FEMINISM AND "FEMINAZISM"

I have wanted to talk about this topic for some time now, so I'm going to do it in this post. I'm going to talk about the difference between feminism and the coloquial called “feminazism”.

Let's start from the beginning, what is the feminism? The feminism is a social and political movement that fights against woman discrimination and supports gender equality, wanting men and women to have the same rights and duties and wanting their equality.

Nowadays, feminism is getting everytime more popular and it's gaining a lot of support, either from women or men.

The problem is that some people go further and defend another way of thinking under the name of feminism, although it is not the same at all. This is when the term “feminazism” comes in. These people, normally women, defend the rights of women and complain in case men have advantadges or better conditions, but don't complain when it's women who are having this advantadges.

In my case, I don't agree with them. I think men and women should be equal and have the same rights and duties, because we are all human beings and, of course I cannot say we are equal in everthing, because there are obvious different between the two genders, but this shouldn't be a reason to be treated differently. And, although I'm a woman, I find some situations in which women are being treated with advantadges in relation to men unfair.

But, even though I don't agree with the thoughts of the “feminazis” and in my opinion, if they are against male chauvinism, they shouldn't defend what they defend, I think everyone has the right to think and express their opinions and thoughts. What bothers me is that these people consider themselves feminists and state they are totally in favour of feminism, but they are actually acting in a lot of situations as the opposite of feminism is defending.

So I think they should accept that they are not feminists and don't make other people believe they are when they are defending other things. 

OBAMA VISITS HIROSHIMA

On 27^th May, Obama visited Hiroshima, becoming the first United States president to do this since the nuclear bomb was thrown in the World War II.

The president talked about nuclear weapons and that we shouldn't use them and he said that we must never forget what happened 71 years ago, although he didn't apologize in the name of the country.

Obama visited the Peace Memorial Museum and the Park, spoke with two survivours and even hugged one of them, Mr Abe. This visit has caused diversity of opinions: some people see this visit as a good thing and some Japanese people welcome it, despite the fact he hasn't apologized; and other people say that he made a very idealistic speech, but he is still the leader of the country with the biggest nuclear arsenal.

The same thing happens with the throw of the nuclear bomb, some people think it was good because it brought the war to an end, but other people, amongst which there are people who were directly or indirectly affected by the bomb, who think it was cruel and it shouldn't have been done. 

PERSONAL OPINION:

I think it's something good Obama visiting Hiroshima, because even though he didn't apologize, it's a way to show he accepts whan the country did. Also I like the fact he spoke with survivours and people affected by it, because I think it is a good gesture of him.

And about the if it was good or bad throwing the nuclear bomb debate, I think it wasn't good, because even though it meant the end of World War II, a lot of people died and it had horrible consequences that are still prevailing until nowadays.

NEW WORDS:

· Wreath: corona funeraria

· Complacency: autosuficiència

· Poll: votació

LINK: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36394975

REVIEW: THE FIGHT CLUB

Some months ago I watched a fim that I had heard about before but it never really caught my attention: it was the Fight Club. Someone reccomended it to me, so I decided to watch it and it really surprised me. I ended up liking it a lot!

This movie was directed by David Fincher and it's based on the book with the same name by Chuck Palahnuik.

The story starts when the main character, whose name we don't get to now and who is played by Edward Norton, starts having insomnia and starts attending support groups for problems which aren't even related to him, there he meets Marla, played by Helena Bonham Carter, who is doing the same as him. With that, his life changes a little bit, but then it makes the big change when he meets Tyler, played by Brat Pitt, a soap maker who lives a particular life. Together, they start a fight club that develops into something out of control.

When I started watching the film I was interested in it. Then the middle of it I started to get a little bit bored, and I think it was because I wasn't understanding the whole message of it. But then, there comes a point when there is a huge plot twist that totally surprised me and that I didn't expect at all. From that point I started to really like the movie and I began to understand the things better. The film has a full of ideologies background, that can be hard to understand, but the main ideology that it transmits is the rejection of the consumism and the idea that people are living lifes they don't like because of the system we are living in.

There are films that use plot twists to explain the story using the easy way, that maybe it has nothing to do with what happened before and that's why it surprises the viewers, but at the end it was just a way to end everything easily. This film isn't one of these cases, because if you watch it for a second time you can notice different clues the director puts in scenes previous to the plot twist that subtly warn you of what it's actually going to happen.

In conclusion, it is a film I totally recommend and although it can be a little difficult to understand (it happened to me and I am not sure I understand it fully now) it will surely surprise and shock you.

THE TRAILER:

SELECTIVE XENOPHOBIA

One of our society's problem nowadays is the xenophobia. Not everyone, but there's a lot of people who feels rejection for immigrants, specially on situations like the one we are living right now, when we are not in a good economic moment and some people think that unemployment is caused by immigrants who “steal” the jobs to people from the country.

But we could say this xenophobia is selective, because normally people tend to reject immigrants from specific countries, a lot of times from African countries, who are normally in a worse economic situation. But then, when people come from other European countries, such as France, Germany or the UK, or even people from African countries, but who are rich, this xenophobia disapears and everyone is pleased with them. There is the typical example of the common rejection to the arab immigrants, but the acceptance and fondness to the arab sheikhs, because they are extremely rich and they bring money to the country.

Another example of this, that I saw on the Internet recently and that it made me think about writing this you say, is Donald Trump, one of the USA presidential candidates at the moment. Donald Trump is the representant of a republican party and is totally against immigration. He wants to close the borders of the country to avoid the entrance of immigrants, specially from hispano immigrants who come from the south of the country. But, despite his hate for immigrants, on the 5^th May, when the “Cinco de Mayo” Mexican festivity is celebrated, he posted a photo eating a taco bowl and saying how much he loved this festivity and the hispanics. Or pictures of him with arab sheikhs can be also found, after he has said more than once that muslim people are a danger for the country.

Xenphobia is a problem that exists and that society needs to fix, but I think that total xenophobia is not something common, what is common is this “selective xenophobia”, that lots of times changes depending on the economic situation the person in front of you has.

This “selective xenophobia” is a problem, as well as the “total xenophobia”, but I think it is even worse, because it shows the incoherence and the illogicallity of a lot of people, who show that can't even follow their own principles. If you are against immigration, it's okay. I don't agree with you and I don't think you are right, but at least be coherent and be against all immigration and don't break your principles, even when the thing you don't accept is beneficial for you.

Also, I think it's a shame that someone famous, who totally shows this “selective xenophobia”, is having so much support on being the next USA president. 

WOMAN CONFRONTS NEONAZIS

The news talks about something that happened on the 1^st May in Sweden: Tess Asplund, a Swedish woman, stood in front of a neonazi grup, confronting them while they were doing a march. This took place in Borlänge, a city in Sweden, and the march was organized by a political party which is against immigration, the Nordic Resistance Movement.

A photographer, David Lagerlöf, immortalized the moment in a photo that went viral and quickly spread on the Internet, in which you can see Asplund rising her fist and standing in front of three uniformed neonazis with a firm attitude.

The photographer took the photo and after realizing how powerful it was he posted it on Twitter, after what it became viral. That's when Tess Asplund fully realized what she had done. She says that it was an impulsive act, that she didn't even thought how dangerous it was. The woman states that now, after the impulseveness that moved her, is still happy about what she did, because it has showed to the world what is happing, and she is happy to show that she is not okay with that. She hopes this photo makes other people fight against this kind of marches and against racism, just like she has been done for 26 years. 

PERSONAL OPINION:

Even if it was an impulsive act, I think this woman was very brave for doing what she did. I think it's a shame that after all the nazis did during World War II, there is people who still shares their ideology and exaltates the same values they did, for example the violence. And I think now it is a problem, because with the economic crisis we are living, the refugees situation and other problems we are having in our society, this kind of political parties are gaining everytime more popularity and support.

That's why I really like the photo and I think it's shoking and powerful, because it lets you see that there is still people who fight against what they think it is wrong, even if they are alone, like Tess. Because one little spark can start a fire.

NEW WORDS:

· Hook: ganxo

· Pinch: pessic

· Clash: enfrontament

LINK: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/05/europe/swedish-protest-nazis-woman/

REVIEW: LOVE, ROSIE

Love, Rosie is a film directed by Christian Ditter which is based on the novel Where Rainbows End, by Cecelia Ahern.

The story follows two best friends: Alex and Rosie. They have been best friends since they were little, but growing up, having to make important decisions and the mixture of feelings they feel for each other gets everything more complicated.

Before watching the film I didn't have big expectations on it, but it surprised me in a good way. I found it a very beautiful film, and I felt like it was different from the ones I had seen before.

It is catalogued as a Romantic Comedy, and although it has some funny moments it is not at all like the typical romantic comedies we know. It has emotional parts, but it isn't a drama neither. And I wouldn't say it is a total romantic film, because it is not one of these extremely corny films. It is a mixture of several types of films.

I liked the two main characters because you can see how they commit several mistakes, and then try to fix them, even if it's not possible, and well, they are realistic characters, that could be real life people. I loved the relationship they have, because they are very close to each other as friends, and then start realizing they feel something else for each other, so they have like a lovers-friends beautiful relationship, because they still take care of each other as they always did being friends.

Summarizing, it is a film I totally recommend. Maybe if you don't like romantic films you are not going to like it, but maybe you'll do, because I think it is a little bit different from the typical romatic films, and besides the romantic part, it tells a beautiful friendship story. 

THE TRAILER:

"TREBALL DE RECERCA"

In this you say I wanted to talk about something I think it is quite unfair: the “Treball de Recerca” or Research Project only being done by students in Catalonia.

The Research Project is a project, which consists in a theorical and practical part, that students have to do between first and second of batxillerat and it is important for your Batxillerat final mark.

I don't think this project is a bad idea, because it makes you gain experience in working on this kind of projects, it prepares you for projects you'll have to do at university, and if you choose a topic you are interested in, you can learn a lot about it and it can be very interesting. But I find it very unfair that only the students in Catalonia have to do it. It may be a good project, but it takes also a lot of work and this extra amount of work it makes a big difference.

When you are in first of batxillerat you have to start thinking about your topic and maybe start working on it. Then, during the summer, when the school year is supposed to be over and you should have time to relax (or in case you have a summer job, relax a little less and work), you also have to work on your Research Project. Of couse you are not going to be working on it every day and every hour and it's not going to ruin your whole summer, but in my case, one of the things I like the most about summer is that, after a whole school year working, I can finally be three months without school responsabilities. And the Research Project takes me this away.

Finally, when you start second of batxillerat, your project probably won't be finished yet, so you will still have to work on it while you are starting the new school year, having exams and other school work to do. Because yes, it is an independent project, it doesn't belong to any subject, so you have to find some time to do it between the six hours you spend at class and the extra hours you spend at home doing homework or studying for the different subjects.

When you think about it like that, you see that it actually needs a lot of time and work, and I think it is unfair that while Catalan students are spending all that time and effort in doing the project, the rest of the students in Spain can spend that time doing other things. I don't really know how it works in the rest of Spain and maybe they have more work from other things that here in Catalonia we don't have, or maybe they have to do another kind of project, but I think this is just a little work compared to the Research Project here in Catalonia.

THE ANCIENT PERUVIAN MYSTERY SOLVED FROM SPACE

In the region of Nasca, in Peru, there are the called “Nasca lines” or “puquios”, geometric shapes carved on the ground which have a gigantic size. Recent studies and investigations using satellite imaging have arrived to the conclusion that in that area there was a flourishing society.

It has been discovered that the puquios were a hydraulic system which allowed the people living in that arid region, carry water to every part of it. This system retrieved the water from the underground aquifers and brought the water to the surface, to be used for agriculture, irrigation and even domestic needs.

It is believed that the puquios were a much more sophisticated system back then than it is right now, but with the centuries it has been dilapidated. But although we can't study this structrures like they were back then, the investigators have been able to establish that the population of the Nasca region was organized in a hierarchy and they were a sophisticated and intelligent society. Building this hydraulic system required having important knowledges of the geology and also being able to calculate the water level variations along the year, something this society was able to do and which allowed them to bring water to one of the most arid areas in the Earth.

PERSONAL OPINION:

I found this news very interesting because I didn't know the existence of the puquios and when I read it, it caught my attention. I find it quite shocking the fact that this society, living in the Nasca area in Peru was able to create and build such a complex system back then, with the resources and tools they had and that, as the news says, some of the puquios can still work today.

NEW WORDS:

· Hierarchy: jerarquia

· Retrieve: recuperar, rescatar

· Flourishing: pròsper

LINK: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160408-the-ancient-peruvian-mystery-solved-from-space

REVIEW: CAT AMONG THE PIGEONS

This review it's going to be about the last book I read: Cat among the Pigeons, by the famous writer Agatha Christie. I'm really into detectives and crimes books, and I always said that I had to read something by Agatha Christie, and I have finally done it.

The book takes place in a girl's school, ruled by Miss Bulstrode and where almost al the characters are either studying or working. As you could expect being a book by Agatha Christie, there is a crime and from that point, the book is about police trying to find out what happened, involving more crimes. Unlike most detective books, the crime is not commited at the very beginning, first we get to know a little the characters, the situation and there is even some action happening. And I can't say a lot more about the plot, because as a mystery book, knowing a lot about it would remove the excitement of discovering step by step what happens.

I liked the book and it met my expectations. It was the way I thought it was going to be, so it didn't surprise me, neither in a bad nor in a good way.

At the beginning maybe it is a little boring, because you don't really know what the story being explained has to do with the girl's school mentioned in the first chapter, and also because there isn't a lot of action, although there is some. Then, once the first murderer is commited, it becomes everytime more interesting until the end, when everything is explained and you finally understand fully what happened. 

Summarizing, it's a book I would recommend, specially if you like the books with mysteries and things to solve, because it doesn't dissappoint you. 

Photo of the TV series Poirot.
 Episode 11, based on the novel Cat among the pigeons.

FEMALE PILOTS RECEIVING THEIR HONORS

The article is about the female pilots of World War II, who are receiving honors from the State for their service during the war.

Elaine Harmon, Miller's grandmother. Pilot in
the World War II.

Erin Miller, a girl whose grandmother was a pilot in the World War II serving the WASP, started a campaign to get the honors to the female pilots from the Congress, after her grandmother had these burial honors denied after dying.

Miller explains that her grandmother received the honors from the Department of Veterans Affairs and also a Congretional Golden Medeal, but that when she died the Department of the Army denied her the burial honors. Her grandaughter made a petition in the website Change.org, to spread this story and get more people to support her. A lot of people, including Martha McSally, a retired Air Force Colonel, supported her and thanks to this she could get in touch with the Congress.

After some weeks speaking with different parties representatives and people from the Congress about this, she finally achieved her goal and all the female pilots who served in the World War II are now going to be regognized for their job and honored in the name of the United States.

PERSONAL OPINION:

I think it is good that Erin Miller has achieved her goal, because it wasn't fair that these female pilots weren't receiving their honors while others were. I liked this news because I found interesting that she got what she wanted by posting it online and thanks to the people who supported her. This proves that with support from people and by making just a little action, is it possible to finally get to change something you find unfair.

NEW WORDS:

· Amendment: correcció

· To lobby: pressionar

· Media buzz: enrenou a les xarxes socials

LINK: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/05/20/female-pilots-world-war-ii-like-my-grandmother-finally-receive-honor-deserve.html

SELF-EVALUATION ORAL PRESENTATION

After seeing the recording of the oral presentation I can talk a little bit more about how it went, although I already had an idea before watching it.  

We tried to think an idea to make the presentation original and not an average presentation. The idea that came in our minds was to make it a little bit like theatre, introducing characters and a little story through which we gave out the information we had to include in the presentation. 
After watching the video I realize that maybe we could have worked more on that idea, but in general it turned out well and I'm happy with the result, because it is a way of making the presentation different.

About the images and the format of the presentation we used, I think that it was quite similar to all the other presentation, taking away the fact that we used some pictures to represent the settings of our "little play", although after watching the video I see that maybe that wasn't very clear.

Focusing on the presentation itself, in general I'm happy with the result. There are always things to improve, for example the pronuntation of some words, the volume of the voice, which I think should have been louder in my case, and the nerves. I was a little bit nervous during the presentation basically because I didn't remember to say some of the things and because, since we were conversating between us, if one of us forgot something, it could be bad for the other because she could get confused and don't know what to say. But although we forgot things and we didn't do the presentation 100% the way it was meant to be, something that happens almost in all the presentation, I think it wasn't very noticiable and from the outside it looked like a perfectly normal and good presentation. 

REVIEW: SPIRITED AWAY

In this post I wanted to do a little throwback and review one of my favourite movies when I was little (and still now): Spirited away. I remember having this movie in VHS and watching it often and some years ago, when I watched it again after years I really liked it and it remained me a lot to my childhood.

Spirited Away is an fantasy animated movie, but it isn't only for children, it is also a movie for adults. It was released in 2001 and it was directed by Hayao Miyazaki, a famous Japanese director.

I'm going make a brief explanation of the plot, to situate you in the movie. The main character is Chihiro, a girl who is moving with his parents. While they are going to their new house they get lost in a little village and their parents decide to eat in a little restaurant on the street. Because of the food they get transformed into pigs. From this point, Chihiro starts her magical trip to find the way to turn her parents into humans again. Almost the whole movie takes place in a bathouse in which the clients and the employees are magical creatures.

As you can see by the plot, it is little weird movie but I guess that is what caught my

attention when I was little. But besides its weirdness, it is a very complete movie. It is very marked by the Japanese culture and beliefs, which means that there are still a lot of things about this movie left for me to understand because I don't really know a lot about the Japanese culture, it is a story in which the hero is a little girl, it has a beautiful love story and it is a movie that shows you many values through a big variety of characters, each one of them with their own peculiarities.

In my opinion, it is a good movie for children, because it's about adventures and there are funny moments (although some things are so weird that I remember some things were a little bit scary for me when I was little), but it is also a good movie for adults, because there is a lot of symbolism behind it, and the whole movie works as a critique to the capitalist society from the 80s in Japan.

In conclusion, I really recommend this movie because it is entertaining, weird in a good way and if you go a little bit deeper, you'll find a movie full of values and symbolism. 

THE TRAILER:

TATTOOS

Nowadays it is more well-seen, but years ago there was a big controversy around the tattoos. People wearing big tattoos were often seen as problematic people and it was seen as something unsightly. This made some people not be able to get a job because they had visible tattoos or also piercings.

I personally like piercings and tattoos, as long as they aren't covering the whole body of the person. In my case I don't discard getting a tattoo or a piercing someday, but it will probably be a small one or a discreet one. I'm not really into the tattoo or piercing whole-covered bodies, for myself or for others, but I think it shouldn't be a problem for those who like it.

Having your body covered with tattoos shouldn't be an inconvenience for a person to get a job, because it doesn't define if he or she is hard working or not. It all goes to the common appearance problem. We all tend to judge the people by their appearance and I think it is kind of unavoidable, but in my opinion we should try to get over it and force ourselves to ignore our own prejudices.

People's looks (the style, tattoos, hairstyle, etc.) often reflect their personality, so we should say that it's something from the inside that goes outside gets shown to the world, but it's not all the inside that gets shown. It's just a little part and with that you can't determinate how a person is, their character or if he or she is a good or a bad person.

We should accept that people have different likes and different personalities and it doesn't affect their quality as a person. 

FORMAL LETTER

32 Esplais Street

17486 Castelló d'Empúries

20^th March 2016

Mr and Ms Perry

2548 North East Hood Street

97299 Portland, Oregon

Dear Mr and Ms Perry,

The reason why I am writing this letter is because I want to apply for the babysitter job you are interested in. I have seen your advertisement on the Internet and I think I am the person you are looking for. I am a sixteen-year-old Spanish student with a good level of English, but it can always be improved, and that is one of the reasons I would like to work as an au pair. I really like children and I am sure taking care of them would be at the same time fun and a way to learn and improve my English.

I think I match the babysitter profile you are looking for, because I am a tidy and responsible person, I am excited to work with children and I could teach them some Spanish as a new language, just like you request in your advertisement.

Find my CV attached to this letter.

Looking forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Mar Oliva

CHOOSING OUR FUTURE

In this you-say I wanted to talk about something that I have been asked a lot for a while: my future. Last year, when I was in 4^th of ESO, we had to start deciding what do we wanted to do with our future. I didn't know it. I knew I wanted to study Batxillerat and to go to university, but I didn't know what I wanted to study. Now, that I'm doing 1^st of Batxillerat I still don't know it. I don't have to choose what I want to do right now, but it stresses me knowing that the moment of choosing is getting everytime closer.

I think that my problem is that I don't like making important decisions. I feel pressed and I'm never sure of my choice. I'm afraid of, for example, choosing a topic for my Treball de Recerca that isn't interesting enough, that I don't know how to develop, or that after some weeks working on it, becomes boring for me. I'm afraid of choosing a degree that happens to be something I don't like, something I'm not good at or something that is going to be unuseful.

I try to tell to myself that making a mistake is not actually a big deal, because I can always fix it and learn from it, but I feel the presure anyways.

I think that we are tied to decide what we want to do with our lifes too early, and not everyone has an idea of what to go for. Actually, when we finish 4^th of ESO we already have to start deciding: if you want to do Batxillerat, a Training Cycle, to work, etc. And then you have to decide which Batxillerat or Training Cycle you want to do. Focusing more on Batxillerat, because it is what I'm doing, I think that it is already a big choice choosing which

one you want to do. I know a lot of people that don't know what to study at university, and they like some degrees classify as science degrees and others as arts degrees, so it's a difficult choice for them to choose a Batxillerat. I don't really know if it would work, but maybe we should be able to choose the subjects we want regardless of if they are science or arts subjects, because then, at the end of batxillerat, it would be a little bit easier to choose a degree. Because someone who was doubting between a science and an arts one, for example, would have tried both type of subjects and maybe he or she would have a clearer mind than if he or she had only chosen scientific Batxillerat, for example.

I'm not actually a 100% sure it will work, because we also have to think about Selectivitat, the subjects that count more and all these things, but I think it would be a way to make the decision easier, at least for the people who have a lot of doubts. 

WHY ARE THE WARS STILL A THING?

The current situation of the Syrian refugees is worldwide known, and it is a shame that it still continues the war in Syria.

There are always wars in the world, and I pretty sure that it will always be like this, but when I think about it I find it quite shocking. Thinking closely about the wars, they're kind of stupid. Maybe one of the countries or sides is proclaimed the winner, but actually all countries lose. They lose money, lives and also a little of humanity. But there are still being wars.

I'm not going to go into the topic of why there are wars, but of why the countries decide to participate in them. The countries fight for their interessts, economic, territorial or of any kind, but I find the fact that they participate on them shocking, taking into account that they have lived other wars, and they know what it is like. Of course, the for people who decides to start or join a war it's practically sure that they're not going to suffer from any damage, or at least not directly. But they should consider the consequences of a war for the population, consequences that they actually know because pretty much all the countries have lived a war before, and then decide if they join the war or not. The people ruling a country probably weren't in charge when the last war that affected the country took place, but they should know what were the consequences anyways. They forget the mistakes of the past, and they make them again.

In the Syria case, there are European countries involved, countries that suffered the devastating consequences of the World War I and II. In this case, their countries are practically not being affected by their own bombing in Syria, but here is where a matter of humanity lies. Those countries went through important wars and they know how hard is it, and it's not only that they are not helping the Syrians, is that they are attacking them. They are causing the death of thousands of innocent people, while the responsabile ones of all this are safe and comfortable in their houses.

And what I find even more outrageous is that when all the peope who are suffering the consequences of the war (remembering that these countries are participating in making the situation like this), try to go into these countries to escape from the situation in there, th states are closing the borders or they are seeing them as a problem. Yes, they're a problem for Europe, because it's a lot of people at once, but we should remember that part of this problem is caused by Europe.

It's a very complicated world and these problems are very difficult to solve, but I think we should start by analyzing the things, because as it happens in this case, we are creating our own problems, and then we don't know how to solve them. And these problems are not only affecting to us, they are also ending with thousands of lifes. 

PHRASAL VERBS

Last summer I went to Ireland with some friends to learn and practise English. There we stayed with a family and we went to classes and also did different activities.
One Saturday, we were supposed to set off at nine in the morning, so we had to be in the school about fifteen minutes before. I had to get to the school by bus along with the friend who was in the same house as me and we had looked up the timetables some days before. The problem was that we hadn't thought it was Saturday and the timetables were different than during the week. And we found that out when it was too late. 

We sorted out the timetable the day before, so we got up thinking we were on time. Our host mother offered us a car ride to the bus stop, but we turned it down because we thought we had time to go walking. W got there and we waited for the bus, but it wasn't coming so we asked the bus timetables to a woman who was there. She told us the time the next bus was coming and we realized we were definitely going to be late. When it arrived we got on the bus, we sat down and we just wished the bus to speed up. Some stops later, my friend Paula and another one of our friends turned up. They were also late! They sat down next to us and we all switched our mobile phones on. We had plenty pf messages from our instructor saying that we were late and asking us where we were. The four of us tried to make up an excuse and we told him that the bus we were supposed to take hadn't shown up. What we didn't know was that the instructor, who normally went to the school by bike, that day had decided to take the same bus we were supposed to take, so he caught us in a lie.

EMPATHY

Some days ago a video starring some supporters of the Dutch team PSV went viral. This video was shot in Madrid, and they were throwing coins to homeless women, laughing at them and treating them like animals and they also forced them to do push-ups in exchange of money. After seeing the video I was outraged. And I was also surprised because it's difficult to believe there is people like this. I can't even imagine how could this idea go through their minds, and much less how could they do it.

In big cities is common to see homeless people in the streets, asking for money for food, and it is heartbreaking. I can understand if someone doesn't feel like giving them money, because they maybe are not in a good economic situation, maybe they think that people is lying and they are going to spend the money in alcohol, or other reasons. But there is a big step from not giving them money to humiliating them. It's disgusting the way they treated them, knowing the women needed the money, so using the situation to spend a good time laughing at them.

I think this world has an important shortage of empathy. The people who did this didn't clearly think about the situation those women are living and probably (or that's what I hope) if they had put themselves in their position they wouldn't have done that. It's normal everyone taking care of themselves, doing what's the best for them, because at the end it's our life and we have to try to be as happy as possible. But it doesn't mean we don't have to help other people, even if we have to sacrificate something we like. And there is a lot of people who don't do this. I don't mean I am always helping people and sacrifing for them, of course, but I think there is a lot of people that only think what's the best for them and they just do it, without thinking if that's going to cause negative consequences to someone.

And in my opinion, the lack of empathy is one of the things that causes more problems in society, and that's why I think it's important to teach little children the importance of it, to try to make the new generations more empathetic.

THE VIDEO:

DOWNLOADING FILMS

Nowadays the cinema prices are quite high and his makes people stop going to the cinema, but it doesn't they stop watching films. They find a way to watch them and the most popular way of doing it is watching the films through the Internet (downloading them or watching them online).

But is this a bad thing? It depends on the point of view you're watching it from. If you watch

it from the film costumers' point of view it is a fantastic thing: you are able to watch the films you want without the need to leave your house and the best, free. But if you watch it from the film producers' point of view this is such a bad thing: they spend millions of dollars in producing the movie and then their work isn't paid enough.

I may be a little incoherent, because I think that, at the end, downloading films or watching them online is not something good, but I have to recognize that I do it.

I think we should pay for the films we watch, but I don't do it because then you feel stupid. If you spend your money on them but then everyone in your surrounding is still able to watch those movies without paying you feel you're being stupid because you are paying for something others are enjoying for free.

I think the solution would be to control the Internet a lot more and to remove the posibility of watching movies for free and make the people pay for them, but with lower prices. If watching a film in the cinema costs you about 7€, watching it at home should cost you a maximum un 2€. This would be fair for the film producers because even though 2€ is not a great gaining of money for them, they would definitely earn a lot more than they are doing now and they would be paid for their work.

This would cause annoyance to a lot of people for sure, including myself, because anyone would like going from being able to watch movies for free to having to pay for it, but I think that it is the best option. We should all walk in the film producers' shoes and think about them not being paid for everyone who enjoys their work, and probably we would all be a little bit more in favour of paying for the films.

UNDERWATER MUSEUM

On the 1st of February, work on the Museo Atlántico (Atlantic Museum) started. The Museo Atlántico is going to be the first completely underwater museum in Europe and its location will be Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands. The museum will be placed 12 meters underwater and people will be able to visit it doing scuba diving or going underwater with glass bottom boats.

It is going to be made of sculptures by Jason deCaires Taylor, a British artist who says that with these sculptures he wanted to reflect the actual situation of the world, with statues of people taking selfies to represent the importance of the technology nowadays, or with statues that represent the syrian refugees, to picture the actual situation and to tribute all those refugees who couldn't survive and whose bodies lay underwater. In general, Taylor says that the sculptures will attract animal and plant life and this is a way to represent the connexion between humans and nature.

Although there were some polemic about the location of the museum, the authorities of Lanzarote are happy with the project and claim it to be something historic, that will allow the island the ability to show the bottom of the sea to the world from a different view, and that will also make the island be a unique tourist destination. 

PERSONAL OPINION:

I find this project very original and cool, and I think it will be attractive for the tourists to visit an underwater museum. Also, I like the fact that Jason deCaires Taylor has decided to include thinks that are important and that are marking the society nowadays, because I think that in some years time, when the people visit the museum, the sculptures are going to look a little bit neglected because being underwater will have damaged them, and visiting old sculptures that represent the past will be kind of travelling to that time.

NEW WORDS:

· Funds: fons d'inversió

· Council: consell

· Strengthens: enforteix

LINK: http://www.thelocal.es/20160201/canary-islands-embark-on-europes-first-underwater-museum