A step further in women rights

Since ever, women has been discrimnated and considered inferior to mean, but in the last century and overcoast, in the last years, this is changing: now, in wester cultures, althought stills being cases of discrimination, it has almost desapperaed and it's a shame thta in other cultures women continue living considerated inferior to men. For this, I think that the fact that Nigeria has banned the female genital mutilation (a clear violation of the women rights) is a good notice that remembers us thta this discrimination and the violation of the women rights are being, bit by bit, erradicated.

The female genital mutilation (FGM) it's the partial or complete removal of tissue from the female genital organs, particullary the clitoris, in order to eliminate the sexual pleasure in women considering cultural, religious or any other reason and without any medical cause. This practice is usually done without any medical safety, security or supervision and this practice hasn't benefit the health of he women, is quite the opposite: it usually cause serious problems in women health like bleedings, infections, tetanus,... and there are a lot of women that had died in this procedure being that it's been done with rudimental intruments like crystals, knives or razor blades. Althought Africa is one of the continets in where there are more cases of this parctice, acroding with the Europian Parliament, it's also very commond in South America. In European conuntries is forbidden practice the genal mutilitaion and in fact, if you have the suspicious that an african family has led his daughter to Africa for practice the FGM, you can report it. For this, Nigeria is playing an importnat role in the african history because is the country who has the hight number of cases of genital mutilation in all the countries of Africa and now, the country has banned this practice. They considered that it's an horrible crime that untill now, only could find support in the history and in the social convencions  but it's deffinetly a clear vilation of the human rights of all women around the world. The new law states that those who practice or promote mutilation could face up to four years in prision and a fine of thousand dolars

How we could get to that point?

Related to the accident thta takes places in a high school in Barcelona the las month, where a 13 years old boy, as a result of a psychotic break, has kill his teacher with a crossbow and has hurt some students, make you think about about the security in schools, the law system,... and also, in our society because, how we could get to that point?... 

First of all, this boy will not go to a under 18 center and even, he will not be judget becuse he is under the 14 years old. This fact for the family of the death teacher it's horrible: you know who has caused his murder but nothing can be done for punish him. Front my point of view, I think thta it's necessary a change of law, this boy can and have to be, as minimum, judtget. In the other hand, we have the causes that made the teenager commit this unbeliable crime andwith this, the securuty in the schools. I think it's not necesary start to have police officers in the educational centers, revise the bags of all the students and teacher or veen, start to wear bulletproof vest but maybe, could be a goodidea start to have metal detectors for increase the secutiry. 

Another thing thta has to be doneis start to promove some valors from home and from schoolsbecause if a teenager can have this kind of guns at home, it means thta something is wrong with our system or with the society. In my opinionm I believe thta one of the causes could be the violent video game. Nowadays, teenagers are exposed to this kind of video games where they can be part of a warm, kill as peple as they want,... and all of this and like we can see in this terrible case, mark and transmit valors thta can end in what happen in this school.

My football team

I have been playting football isnce I were 5 years old and altought I have practice another sports (without let playing football) definelty, football it's my favourite sport. I have been playing in differents teams but now, I'm playing in the female team of Sant Pere (thta it's good because I don't have to go far away for train). Last year we win the First Catalan League and we had the opportunity to play the Catalonian Cup thta althought we did it well, we were discalificated in quarterfinals. I think thta it was because the level of the other temas that were playing in hight categories was very good. Even that, we did our best and we went more far than we thought...Another thing of win the league was that we had the opportunity of play in a high level, in Prefered League. Is one of the highest categories for women teams, after that there's only Second and Firts National where teams like Barça, Espanyol,... are playing.

Because of this change of level, we had been training very hard and doing our best during all the season, I had invested a lot of time in my football team: we train three times a week and in addition, there are weeks that Berta and I have to go to play with the Female Catalan Selection. Also we have to go to play to Barceloina, Tarragona and even Lleida every weekend,...  maybe this is the worts of that category I mean, I need a lot of time for my studies and I have to invert a part in football. Another "athwart" that have play football in this highs categories is that you have to make sacrificies I mean, maybe I can't meet with my friends or go out at night because I don't have time or because I have a match next day... but I think that it also have good things: I can stop of my routine, desconect, have fun,...during thre trainings and matches and the most important: I have new friends every year when people come and goes to one team to another.

Althought I had miss part of these season because I suffered an important knee lesson, we did, like always, our best. We have achieved the fifth position thta it's not a bad place in a classification taking into account that we have enter in this new category this same year! Besides, one of our objectives were keep on in this category and we did it and I'm sure that next season we will bee between the three firts places.

This year we are participating againg in the Ctalonian Cup and we have overcome oruself. This last weekend we payed quarterfinals and we passed it! It means that this August we are going to play agianst Barça F.C and if we win, we would be playing the final of the Catalonian Coup against Español F.C!!! I know it's very difficult, Barça have one of the better women teams, but we will try.

Trip to Berlín

I can't believe what I had just find! Last year we went to Berlin for the final school trip and when we come back to Spain, I was so exciting aboiut the trip and I decided to do a diary and I had just find it. I have been reading it and Ireklinding moments that I had forgotten! So thi is a sum up of all the things we did:
TUESDAY, 22

It was the first day of the trip. In the morning, all the students met at the high school and then, we went to the airpot in Barcelona by bus. In the airport we checked in the baggage and we waited to board the plane. It took two hours to get to Berlin. Once here, we went to the hostel by bus. 

When all the students and teachers were installed in the rooms, we took the first walk for Berlin and we saw the door of Brandemburg, some shops, Alexanderplatz,... Then, we went to dinner to a restaurant. 

When we finished, we had free time for make what we wanted. It was one of the nights taht I like most!

WEDNESDAY, 23

We woke up early for breksfats at the hostel and then, go to the parliament of Berlín. I really liked this visit because from the top of this place you can see all Berlín. When we finished the visit, we went to the Holocaust Monument. It is in a big park and there are a lot of big rectangular estructures made of concrete. It's very shocking. Then we went to lunch. In the afternoon, we went to visiti a bunker that was made in case a nuclear bomb roll out in the city, then we went to a museam called "The history of Berlín".
After diner, we went to a carousel. It was very funny!!

THURSDAY, 24
We woke upearly too! We took a bus and we went to a concentration camp near Berlín called Sachsenhausen. Then, we went throught the turquish quarter and we see The Berlin Wall. I really liked The Berlin Wall because it's full of graffitis and it's very colorfull.
After lunch, we went to the Jewish Museum were there was a tree were you could put one wish.
At night we had free time again and it was the funiest night of the trip! It was half past night and one of my friends realized that he had lost 150€ in McDonald's at seven o'clock in the afternoon. We went to the McDonald's to tried to find the money, all of us thought that it would be imposible found the moneytwo hours later, but we went anyway. The employeds of the restaurant let us to searched the money in the rubish inside the cook. There was more than thirty full bags of rubish and when we opened the first bag the money was there! All of us started to scream and jump in the middle of the cook of McDonald's.

FRIDAY, 25
I really enjoyed this morning because we went to the Zoo! I love the zoo and the zoo of Berlín is one of the biggest zoo's in Europe. We spent all the morning in the zoo seeing all the animals, then we went to saw the Sinagoga. It's a beautiful church but we couoldn't enter because was all controled by the police. After lunch, we take a bus and we went to the last two museums of the trip; the "New Museum" and the "Museum of Pèrgamo". Both were at the "Museum Island" place where there are five different museums. In the first museum we could see Nefertititi, considerate one of the best egiptian work of art.

SATURDAY, 26
It was our last day in Berlín. We had to bee at the airpot at half past twelve so we had free time during the morning that I take advantatge for did the last shops.
We took the plane at three o'clock and we arrived to Barcelona more or less at half past five, then we took a bus and we came to the high school. The bus ride was very funny because all the students were exciting for met with the family again and we didn't stop singing.

This is not the end #forçagirona

This last day of league in the Liga Adelante (Second division) has left a lot to talk. In these last matches were decided wich teams will play next year in firts division, wich teams will remain in the same division and wich teams will down to Second B, and one of the most important matches were played in  Montilivi, Girona. With only win the match, Girona would have been one of the teams that the next year will be play in firts division. Everything pointed that this could happen but there was a dramatic end in Girona. The Lugo team directed by José María Sánchez, left no party for the Girona team thanks to a goal of Paul Knight in the injury time that suppossed the final tie. The polemic comes when at the next shot, one of the referees annul a goal of Girona that would have given the rise again to first dividion. With this last decision of the referee, the crow went wild and from the stands was launched a water bottle that hit on of the assistants and the referee decided to suspent the match. Twenty minutes later and with a little public in the stands, the meeting was resumed only for fifty seconds that make imposible that the score move (even José Sánchez couldn't get on time to the field as  he was in the press room).

The desesperation of the Girona players, the feeling of injustice and imptence at the end of the match was the only thing visible in the field, in fact, there have been some declarations and charges of premiuem payments for the Lugo players and also, charges of the purchase of the Betis game agiants Sporting de Gijón, the other polemic match of this last weekend of league. Some Girona players, after the match, have accused to Betis of "let win" by the Sporting de Gijón and in this context, Santi Vila (former mayor of Figueres) wrote in his Twitter account: "The fact that Betis let win by the Sporting de Gijón is more outrageous than the surprising motivation of the Lugo team agains the Girona". 

And this is not all, with all this confrontations in Montivili, the audience jumped infuriated to the football field to rebuke players of Lugo, thta have to be escorted by the private security of the Girona club. Even that, they couldn't leave Girona stadium untill 22:30 because outside of the stadium the Girona fans awaited them.

But this is not the end of the "Girona dream", they will fight for the risse at firts division in the playoff step, where they will face against Zaragoza, Las Palmas and the Valladolid. So at the moment, the teams that will be for sure playting in firts divison next year will be Betis and Sporting, and we would see what happen between this four teams in te playoof step. 

The Blind Side

The Blind Side is one of my favorites films. I had seen it thousands of times and I think that I will never get tired of it. It's about one big black boy called Michael Oher that have to live in friends’ houses or even, he have to sleep in the street because he have a lot of family problems: he don't know nothing about his father, his mother is a junkie and he was separated from his brothers by the Social services when he was very young. He goes to the school but he gets mark down and the teachers don’t want to help him because he never pay attention in class and he can barely write. He doesn't have any friend except a little and funny boy called Sean JR. 

JR mother, Ane, it's an interior designer with a strong character. One day, she see Michael walking alone down the street, at night and shivering with cold then, she decided to provide him a place to sleep at home. The next morning, Michael leaves the house but Ane, invites him to stay longer. 

Gradually, Michale becomes a member of the family and later, they will end up adopting him. 

Parallel to all of this, Michale start to improve his marks and the school allow him to enter in the football team. At first, this sport not convince him because he don't want to hurt anyone, but later, he also improve because he considerate the team his family and he wants to protect them (and he also has the help of all his family, overcoat, of his new little brother) At the end, he's so good in this sport that all the university teams wants to contracted him for the respective university teams. 

At least, a boy who apparently, will not going to get anything in his life, ends in the university and playing in a professional football team. The best of this film is that it's based in a true story.

A place to visiti: Finland (audio)

listen to ‘A place to visit: Finland’ on audioBoom

A place to visit: Finland (pictures)

If you click on the pictures you will se hem bigger!

 

 

Oral presentation

This term, Berta and I have done an oral presentation about Tanzania. We choose this country because our parents have been there and we have a lot of pictures in home and we think that it's a beautiful country for all the landscapes, the Kilimanjaro (the highest mountain of all Africa), the volcanos, the natural and wild reserves where you can find all kind of animals,... This country it's also reach in culture: there are a lot of different tribes with different costumes and religions. 

Now the video of our presentation, hope you like it!

The 2015 Dr.Frankenstein

The Italian neuroscientist Sergio Canavero is convinced that  "In just two years, will be possible the whole body transplantation, so patients with quadriplegia, cancer or progressive muscular dystrophy may be able to replace their ill bodies for another healthy.

The idea sounds crazy and many of his friends think that it's impossible, but the Italian says that the last obstacle, the connection between the spinal cord of the donor with the spinal cord of the receiver, is already overtaken and it's expected that in June, the doctor present a project for perform this kind of transplantations. 

According with Canavero, the operation is completely practicable with the medical advances that exist, “it isn't necessary wait for discover something else” said. In fact, the experiments for the whole body transplantation, started the last century: in 1945, there was attempt of transplanted the head of one dog to another (although the animals could only survive between two and six days). Later, in the 70's, a British scientific tried to do the same but this time with two monkeys: the monkey could survive but it couldn't move because the scientific was not able to connect the spinal cord.

Now, according with the Italian doctor, this problem doesn’t exist, if an organ reject another, this could be solved with drugs. In any case, could be a rejection caused by a psychological reason (like in some face transplants) and in this sense, Canavero explains that three months before the operation, the patient must use a kind of virtual machine which will show like a picture of the patient with the body that will have after the operation. In this way, the patient wouldn't experience a psychological rejection. 

Even so, the process will be slowly: before the operation the patient will be into a coma for a month for avoid movements and then, the patient must be subjected to physical therapy to recovermotion. Further, the operation will last 36 hours and it will be needed between 100 and 150 professionals, and it's also possible that before the transplantation, the patient have a change of humor and character. For this last problem, Canavero proposed the cloning cells. 

Candidates ready for this kind of operations is not missing; the doctor says that he has received a lot of requests although the success is not fully insured. 

The project financing, ten millions euros, it's also expected: a researcher of Turín have publish a book about the head transplantation and the benefits of it will go to the first intervention.

So the only thing left to solve is where will be perform the first operation. According to Canavero, "the country that makes the first whole body transplantation will be like the first man to reach the moon, something that all countries should aspire". 

I think that this kind of "experiments" should be done for prove if it can be done or not. I don't know, maybe this operation it's possible and thanks to this doctor people who have to spend his live in a wheelchair or people who have the days of live count, can survived and have a better life although there is the problem of the change of humor an character (even so the doctor Canavero says that could also be solved). Anyway, if you are about to die and the doctors get to choose you between die or live but with another character, what would you say? It's a complicated topic.

I think that the main problem is ethical or moral. If we started to do this kind of operations, we will be doing the same as Dr.Frankenstein, nothing will be natural, I mean, you will born with one body and you will die with the body of another person! Or what it's worse, we could live forever. All seem to be a science fiction film...

Original new: http://www.elmundo.es/salud/2015/02/27/54ef8a0fca4741b0718b4579.html

Orizoba still keeping the secret

For over half a century, seven men who were climbing the north face of the Peak of Orizaba (Mexico) at a height of 5.300 meters, suffered an avalanche of snow and four of the group disappeared in it. The bodies were never found, but this week, a group of mountaineers that were crossing the area, found two of the four corpses that might be of those who disappeared 56 years ago (except if the DNA test says the otherwise).

The expedition of the City of Mexico found last Sunday one of the corpses by chance. One of the members of the expedition was climbing a crater when suddenly, slipped and fell. In this moment, he saw something round and he thought that it was a coconut, but it turn to be a skull. The mountaineers announced the discovery in the social networks and they warned to the Red Cross. The picture that they take of the head and one arm of the mummy was very successful and the Mexican Association of Mountaineers began to move quickly for exhume the mummy. Then, the second corpse was discovered hugging the first. They also found a red jumper, a jacket and a bag: remains of the expedition. 

Luis Espinoza, one of the seven men that were climbing the peak that November of 1959, still have a picture of that same day at the foot of the mountain where later, four of his friends would be missing until now. In the picture, we can see one of the group dressed in a red jumper. 

After almost a live, two of the members of his group had been found but two bodies still missing: the mountain still keeping the secret.

Original new: http://elpais.com/elpais/2015/03/06/actualidad/1425638791_599529.html

Why it's so hard to see black and blue?

Few days ago, the only think spoken in the social networks and the question that have the world without sleep was: Is the dress blue and black or white and golden? Well, taking advantage of the fame of this dress, the organization against the gender violence The Salvation Army, has carried out an advertising campaign with the catchword "Why is so hard to see black and blue" and a picture of a women full of bruises and dressing that famous dress (in this case, the dress is white and golden). The picture is also accompanied by another phrase that says the next: "The only illusion is think that has been her election. One in six women is a victim of the gender violence. Stop the gender violence". With this campaign, the organization want to show that even the most beautiful dress (or in this case, the most famous) can't cover the bruises of the woman skin, and it has been done because there are still people who can't see the reality of the problem of the gender violence (the 35% of the women in the world suffered gender violence). Using this dress, the organization wants that this message reach as many people as possible like the question of the color of the dress. 

After, for bolster the campaign, the same organization had publish another picture answering the question of the first ("Why is so hard to see black and blue?"): "Because they covered it with white and gold" and adding the phone number of the association and another phrase: "majority of women who are abused never report it".

I think hat it's a good advesrtiment and also, a good moment to publish it because coincide the fame of this dress with the day of the woman. Besides, The Salvation Army had turne a "silly" internet fasciantion into a powerfull awareness campaign. It's an original campaing with an original catchword for try to make aware the women that suffered abuses that they have to say it. The campaign also encourage to all the poeple who knows someone who is going throuht this situation to report too.

Original new: http://www.elmundo.es/internacional/2015/03/06/54f9e4d6e2704e326f8b456d.html

Siwitzerland, come back

Last summer was one of the best summers of my life because I went on vacations with some friends to Switzerland! We went there because the family of my best friend has a house there because they use to go on winter to ski, and they left the house to us some days.

The house was in a little and beautiful village called Elm, well, the house was not exactly in the village, it was in the slope of the mountain of the Alpes. It was so nice and reminded me to the house of Heidi because it was made all with wood, the next house nearly were in a hundred meters... And next to the house, always appeared rabbits, deer... We also have a cable railway near the house!

We were in Switzerland about ten days. My friend and me, left the airport of Girona in the morning and at noon, we landed in Germany. Then, we took a taxi that took us to the train station and there, we eat and we took the first train. It was the longest journey because it took us to Switzerland. Once there, we took three more trains to arrive to Elm, there, my friend's brother and his friends were waiting for us for, at least, take us at home. They had gone by car two days before. 

The ten days past very fast! We did a lot of excursions through the Alpes. What impressed me the more was the beautiful landscape! All was very green and some mountains still have snow in the peaks. Further, in front of the house, there was a big mountain with waterfalls. The mountain was so high that you couldn’t see the sun until half past seven!

We also visited some cities such Zurich and Lucerne. In Zurich, my friend and I spent the day shopping and seeing the city although the guys that were tired of walk, spent the day complaining about our shops. The second city that we visited, Lucerne, was my favorite; it has a beautiful bridge, the Kapellbrücke, decorated with flowers and it that cross the lake of the four sides that we crossed by ferry. Another day, we visited the Schaffhausen waterfalls that were very awesome and some more villages and little cities.

The return trip was like the journey of the way there, with all the trains and the plane but without the enthusiasm because our vacations in Switzerland were running out and my friend and I were so tired, that we slept most of the way.

How I had said formerly, what impressed me the most was all the landscapes! All was so beautiful: it didn’t seem real to me, I was like in a film!!! Another thing was the currency, in Switzerland they have the Swiss franc and of course, I have to change my money before the trip. And my friend had to do the shopping because I didn’t understand the change of money… Anyway, I think I still have some Swiss franc in the wallet.

Another think that impressed I was the language: it’s true that in Switzerland they speak in German, but they have a very strange accent: even my friend, who’s German, didn’t understand them. Luckily, everybody speak in English so we could understand with everybody. 

Below, there is a part of the video that we made of our trip!

Jordi Casals and Muerte Por Funky

In the subject of Spanish language, we had to read the book "Muerte por Funky", written by Jordi Casals. The main character of the book, Eutanasio, works helping people to commit suicide and between all of this "works", there also are loves problems, revenges for suicides that went wrong... Well, the author of the book lives in Figueres and he teaches history in the high school of Roses, so he came to make a speech about the book and clarify some doubts.

In the morning, all the students of first of batxillerat and some teachers went to the Convent Of Santa Clara where the speech would take place. When we were all sitting, Jordi Casals started the conference.

At the beginning of it, the author confessed us that it wasn’t the first time that he did this kind of conferences to students of a high school and for this, he already knew more or less which would be our questions. So during the two hours which latest the conference, he didn’t stop talking about the book. He told us some interesting facts about the novel, for example, he told us that at first, what now is the novel, it would have been a screen player, but some friends convince him to pass it at novel. He also talked about the set of the novel: the history elapses in the Barcelona of 80's, when the music was an important entertainment in the city and also, in the Barcelona that he lived. Jordi explains us that before be teacher, he was member of a group of music and for this, all the musical references in the book such as the fact that the main character, is also manager of a rock band in Barcelona that will have exit at the end of the novel or what I think is the most quirky of the book: the titles of the chapters: instead of be a number or a “normal title”, are the name of different songs. Jordi also talked about this, he say that while he was writing the novel, in his way to the school by car, for example, he listened to some song that inspired him for make the

chapter and for this, he decided to put the title of the song at the beginning of it. He also talked about all the characters of the novel and he admitted that he was inspired by some friends for make them. The novel have autobiographical dates too, like the set of the novel, the music elements, the romantic infidelities... Summing up, the speech was very interesting and entertaining because we laugh a lot and there also were a very emotional moment when the author talked about the suicide and the complications and difficulties of the live, but he advised us to think that always, something better will come. 

I think that the students where a little participatory. When Jordi stopped to talked, rather, when made him finish because time was running, we make a few questions but I think that it was because the dedicatory) author had already answered all the questions that we had! Anyway, when the speech ends, we were able to talk with the author and he signed our books (well, actually the author only put my sister name in the dedicatory).

In love with summer

When I was little, each year, diuring the summer holidays, my family used to rend a house in somewhere in Spain and we spend 15 days there. We had visited most of Spain but we stopped doing it because my brother, my cousins and inclouding me, started to spend the vacations with our friends, working,... But I miss this "family vacations", it was so funny! We have been in each autonomus region of Spain. We usually rend a house in little villages, I don't know exacly why, I guess it should be because there, is where the biggest houses where because we were 12 cousins and adding the parents we were 18 perosns in one house! We spent a really really good time and we also learn new things, the cousins,  used to have a big room for all of us and the houses used to have a big garden with a swimimg pool where we swam altought the water were 5ºC. In Cazorla for example, we also had a tennis court (altought we didn't used it very much...), in the Pais Vasc the propietary of the house that we had rented had a farm where we went to "work", I put work between quaotes because we played more in the mountains of bales of straw than work, anyway, we feed the cows, we collected the eggs from the chickens and the propietary of the farm give us rides in the tractor shovel! In Palencia, the propietary of the house also let us work in his farm, but it was a differents one: he had a bee's farm and he tought us to make honey! He also had horses and we gone on some horseback riding. And we did it and more in our "free time"; during the mornigs, we did routes throught the mountain and it was also very funny! We went to beautiful places, we swam in lakes, rivers,... one year, we devote to look for fossils (and we found quite!), we saw a lot of animals: deers, rabits, snakes that my father and my brother like to catch,... actually, my brother was always searching animals: in Soria, he catch a big lizard and it bit his hand and left a good mark on it, and another year, I think it was in Cadiz, we devote to take care of a bird, a cat, shrews, two dogs and two turtles (a weird combination of animals) that we had found. 

The years that we spend the vacations in the beach, we spend the hole day in differents beuatifull beaches diving, doing canoing trips, in boats,... and for a change, my brother was always catching octopus (of course, he also was bitten by one), eels, starfish,... And my summer, didn't end after all of this: at the end of the vacations, the "reduced family", I mean, without cosins: only my parents, my siblings and me, used to go to Mallorca or Menorca where we continue diving, going to a beautifull beaches,...

We always had a great time: all the cousins laugt a lot togehter, we knew many people,... Now, we do something similar: each summer, all the cousins went to a house that our grandparents have in Benicassim (Valencia) and we stay there for a few days without parents! It's also very funny because we know a lot of people there (all of us have been going there almost since our birth) and ther's also beach, waterparks, music festivals (the FIB, the Rotottom, the Arenal Sound,...), so we spend a really good time!

For all of this, I'm waiting patiet this summer, further, last year I went to Switzerland with my best friend and it was one of the better vacacions of my life (I will talk about this trip in another ocasion) and we're preparing another forthis year! 

Summer, come now please!

Valentine's Day in numbers

There's no doubt that Valentiene’s day is one of the American most popular holidays; more than 62% of Americans celebrate it by sending cards and flowers, giving candy or other gifts or enjoying romantic dinners (or the three!). But does anyone know the history behinds valentine’s day? Well, this celebration comes from the ancient Rome; during the reign of the emperor Claudio III, he diced to send all the young men to the war and for make them better soldiers, he decided to ban the marriage. Valentin, a friar, realized the injustice that this prohibition supposed for the young people and he decided to marry young couples secretly. He did this until he was find out by the emperor and imprisoned. But this is not all: in the prison, he fell in love with the daughter of the director of the prison and before be executed for breach of the rules, he wrote a love card to his love (and here comes the tradition of the love cards), and all of this pass the February 14: now known as Valentine's day. Even so, the tradition of the "romantic day" didn’t appear until the XVIII century.

Anyway, nowadays this holiday, especially in America, has been stablished like a consumer holiday. I found some interesting studies about the amount of money spent during the day and what impressed me the most is the next: each year, 1 billion of valentine’s cards are sent, more than any other holiday except Christmas. More than 33 million of heart chocolate boxes are sold, more than 220 million of roses are produced for the holiday and 4 million of dollars are expended in jewelry! American spends more than 20 billion of dollars on Valentine’s Day, what means 130 dollars per person each year! And at least, the "ultimate romantic gesture"; more than 6 million couples engaged this day.
This day supposed a big amount of money for the Americans and it shouldn’t be that way, I mean, is nice make a little detail to the person that you love, but have an average of 130 dollars per persona is a lot! Instead of wait for the day, Americans should fear it!

Oral presentation

I did this oral presentation with Berta and we talked about weird celebrations around the world. We were interested in this topic because we think it's an interesting one and some celebrations are so funny! We had a great time doing this presentations because we found some hilarious videos of te celabrations that we talked about. My favourite celebration was the last: Holi. This is a beautifull festival that takes place in India every year when springs beggans.

Just do it

Shortly, this year will go and will come another and between this coming and going, there is the famous New Year's Resolutions. The New Year's Resolutions, it's  the time of the year when we have to chance, to reflect on the past twelve months and look forward to the endless possibilities of the next twelve months. It's a time full of hope, positivity and a feeling of purpose.

As much as it is a beautiful notion, I'm totaly againts it. I think that it's a procrastinator's ideal defense: "I'll start in the New Year". According to Static Brain, a web page where people can say their new years resolution and then, ther is a ranking with the most said, the 45% of the people make a New Year's resolutions with the promises of "enjoying life to the fullest", "change my life" or "do something more/better" and being ones of the highest ranked, but I don't understand why wait to get started a new goal? I think that the date it's what matters the least, if you really whant to change something of your life or start a new way of life, why don't start right now? or if there is something going on in your life that you don't like, why you don't change it now? In fact, starting now will ultimately benefit you. I think that the countdown to a new beginning starts every day when you wake up, not every fisrt day of the New Year. If it feels right to start now, start now, it's not so complicated. Don't wait for tomorrow, next week or the 1st of January. What's the difference between starting on a Thursday, in November or in the secon weekend of a month? A date won't define your succes.

Maybe, you decide to put a date for make a change or take up something because you may never feel like you are entirely ready to start your next move and it's easier to make an excuse (that it's already say "tomorrow"), but waiting is just limiting yourself. For sure, that everybody has heard the typical  phrase "don't leave for tomorrow what you can do today" and this phrase have a lot of truth! If it's no like this, tell me what it's going to change tomorrow for do what you didn't dare to do today? What makes you belive that you will feel ready tomorrow or on 1st of January? We have to believe that we are capable  of doing wathever we put on our minds to.

Another typical phrase that also have a lot of truth is the next: "don't wait for the perfect moment, make the perfect moment". By starting now, you will be one step nearest of your objective than starting in January, I mean, where you thought you could be in January, you could be now, in December.  

We all have 365 days (sometimes up to 366) to take up something or make achange in our life, so please, use all of them.

Social networking sites

Social networking sites are not new. I have been investigating a little and I find out that they were first introduced to the world in the late 90s, but they don't became very popular until the new century because at first, not everybody used to have a computer at home and were thought to be too "advanced". Nowdays, for many people, mostly, the teenagers, visiting the social networks sites like Facebook, Twitter or MySpace are part of their daily routine. Sure it's a good way to keep in contact with your friends or family but in my opinion, this sites can be only beneficial if you know to use them in a certain way because these can also be detrimental if you use them in the worng way.

Firts of all, these sites make it possible to interact with people next door or even, across the world very fast and with a simple gesture: one click  This allows you to keep in touch with the people who lives far away from you whoever and whenever you wanted to. 

Second of all, one of the countless features that many of these sites have, is that allows you to upload or dowload pictures. This is very helpful for sharing pictures with friends and family, but there is one thing more that could be a good or a bad thing: the capacity of people to comment on your pictures. It's nice to see what people thinks about your pictures, but often times, some people don't have positives things to say.
Another drawback about the networking sites, is that some poeple act completly different over the internet than they would act in real life, or sometimes, people can trick you (there is a TV porgramme called CatFish that it's about these tricks through the internet). 

Finally, the most common disadvantage of social networking sites, is the addition. Often, users of these sites get addicted to it: they spend hours using these sites and it can cause mental health problems.  

The train of the Magic Kings

The longest train journey has just begun: 21 days and 13.052 kilometers across icy plains at -30ºC, deserts and hug mountain ranges where Marco Polo walked! From one of the extrems of China, across Russia, Poland, Germany, France,... definetly, up to eight different countries with one ojective: reach the Spain capital, Madrid (if all goes well, the train would arrive the 9 of November). In the picture you can see the route that the train will do, from China to Madrid and how exceeds the record of the TransSiberian Railway (that until now was the longest train journey made) by far. 

It's going to be many replacaents of enginers drivers and watchers. Acording with the calculations of an american journalist that reach the new for the The New York Times, only between Kazajistán and Polonia, more than 100 enginer drivers took the train control, what menas that there is a change every 800 km.

The initiative of this Yixin'Ou (the name of the train) starts in China when the chineses wanted to make the new Silk Road. In the last months, Xi Jimping, the precident the country, has been committed to invert 32.000 million of euros in rail infraestructures with the objective of be the center point of the economic belt of this 21st century Silk Road. 

The segurity is extremly for prevent thefts in lawless regions. The wagons are guarded by an armed guards the 24 hours of the day and all the wagons have the "GSM technology", a stamp that shoot an alarm if the wagon is manipulate. 

The train is formed by 82 blue wagons: 1.000 tones of weigh and with a dimensiones of 12 meters of lenght, 2,35 meters of with and 2,70 meters of height; in total, 30.560 cubic meters full of  "made in China" products.

In Spain, for the days that this train is going to enter in the country and for all the toys that bring in their blue wagons (8 wagons are reserved for the Spain marked), it's know as The Train of The Tree Magic Kings. 

The train have a lot of advantatges as a trasnport methood, is faster than a boat, cheaper than a plane and can arrive to places that don't have port (like Madrid) and also, it doesn't miss anything from the trip, on his return to China, is going to pick up merchandises from all the countries crossed.

I think that the only fantastic thing about this train, is the long trip that it's going to do because the quantity of wagons that carries it's nothing compared with the high number of wagons that a cargo ship can carry (that is more than 10.000 wagons!). Anyway, it's incredible how chinese people always come up with new ways of surprise the world.

(Original new: http://www.elmundo.es/cronica/2014/11/30/5479b71ce2704e591e8b4577.html)