January exams...Do they really work?

Today, here I am, Christmas is about to start and I do not stop thinking about the great time I am going to spend with my family and friends here in my town and how much I have missed them. However, while I am excited to see my loved ones and stay again at home, suddenly, I have realized that maybe these Christmas holidays are not going to be as nice as they could be... Why do I think this? Because I know how much I must study for my university exams and the time this will require.
After wondering what the aim of doing exams in January could be, I still do not understand why universities all around Spain choose January as the month for official exams. It seems to me as unlogical that students have to get ready for such an important califications in their degree after the longest period of celebration we have in our country. Christmas is the time when all the people should enjoy with their family and their friends, the time to meet with those who are far away from us along the year, it is the only period to be carefree and just enjoy... But for everybody except university students.
Why? Why exams could not be later than January or even before Christmas? I think if the educational system chose other dates for exams, the results would be better because students would not study in a hurry all the subjects they are being passing over during all the Christmas.
To sum up, as an university student in her first year, I hardly believe educational professionals should take time to reflect if they are doing well, because for me, the answer is clearly NOT.

Educational system is not doing right. (Composition)

Nowadays, education is one of the most important things in a person’s life and since we are children, our parents at home or our teachers at school try to teach us how we should act in certain situations, what our debts and obligations are, what we must not do,… For me, that may become a problem when we start not to think about our children's happines and we start thinking about the ideal things we would like them to reach.

I personally think that some parents are not doing well because you cannot leave the responsibility of educating your children on teachers. Teachers, since Infant teachers to university teachers, try to give children basic skills in several subjects but  parents have also the responsibility of encouraging you to discover what your real talent is, in what you want to have sound knowledge.

In my opinion, some parents are wrong when they just tell their children to attend to classes, to study a degree,… just in order to acquire a qualification which allow them to find an employment and earn a living. It seems to me that educating a children is more than that, it consists on supporting your children in whatever makes them happy. It does not matter if they do not want to study a degree, if they are not good at taking a degree and they cannot get a diploma, you must not pressure them, you should talk with them in order to find what they are talented in.

In conclusion, I strongly believe educational system or parents are not right if their only aim is to form people able to pass exams and study hard, no matter if they forget what they have learnt. On contrast, in my view, everybody has to discover on their own and look for the things which they really like. By this way, people will not forget what they learn because they are interested in.

A dark painting (Describing a feeling)

Today, I want to describe the strong sensation this painting makes me feel. The author of this painting is the spanish Goya and he painted ''Saturno devorando a sus hijos'' (the title of the work) during one of his dark periods.
To me, it is clearly a pessimistic vision of the world because when I see this picture, I cannot help thinking about how cruel the world can be. Maybe, that is the metaphor Goya wanted to express: If someone is enough inhuman to kill their own children, what is the humanity capable of?
It is a strange feeling that I do not like to have but that I consider it is  interesting because it can makes you stop and think about the world and how we could mend it.

Introduction and conclusion of an essay

INTRODUCTION
- ''Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal''(Albert Einstein) - With this quote, I would like to state that it is a fact that nowadays it is difficult to imagine our lives without technology and how useful they could be, but at the same time, I want to point the disaster an innapropiate use of technology can result in. It is neccesary that we take concern of the risks technological progress has and try to avoid them.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, technological progress may not be as good as it seems and it can become harmful if we do not take the proper precautions when we use all the things it brings. So, it is not bad that we enjoy the positive side of technology, as long as we keep in mind how to avoid the risks it can cause.

How great studying abroad could be! (Outline and thesis statement)

I) THESIS: Everybody should try the wonderful experience of studying abroad at least once in their life because of the lots of positive things it may bring to us.

II) Improving the level in a foreign language
     A. Necessity of talking all the day in a foreign language
     B. Improvement in pronunciation
     C. Learning ''idioms'' and useful colloquial expressions
     D. Gain fluency

III) Knowing other cultures
      A. Different people
      B. Different places
      C. Different lifestyles

IV) More responsabilities
      A. Learn how to live on your own
      B. Obligation of managing your own money, taking care of your house, cooking your own food,...

V) Social experience
     A. New friends
     B. Parties and social events

VI) All the previous points show that studying abroad is an experience you would never forget because it can help you in the future (finding job), makes you grow into a more mature person (new responsabilities) and it makes your social life more interesting (new friends and multicultural people)

What a great week!!

On contrast to some weeks ago, when I wrote telling you how much overwhelmed I felt and all the stress I had with university works, this week I write to tell how much happy I feel right now!
The last week of classes has arrived and furthermore, we have already made our oral exposition of Culture! It was a great success!! Our project was about legends and haunted castles so we decided to make our exposition more original and we talked as if we were in a TV program. This made all the class (included the teacher) laugh and not stop paying attention to what we were saying. Besides, I stop to think in the moments of work the project has required and I must say I had really enjoyed. I mean, I was lucky and my group was formed by other four girls who are very nice so we all together have worked as well as we have had a fun time!
Referring to what I said before, it is my last week here in Murcia because for personal reasons I am not going to be able to attend to the last two days of classes before Christmas but... it means that I come back to my town, my lovely town! Hahaha
You could not imagine how much I desire to see my friends and family!
On the other hand, at this moment, I think about how my life here in Murcia has been and I realize I am also happy. It is true that, at the beginning, I was scared of coming here alone and I did not know how things were going to be, but today...I am glad to say that Murcia has brought to me special things and people I am going to miss these holidays!
Now it is time to leave! Good night everybody! :)

University vs. Highschool (Contrast and Comparative Composition) (Block method)

In my opinion, university and high school are both places where you learn a lot and where you are going to meet some people who will probably stay in your life for long but it is an evidence that they are quite different from each other.

On the one hand, I would like to talk about high schools. High school is the place where teenagers are going to experiment a lot of changes in their lifes. During their time studying at high school they know those who are going to be their friends. Moreover, it is a period when teenagers are becoming adults so we could see how sometimes they act like children and sometimes they act and think like adults. In terms of education, as high school is part of our compulsory education, some teenagers are clearly not interested in their studies but they are obliged to attend classes so they just disturb others because of boredom and bad politeness. Apart from this, teenagers in high school are taught several subjects and it is quite probable that they are not interested in some of them. They cannot choose what they study.
In addition, it must be mentioned the emphasis teachers put in controlling if students do their homework or not if they are failing and why,...

On the other hand, university is totally different from high school. First, in university we find people from all ages, not only young people who has just finished compulsory education, we can find older people who have now decided to take an university degree. That is why university bring you the possibility of knowing varied kinds of people and ideas.
Referring to education, university students are greatly interested in the subjects they are studying because they have chosen what to study so it is difficult to find someone who does not enjoy his/her career. In addition, as mature people they are supposed to be, teachers do not control what they do or study, they just teach their lessons and it is the student who decides if he/she is going to study, do exercises,...

In conclusion, we find two different worlds in the educational system. For me, it is better the university but being in high school is a period everybody has to experience and that it is necessary to decide what we want in life or what we do not want.

Living in a village or living in a city (Contrast and Comparative paragraphs) (Point by point method)

It is clear that it does not matter where you live if you have near your family, friends, job and whatever you need. However, questions about the benefits and drowbacks of living in a city or in a village are constantly being raised.
In my opinion, both places can bring to us positive things and some negative ones.
On the one hand, talking about daily life, in big and crowded cities we find a lot of traffic and people everywhere while in a village, there is less traffic because most people go to places on foot. Moreover, in villages, there are less inhabitants which makes possible that you can walk down the street without finding lots of people around you, so in this sense, a village would be a better option to enjoy the peacefullness and quietness.
However, if we look at how difficult is to find a job in a small village, it must be said that cities do not count with this problem because there, there is a range of employment opportunities as well as many shops where you could fin whatever you were looking for. On contrast, it does not happen in villages and especially in the small ones.
Then, referring to the activity in the freetime, it depends on the interests of each person. For example, if you likes nature, you would spend a really good time walking in the countryside near to a small village but in contrast, it is true that, in a city, people could go to more varied social places like cinemas or pubs and could attend several social events.
In conclusion, depending on what you want in your life, you should choose one place or another to live but if I have to give my own opinion, I would totally choose to live in a village or even better to live in a village really close to a city because in this case, you would be able to enjoy the advantages of both places!

Sport (Thesis statement)

It is necessary that people take concern about how beneficial for our health sport can be and that they start doing exercise.

Child obesity and its effects (Problem and Solution Composition)

Child obesity has become a really serious problem in our today's society. Every day, more and more children are diagnosed as obese and that is something with lots of risks for their  health and life in general. First, the possibilities of dying from heart attack increase dramatically as well as the probability of developing cardiovascular illnesses. Besides, it is evident that obesity condition children's social life because on the one hand there are some activites like walking so much time or playing for a long that ordinary children can do but the obese ones cannot do. Moreover, on the other hand, unfortunately, we live in a world full of  stereotypes and prejudices so some stupid people can make even more difficult the life of an obese person just for how they he/she looks.

In order to avoid these problems, I consider totally necessary to start educating children since they are really young. It would be a good idea to make teachers and schools in general control what children eat when they are in school. As well, vending machines with junk food should not be allowed in these places because children with no parents near to them can buy lots of junk food without thinking how bad they are eating.
Apart from this, parents rule the most important role. Their responsability is to take good care of their children's diet and if it is needed, to ban their children from eating some kind of food they do not see as healthy.
are helping obesity to increase!

What happens with reading? (Opinion paragraph something I like and most people don't)

From my point of view, we should not allow that such a great thing reading is become less and less frequent. Talking as a person who loves reading, I strongly believe this hobbie is one of the most wonderful things we can do in our freetime. However, it is extremely easy to find lots of people who have never taken a book and tried to read it. This is something I cannot understand, for me, it is difficult to imagine how some people are loosing fascinating things reading gives to us, For example, when I read I am able to disconnect from the world for a while and focus only in the exciting stories I am reading. I love this sensation of putting myself in the place of the main character and feel all the sensations he/she has and experiences he/she lives.
That is why I say: ''It is urgent to recover the interest of people for reading''

The best way to travel in a city...

Today, I am going to post my opinion about which the best way to travel in a city is. I have had this idea because yesterday morning, when I was going to make a project to the library, a young man asked me if I would like to make a survey in order to determine how the transport in Murcia is. Since then, I have been thinking about it and about the wide range of ways to travel in a city we can use. Sometimes it could be complicated to choose one of them but for me, one of the best ways is travelling by bus.
Bus has a lot of advantages. For example, it is an enviromentally friendly mean of transport and causes less pollution than private vehicles. Moreover, public transport is cheaper, you just have to buy a cheap ticket and you do not have to take care of the fuel.
Besides, we can say bus is comfortable because when travelling by bus, you are allowed to do other things during the journey such as reading, using a phone or even sleeping.
In addition, it is great to get off the bus in a bus stop, avoiding looking for a parking place.
In short, I strongly believe people should use more public transport to go to work or to go to university because it is, from my point of view, the perfect mean of transport in a city.

Such a great woman! (Describing people)

Today, I would like to describe someone I really admire. Her name is Angelina Jolie and, as most of people would know, she is one of the most famous actresses and personalities in Hollywood.
Since I was a child, I have always been interested in Angelina Jolie. That might be due to the fact that just at first sight, Angelina is incredible. Physically, she counts with a nice figure because apart from being a tall woman, she has a nice curvy body. If we take a look at her face, we will also be fascinated by her big blue eyes and her fleshy lips. Moreover, all her fine facial features are framed by a long brown hair which I consider it is really desiderable.
So, for me, Angelina Jolie is one of the prettiest famous women nowadays, she could be a model perfectly and I would like to look as well as she looks.
However, on the other hand, I also think about Angelina as my role model because her personality really makes her an interesting woman to meet. As far as I know, this actress has always been nice to press and reporters trying to interview her. Furthermore, in lots of interviews, she has given proof of how cultured and intelligent she is. In addition, it seems to me that the amount of charity events Angelina has been involved in, show that it is a generous person who I am talking about. I admire that a woman with such a big quantity of money does not forget the social responsability we all have and she is considate with those whose money is always thight or they have not anything for eating.

To conclude, for all the previous reasons, I hardly believe there should be more people like Angelina Jolie in the world and I wish I could bear a little resemblance to her at least.

Zoos (Advantages and disadvantages)

Nowadays, it’s really common that people go to zoos in order to see some exotic animals they don’t see normally. These places, as most things in life, may have some advantages but several drowbacks too.

On the one hand, as positive things, we can mention zoos bring to us the possibility of knowing more about all the animal breeds and their habitat. We can see the lifestyle of animals which can be only found a lot far from us. That is wonderful especially for people who loves nature but have not the opportunity to travel to exotic places.

In addition, it must be mentioned that zoos help to conserve certain species because they  control endangered animals and take part in the labour of facing their extinction.

Nevertheless, on the other hand, one of the worst things of breeding animals in captivity is that they are not used to living in a zoo, it doesn’t matter if zoos count with natural enclousures which are extremely similar to their natural habitat, it’s not their ‘’house’’.

Moreover, most of the zoo animals are not domestic so we do not know how they are going to act with people all around them. Therefore, zoo animals may have behavioural problems and this fact makes that they have to be put in locked cages.

In addition, wildest animals are trained to acquire a determined behaviour which it’s unnatural for them and sometimes it results in punishing aniamls to try to teach how to act.

In conclusion, for all the previous reasons, I think zoos are not really good if they are designed just to show animals as if they were in a circus but it is clear that some zoos are doing a really important labour to save endangered species in order not to loose them.

A day to remember for the rest of my life

1st of December, 2015 23:42
I could not be happier! Today, it was my birthday, my 18th birthday and I would have never imagined how great it was going to be.
Despite the fact that I am far from home, from my family and my true friends, my classmates from university and flatmates have made my day really especial.
All started at 16.00 when I went to university to attend my German class. After that, we had Cultura but before starting the class my classmates had been planning my surprise. It consisted in turning off all the lights of the classroom and putting candles in a cake in order to make me blow out the candles while we make a wish.
I was totally in shock when it happened and I could not react until some minutes later. I was not expecting such a great surprise and present from my classmates but I have to thank all of them for making this day one of the best ones in my life.