NB1 C Monday-Wednesday Group

David Shea's NB 1 C group (Monday-Wednesday 7-9) will meet on Monday at 7 as normal. We can review the examination results and also plan our next term. Thanks for all your enthusiasm and hard work! See you Monday at 7 in Room 19!!!! David

Susana's New Year's Secret

31st December 2010: Before the old year gave way to the new Susana NI 2 shared some new year's secrets!

On last New Year’s Eve my family and I went to a party in my neighbor’s house. Whenever we throw parties at home we always remember to invite neighbors, so they don’t complain about the noise. They hosted a fabulous spread including parma jam, foie gras, smoked salmon or stuffed dumplings for about 20 guests.
I wore a beautiful red dress which I had bought it in Internet, it was too big for me. I hadn’t time to get it altered, so I decided “do it myself” putting safety pins in the back side (no taking my jacket off, of course). We danced and drank Champagne and wine and at midnight we wished us a happy new year with kisses after choking on grapes.
When I got tired I was the safest transportation home: on foot, just across the street. The most interesting point of the evening was to create an atmosphere of intimacy, where everyone could stop trying to seem impressive and instead reveal ourselves to be the flawed creatures we all are underneath.

Gloria (from Seville) NI 2 Appreciates Las Palmas

Gloria wrote to an imaginary friend Suzie with details about Gran Canaria, from the Canteras to Tejeda and its almond trees in bloom!

Dear Suzie
I am living at the moment in Las Palmas. It is a fantastic and amazing city. The city centre is small but it has a special charm. You can choose different ways to get around the city centre but the best is on foot because you take photographs and you can stop in the different restaurants and cafés.
In this zone you can visit the cathedral and different old churches. There are important squares and parks. If you like shopping, make sure you visit the Triana shopping area.
The weather is often warm and sunny so you can swim or leisurely stroll on the “Canteras Beach”. From this beach you can see the most spectacular views of the neighboring island of Tenerife and Alfredo Kraus Auditorium. If you want go to the beach, you must go south on a touristic town. Careful this is more expensive or if you prefer mountains you really should visit Roque Nublo and the town of Tejeda.
The public transport is cheaper than taxi and there are some routes around the city. The buses are modern, clean and air-conditioned and many run up to 18 hours a day, every day. You can pay the fare using a Bono pass or cash. Taxi is more expensive but I believe that is the quickest because in Las Palmas we haven’t metro.
Whichever way or ways you choose to get around Las Palmas, you are sure to enjoy visiting this amazing city.
Best wishes
Gloria

Which month is special for you? NB 1 students respond

January is special because the Three Kings come to visit.

January is the first month of the year.

In January, there are sales (rebajas). (Lucia M)

February is special for me because I have a birthday.

In February we normally have Carnival celebrations.

In this month it is still winter and I like winter.

The almond trees bloom in February in the mountains.This month is special because it is short. (Leticia B)

March is when the flowers bloom and people wear happy colors.

In March the birds sing in our garden and the days start to grow longer.

March is special because we both have a birthday in this month.

(Esther and Patricia)

April is special because it is when I have my birthday.

April is special for Holy Week and Easter celebrations.

April is special because the days are long and I go to the beach.

April is special because I travel to Barcelona! (Guillermo)

May is the fifth month of the year and also the month of Spring.

In May, there are lots of flowers and lovers and there are 31 days!

(JuanMa from Bilbao!)

June is special because it is the month of my birthday.

In June, we start to go to the beach and some people begin their holidays.

June is special because the days are long and we eat summer fruit!

(Almudena G)

July is the second month of summer and I can go to the beach.

In July, people in the USA celebrate their Independence Day on the fourth.

In July there is a street party in the street where my grandfather lives.

In July I sometimes go to Agaete for a holiday. (Fabio)

August is special because on the third I have my birthday.

For a lot of people this is their favourite month for holidays.

My sister also has her birthday on 10^th August. (Nieves S)

September is special because students have a second opportunity to pass their exams.

In this month the beautiful season of Autumn begins.

On 18^th September it is my friend's birthday.

It is cheap to travel in September so I often take my vacations.

(Maria Nieves R)

October is my favorite time to visit my favorite beach.

The weather is wonderful in October and the beach is empty.

In October my wife has to work but I can take my holidays!

There is a big celebration in my town in October.

My wedding anniversary is in October. (Angel NJ)

November is special because it is my brother's birthday.

In November it is the first day I don't work.

I am on holiday sometimes in November. (Atteneri)

December is special because it is my best friend Vanessa's birthday.

It is also special because we celebrate Christmas.

This is the last month of the year.

On the 25^th many people gather with their family to have a nice meal and celebrate.

(Dunia GR)

Dunia and the Grapes of New Year's Eve!

It was about two years ago, in 2009.
First we gobbled up those twelve grapes
with our families at home and then we met
up with friends near of the Canteras beach.
 We all headed up to "Montaña Alta"
in Guía on the north coast and when we
arrived there, it was so cold.
About 10º I think. A friend started to
dispense blankets for everybody. I can't
stand the cold, so I had brought a lot of
warm clothes. The night was unforgettable
and we left the house about four or five
in the morning and when we arrived
in Tafira we could see the first dawn of 2010. It was beautiful,
the perfect dawn for a perfect night. (Dunia A, NI 2) 

Vocabulary: Gobble up (or gobble down) = comer de prisa o con muchas ganas

Trumpets Resound as the New Year Rolls in (Venezuela)

My best New Year's Eve Party was on 26th December 1992 in Hooligans pub. I lived in Caracas, Venezuela then and worked for “VIASA”airline, my office located in a famous shopping center. We were going to have lunch that day as every Friday night some colleagues and I would go for a beer before returning home for the weekend. I went out with my friend Jairo, of “TACA” airline, Costa Rica, I never had been to a new year's party because in Venezuela this special date is just for family celebrations, or at least that is the tradition.

Any way, we ate two pizzas and drank some beer, it was early and we talked about our jobs and laughed as the waiters wore special clothes as they hung balloons. A new band sang gaita, a typical Venezuelan Christmas music . In a few minutes many people sang all the songs and toasted with champagne, they gave us confetti , at 23:30 they started to announce the countdown....30min remaining…20min remaining…5min remaining…!!!!!!! 00:00 ! Happy New Yearssss !

People started to give hugs and kiss, many cried, some happy, some sad, others just drank their beer. It was funny and beautiful, I had never had a similar experience. Till then all my New Year's were quite boring, my mother did housework and at least she finished exhausted. My father played old songs all night and my brother had going to bed early and always on the balcony we watched people walking.

Now, living in the Canary Islands, my New Year's Day is calm, I enjoy making something for dinner and decorating my home, I will never go to a party on this date again, I fear! (Carolina P NI2 )

Maria T, New Year's Eve in La Palma island (2009)

My new year´s eve anecdote happened two years ago. It started on 31^st December 2009, when my sister, my mother and I decided to go to La Palma to spend that night where riends of my family reside. They are just like family.

We arrived in the evening and a few hours later we started to eat. We had dinner a modest but delicious dish which consists of chops with corncob, potatoes and green mojo. After dinner and the popping of the twelve grapes, my sister, my friend Ylenia and I went downtown for the street party. At 7 am, the three of us went to sleep in the car because we had drunk. The sunlight woke up us at 11 am. We were really hungry so we headed for a bar to have breakfast. After that, we decided to go to the beautiful secluded beach of “Los Cancajos” to continue the day. We arrived home at 6 pm. That was quite a memorable occasion!

Ines (NI 2) Remembers a Special New Year's Eve

NEW YEAR’S EVE

I have nice memories about a New Year’s Eve celebration when we went to Madeira in a cruise with the family and friends several years ago.

We arrived at Funchal early in the morning and we went to visit the city. The streets had a splendid Christmas decoration at that time with thousands of lights. The weather was lightly cold but not cloudy, the sun was shining and it was very nice to go for a walk.

That night everybody wore their best dresses for supper. I wore my long, black, evening dress and my high-heel-shoes. Our family and friends shared a large table. When one of my best friends was slowly walking to the table she twisted her ankle and fell on a chair near her. After that, she was very worried thinking about the people who had noticed that, although we insisted in saying her…No! Don´t worry nobody saw you!

For starter we had lobster salad with raspberry sauce. The main dish could be fish or meat. We had meat, a tasted sirloin in green pepper sauce, roast potatoes and sweet onions. And for dessert a fabulous pineapple cake with cream and almonds. We drank a lot of soft drinks and a bit of wine and champagne too.

Funchal is in a great natural amphitheatre looking onto the blue Atlantic so we could see the amazing show of fireworks from the boat which is the largest display in the world. Then we were dancing all the night. At 5 a.m. they served an amazing buffet of chocolate, it was delicious and then we went to bed.

I would like to celebrate my next New Year’s Eve in the same way!

Clown Costume Vocabulary

To give some background to today's topic here is some vocabulary you might fine useful.

Carnival Looms and Nancy is Ready!

A wonderful student Nancy applied for a (make believe) job in a casino that doesn't actually exist. She feels she is the perfect candidate for the post based on her clown experience. Speaking of clowning around, Carnival is coming up soon in Gran Canaria and throughout the Canary Islands. If you have not got a costume ready, check this one out!

Here is Nancy's letter

Mr. Randolph

I am writing in reference to your advertisement published on your website.

At the moment I am working independently as a clown. I usually organize children's party where I do magic tricks and games for children.

I am particularly interested in this job because I worked as a magician at The World Circus three years ago. I believe my experience as a magician would be an interesting quality to enable me to work in your company.

As you can see from on my CV, I have over four years of experience in dealing with customer sand I have done different magic courses and I knowledge about cards games. I have learned a wide variety of skills connected with my work.

I would be pleased to attend an interview to discuss my application in more detail. Thank you for taking the time to consider this application and I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,

Nancy O of NI2

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL

We have had a quiet Christmas holiday and now Little Christmas (January 6) looms, the most important day of observance in Spain.

My friend Luis in Santa Brigida closed his DVD rental business this week after over a decade of providing local residents with big screen dreams on their own home TVs.

Although it was sad to see the video shop close down, Luis did offer us a dozen films for our EOI Santa Brigida library. Students will be able to borrow these films which includes big hits like Star Trek (the movie) and more quirky movies such as Jim Jamusch's Broken Flowers with comic actor Bill Murray in a more or less serious role.

The Boston Globe rated Broken Flowers, "among the best films of 2005." We found it a bit slow but also compelling. The story of Murray's struggle to get his life on track and join the human race after a bout with some sort of mysterious depression was moving. The final scene leaves the audience totally up in the air. But let's not ruin it for future viewers!