Russian Venezuelan Project: Final meeting - presentation

04-18-2012 We had the final meeting where we presented our works. Lamentably not all the Russians students could been in the meeting because they get confused by the date. Specially my Russian partner Lera. But 4 of us (in the Venezuelan side) could present our works. This is my PP presentation:

Venezuela

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We used WizIQ and Skype to make our online conference, it was a very good opportunity to know other people that our teacher Doris invited, and a great activity to practice the language with people who were in a highest level of knowledge. If the teacher from Russia can read this I want to say to her: Thank you for all. Specially because it was an excellent job with my teacher Doris and a good effort considering that we have 11 hours and a half less of difference in time use. It was too late for they when we started the meetings but I think all of they, teacher and students did it great job. Also I want to thanks my partner Lera, she works with me in the presentation and brought to me some photos of Omsk and herself that are in there. It was a shame that she couldn't stay in the meeting but I hope to get another opportunity to work with her or with the other students and their teacher Olga. Thank you guys, thanks a lot Teacher Doris, You bring us and excellent activity to improve our knowledge in the language, and a great opportunity to meet people in the other side of the world.

The Home Project: Day 3. Last day.

04/10/2012: We talked about holidays, specially about Easter that was the recent holiday. Also we talked about our cultures traditions, hobbies and music. Here are two mindmap about our hobbies, sports and music genres we like. In the table are the special holidays of our countries. They have particularity that their Xmas and New Year are in January because in the Orthodox religion use the antique Julian calendar.

The Russian Venezuelan Project: Day 2

March 27, 2012: we talk about the video "HOME" from the ecological group called "Home Project". It's a documentary about the changes in the world since it creation/ appearance in the universe, and old the things that the humans did and do changing our "Home" and make it into a difficult place to live. 
A lot of people living in slums and suburbs; forest and desert are now cities or part of fabrics and factories.

"I was impressed by how dirty is the air people breathe in different countries. Our city is dirty, because in our city there oil factory" said Lera about his city and the contamination in there.


I think it’s a very common and uncontrolled problem in the world the differences between the rich and pours. So many countries build large building, while others living between the waste of the others. The people can make their.

Also the technology is becoming in big agent of pollution and contamination. Talking with Lera she said to me that her country like a oil producer, makes a lot of pollution, the air is very dirty in Russia because of that.

Also Maracaibo and Venezuela are victim of the increase of technology and the production of energy based in Oil.

Also we talked about the technology there not a much differences between Russia and Venezuela or Maracaibo and Omsk between technological gadgets and devices but is curious that here in Venezuela the brand Blackberry it's almost the most known one and there, at least in Omsk it's not known. I think it's good because says that the people in there are not worried about this stuff.
Like for us, for they some gadgets and devices like Ipads, Ipods,  another tablets and mp3's are very expencives and not a lot of people can buy one of those.
 

The Russian Venezuelan Project: Day 1

Last Wednesday (March 20) we had a meeting with some students of Russia, the are from the city of Omsk in the east of the country. We met each others and divided in pairs and groups. On the Russian side there were two students and, in the  Venezuelan side were three students.

I'm working with Lerochka Smetanina (Lera), She is 18 years old, live with her mother and grandmother (and her cat). She is a History and Theory of International Relations student at the Omsk State University of Fyodor Dostoevsky.

About her country: Russia is a very cold country. They only have hot weather in the summer.  She loves the summer and warm climate and wait every year for the summer, what is her favorite season of the year.

Top Ten Movies

Top ten Movies.-
 Theese are for me the best movies of all times:

#10:  Forrest Gump

#9: Heartbreak ridge

#8: What Dreams May Come

#7: Braveheart

#6: 300

#5: Finding Forrester

#4: Back to the Future III

#3: Star Trek XI

#2: Back to the Future 

#1: Back to the future II

Back to The future review

Btf

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Movie riddles

Movie riddles: for the ones who loves movies

Movie riddle #1 
Clue #1 It’s a Sci - Fi movie.
Clue #2 It takes place in a spaceship that travel arround the galaxy.
Clue #3 William Shatner is in there.
Clue #4 When a destructive space entity is spotted approaching Earth, the Admiral of the spaceship resumes command in order to intercept, examine and hopefully stop it. .
Clue #5 In the end, they stop the entity understanding what it want.

Movie riddle #2
Clue #1 It’s a drama movie.
Clue #2 It takes place in New York.
Clue #3 Sean Connery is in it.
Clue #4 It’s about a young man from the bronx who meets an Scotish writer who was disapered.
Clue #5 In the end, get a scolarship in a private school and moved to the writers house.

Movie riddle #3
Clue #1 It’s a comedy/drama  movie.
Clue #2 It takes place in South Carolina county.
Clue #3 Tom Hanks is in it.
Clue #4 A not intelligent man, has accidentally been present at many historic moments, but his true love, eludes him.
Clue #5 In the end, he saw his love dieying and she gave him her son an he convert into the child's father.

Technologies and gadgets

Iphone



Creative Zen V


Nowadays, when we talk about technology it’s difficult not to think in computers. Since the creation of the first personal computer all the technologies were based on computers, creating new ones, models and
part.

Every single thing that can make your life easier or can resolve a problem is called gadget. May be twenty years ago when you say the word gadget the people thought in a Swiss Army knife or a walkman or may be a portable stereo, but right now a gadget may refer to an Ipod or others Mp3’s, a laptop or netbook computer, smartphones, etc. because those articles are the Swiss army knife of the World 2.0.

What's my favorite gadget?
My fovorite gadget is my Creative Zen mp3, because I listen to music almost all day long. And with it I also listen to he radio or listen to auidiobooks. I can record voice and storage it in commons audio file formats.
Also I like so much the Mac's products like IPod and Iphone even a don't have one of them, but I know that these products have a good quality and an excellent design.

The beauty is in the eye of beholder

Sometimes you heard someone says “how beautiful is this girl” or “what a pretty girl”, but, do you really know what beauty means? In the dictionary we can find these definitions of beauty: a combination of qualities that delights the aesthetic senses; denoting something intended to make someone more attractive; an excellent example of something; an attractive feature or advantage. What are those qualities? How can you define who are the prettiest who are the ugliest? May be is easier say that beauty is in the eye of beholder and everyone thinks who are pretty who are not.
Scientists says that beauty can be measure with a simple sum of factors that a woman or a man can has in their faces and body. If you have symmetry in your face with an equal skin color and athletic body with toned muscles; you are a beautiful. May be they are right and all these actresses with their incredible shape, with their skinny bodies and blond hairs are the most beautiful women in the world.
So, that’s mean we are the ugliest… And what if is that true?  Do you really think is important an static with all the votes showing that your beautiful or not? Do you really care if someone says you are a pretty girl or you are handsome boy? For me that’s not important; what's really important is to cultivate your soul, your feelings and what you really are. Your body is important, you have to preserve your integrity and your health.
Don’t matter what they say, just matter what you think and what you want. Just show respect for yourself and others, having a criterion doesn’t mean that you have to disrespect others.  

 This video is from Macy Gray an American Pop singer. She says in their song that there is too much beauty in the world and I can add, that every single people in the world are to. No matter if you are skinny or fat, tall or small, just matter what we really are, what is in our soul; just matter “our way to be”. Do good and do not look at who.

Legal alien (Alien) in Maracaibo

Few days ago, in class we listened to a song from an British singer called Sting. The song's name is Englishman in New York, released in 1987, and it's one of the most famous songs of this singer and one of the best in the history of British Rock. In class we read the lyrics and discussed about it. Reading the lyrics I toke and especial phrase of this song: "I'm alien, I'm a legal alien, am a English man in New York", and I said to myself "I'm an alien (Alien) in Maracaibo, Am a legal Alien in Maracaibo".

To be honest, I listened many times to this song but didn't pay too much attention to the lyrics until now. In this song there are a few sentences that really made me feel related. One of then was “If, Manners maketh man" as someone said Then he's the hero of the day It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile Be yourself no matter what they say”. I think this sentence is the perfect one to describe myself.

People like me have good manners and is our nature to have good attitude and modals, people like me don't yell or insult others and show respect at any time to everyone. It isn't an obligation or something that we "have to do", it's our nature; but some people in this city see that like a rare way to be.

Sometimes we have to smile (and suffer) the ignorance , eat our wildest part and swallow the anger. It's better to smile and keep walking our way, "be your self, no matter what they say". May be we are Aliens for them and they don't seem humans for me.

If you want to see the video this is the link: Englishman in New York


Live long and prosper!

Mind map

Mind maps o spidergrams are "diagrams (= simple plan) with lines and circles for organising information so that it is easier to use or remember" (Cambridge online dictionary, http://dictionary.cambridge.org). 


This one doesn't contain to much words but contain some images to explain what's on my mind and you can understand better what I do and what I like:

Welcome

Hello everybody my name is Jose Reyes, I'm a student of Computer Sciences Engineer at URBE University in Maracaibo.

I'm from the city of Barcelona (Anzoátegui), but I've been living in Maracaibo for 20 years.
I'm a kind of geek, a music lover, a  I'm a Real Madrid fan and Venezuela's National Soccer Team;  and a volunteer in SAR (Search and Rescue) group called "Rangers de Venezuela".


If I can describe myself in a few words I would say: melomaniac, reflective and easygoing. I love music almost every genre, in to many languages from to many artist. My favorite style is the heavy metal i'm a big fan of Metallica, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Led Zep and others related bands; also I listen to alternate rock, reggae, hip-hop, new age, llaneras, Classical Music and don't know how many more.

Even I'm a music lover there are a few "music" genres that I really HATE: regueton*, vallenato, argentine cumbia, quebradita, grupera, etc.  For me that's not music, that's a big noise and some other things that I can't write in this BLOG.

Prepotency, arrogance and violence; those three words resume what I don't like. In my opinion, this behavior comes from ignorance and fear. Every time i'm in front of people like this I move aside and I keep walking my way.


Why I called this blog The Expeditionary? Because I love the mountains, I like trekking and camping. Every travel for me is an expedition; don't know how it gonna be and sometimes don't know the way I have to walk but I know where I'm want to go and mission is get in there.

Audio presentation at Voxopop: Discussion » Doris3m EFL Center. Introduce yourself!

Well,  if you want to know more keep reading this blog and thanks for your time.

- In this video you can see my favorite activity: rescue training and expeditionism.

*regueton: the right writing of this word is "reggaeton" becuase they say they have influences in reggae music. I don't know if Bob Marley would be agree but I don't see that supposed influence. Are you agree with that?