Shakespeare slept here!

We speak English and so do YOU!

15
Dic
2008

Traveling during the holidays

You may be going home for the holidays. You may be taking a plane.
Look at all the planes flying on a single day.

It's almost vacation time and everyone is making plans.
If your family is here in Madrid, maybe you're the COOK this year and the whole tribe is going to descend upon your house for a big holiday meal or for a week of partying and fun.

For some families one day is enough. Too much time with your aunts and uncles, cousins and in-laws leads to conflict.

Maybe you're going to visit your grandparents. You're going to drive or take the bus because they are only 20 or 30 or 300 kilometers away. You're already worrying about the snow on the roads. Booking a seat on the train might be a good idea. Or are you going skiing? You WANT to see lots of snow.

Most of you will be going "home" for the holidays, wherever "home" may be: Galicia or the Canary Islands, Malaga or Mallorca. The foreign students may have decided to travel around Spain or visit other countries. Or they may be so homesick that they've decided to go back to Germany or France, Poland or Cyprus, Brazil or Peru or Costa Rica. "Home" is so far away, but "home" is "home" and you don't want to miss the traditional celebrations, the caroling around the "Tannenbaum" in the square in Austria, the "Posadas" in Mexico.

Yes, many people will be traveling during the holidays. And you may be one of them. Check out the Air Traffic Patterns.
Wendy

Air Traffic Patterns

05
Dic
2008

Christmas Carols everywhere

Have you learned any English-language Christmas carols?

It's pretty difficult not to learn some of them, even if it is just the chorus.
Everywhere you go these days, you hear Christmas carols. Let's see if you've been paying attention in the department stores and supermarkets, boutiques and novelty shops.

Can you finish the chorus to these?

Silent night, ________ ________.
Hark the herald ________ _______.
We three _________ ________ _______ _______.
Oh, Christmas ________, Oh ___________ _________.
Away in _______ _________.
Angels we ______ _______ ____ _______
Joy to _____ _________

And a few more modern tunes:

It's beginning to look ____ _______ ______ _______!
Jingle bell, jingle bell, _________ _________ ________ !
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle _______ _______ _______.
We wish _____ ______ __________ _____________.
I saw Mama ___________ ___________ ________.

I remember as a child in the US that the Christmas music and decorations didn't go up until after Thanksgiving, the 4th Thursday in November and were down by New Years or at the very outside by Epiphany, the 6th of January . If they weren't put away, the bad fairies would get us. We were all back in school on the first week day of January.

There was a shopping frenzy in December, and the big sales started December 26th, not before.

Here in Spain the season starts earlier and earlier each year. When I first came here the decorations went up in Plaza Mayor toward the middle of December and everyone came to buy nativity scenes, decorations and ornaments MADE IN SPAIN. White lights were put up along all the major boulevards and Spanish "villancicos" were heard everywhere. All the buildings were also lit up, and the excitement of the season lasted through at least the 8th of January when children would go back to school. No one knew any of the English language Christmas Carols, and Santa Claus was only a billboard figure selling Kodak cameras as I recall. The 3 Kings brought all the presents and the biggest shopping day of the year was January 5th.

Now the sales start long BEFORE Christmas, especially this year with the big economic crisis. Maybe the prices are just too high to begin with!

As foreign students in Spain we soon learned that the favorite Christmas song was about fish! ---but look how the fish are drinking in the river It DOES have quite a catchy tune, but... Oh, well. Each culture has its favorites. We learned the words to most of the "villancicos" and we'd also sing along to "Adeste Fideles" and "Noche de paz" because we knew the music.

Last year the "Christmas season" in Spain began in November and this year the stores were decorating before Halloween! That certainly didn't happen in the 70's or 80's or 90's. Firstly the end of October was weeks too early to even mention Christmas, and secondly no one knew what Halloween was. Spanish children are now into Halloween; costumes and decorations are easy to find. In one mega-store I saw the Halloween costumes right next to the Christmas decor. And almost everything was imported from China! These 2 holidays just don't mix, and besides black & orange clash with the red & green, silver & gold.

We may be getting more and more international. We may be learning to respect other customs and other cultures, but let´s keep the holidays independent of one another. Each an entity unto itself.

Wendy

Check out the Christmas activities at the UEM LAB

22
Oct
2008

From Barajas to O'Hare, from Madrid to Chicago

You've heard all about the new "T 4", at Barajas International Airport, Madrid. Maybe you've been there. You've seen the lofty ceilings with their red-orange-yellow, green-blue support structure.

Have you been to the O'Hare International Airport, Chicago? You'll feel right at home as you walk down the concourse. O'Hare is a "people friendly" airport. There is a train that connects the terminals. There are news stands, book stores, cafés, bars and food courts everywhere. You don't have to go far to find the Arrivals/Departures monitors. There are telephones and bathrooms everywhere.

And as you gaze up and down the concourse, you feel right at home: the Spanish flag is there to greet you.

15
Feb
2008

What are your plans for the future?

What are you doing today?
What are your plans for TOMORROW?

Are you learning the SKILLS you'll need to get where you want to go?

Right now you're a student:Do you know how to type? FAST? With all 10 fingers?
Do you know how to use several computer programs?
Can you learn a new one quickly?
Are you REALLY studying or just having fun.

Next year or the year after or three years from now you'll graduate. Then you get the big reality check. What are you going to do with the rest of your life?

You want to travel around Europe
Can you speak English, French, German, Swedish, Italian......?
Have you saved your money? Can you pay for your inter-rail pass, your petrol, your student hostals, camp grounds or 5 star hotels?

The following year you want to do a masters or teach in the US.You MUST type well and you MUST speak English well.
Have you been studying for the TOEFL exam? It's HARD!

Don't just dream about the future. You have to make an effort now.
We spend a lot of time dreaming . Are any of your dreams coming true?

Wendy

15
Ene
2008

STUDY ABROAD

STUDY ABROAD?

You'd like to:

Live in another country!
Study while you're there!
Travel on the weekends!
Meet new people every day!
Learn a new language!
Develop new interests!
Become more independent !

YES! YES! I want to go.......
Contact the International Office at your university.

Maybe next year you'll be studying abroad.

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We LIVE & WORK at the UEM. And we do it in English!

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