The best class Jenny has ever had!!!!!!!!

Dear Jenny,

here there is the picture of your mind-blowing students!

We already miss you and we hope you will never forget us...because for sure we will never forget you! You were the icing of the cake of this term....and every time we will see someone who:

• Stutters


• Limps


• Mumbles


• Crawls


• Frowns at


• Glances


• Loots


• is off-colour


• is fed up with


• is not from this neck of the wood


• or is pulling my leg

...we know how to say it!!!!THANK YOU JENNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Take care and good luck for everything!

The Italians

Bye Jenny!

Bye bye Jenny!!!
Don't be angry , it's just a friendly way Italians call you.
Good luck for everything!

Thanksssssssss!!!

My Future here

I'm happy now because , I've felt better with my English, for example ... when I'm speaking with other parents , with my neighbours and different people in this country , I can explain to them my ideas, problems, questions and so on. I think , it was a important step in my life but surely I've recognized my mistakes and faults . My family and I, we'll stay here next year as well , so I have more time to study and perhaps I'll start another course such as photography, painting, dancing or somethings nice for me. Also I want to look for a job , I like to spend more time with my little boy , my husband , my friends and of course me. I 'd like to travel to other countries and I 'll have a good time in England. On balance, every day was interesting and funny for me and my future , it will be nice as well. Many thanks and good luck to all over course .

My plans

Additional to staying in England I'll look for a part time job. I'm planing to take a Short vacation to Bristol and Bath this weekend and I'll go to Holland at Easter. I'll continue practising English speaking with the family with whom I live and keep practicing with all the material I have.

No Plans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This second term is finishing in two days and I still can't believe it! When you are having a really good time, minutes, days and months pass so quickly that it's almost impossible to realize the time's passing.

This term was wonderful: first of all I changed my room at the beginning of January and eventually I have found a good flat, where you can cook something if you want and where you can meet kind people, patient people whom you can talk with!!

Then I really enjoyed my English class and I think that my English may have improved (I hope so!!!!!!!!!).

I will stay here next term as well and I hope that it would be as good as this one at least. After the end of the term I'm going to Wales with some friends of mine: I think it could be a good occasion to speak English(these friends of mine are all from different countries) and to visit England because I haven't travelled a lot this term.

After this short trip I will go back to Italy for one week and then here again but with my KoB(at least for 10 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!).

Then the holidays will finish and we will start another term but now I feel more confident than the other one: now I'm a little bit sad that this experience is going to end so soon but before, in Christmas, I was so scared of continuing with the Erasmus in this country where obviously all speak English apart from me!

Anyway I still have three months to spend here in Brighton and I will do everything that I can to make them wonderful....without forgetting lessons of course!

Bye bye Jenny(don't get angry...it's just a friendly way in which Italians call you!) and thank you very much for everything!!!!!!!!!!

Goodbye everyone!!!!!!!!! :-)

the end...

The period of english course is finished, I learnt English in an intensive way, so I think that this language course abroad was very beneficial for me because today, in my country speaking English is very important to find a job in the business branch for example.

My French school is a business school and it grants an importance for learning English because it's an international business school.

Now, I am going to go back to France and continue my course in my business school. We are in the first school year and we need to study two more years but we can study two years more to get a masters.

In the third quarter, we will have some courses in English to try to keep our level and also improve it. Then I will try to learn English intensively watching English films and reading English books I think it's a good way to improve our English.

I'm very sad that the term is already finished, but I'm obliged to go back to France because I have to finish my courses in the business school. I really enjoyed the University of Sussex and the students because the mentality of the English is very different from that of the French. When I am going to go back to France, I think that I will listen English radio and watch a lot of movies in English because I don't want to lose all the good things that I learnt here. Moreover, I don't want to go back to France because I am used to life here and I prefer the life here more than in France.

I'd really like to come back in Brighton because it is a very beautiful city.

To conclude, Brighton will remain for me one of the best experiences of my life.

The future

Well, tomorrow is the last day of the term. I have the impression I arrived yesterday in Brighton. Time flew very quickly. I came with the objective of improving my English, but I made new friends too. Actually before coming I didn't expect it. In fact, this is the beauty of the life: things happen while you are doing other things.
Next Monday I'm going to Dubai, in the UAE. I'll try finding a new job in this city. Concerning my English, I'll practice "in the real life". In the University of Sussex I took a solid basis and for my job I'll practice and improve more and more.
I'd like to thank my teachers for the quality of this course.
Bye bye Jenny (don't get angry, it's just a friendly way Italians call you ;-)

Go back in France

Tomorrow is the last day of the term for many people but not for French people, we must stay one week more.

So, we are going back the following Saturday!

I think everybody is excited about going home. I am going back in Montlucon on Saturday evening.

Personally, I'm really impatient to see my parents, my brother, my boyfriend and all my friends!!

But, unfortunately, I will not have time to rest : the courses restart on Monday!

So my plans for the next months : studies

But I have also plans to see my friends and go out with them!

Moreover, I need to find a work placement for the end of the third term. With regards to practising English, I have English courses all Monday morning so I hope I won't forget my English too much.

English.....

Today for me is the end of Spring term because I am going to leave for Italy this afternoon.
The Intensive English's course has been very interesting and useful for me because the teacher has motivated me to study and also because my classmates are very funny and I have taken pleasure in attending class every morning .
My plan now ,in order to continue to improve English, is to try reading some books and watch some movies in English.
Next month I am going to come back here and consequently I want attend Intensive English course and also CAE course .
My principal objective is to try speaking English fluenty and I think that next term could be better for me to find a job in order to stay in direct contact with native speaking people.

Good luck everybody!!!

THE END!

Now that the course is over, I'm going back to France.

I was here only for one term, because during my first year in my business school, I had to spent 3 months abroad, in an English country.

This term was very useful for me, I think that my level in English has increased and I'm rather happy!

From the 31st of March, I'm going to have a lot of courses, and I think that in addition to English courses, we are going to have other courses in English.

That's very important to practise my English.

Because my mother speaks English very well, I can sometimes speak with her.

Moreover, in summer I have to work for 1 month in a company, to have a profesional experience.

So, the next few months will be very busy.

But I want to go back to France!

I miss France a lot.

Goodbye England, Welcome to France :)

To begin with, I feel sad to go back in France simply because a lot of work is waiting for me. This term was perfect thanks to the location and the campus which are very easy to access and moreover has helped me to improve my English language. So I hope for the next few months to keep motivated and go on learning English after going back to France. Normally, when the courses will go on in France I will have some English courses and I think I will read some books in English and continue to watch movies and tv shows in English. So finally, I really hope to keep studying and that going back to France won't be too different than here simply because it's going to be the french life...

The exams are soon finished.In fact,I go back to france in one week.I take the plane on Saturday, but I don't have holidays after,I return to school the following Monday for the last term, until June. So my plans for the next month are studies.I have three and half hours a week of English course, so I could keep practising my English and not forget it too much.I hope my English is better now.
At the week-end I will try to see my friends that I haven't seen for three months.
I don't know if I will see people on the campus.
There is one friend who wants to come in Paris in April or May, and see me.But it will be difficult because I don't have holidays and I can only go there for two days, at the week end.

The last one.....

Now that the course is over, what are your plans for the next few months? How are you going to practise your English?

Ben Allen's exhibition

It is another piece of art by the same artist, I like the mix of black and white and bright colours like red, yellow. I found this art very original, and very modern. Even normally, skeleton's heads are synonym of dark, sad paintings, this artist makes this art lovely thanks to the bright colours and its originality.

We can see guns, a symbol of violence but there is a contrast with several flowers in different bright colours.

I learnt that Brighton is a city of artists and I found it interesting to see an exhibition of one of them.

Apollo&Dafne

One of my favourite pieces of art is a statue by Gian Lorenzo Bernini called "Apollo e Dafne" (1621-1623) . Bernini for this work was inspired by the myth of these two lovers mentioned by Ovidio in his book "Le Metamorfosi".

The myth is about this beautiful and pure girl, Dafne, who lived in the forest totally devoted to the nature. One day Apollo, the god of love, while walking in the forest, saw this magnificent creature and he fell in love with her desperately. He started to follow her through the forest but, when she realized Apollo was in love with her, she began to run away because she was frightened. Apollo didn't understand her behaviour and he didn't give up running; so Dafne completely exhausted by the escape started to pray to her father Zeus to help her and he turned her in a laurel.

Bernini took exactly this moment: the one in which she stopped because her feet started becoming a trunk and Apollo, catching her up, realized he had lost his love. What is really beautiful about this statue, apart from the great dimensions (243cm) is Apollo's totally lost expression because Dafne is turning into a laurel and her feet, her hair and her hands have already turned and he can't do anything anymore. Another characteristic of this piece of art is the position: Bernini, deciding to catch this particular moment, chose to fix something in movement into something static like a statue and in order to do that he had to change the focus of all the marble group: not in the centre anymore but moved right creating a motion's sensation.

Now this statue is in one of the Galleria Borghese's rooms in Rome, so if you want to admire it you know where you have to go.

For a long time, I have had a passion for the painter Amedeo Modigliani. He painted a lot of paintings, and began to learn to paint in Italy, at the Scuola Libera di Nudo of the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence. I appreciate uch these paintings because he has a strange way of drawing. Indeed, on the one hand he draws some portraits with people who have very long faces and on the other hand, he draws painting like this on the left which looks like a Booda status. He has different styles of painting and I think that I love his painting for this. Moreover, during a trip in Nice, he decided to sell his painting to rich tourists with other artists like Foujita. You can see his paintings in a lot of galleries all around the world and you can see his paintings on the net too.

The Natural History Museum

I think to visit any museum is interesting because I can go to my past. It's amazing to look at dinosaurs, prehistoric birds, animals and many things about our evolution.



My family and I visited The Natural History Museum because my son loves it. When we arrive at the Museum , a Diplodocus dinosaur says hello to you, this animal could be 20 meters high , and I just look like a mouse. it's funny because I can't imagine how it was in the prehistoric age. I know in this age humans did not exist.



Then we walked around the ground floor , there we looked at other animals, they were birds, turtles and tigers. On the first floor we found others dinosaurs such as T- dinosaurs Rex, Albertosaurus, Stegosaurus, Gallinosaurus and so on.



Here there are some animals in their real size for example , We saw a Rex , he shook his head , he may be angry and he might be hungry but I explained to Tomas he is just a toy but Tomas was scared of the dinosaur .



The NHMuseum could be the largest in Europe because it has different kinds of prehistoric animals. A thousand people visit it each month.



Moreover I visited the area of mammalians, reptilians and obviously the humans as well. I suggest you go with your family because it's nice for everybody. finally , Don't forget that the Museums in England are free so Let's go now!!!

This painting was done by Leonardo da Vinci from 1503 to 1506 is exhibited in Paris, LE LOUVRE, one of the most famous museums in the world. No one knows who the woman represented is but alot of people have written and given different information and points of view. So, there is obviously the official name that everybody know : Mona Lisa.
I have choosen this painting because it's perhaps the most popular and recognized in the world and also because it may be the first painting that I known when I was young. I don't know why this one is so famous but I guess it's simply because there are some relations with divinity. So if I could afford a type of painting and a special famous painting (my day-dreams), may be I would choose this painting because it has a very long and odd story.

My Favorite Book

My favourite book is The Alchemist written by Paulo Coehlo. This is a wonderful book about how powerful the mind of the people is and the purpose in the life. The story in the book is about a man who takes care of sheep and he has many dreams about going away for look for treasures and his life destination. When he decides to follow the dream he had many difficult situations that made him have bad experiences and become pessimistic. But he had a purpose in life and the destination always gave him the opportunity wake up and follow the dream.

The alchemist is important for me because is an inspiration and motivation to believe everything is possible in life. I think this book could hope people to be more optimistic and try different alternatives to their problems.

La Pieta'

As you can see this is "La pieta' " by Michelangelo .

This sculpture is a masterpiece of the Renaissance and it is possible to admire it in Saint Peter 's Basilica in the Vatican city .

This sculpture represents the moment after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

As you can see the Virgin Mary looks at the dead body of her son lying in her lap.

The Virgin Mary looks very sad but at the same time she appears really calm, in her face there resignation is represented about that unpleasant mourning.

Jesus Christ's body after a long suffering is completely relaxed in his mother's lap.

As seen in his sculpture, Michelangelo achieves the perfection of shapes and of bodies.

Art is the expression of the beauty that each man has inside, and there is nothing more beautiful than love. Moreover, we aren`t only made by love, but also by lots of other elements. Psyche

is one of them. It controls our attitudes and behaviour. On the other hand, Love makes us lose them.

Casanova made them meet in this beautiful sculpture. With his right hand, Love holds up Psyche`s head, while with is left hand he touches one of her breasts. At the same time Psyche hugs his head, making a circle with her arms. Inside this circle Love and Psyche`s mouths are going to meet each other. Maybe they have just kissed one another. Or maybe it`s a moment between two kisses. Love has wings. They make the scupture slender. The style of the sculpture is neoclassical. Every detail is perfect, as if it were real.

Ben Allen exhibition

Last month I went to Ben Allen's exhibition, an artist who lives in Brighton, he is not well known .

But I found his exhibition very interesting, it was about post-modern art. There is a big PEACE&LOVE symbol, which is very nice in my opinion. It represents a gold love symbol made with many little soldier toys, I found it very clever.

It's paradoxical,the soldiers represent the war but they aren't dark and black as the war, they are in gold and together they form the peace&love symbol.

I would like to have the same art at home if I could afford it. It's my favourite symbol.

The castle of Versailles

Today, I'll speak about a very famous place in France : the Castle of Versailles.

I saw this castle for the first time three years ago.

It was during a trip to Paris with my class.

We spent two days in the capital and we visited many places, it was great!

And my favourite place that we visited was the castle of Versailles, because I had never seen it before and it is a huge and beautiful castle.

This castle was built by the father of Louis XIV and later, it was the "house" of Louis XIV.

The King renovated the castel and took on many gardeners for create a beautiful garden.

In France, this garden is very famous and its name is " Le jardin des Tuileries ".

The castle is a symbol of the Renaissance.

Nowadays we can visit the castle and its many rooms like the king's bedroom or the "glace's gallery".

Or we can go for a walk around the magnificent gardens.

Culture is very important in my country, especially in the capital.
All museums are well worth the visit but I would like to talk about the one you have to go to for a whole day.
"Le Louvre" , the ancient Royal Palace, in Paris is an example of art.It is the biggest museum in Paris and one of the most important in Europe.
I don't know exactly the impressive number of painters or sculptures inside, but if you stay 30 seconds for each you should spend ten days without sleeping and eating to visit the whole museum.So you need a lot of time here and you will always have more to discover.
Among the most famous pieces in the museum, we find "the Joconde" of Leonardo de Vinci, the "Venus de Milo"...
Outside the 20th century buildings , there are shiny glass pyramids commissioned by the French president Francois Mitterand.
The Louvre Museum is the museum most visited in the world.

Chateau Murat

Set in the countryside , Le Chateau Murat is a former property of the 19Th century which overlooks the sea.

It inherited its name from its owner, Murat Dominique. Originally, it was built for the trade of sugar cane and alcohol. It is a popular tourist attraction.

Tourists enjoy taking picture of the Castle and the windmill, visiting the museum of ancient materials in the old factory

and, the library for the history. Picnics are allowed and, it is a great place for the bride and groom to take pictures.

Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol is known as a great artist. He is my favourite artist and my idol, his paintings are so modern and full of amusement.

His was an American painter, a Pop-Art artist in the 20th century.

The portrait of Marylin Monroe is one of his most famous paintings.

I love its colours, and the repetition of the same face. He played with a lot of colours, he must have painted Marylin to show her different faces to the world.

This is also a famous painting by Andy Warhol. The limp?? of preserve. "Campbell's".

It is only a part of his table, because in reality, it might be 250 pieces of tomato soup. I don't understand?

He could make anything into a work of art. And for me, this is the definition of an artist.

I have a lot of reproductions of his paintings on the walls of my bedroom, because they make the room lively.

I hope that one day I will have an original painting of Wandy Warhol, but I know that it can't be possible...

Culture

This week we have been talking about famous museums and artists. Can you describe your favourite (or a famous) museum/piece of art from your country?

My best holiday

My best holiday was during the summer 2006 when my best friend and I went to Ios, one of the Greek islands. We planned this trip about six months before because it would be the perfect end of our lives as high school students (we went there after our state exam).

Actually our plane provided just flight tickets to Santorini (another island near Ios) because we decided to sleep the first night in Santorini's airport, then to take the boat toward Ios and there to start to look for a place to sleep.

We were really exited when finally we arrived in Santorini ( at about 10pm) but here we found out that Santorini's airport was actually just one room and that it was impossible to stay there. Luckily we met Pedros, a man from Santorini who rents rooms and who convinced us to stay in one of his rooms and the day after he could bring us to the port. Santorini's port was really really funny: it was full of people of different nationalities looking for a boat ticket or for the last gift or just a rest; they all seemed crazy. Anyway in the end we managed to find a ticket to Ios and more or less at midday we arrived there. Ios's port instead was full of people that wanted to rent rooms to tourists and we granted our lives to Omero that had a really small residence near the city centre (actually we made a mistake with number of nights: we needed six but we booked the room just for five of them. So the last night we were forced to move into another residence that was nicer....with hammocks and a swimming pool!!!).

The week was fantastic: the island is really beautiful, small but with long, white sandy beaches, blue sea, full of small typical shops, bars, restaurants and clubs. So for one week we stayed all day on the beach and all night around the city centre, among different clubs.

It was the perfect life!!!!!!

We really enjoyed this holiday together and often when we talk, we still miss it...and anyway apart from this, another very important thing was that there I met my present KoB!!!!

carnaval and battle of flowers

When I was younger, my parents and I used to go to Carnival to entertain ourselves, even though I suggested that it was boring and a waste of time. During two weeks, a huge number of pillars are represented the KING and the QUEEN. The aim of Carnival is to entertain the crowd with some fireworks and people who are gather around the statue to dance. This event takes place along the Promenade des Anglais, the kilometre-long walkway that stretches along the beach from the Chateau at one end, past the Hotel Negresco and all the other famous landmarks. At the end of the two weeks, the tradition is that the king has to be burned to be remade the next year.
Some people called this event a ''Funfair'',but it's a little bit different.

Marbella -Spain

Summer is the best time for us to travel to Spain, My little boy , Tomas always sing songs about the beach , Jairo packs the bags and I insist that it is important to take our after sun cream.
Anyway, I remember our last trip to Marbella. Jairo suggested booking the hotel near the beach and he confirmed that our rooms was ready for the 15th of May. And I admited that his idea was fantastic because all the hotels were full in these days.

The first day, Jairo explained to me that the tour would be nice for us because we could visit Marbella in 3 days . My friend , Isabel from Alicante advised us that we should start the trip in May as a result we bought the ticket in December.

Then we took the car and we began our adventure. Tomas said " I would like to go swimming in the sea" and Jairo "I would like to look at the girls and their small bikinis" consequently We went to the beach . I persuaded them that we should go to the shopping centre because we could have our lunch and I could buy some thing for me for example a new bikini , a hat and sandals.

However , we spent all day on the beach and I ate prawns with lemon. Our next day was interesting , When we were walking around the Town , I saw a handsome man but never imagined that guy was Cristiano Ronaldo ... it was amazing for me !!!!

Last summer, I went to Canada with my parents, more precisly to Halifax, for my father's bestfriend's wedding. We arrived three days before the wedding and we visited the town. With my mother, we helped the bride for the final preparations of course. We told her that she should not be worried because she was very stressed. When the wedding day arrived, it was mind-blowing because it was in a huge garden with the priest... like in the film. It was very different because in France it is not in a garden, it is in a church. All the bridemaids wore the same dresses and there were two children who threw rose petals in the air. At the end of the wedding, we confirmed to the bride and the groom that their wedding was succesful. Then, we came back to France with many wonderful memories.

Holiday in Morocco

I want to inform you about my summer holiday in Morocco with my parents and my sister. Before going there I complained to my parents because I didn't want to go there, and they assured me that it would be unforgettable ! In fact, they convinced me. So I said Okaayy ! " I'm ready to go there"^^ I announced that I'm a real fan of surf, and there was a surf camp. We went to a Lagoon in "Oualidia", a lovely place where there was a surf camp ! My parents suggested to me that I could be registered in the surf camp so I said that the holidays would be very interesting ^^.

I surfed everyday for two weeks outside the Lagoon where there were lots of waves and I confirmed to my parents that it was unforgettable.

Shopping in New York

In November 2007 I went to New Jersey with my boyfriend for 3 days and then drove to New York for Thanksgiving day and we stayed for 3 days. I was very sad because I was missing my mother's dinner and my boyfriend convinced me that we would have a delicious diner at the best restaurant in New York city.

In the night my boyfriend assured me that he would not wake up early for the sales. The next day I woke up at 5:00 A.M. in rush as I was late for shopping. Then I went shopping and it was a very mind blowing experience with the sales in all the stores at 50% off everything including designer clothes and I bought presents for my family and friends it was the best shopping experience I had in my life.....

After 3 days we drove back to New Jersey I complained to my boyfriend about not having enough time to see N.Y. and my boyfriend assured me that we comeback again.

Madrid.........."Maravillosa"!!

I would like to tell you about my exciting experience in Spain.


Four years ago I went to Madrid completely alone to improve my Spanish.


Alessia, a friend of mine ,who did my same experience the year before advised me to stay in a flat in the centre of town and she suggested that it would be useful for me to join in a Spanish course.


I did exactly that.


I was very enthusiastic because Madrid is the most beautiful city that I have ever seen in my life.


There are majestic palaces like the "Palacio Real"and also huge squares like "Plaza Mayor" as you can see in the picture.


I really enjoyed staying there for one month, for example in my typical day in the morning I went to Spanish class and in the afternoon I spent all my free time visiting different monuments and the two most important museums ,such as "Museo del Prado" and "Reina Sofia".


I was interested to see "Guernica"which is a famous painting byPablo Picasso and I can declare that is very striking for his magnificence.

I can advise you to go to Madrid for your next holiday....

Everybody remembers what they were doing for the New Year in 2000, the passage to the 21st century. Me, I was in Poland with my family.
Actually, I don't remember this event very well. Infact I was only ten years old.
Nevertheless, I've never forgotten the meal this night. I was curious because there was the first time I was not in France for this Christmas period, and I didn't know about the traditional foods in other countries. But when I saw the starter,I wasn't interested in it. It was a beetroot soup, the colour of Bordeau.I said that I didn't want to taste it but my parents convinced me. To be honest, It wasn't the best food I've ever eaten in my life.My mother ordered me to finish, but I refused to do it.In the end, the rest wasn't so disgusting.

Unforgettable holidays!!!

I'd like to inform you about my last holiday with my family.

It was 2 years ago, in spring. I persuaded my parents to chose the destination of Thailand instead of Canada. I assured my parents that it would be an inforgettable holidays.

And I was right.

The trip was very long but when we arrived in the country the landscape was wonderful.

I spent my time visiting Thailand doing exciting activities.

For example, I went on the back of an elephant, I also took a cobra on my arms, and of course I ate insects like scorpions or larva.

The weather was so hot! Sometimes too hot for me, about 45C.

My parents confirmed to me that it was the average temperature for this season!

So, I had a paddle in the sea to cool me down.

The mind-blowing experience I had there, was to visit the temples of Was sulky (Buddha).

The temples was so rich and the population worshipped him.

This new religion interested me a lot, because the population were always happy, even if they were poor, I admire them.

I learned some words their like, "Savadika" wich mean Hello, "Campunka" which means Thanks....

At the end of the 20 days, I was sad to came back to France.

I confirmed to my parents that one day I would return there.

Thanks to my parents for that unforgettable holiday!!!

One day, a man wanted to go on holiday but hadn' t any idea about the holiday destination. He informed his wife of his wish. And she suggested that it would be a good idea to go to Hawaii because there they could relax and escape from the everyday life. So, she persuaded him. Obviously, when the couple announced that to the children they were very happy as they had always dreamt of it . As soon as they were told to they began to pack their bags. They took appropriate clothes, games and so and so on.

By the way, when they reached there they didn't waste time. They went on a sightseeing tour. The guide showed them the best beaches, suggested that they could do water-skiing and wind-surfing and, advised them to put lotion on to prevent from sunburn.
Every day, they had a different activity. So, it was not boring.

At the end of their holidays , they were very tired but they enjoyed it because they were relaxed. They didn't worry about cooking, working. Everything had been so wonderful that they planned the next holiday.

A little story about my holiday

Today, I'll speak about my last summer holiday in the south of France!
It was the best holiday I have ever spent but to be honest at the beginning I didn't want to go!
I didn't want to go because most of my friends who go there didn't return because of their work!
So I said to my mother that I didn't want to go with them. But my parents insisted on me going with them and they said that I could meet new friends quickly!
And they were right!
In fact, when we arrived, I have found just one of my old friends, so at the beginning I was a little bit sad but after few days we met a group of very nice people!
We got along very well!
We spent the rest of the holiday together, it was very good : we went to the beach every afternoon, we went to the cinema, we went to the nightclub and many other activities...
At the end, I didn't want come back at home!

Today I want to tell you about a typical day of my holidays when I was a child.

I come from Marsala, in the west of Sicily, and over there you can find lots of places to go on holiday during the summer. Consequently, my family has always spent their holidays in this area. We used to go for one day in some city near Marsala, in S. Vito lo Capo, for example. This is a picture of S. Vito lo Capo. My parents used to prepare the food the day before. Usually they used to cook "pasta a forno", that means "pasta in the oven". It is made of tomatoes, eggs, aubergines, meat, ham, etc. I can assure you, it`s very heavy. Then, we used to go with lots of people: aunts, uncles, friends and friends of friends. We used to take three cars at least. When the tribe arrived in the seaside, we had to carry all the stuff: food (pasta a forno, fruits, dessert,...), fold-away chairs, fold-away tables, games, drinks in a box with ice, Li-Lo and inflatable dinghy, pump?, umbrellas, tent. I assure you, I worked more during the holiday day than during a normal day. Then my mother made me eat all our food and also my aunt`s food, in order to avoid making her angry. I explain to you that it was absolutely forbidden to go in the sea after lunch for at least 3 hours! Finally, I assure you, I have beautiful memories of my childhood!

Reporting a story

Hello! I would like you to write a story using the reporting verbs that we have studied this week. You can write about a holiday or an interesting event that has happened either here or in your country.

In France we don't have a local festival.

We celebrate Christmas,Easter...like everyone else.

Otherwise we celebrate the National Holiday each year on 14 July.

It commemorates the storming of the Bastille (French prison) after the French Revolution, therefore the end of the monarchy and the first Republic.

Festivities start in the morning on the Champs-Elysees, in front of the President of the Republic.

There is a parade all morning.

After the president gives an interview to discuss the situation of the country.

In the evening there are beautiful fireworks in each town in France.

Festival San Sebastian

Festival San Sebastian

It is celebrated in San Juan, Puerto Rico on December 20. The festival is celebrated with folklore music, typical food, art, artisan, drinks, parades and dances. The festival starts early and the people walk around the Town with lots of energy and stay all day at the celebration. The festival is great for family, friends and tourists because everybody enjoys the culture and the music.

This Saturday is S.Valentine's day, every 14th of February people celebrate this romantic holiday in every part of the world.

S. Valentine is the traditional day where lovers express their feelings for each other by sending flowers, especially red roses, lovely postcards , sweet teddy bears and delicious chocolates.

In Italy for example is common to have a romantic dinner in an expensive restaurant where lovers can listen to soft music and in a relaxed atmosphere.

Unfortunately for me this year I am going to celebrate S.Valentine alone but it does not matter because in England I found many funny friends and I am going to have fun with them.

Happy S.Valentine's day everyone. :-)

Ka

"Gwoka" is an instrument, the music created by the drums and, also the dance. Also, there are different size drums.

Music is a major part of Guadeloupean folk music.


This music is played in communal experiences called "lewoses", the most traditional manifestation of gwo ka in modern Guadeloupe. Gwo ka is also played at Carnival and other celebrations.

And, festivals of Gwo ka take place in my country but also in other countries around the world.

Music Celebrates

I don't live in a big city so there aren't many festivals but there is one festival which everybody goes to: it is the music celebration.

The music celebration is very famous in France. It is every year on June 21st.

There are many concerts and performances. It is the occasion to benefit from the music and the beginning of the summer.

In my town, many people go to the music celebration. About 5.00 pm many groups arrive and settle in the streets or in the bars. And when everybody has arrived, groups start to play. They play and we listen to the music until late in the night. We meet many friends, it is a very friendly atmosphere.

Or for the people who don't want to go in the streets there are performances in the theatre, library or concert halls.

Moreover it is the occasion for the new groups to be heard.

Barranquilla Carnaval

Unesco declared this Carnaval " important for everyone" on 5th 2003. In January in Barranquilla city, the people stop their normal life and they begin the largest party of the year. Children, adults, old and young people have a good time with this celebration. There are many activities for example:

. People dance in the streets all day

. People wear nice costumes

. there are parties every day in differents social clubs

. special events during the day such as "the Grand Parade, traditional music, famous singers and so on.

. Each day there are new events and all events are covered on the television and radio. So all country can watch the nice performances and they can feel the magic and they can see beautiful women. The people select "The Queen of Carnival" because they choose the best dancing . Actually , some people go to "Carnaval of Barranquilla" when they have their holiday. I'd like to invite you to go to Barranquilla next January. You could try dancing to traditional songs : merengue, mapale, cumbia, and you should taste our delicious deserts and exotic meals for example: plantain with cheese, coconut rice, fish with yucca, potatoes, eggplant with beef and you could drink aguardiente ,coconut water and some cocktail with fruits.

Saint Valentine`s Day in Sicily

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Unfortunately, there is nothing typical in Sicily for Saint Valentine`s Day. People have dinner in a restaurant with their partner, they give each other presents and they send cards. Typical presents are flowers and chocolate.

Each year, for Saint Valentine`s Day, the media reminds all the Italians that "Valentino" was the Bishop of the city of Terni, close to Rome. He lived during the Roman Empire's persecution against Christians. The legend says that he celebrated a marriage between a Christian and a Pagan, and in general he always helped lovers, and for these reasons today his day is lovers' day. Another legend says that he gave flowers to lovers walking in his garden.

The day is the 14th February, because, the legend says, on this day he went to Heaven. Another more reasonable reason is that Saint Valentine`s Day took the place of a Roman feast: the "Lupercali", a ceremony for the fecundity of animals, earth and men, just before the beginning of Spring.

National Days

This Saturday is Valentine's Day! I'd like you to post some information about a national or local holiday/festival from your town or region.

The economic recession is a very big problem that affects many countries like the United States , the United Kingdom and also Europe. In Italy people are quite worried about this crisis because there are for example few opportunities to have a good life style and it is also difficult for the new generation to find a job easily. Actually many families live on breadline and it is impossible save money in order to think about a future project. The recession has changed just a bit my life . If before this particular situation I burnt money shopping now I have to be careful when I spend it.

I think the recession is a global issue and every country is waiting for the right condition ''The economy becomes better''. The recession in my country is very critical and affects every body. In Puerto Rico some companies are closing or reducing employment. The recession is more critical for the people who have a family and a mortgage to pay because they can't pay and they risk losing everything.

Personally I,m not affected by the recession because I have rented my house in P.R. and I cover the mortgage with that and I don't spend a lot ob personal things. I 'm very optimistic and I know the economy will change and people will learn about this recession and prepare for the future.

Global Worries

In this period all the West, actually all the countries connected to the United States, are going through a difficult period in terms of economy. This crisis started in the USA and is now spreading throughout Europe especially in the closest country to them, England.

Nowadays everyone in the United Kingdom knows the word " Credit Crunch " that has become almost more widespread than " sorry ". Whenever you go you can hear people talking about this recession and being worried about the future, not only banks' future but their own.

For me the situation is different: I am not English and so I can't feel the crisis in this period; all that I know is what I have heard people talking about that but actually I am not one of those that has to be worried about the future.

In Italy the economic situation has been quite tragic for a few years and so if I have to be worried for my future I have had to be worried for a long time. But I don't know yet what I want to do in my life and although the prospectives are not so wonderful I try to be optimistic and to believe in a new growth. After all the economy is like a circle: the same situations, obviously with some different characteristic according to the historical period, always occur again and again and so, because of this circular process, after a recession there is always a new growth.

So wait people and believe in the future and sooner or later the situation will be better.

Money

If you listen to just about any economic commentary, 2008 was a year of continued economic decrease and the worst recession.
Banks have lost a lot of money,investors are nervous about buying an investment, good value borowing is difficult to find and people don't have any more confidence in banks.
The way of life has become more expensive and the prices are much higher. It's difficult for some families to live like before.We had to cut back and make sacrifices. Many buy less clothes and wait for the sales to go shopping, others don't go to restaurants anymore because of the excessive prices and prefer eat a small meal at home.
All economists and governments are optimistic about the future and reassure people telling them the crisis is finishing soon.But we haven't the slighest idea about the fact of the current crisis and it's difficult to trust them.

The recession began with the subprime ? mortgage crisis and the United States housing market correction in August 2007. This crisis affected the whole world, and everyone has suffered. In fact, this crisis has entraine? the fall of power of the famillies, financial reason of the increase in prices. ??
The causes of the recession is the currency crisis, energy crisis, underconsuption, and overproduction.
The effects of the recession are very important. First of all, a lot of banks closed, because of bankruptcies. Then, there is the credit crunch which followed deflation, foreclosures and in conclusion, there is a lot of unemployment. In the world, nowadays, a lot of people get cold feet about the future of the economy. I am of this opinion because in my country, the president is trying to find a solution to improve the situation but nothing lasts long. My vision is rather pessimistic and I think having this vision at my age is rather sad. What is the future for generations to come? I hope the situation will improve because if the world continues like that, a war will eventually happen.

The Recession is affecting your life

Actually , I'm very worred about the situation because now there are many economic problems for example : People lose their houses because they cannot pay their debts , the prices have risen(food, clothes, public services, oil and so on) , also there is more unemployment because the companies have made a decision to close them and dismiss workers. They don't like to risk money if they don't make profits. On the other hand, the United States and the United Kingdom are helping companies and they are giving more oportunities to save the situation . I think it is a complex situation , we are living in the result of bad choices from the US .
However , Asda contracted 1000 employees in the last three months and their customers are happy because they found the same food with the same prices or less.