31 dic 2007
30 dic 2007
Auld Lang Syne
The most popular Scottish New Year song ''Auld Lang Syne'' with its melody and swinging quality has been regarded as the most apt song for greeting the new beginning. Hope, dream, aspiration and desire laces the song and is an eloquent utterance of the poetic excellence of Robert Burns who composed the Scottish New Year song. Let us greet this New Year with the melody of the Scottish New Year song.
I'm sure you've heard the song before, in case you don't remember it check here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSFk50qdYO4&feature=related
Auld Lang Syne (Scottish Dialect)
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne
And surely ye 'll be your pint' stowp
And surely ye 'll be your pint' stowp
And surely I 'll be mine
And we 'll take a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne
We twa hae run about the braes
And pou'd the gowans fine
But we 've wander'd monie a weary fit
Sin' auld lang syne.
We twa hae paidl'd in the burn
Frae morning sun till dine
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin' auld lang syne
And there's a hand, my trusty fiere
And gie 's a hand o' thine
And we 'll tak a right guid-willie waught
For auld lang syne
[CHORUS]For auld lang syne, my dear
For auld lang syne
We'll tak a cup o' kindess yet
For auld lang syne
Times Long Gone (English translation)
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
And days of long ago
[CHORUS:]
For old long ago, my dear
For old long ago,
We will take a cup of kindness yet
For old long ago
We two have run about the hillsides
And pulled the daisies fine,
But we have wandenavy many a weary foot
For old long ago
We two have paddled in the stream
From noon until dinner time,
But seas between us broad have roanavy
Since old long ago
And there is a hand, my trusty friend,
And give us a hand of yours,
And we will take a goodwill draught
For old long ago
And surely you will pay for your pint,
And surely I will pay for mine
And we will take a cup of kindness yet
For old long ago
I'm sure you've heard the song before, in case you don't remember it check here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSFk50qdYO4&feature=related
28 dic 2007
Idiomatic expressions: Crocodile tears
To weep crocodile tears is to pretend a sorrow that one doesn't in fact feel, to create a hypocritical show of emotion. The idea comes from the ancient belief that crocodiles weep while luring or devouring their prey.
This story seems to have been taken up by medieval French and English writers and that's where we get it from. For example, in 1565 Sir John Hawkins wrote: "In this river we saw many Crocodils .. His nature is ever when he would have his prey, to cry and sob like a Christian body, to provoke them to come to him, and then he snatcheth at them".
The first example known in English seems to be in a travel book of about 1400, "The Voyage and Travail of Sir John Mandeville" (I've modernised the spelling a lot): "In many places of Inde are many crocodiles - that is, a manner of long serpent. These serpents slay men and they eat them weeping". One version of the story says that the beast weeps over the head after having eaten the body, not from repentance but from frustrated gluttony: the head is simply too bony to be worth consuming.
The story was taken up by Edmund Spenser in "The Fairie Queen" and then by Shakespeare. Having such authorities on its side made it almost inevitable that the reference would stay in the language. For example, in the story of how the elephant got his trunk in the "Just So Stories", by Rudyard Kipling: "'Come hither, Little One,' said the Crocodile, 'for I am the Crocodile,' and he wept crocodile-tears to show it was quite true".
My naturalist friends tell me that crocodiles can't cry, because they have no tear ducts - they would be useless in an animal that spends so much time in the water. The eyes can produce secretions to moisten the lids if the animal is out of the water for a while, but these are hardly tears. They might have given rise to the idea, though.
World Wide Words, Issue 317, Saturday 23 November 2002
World Wide Words is copyright (c) Michael Quinion 2002.
This story seems to have been taken up by medieval French and English writers and that's where we get it from. For example, in 1565 Sir John Hawkins wrote: "In this river we saw many Crocodils .. His nature is ever when he would have his prey, to cry and sob like a Christian body, to provoke them to come to him, and then he snatcheth at them".
The first example known in English seems to be in a travel book of about 1400, "The Voyage and Travail of Sir John Mandeville" (I've modernised the spelling a lot): "In many places of Inde are many crocodiles - that is, a manner of long serpent. These serpents slay men and they eat them weeping". One version of the story says that the beast weeps over the head after having eaten the body, not from repentance but from frustrated gluttony: the head is simply too bony to be worth consuming.
The story was taken up by Edmund Spenser in "The Fairie Queen" and then by Shakespeare. Having such authorities on its side made it almost inevitable that the reference would stay in the language. For example, in the story of how the elephant got his trunk in the "Just So Stories", by Rudyard Kipling: "'Come hither, Little One,' said the Crocodile, 'for I am the Crocodile,' and he wept crocodile-tears to show it was quite true".
My naturalist friends tell me that crocodiles can't cry, because they have no tear ducts - they would be useless in an animal that spends so much time in the water. The eyes can produce secretions to moisten the lids if the animal is out of the water for a while, but these are hardly tears. They might have given rise to the idea, though.
World Wide Words, Issue 317, Saturday 23 November 2002
World Wide Words is copyright (c) Michael Quinion 2002.
24 dic 2007
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Surfing the net I found this story which was written by Tomie dePaola in a book entitled 'Tony's Bread', and tells us the story of panettone. I hope you enjoy it!
THE STORY OF PANETTONE
Once, in a little village in the hills above Milan, there was a baker named Antonio and a very good baker he was too. He made bread for all the people in the village. Good coarse country bread that kept the villagers from going hungry when they worked in the fields, ploughing and tending the grapes.
Now the baker was a widower and he had one daughter a beautiful girl, but spoilt. Because her father was so very fond of her, he wouldn’t let her do any work. Not in the bakery or anywhere else. He wouldn’t even allow her to help with the housework. All poor Seraphina had to do each day was sit in her window and watch the world go by.
She spent most of her time looking out into the street and the market square - and eating sweets! So she wasn’t only spoilt and bored, if truth were told, she was getting sadly fat!
One day in November, not long before Christmas, there was great excitement as a group of young huntsmen rode into the village looking for something to eat and drink. As Seraphina leaned out of her window, her eyes met those of one of the young men and 'pouf!' it was love at first sight!
Luckily it was love at first sight for the young man as well and he gave her a big wink! He then sat down to talk to the old ladies who are always to be found in Italian village squares. He wanted to find out about the lovely lady in the window. They in their turn were eager to know who he was. Tt turned out the young man was called Angelo. He was the son of the Duke of Milan and a very important person. Between them, Angelo and the old ladies hatched a plot so that Seraphina and Angelo could meet.
Angelo called for ink and paper and wrote two letters, one to Antonio and one to his daughter Seraphina. This is what they said. To Seraphina he wrote,"Dear Seraphina, I love you. Soon we will meet and I will hold you in my arms".To Antonio he wrote,"Dear Antonio, I like your bread. Please meet me at the Market Square after Mass tomorrow. I have a plan that will make you rich and famous!"He asked the old ladies to deliver the letters. Next day they all met and Angelo told Antonio of his plan to set him up in a bakery in Milan and for him to marry Seraphina. Both Seraphina and Antonio thought that this was a good idea and the next day they left for Milan.
Once in Milan, Antonio and Seraphina spent the day going round the bakeries of the great city. They tasted Torte, Pane and Biscotti and found them delicious. The biscuits were sweet and crisp and the bread soft and white, and scattered with wonderful seeds.
While they walked and nibbled at the bread, Antonio became more and more sad. At the end of the day he went to Angelo and said, "I cannot make bread here, my bread is good bread but it is bread for the workers in the hills. Your friends would not buy my bread". "Oh", said Seraphina, "if only you could make bread as sweet and rich as these dried fruits and candies". "Yes", said Angelo, "and as rich and sweet as this punch fortified with eggs and milk and honey". "THAT’S IT!" said Antonio, "I'll make a bread that tastes like all of these things!". And soon Seraphina and her father departed back to their village with wagonloads of the biggest eggs the sweetest honey and the plumpest raisins and fruit.
All the next day Antonio experimented and muttered to himself in his bakery and at the end of the afternoon, he put all the dough into bowls to rise overnight. The next day he filled every baking tray and tin in the bakery with the dough. There was still some dough left over so he put what was left into clean flowerpots and baked it in them.
Soon the whole village was filled with the delicious smell of baking bread. Antonio, Seraphina and the people of the village, plus Angelo (who had ridden up from Milan), could hardly wait for the bread to be cool enough to be cut and tasted. At last Antonio took his first bite and everyone waited with bated breath, "YES!" he shouted, and soon everyone was munching and laughing. And then Angelo loaded up the cart and took what was left back to Milan.Everyone in the village waited and within the week, a cartload of new supplies came up from Angelo with a note, "My friends loved your bread and please can you make lots more? Also, make it all in flowerpot shapes because my friends liked that best. Bring it to Milan as soon as possible and Seraphina and I will be married the next day".
As soon as he could, Antonio with Seraphina set off for Milan with lots of the new bread. As they approached the gates of the city, Antonio could hear the bells ringing and he thought it was because it was Christmas Eve, but as he abecame nearer, he could hear cheers and the people calling "Toni, Tonio we love your bread, 'Pane', Panne, Panettone".
And that’s why the Italians always eat Panettone, 'Tony’s Bread', at Christmas and why the best Panettone comes from Milan.
Once, in a little village in the hills above Milan, there was a baker named Antonio and a very good baker he was too. He made bread for all the people in the village. Good coarse country bread that kept the villagers from going hungry when they worked in the fields, ploughing and tending the grapes.
Now the baker was a widower and he had one daughter a beautiful girl, but spoilt. Because her father was so very fond of her, he wouldn’t let her do any work. Not in the bakery or anywhere else. He wouldn’t even allow her to help with the housework. All poor Seraphina had to do each day was sit in her window and watch the world go by.
She spent most of her time looking out into the street and the market square - and eating sweets! So she wasn’t only spoilt and bored, if truth were told, she was getting sadly fat!
One day in November, not long before Christmas, there was great excitement as a group of young huntsmen rode into the village looking for something to eat and drink. As Seraphina leaned out of her window, her eyes met those of one of the young men and 'pouf!' it was love at first sight!
Luckily it was love at first sight for the young man as well and he gave her a big wink! He then sat down to talk to the old ladies who are always to be found in Italian village squares. He wanted to find out about the lovely lady in the window. They in their turn were eager to know who he was. Tt turned out the young man was called Angelo. He was the son of the Duke of Milan and a very important person. Between them, Angelo and the old ladies hatched a plot so that Seraphina and Angelo could meet.
Angelo called for ink and paper and wrote two letters, one to Antonio and one to his daughter Seraphina. This is what they said. To Seraphina he wrote,"Dear Seraphina, I love you. Soon we will meet and I will hold you in my arms".To Antonio he wrote,"Dear Antonio, I like your bread. Please meet me at the Market Square after Mass tomorrow. I have a plan that will make you rich and famous!"He asked the old ladies to deliver the letters. Next day they all met and Angelo told Antonio of his plan to set him up in a bakery in Milan and for him to marry Seraphina. Both Seraphina and Antonio thought that this was a good idea and the next day they left for Milan.
Once in Milan, Antonio and Seraphina spent the day going round the bakeries of the great city. They tasted Torte, Pane and Biscotti and found them delicious. The biscuits were sweet and crisp and the bread soft and white, and scattered with wonderful seeds.
While they walked and nibbled at the bread, Antonio became more and more sad. At the end of the day he went to Angelo and said, "I cannot make bread here, my bread is good bread but it is bread for the workers in the hills. Your friends would not buy my bread". "Oh", said Seraphina, "if only you could make bread as sweet and rich as these dried fruits and candies". "Yes", said Angelo, "and as rich and sweet as this punch fortified with eggs and milk and honey". "THAT’S IT!" said Antonio, "I'll make a bread that tastes like all of these things!". And soon Seraphina and her father departed back to their village with wagonloads of the biggest eggs the sweetest honey and the plumpest raisins and fruit.
All the next day Antonio experimented and muttered to himself in his bakery and at the end of the afternoon, he put all the dough into bowls to rise overnight. The next day he filled every baking tray and tin in the bakery with the dough. There was still some dough left over so he put what was left into clean flowerpots and baked it in them.
Soon the whole village was filled with the delicious smell of baking bread. Antonio, Seraphina and the people of the village, plus Angelo (who had ridden up from Milan), could hardly wait for the bread to be cool enough to be cut and tasted. At last Antonio took his first bite and everyone waited with bated breath, "YES!" he shouted, and soon everyone was munching and laughing. And then Angelo loaded up the cart and took what was left back to Milan.Everyone in the village waited and within the week, a cartload of new supplies came up from Angelo with a note, "My friends loved your bread and please can you make lots more? Also, make it all in flowerpot shapes because my friends liked that best. Bring it to Milan as soon as possible and Seraphina and I will be married the next day".
As soon as he could, Antonio with Seraphina set off for Milan with lots of the new bread. As they approached the gates of the city, Antonio could hear the bells ringing and he thought it was because it was Christmas Eve, but as he abecame nearer, he could hear cheers and the people calling "Toni, Tonio we love your bread, 'Pane', Panne, Panettone".
And that’s why the Italians always eat Panettone, 'Tony’s Bread', at Christmas and why the best Panettone comes from Milan.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
23 dic 2007
Celebrations
Last Monday the 4th year adults class and I celebrated the beginning of the holidays with a nice dinner at Peperoncino, we had a great time and we ate a lot!
And on Wednesday, 5th year junior class invited me to Il Popotte and we had great pizzas and a great time.
To tell you the truth, this has been a tough year, I had a lot of work and a lot to study, but I had such wonderful groups that I enjoyed it deeply.
I want to thank them all, in Necochea and in La Dulce for this wonderful year and let's hope that 2008 will be the best year in all our lives.
Love
Andrea
22 dic 2007
A story with a moral
A tale is told about the Buddha, Gautama (563-483BC), the Indian prince and spiritual leader whose teachings founded Buddhism. This short story illustrates that every one of us has the choice whether or not to take personal offence from another person's behaviour.
It is said that on an occasion when the Buddha was teaching a group of people, he found himself on the receiving end of a fierce outburst of abuse from a bystander, who was for some reason very angry.
The Buddha listened patiently while the stranger vented his rage, and then the Buddha said to the group and to the stranger, "If someone gives a gift to another person, who then chooses to decline it, tell me, who would then own the gift? The giver or the person who refuses to accept the gift?"
"The giver," said the group after a little thought. "Any fool can see that," added the angry stranger.
"Then it follows, does it not," said the Buddha, "Whenever a person tries to abuse us, or to unload their anger on us, we can each choose to decline or to accept the abuse; whether to make it ours or not. By our personal response to the abuse from another, we can choose who owns and keeps the bad feelings."
It is said that on an occasion when the Buddha was teaching a group of people, he found himself on the receiving end of a fierce outburst of abuse from a bystander, who was for some reason very angry.
The Buddha listened patiently while the stranger vented his rage, and then the Buddha said to the group and to the stranger, "If someone gives a gift to another person, who then chooses to decline it, tell me, who would then own the gift? The giver or the person who refuses to accept the gift?"
"The giver," said the group after a little thought. "Any fool can see that," added the angry stranger.
"Then it follows, does it not," said the Buddha, "Whenever a person tries to abuse us, or to unload their anger on us, we can each choose to decline or to accept the abuse; whether to make it ours or not. By our personal response to the abuse from another, we can choose who owns and keeps the bad feelings."
20 dic 2007
An Aesop's Fable
The North Wind and The Sun
The North Wind boasted of great strength. The Sun argued that there was
great power in gentleness.
"We shall have a contest," said the Sun.
Far below, a man travelled a winding road. He was wearing a warm winter coat.
"As a test of strength," said the Sun, "Let us see which of us can take the coat off of that man."
"It will be quite simple for me to force him to remove his coat," bragged the Wind.
The Wind blew so hard, the birds clung to the trees. The world was filled with dust and leaves. But the harder the wind blew down the road, the tighter the shivering man clung to his coat.
Then, the Sun came out from behind a cloud. Sun warmed the air and the frosty ground. The man on the road unbuttoned his coat.
The sun grew slowly brighter and brighter.
Soon the man felt so hot, he took off his coat and sat down in a shady spot.
"How did you do that?" said the Wind.
"It was easy," said the Sun, "I lit the day. Through gentleness I got my way."
The North Wind boasted of great strength. The Sun argued that there was
great power in gentleness.
"We shall have a contest," said the Sun.
Far below, a man travelled a winding road. He was wearing a warm winter coat.
"As a test of strength," said the Sun, "Let us see which of us can take the coat off of that man."
"It will be quite simple for me to force him to remove his coat," bragged the Wind.
The Wind blew so hard, the birds clung to the trees. The world was filled with dust and leaves. But the harder the wind blew down the road, the tighter the shivering man clung to his coat.
Then, the Sun came out from behind a cloud. Sun warmed the air and the frosty ground. The man on the road unbuttoned his coat.
The sun grew slowly brighter and brighter.
Soon the man felt so hot, he took off his coat and sat down in a shady spot.
"How did you do that?" said the Wind.
"It was easy," said the Sun, "I lit the day. Through gentleness I got my way."
This is the power of gentleness
See you
Andrea
18 dic 2007
Julieta
Happy Birthday Julieta! I love you!
You are so, so sooooooooooo special, I'll never forget you!
Andrea
buttons
There is a reason why men's clothes have buttons on the right while women have buttons on the left. What is it?
They are going to think that you're going to come out with a silly remark, and here is when you surprise them giving this clever and true answer:
Most people are right handed and find it easier to fasten a button which is on the right through a hole which is on the left. This is why men's buttons are on the right. When buttons were first used it was rich people who could afford clothes with buttons. Among this class the ladies were often dressed by maid servants. The servant would face the lady and so it was easier for right handed servants to fasten buttons which were on the lady's left.
16 dic 2007
the bucket and the bath
Do you need a bed in a mental hospital? Check it with this story!
See you!
Andrea
A party of suppliers was being given a tour of a mental hospital.
One of the visitors had made some very insulting remarks about the patients.
After the tour the visitors were introduced to various members of staff in the canteen.
The rude visitor chatted to one of the security staff, Bill, a kindly and wise ex-policeman.
"Are they all raving loonies in here then?" said the rude man.
"Only the ones who fail the test," said Bill.
"What's the test?" said the man.
"Well, we show them a bath full of water, a bucket, a jug and an egg-cup, and we ask them what's the quickest way to empty the bath," said Bill.
"Oh I see, simple - the normal ones know it's the bucket, right?"
"No actually," said Bill,
One of the visitors had made some very insulting remarks about the patients.
After the tour the visitors were introduced to various members of staff in the canteen.
The rude visitor chatted to one of the security staff, Bill, a kindly and wise ex-policeman.
"Are they all raving loonies in here then?" said the rude man.
"Only the ones who fail the test," said Bill.
"What's the test?" said the man.
"Well, we show them a bath full of water, a bucket, a jug and an egg-cup, and we ask them what's the quickest way to empty the bath," said Bill.
"Oh I see, simple - the normal ones know it's the bucket, right?"
"No actually," said Bill,
"The normal ones say pull out the plug. Should I check when there's a bed free for you?"
11 dic 2007
The Alphabet
The English Alphabet
The letter 'o' is the oldest letter in the English alphabet; it has been the same shape since about 1300BC.
'O' is also the least common letter in English; the most common letter is 'e'.
The novel Gadsby, written by Ernest Vincent Wright, has over 50,000 words but none of them use the letter 'e'.
'Almost' is the longest word in English that has all its letters in alphabetical order.
The word 'set' has the most definitions of all words in English.
The word 'four' has four letters; it is the only number in English whose number of letters is the same as its value.
7 dic 2007
6th year dinner party
We had a great time, and I'm going to miss this group a lot!, some of them have been in my class for three years! Others came last year, or a few months ago but they became part of us and we'll always remember all of them.
Tomorrow First Certificate! Good luck to you all!
6 dic 2007
How to leave your comment!
After receiving many complaints, I've decided to give you this short guide on how to leave your comments on the posts.
1) click on COMMENT (wow! I bet you didn't see that coming!)
2) write your COMMENT (in English!!!)
3) copy the letters in the box.
4) click on "nickname" and(surprise, surprise!) write your nickname, or click on anonymous and do not write anything (for the lazy / shy ones!)
5) click on PUBLISH and there you go! your comment is on the web!
Piece of cake!
1) click on COMMENT (wow! I bet you didn't see that coming!)
2) write your COMMENT (in English!!!)
3) copy the letters in the box.
4) click on "nickname" and(surprise, surprise!) write your nickname, or click on anonymous and do not write anything (for the lazy / shy ones!)
5) click on PUBLISH and there you go! your comment is on the web!
Piece of cake!
4 dic 2007
The sheikh and the camels
Another brain-teaser to wake those brains of yours up!!!
An Arab sheikh tells his two sons to race their camels to a distant city to see who will inherit his fortune. The one whose camel is slower will win. The brothers, after wandering aimlessly for days, ask a wise man for advice. After hearing the advice they jump on the camels and race as fast as they can to the city.What does the wise man say?
3 dic 2007
Mafalda
2 dic 2007
December has started!
Last Thursday, the fourth Thursday of November, the Americans celebrated Thanksgiving, we talked about this celebration in one of the classes. For the ones who wants to know something about it here is this great website: http://www.history.com/minisites/thanksgiving/ There's even a video! I think it is easy to understand. Hope you like it.
By the way, December has started and I know most of you are already studying for your finals (hopefully), but keep in mind that in a few days time we'll be enjoying our HOLIDAYS !!!
Our 6th year dinner party was a great success, we enjoyed it very much! Soon I'll upload some of the photographs.
By the way, December has started and I know most of you are already studying for your finals (hopefully), but keep in mind that in a few days time we'll be enjoying our HOLIDAYS !!!
Our 6th year dinner party was a great success, we enjoyed it very much! Soon I'll upload some of the photographs.
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