Study Abroad

Hi guys I am Brais and I am going to talk about how you can make one of the best decisions of your life studying abroad. I have chosen this topic to everyone can know their options to study abroad, because, bad luck mine, I did not know about all the possibilities until I have been in my  last year of my university degree. The two more common options are, Erasmus the Europe option, and Sicue the Spanish option, those two are really easy to get and have a good  money support, but I am not going to talk about those because everyone knows and a few of my classmates already did it.

I have chosen to talk about the Isep and Magallanes scholarships.

ISEP

It is about getting a way to can afford studying a whole year experience in USA.

This scholarships it seems to be quite easy.

Theoretically you only need to pay as always your enrollment in your home university in Uvigo,

and they in that case UVIGO  will do the rest paper work instead you.

Your only job is to make your own learning agreement with the subjects you wanna study and its over,

¿easy right? Well now is when the problems starts coming up.

The big thing here to can achieve the scholarship it is not the paper work as the Erasmus or Sicue,

the thing is have all the requirements that the scholarship obliges to have.

Have a C1 TOEFL english level
Pay 4000 thousand euros
Been a university degree student in their third or fourth academic year
Been selected in a good city and not end up in a lost town in the bowels of Texas

If you are successful and pass all the requirements,
well then  you are a lucky person who can enjoy an unforgotten experience

SANTANDER

Latin American Scholarships Degree students.
The program will grant in the next five years, scholarships with 3,000 euros each.
You can apply for grants to students from universities in ten differents countries
(Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico and Uruguay),
to anyone interested in making a semester stays.
This program does not focus as much on learning a foreign language,
as on experiencing the culture and educational system of another country,
taking credit from the multiculturalism that this experience brings to us.

My trip to Italy

                                        My trip to Italy 

Three years ago, for my eighteenth birthday, my family and I went on a cruise to Italy. 

We had to go by plane to Barcelona and there we took the cruise to Italy. The name of the cruise was Norwegian Epic and it was really big and very luxurious. 

The first day was sailing day, so my family and I had a lot of time to enjoy the cruise activities. The cruise had a lot of different types of swimming pools restaurants and shops. The cruise also had theater, solarium, hairdresser, gyms, bowling courts, tennis courts and many more things ...

The second day we woke up in Naples, the third day we went to Civitavecchia and to Rome.

The fourth day we went to Livorno, Florencia and Pisa and the fifth day we spent the day in Cannes and Mónaco.

The last day was sailing day again and we went back to Barcelona, there, we took a plane to Vigo. For me this trip was amazing and I had a really good time. I'm looking forward to do a trip like this again.

MY ERASMUS EXPERIENCE

Hi guys!! I would like to share my Erasmus experience with you. Besides,I’ll tell you some useful information that is important to know it, if you’d like to live the same experience.

This adventure started nine months ago, when I arrived to Torun last October.I lived there with Olga and Brais for five months.

Torun, is a medieval Polish city where a famous astronomer, Nicolas Copernicus, was born. People are very proud of him there .For this reason, a lot of shops and places are called with his name.  Furthermore, Torun is very touristic because there are incredible churches,
many monuments in old town and boating in Vistula River.The most famous souvenir is Ginger bread, a biscuit with different shapes.

If you travel or go on Erasmus to Poland, it is important to know some important curiosities about this country: Polish people are very quiet and serious, when meeting someone, they shake hands, they don´t like kisses on the cheek. In the hotels and houses they use blinds instead of shutters. They don´t eat bread with their meals. Also, they usually drink soda water with ice and lemon all year long.The timetable,is different from Spain, the shops close at 6 p.m and the restaurant close at 8 p.m.

The weather is very cold  and it snows a lot because most of the days the temperature was under 0 degrees.While I was living there, the lowest temperature was -12ºC.However, the thermometer reached - 41 degrees in the nineteen forty .       

Many people asked me if the lessons at university were difficult.In my opinion the lessons were easy because the teachers spoke English very clearly.The lessons with the kids were the best thing at University because we taught Spanish and ours costums.                   

When I didn´t have lessons I used to travel with my friends to different countries such as Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary and of course Poland. I really liked all of them because each travel was different, but my favourite one was to Budapest.

In my free time I used to meet with a  lot of people from different parts of Spain and other countries such Italy or Turkey. We went to the Karaoke and pub, I enjoyed spending a good time with all of them.

In conclusion, because of all of these things, the Erasmus experience was the best adventure I’ve ever lived in my life. I would like to repeat it in the future. I strongly recommend it to at all of you.

WHERE DO I COME FROM?

The summer of 2016 I knew where I came from. I was born in Switzerland and I have family there. So, I have been in Switzerland several times visiting my family. But, I was born in the French part and they live in the Swiss part. That's why I didn't know where I come from.

I went on this trip with my parents and my brother and they showed me where I'd lived for two years. Besides, they also brought me where they used to work and it was amazing.

On the one hand, the strangest thing was when we visited my parent's friends and they all knew me and told me a lot of things about myself. They told me stories like "When you were born we made a big party to celebrate your birth" or "I gave you your first sleigh and you loved it". They were so nice talking to me as they knew me but I didn't know them. They were completely strangers to me. 

Here, you can see the landscape that we used to see every day. This is Le Valais, in particular, Les Collons.

On the other hand, I think that it is very important to know where we come from. A lot of people was living in other countries when they were young and they haven't visited their country of birth. I think it is a pity because it is very beautiful to see where you were living, where you went to play, where you went to school,etc.

I was very happy with this trip and I would recommend doing it. If you were born in Galicia or Spain and you don't have a different country of birth, I also recommend visiting Switzerland. :)

Why?Because Switzerland has amazing landscapes and you can do a lot of tracks in the mountains if you like walking, and if you don't , you can use the cable car. 

In this country the people is very polite and there you will know a different way of living. They have a different timetable from ours. And, at las, but not least, the food. I love their food and their chocolate! I recommend Cervelat, Fleischkäse, Landjäger and spätzli. And if you like cheese, Raclett, Fondue and Käseschnitte.

Finally, if you can, I suggest visiting this country on the first of August, it's the national day and everything is decorated. Moreover, you can see the fireworks and it is amazing. 

Thanks for reading my publication. See you!

NETFLIX OR CINEMA?

In my opinion it is a interesting question but the answers are very different.

When you speak with filmakers they said you that "There is a generation of adult people, between forty and seventy, that go to cinema but the next generations don´t do it". It is similar as the missing of the paper newspaper, none young people buy it in the kiosk because all of them have the news in their phone.

These filmakers add that their productions can´t compete with Netflix because "We can´t do anything if Netflix costs six euros and you can share it among three families".

For example, Steven Spielberg said "I want that the people find their entertaiment in any way that they want: big screen, small screen, … the most important thing is the big stories and all of us should have access to them". In addition, he added " Nevertheless, I think that the people need to have the oportunity to leave their safe lifes and go to a place where they can sit with other people to share crying, laughter, …"

In my opinion,  Netflix is more confortable than going to the cinema but we, as a teachers and citizens, should encourage our pupils and friends to go to the cinema and share social experiences that you, alone in your home, can´t reach.

Taking the bull by the horns

As we all know, we start to learn English in school when we are young. But I am sure that we are all in agreement that after all these years we haven’t achieved a good level of English going to school.

So that’s the reason why I decided to take the bull by the horns and start to learn English on my own, four years ago. I must confess that since I was a child, I listen to more music in that language than in Spanish and obviously it is helpful but, in most cases, it isn’t enough. So, I want to share with you my experience with TV series as a way of learning English.
First, I decided to search for an original English TV series and then I started to watch it but with subtitles. It doesn’t matter if you watch the chapters with Spanish subtitles at the beginning because you are accustoming your hearing to the pronunciation and other language factors.
After I watched my first TV series in English, I tried to watch the second with English subtitles and it was cool because I can understand what the characters were saying, sometimes even without watching the subtitles.
Now, I want to recommend two series that can help you to start that adventure because they are amazing and easy to understand.
One of them is Sense 8 and it is one of my favourite TV series. It’s the story about eight persons from different parts of the world who are linked mentally and their search to find a way to survive from those who want to haunt them. In the show appears important topics such as identity, gender, religion, politics and sexuality.

The second is Lost and it is also one of my favourite TV series. The story begins with a plane accident in a desert and mysterious island where the survivors will find out that they’re not alone

These shows were the first that I watch in English and they help me to incoming my reading, listening, speaking and writing skills. But there are other TV series that I have watched later or even I am watching now and they are also amazing. Some of them are Pretty Little Liars, How to get away with murder and The Walking Dead.

I hope I encourage you to watch an English TV series and to take the bull by the horns.

SWITZERLAND AT EASTER

Hello everybody! At this time, I am at the airport waiting for my flight and thinking about what to tell you. Maybe the best topic is to talk about my Easter holidays in Switzerland because they end today.

I will start by giving you some tips that may be useful if you want to travel there in the future.

Firstly, Internet connection is not available unless you pay a specific card. In my case, I used my mobile phone only with Wi-Fi and, it was one of the best things could ever happen to me because I enjoyed my stay without worrying about messages or calls until I got home.

Also, they have another currency that is the Swiss franc, so you can exchange EUR to CHF or use your credit card to make payments.

The weather is changeable, you don't ever know if it is going to rain or sun. I recommend you to take a warm jacket and comfortable shoes.

And finally, delete or back up your files to free up space because you will need it to immortalize what your eyes see.

Thus, I travelled to Switzerland to visit family who is living there. I arrived at Geneva airport and, I got around using public transportation (tram and bus). Jet d´Eau, a large fountain situated in Lake Geneva, and St. Peter´s Cathedral were some of my favourite monuments there. From the towers of St. Peter´s Cathedral I could get a 360º view of the entire Geneva and its Lake.

Views from St. Peter´s Cathedral (Geneva)

I also visited Lausanne where I appreciated similarities with the steeps streets of Vigo, Montreux, and Vevey. These three cities and Geneva are on the shores of Lake Geneva so, they have stunning panoramic views.

Lausanne- French speaking area

Lake views from Montreux

The Giant Fork, Vevey

Another day, I travelled to Lucerne and Lugano by train. I had to catch different trains and, I experienced a variety of languages in Switzerland. Depending on the train, people were speaking in French, German or Italian.

Lucerne-German speaking area 

Lugano- Italian speaking area

I tasted some typical dishes such as gratin with potatoes, onions and cheese, meat fondue, raclette, and rösti.

Furthermore, I cannot forget Swiss chocolate. It is worldwide known for its high quality and going to Switzerland at Easter is synonymous of eating a chocolate rabbit (at least).

Lapins de Pâques (Easter rabbits)

In conclusion, these holidays have helped me to be more grateful with everything I have, to open my mind in different ways and to want to learn new languages to increase my social circle.

And now I have to say goodbye because the pilot just announced that the plane is about to take off. Thanks for reading my publication. I hope it was helpful and entertaining. See you!

MY TRIP TO BUDAPEST

This year, I was on Erasmus in Poland and this gave me the chance to visit different places that were near this country. One of them was Hungary. I was in the capital, Budapest. I was there three days with my best friend, who was on Erasmus with me.

Budapest is a big city, which is divided in two parts by the Danube River. Both parts are connected by bridges as Margaret Bridge, Elisabeth Bridge or the most famous one, The Chain Bridge.
One side of this city is called Buda, where you can find the Buda Castle, Fisherman's Bastion and Matthias Church. This part is located on a high hill. If you want to go to this point of the city, you should take some type of transport or prepare yourself to walk a long way up. However, it is worth it, because the monuments and the views are absolutely amazing.

And the other side of the river is called Pest. There, you can find really nice places too; like the Parliament, St. Stephen's Basilica or The Central Market Hall. We visited all of them and they were lovely, but I was quite sad because one thing we couldn’t see was the opera, which was being repaired at the moment. Pest is huge. Therefore, we took the subway line (which is one of the oldest lines of the world) when we visited the Heroe’s Square and the Vajdahunyad Castle. The Szechenyi bath is next to these places, so the day we were there, we decided to spend the afternoon in the baths. This thermal bath has more or less 20 pools, three outdoor pools and the rest of them indoor pools. It is a great place to relax after a long day of sightseeing.

We wanted to know more things about their culture and the history of the city, so we went to a free tour in our second day there. Our guide was a Hungarian woman and she taught us some words in Hungarian, explained us some typical Hungarian dishes and showed us several places in the city. One of the most interesting things for me was that Budapest doesn’t have any skyscrapers. The Parliament and St. Stephen's Basilica are the tallest buildings of the city because they represent the government and the religion. Nothing can be more important than these institutions.

I totally recommend you to visit Budapest if you have the opportunity. It is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve seen.

Student exchanges as a way of learning foreign languages

I've been thinking a lot about student exchanges between secondary schools of different countries, because my little cousin has just made one. I thought that it could be very interesting to you as English students and as future teachers, so I decided to share her experience with you. 

My cousin (Ánxela) is in the fourth year of the Secondary School. The English department of her school organized this exchange thanks to the European Union financing, because they pay everything: the trip, the transport, etc. Her exchange has been with a school in Balbriggan, in Ireland. First, seventeen Irish guys came to Ribadavia (the village where this Secondary School is), and then, in May, fifteen Galician guys will go there for a week.

On Thursday, the guys from the Irish school returned there, so I could talk with my cousin and ask her some things about the experience.

She told me that as first, when she didn't know who was going to go to her house she was very nervous and even worried. She also said me that when you have an unknown person at home you are all time worried because you don't know if they are feeling well and confortable, if they need something. etc. This was specially difficult to her, because the Irish people were supposed to talk Spanish, but they only know how to say "hola, gracias, adiós", and as my aunt and uncle don't know too much English, she became a translator, and she was very stressed all the time.

However, Ánxela told me that the best of such an experience is to be able to communicate with people who don't speak the same language than you. She would repeat "1000 times more" because, despite the hard farewell, the time with that guys is wonderful. I had the chance to have one dinner with the Irish girl who came to my cousin's home, and it was very nice to talk with her and compare some things between Galicia and Ireland. 

My cousin and her classmates would recommend this experience to everybody. They say that it has allowed them to meet new people and to develop their skills with English. Now, they are nervous waiting their trip to Balbriggan, which they hope to be better. 

I've tell you all this only to recommend you to make something similar if you can, you won't regret! 😊😉

 

Music as a way of learning new languages

Since I can remember, music has been a very important thing to me, one with a very deep meaning behind. I listen to music when I am feeling low or when I am feeling excited, also when I want to take something off my chest or when I want to share something special with friends. But, out of all this, music has also helped me to learn languages like English, French and even Italian in a fun dynamic way.

Music is so helpful if you want to learn a new language through it, because it gives you a sense of amusement and fun while also helping you with the most difficult parts of learning another language. Even if you start with easy songs you can catch the basic structures of the new language very easily and almost effortlessly, while enjoying the rhythm and the sound of your favourite songs. Another advantage of using music to learn a new language is the new vocabulary that you can absorb without realising it, and that you can catch the pronunciation of a lot of words and phrases just by hearing them. In fact, and as an anecdote, I can tell you that when I was 12 years old (more or less) I used to have a strong dislike of the English language because of a bad teacher and what made me overcome that dislike was music, it (along books, movies and even comics) helped me see that the world outside classes was different, and that I could learn what they were trying to force in me, in a more authentic and entertaining way. 

Finally, if you are interested in learning a language using music I would like to introduce you to an app called “Lyrics Training”, where you can learn various languages through songs while having in mind your language level and even the type of activity you prefer to do with a song. 

https://es.lyricstraining.com/

So, if you like music and want to improve your English, give it a try!

All about social network "Instagram"

Nowadays all of us know that the social network Instagram is one of the social network more famous and used around the world not only in Spain. Currently, according to data published, Instagram counts with more than 200 million active users every day. If you contemplate this, you realise that the vast amount of people that are hooked on social network, more specifically in Instagram.

Focusing on Instagram, this application is predominantly used for taking and editing pictures, but due to its high use, the application added other things like “Instagram Stories” which consists in posting a video or picture that lasts only one day on your instagram account and then it is deleted inmediately. Instagram added stickers, IGTV vídeos, gifs, music and other fun stuff to your posts or videos too. But behind these there is hidden the darkest part of a false reality.

We have all heard about “Influencers” and her/his lifestyle, but if not, I´ll say you that this type of people dedicate to publish all her/his life in her/his instagram account (professional photos, luxury trips…), and how the word says, they influence everybody who follows him or her in his/her account.

Most of these “influencers”,generally, promote luxury clothing and how not, they are people well-being, with money and who staying at the best and luxury hotels in the world when they travel. This is the false reality because these people only show their followers what they want to show, the best things who they have and they do,using most of time “photoshop” to their pictures. This at the same time is an idealistic/false life. And here´s the rub,  people who follow them wants to be like them and they obsessed about having their “false” life and being like them, many times taking their life into risk. People influenced don’t see this and they are caught up in a world where nothing is what it seems to be.