do is that my hands sweat a lot. It is because that is the way how my body responds to those moments when I have to do something but I do not feel comfortable before doing; I think that is the way how I try to expulse all the feelings and become quiet and relax.
One of the worst things in life is when I go to the bathroom and I want to do number one but I cannot and it is very common to feel that in cases as important as a presentation is. It is very funny to feel that because it is at the precise moment I get into the place I am going to do my job so, I have to go to the bathroom but as always. I did not do anything and continue feeling the same. It is something that disappears when I start speaking I think of what I have to talk. On the other hand and although I know what I have to talk about I feel a little insecure of what to say even when I have studied all the information I am going to transmit. My mind begins to fight against myself and make me feel very bad because I want to be sure when talking. Finally I think that the final presentation for the seminar was not the exception; I feel all the things I usually feel when I live these moments but there was a big difference this presentation. It was that I feel much more secure about myself and I think that it is thanks to this seminar which has opened my mind and has shown me the English in a very different way; I mean I feel more comfortable and secure about what I am saying no matter questions or bluffing because I was not by sword and wall.
When people laugh and ask me what I see in myself. I laugh and tell them everything you don´t
If you believe, it is possible
Sometimes you have to be your own hero
Whatever doesn´t kill you, simply makes you stranger
THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS It is a dramatic movie where a man has to carry many problems when trying to make his dreams real and never give up until reach what he wants without paying attention of what happens in his life even having neither home nor a job and moreover, living all kind of things next to his son and without his wife who has left him alone when he broke.
It is a narration of his life and it is wonderful how he tell it; naming each part of his life taking into account the different experiences he has to lived and the hard life could be for someone who has nothing to lose but many things to win such as a new life where economic problems could be solved by a new and direct employment to help paying the different stuff a person has in a month. Moreover, this man has to work for an enterprise in which there was no salary during the first six months and this is terrible for a man who has neither money nor relatives or friends who help him in the support of his needs during that time.
On the other hand, he recreates all the problems he has in order that his son lives them without realizing how deep they are and how hard could be them when in addition of those problems people around try to make him to feel downer than where he really is, because he´s trying to sell a product which was supposed to be the solution of all his problems but it was a pretty problem itself at the beginning but them, it was what helps him a little bit in order to pay a rent in a hotel and food.
I think that there is a scene which is the cruelest and hardest a person has to live. It is when he has no home and he and his son were late for the house where homeless people go to sleep every night and he had to spend the night in a restroom of a subway station with his son but he performed a tale of aliens and made him to perform the same tale as one of the people trying to escape from them using the restroom like the place to be safe.
I think there one two very important things to underline from the starring: one is all learning he is giving to his son through sentences like “Never let anybody to say that you cannot do something even him”, “The best of life is to do what you want and look for it” or “Today is our day neither tomorrow nor the day after but today”. These are phrases that the kid kept in mind and do not never forget it because all the time he was saying these to him with heart and sometimes with tears in his eyes. And two, the way how he; with no money or time was able to help people who needed it such as the man who asked him for five dollars or park his car when he was in a hurry.
During this movie there are many funny moments that try to make us to feel what he was feeling such as the moment he had to run because he had no money to pay a taxi driver for a service which was not him and he got to the subway but the train closed the door before he got into their completely; I mean with one of the boxes he sold. Another one was the moment when he was in the jail because he had no pay his car faults and the police officer took him to there while he was painting the apartment he rented. The funniest part of this is that he had the interview at the company he was looking for the job and he had to go without suit and with dirty clothes. Thanks to God he was a very intelligent and interesting man and could go out from this trouble in the best way. Here he answered a question in the way he could but becoming the best.
The question was asked by one of the people who were making the interview and it was. “What do you think if a man comes here without a shirt for asking me for a job?” and he answered “I think he had wonderful pants” This answer shows how he managed the situation even being in a bad and down condition with respect to others who were applying for the same job but perhaps having much more opportunities and a better life than him.
Finally and as a conclusion, I can say that this is one of the best movies I have ever watched; due to the fact that it makes you feel many things, mixing innumerable hard experiences with the hard life could be at any moment of our lives. Nevertheless, the protagonist showed us that biggest a problem is the bigger the solution must be and moreover, he showed his strength in doing good things and changing the bad ones. It is realized in small thing such as the change of a letter in a poster which gave the name of the movie but was bad written; “The pursuit of happyness”.
MY FUNNY WEEKEND This weekend was the first weekend after finishing the seminar. It is because on Saturday morning I had time to play with my son before going to the grocery store, something I could not do when I was studying because I had to wake up earlier and always hurrying me up. Likewise, I could work and be in charge of my family´s business which is a grocery store and as know Saturday and morning are the days when people from country come to the city to buy their needs and most of our customs are this kind of people; for that weekend is the busy time there.
I worked there from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the afternoon when I go home and feed my son who is not going with me to my job because he has been sick and his doctor told me to take care of him from wind and rain but specially from weather changes so, it is much better to keep him at home while he gets well. As soon as I did that, I came back to the store where I was until six and a half at night.
Then, I got home and spent the rest of my time playing with my son and receiving some relatives who usually go to my house to get fun with us. When my son went to bed and my relatives to their houses, I watched T.V. until about one a.m. when I went to sleep. On Sunday, I got up early, played and feed my son and prepare breakfast. I finished eating it and organized the messy. Then, I cook lunch and served that to my family. Thanks to God, my son was sleeping while I did chores. After lunch, I went to the church and pray from two to five; there, we have different activities first at all, we have a general meeting with all members of the church and then, we are divided in groups in order to discuss some important topics for life.
When I home I watched T.V. for a while and then, I listened to music until seven when I had dinner and took a shower with my son. After the shower, I went to San Francisco Square to take a walk with my son and my family.
There, we were walking with him until he was tired; it was fast because he rode some mechanical attractions that made him to sleep faster than he usually do. We got home and take him to bed and after that I talk with my mother and sister for a while; something that helped me a lot because we remembered and told what we have done in this weekend. When my family went to sleep, I went to the studio, sat down on the chair, turned on the computer and began to write these lines. But in this moment, I had to quit writing my experiences on this weekend because my son has woke up and it is due to the fact that he got sleep before eating so, I have to go to our bedroom; feed him and see if he is o.k. or needs a new diaper; if he is cold or just hungry.
I came back to my written but I have lost my way. Although, I know that I am telling a real story I want to finish my experiences and start writing about my feelings of this weekend.
First at all, I feel that this weekend was how in pressure and high in relax because while I was studying the seminar, I was stressed and thinking of what I had to do due to the fact that I was always meeting my classmates in order to finish workshops, videos or essays the teacher had given to do. Most of lunch were not health because there was not much time to eat slowly and thinking of the food but eating quickly and planning what we were going to do in order to record interviews or mix all the knowledge we had to finish the different homework teacher had let us for week.
I felt thankful with God because I could be with my son much time than I usually do and have fun time while seeing him at doing new things. Likewise, I could sleep better and deeply; dreaming and thinking of whose my life and heart belong; my son.
On the other hand and although I know that my activities are not extreme and my weekend is not the funniest one, I think that the most important in life is family and the more time I pass with them, the more thanks I give to God because he has blessed me at have been born in a very beautiful family which has supported and help me in the hard moments of my life; for that and may other things I love being with my family on weekends.
It does not mean I have no enjoyed the weekends when I studied the seminar because it is in order to improve my life style and enrich my knowledge bit I feel cool because I do not have to go to the University on weekends anymore because it represents to leave my son with the maid and be full of milk for him and could not feed him. Anyway, I thank the teacher of the seminar because I feel that I have improved my English level in all its skills during all weekends of this semester.
AMERICAN AND BRITISH ENGLISH When talking about the differences between American and British language, we could find that the most relevant ones are the pronunciation, intonation and the elegance at speaking each one has. But going beyond of them, it is found that there are many words and expressions they have each one by its own; although, they manage the same language and American English comes from the British one, we can realize that there are many words which change and others that have relation between them such as fridge and refrigerator; being the first one the upper part of the second. While American pronounces the “ER” ending and the letter “R”, British do not; they pronounce “A” when “ER” and “R” is silent. Moreover, British pronunciation is stronger than the American one and their intonation is higher or lower depending the way they are talking. On the other hand, people say that British English is much more understandable and elegant because of the fact that American one looks more relax. This written is going to be focused on some differences the language has, taking into account the vocabulary and the two most important places where English is spoken as a native language. Likewise, I want to give some examples divided into two groups; words and phrases that express the same but change depending on the country they are used. Taking into account these two groups, it could be said for example that in the United States they say apartment but in the United Kingdom flat; gas – petrol, refrigerator – fridge, cookie – biscuit, trailer – caravan, subway – underground, pants – trousers, hat – bonnet, drugstore – chemist’s shop, French fries - chips, trash can – dustbin, parking lot – car park, main street – high street, vacations – holiday, elevator – lift, corn - maize, insane – mad, sidewalk - pavement, mail - post, bar – pub, eraser, rubber, candies – sweets, schedule – timetable, can – tin, flashlight – torch and zipper – zip among others.
On the other hand, there are some phrases that change, especially those where in American English are worked in past and in British they use to the present perfect such as if we say “we bought a new car” but “ we have got a new car”. Moreover, British people use the verb get when they are talking about possession something that American people use like have. All of this kind of differences are seen at the moment when there is an interaction not only people of the countries mentioned but in the place this language is taught. We can realize that it is due to the fact that the language and most of the things we learn depend on the influence we have had while growing up; the culture and geographical position makes people to think and act in the way they have acquired all their knowledge. In the case of the language it is not the exception, for example Colombian people speak; in most of the cases, American English because The United States is close to our country. Nevertheless and as always in life there is an exception which is if this kind of influences such as teachers, songs, movies and videos are searched in British Language. Taking into account there influences. It is very important to realize that they must be learnt in the way to mixes them but to have more tools when trying to give our point of view, paying attention neither to the accent nor the pronunciation but making well use of the most important language around the world. As a conclusion, I want to say that the most important for us as new teacher is not what we know about the knowledge we are teaching to the students but the way how we let them to understand what we are presenting; which should not be just a subject but a real need, because this is the most spoken language around; taking into account, that it is the language managed as a second language in most of the cases when the speakers are from different countries in the word. Finally, I suggest to the University to have a subject where we could study these differences between these two find of language even being the same.
LUISA FERNANDA GONZALEZ ACUÑA