Situation 1:  I met a couple who decided to break-up their relationship. They were married and they did not have children. They were agreeing in divide their possession in equal parts however they could not divide the dog. Both love the dog as a child so what they should do?

Situation 2: I met a couple who will get marry, she bought a house and spent so much money on stuff for her future husban. However he started to have problems with her girlfriend; they discussed a lot, so in an unexpected situation she discovered that her future husband has another relationship but with a man.

what would you advice her? should she talk to her future husband or just abandon him?

Situation 3: The father of a common family is very ill. He needs an organ donation; he needs a new heart. While he has been in the hospital waiting for a heart, her daughter has a car accident. He doesn't know the situation but he has listened that a new organ is able for him. Then he has discovered that his new heart will be his daughter’s heart. he doesn't know if he should accept it or not. What should he do?

Inversion after negative expressions and 'only...'

1-Only after my friends got their home, did I figure out that I had baked some cookies for them.

2- After looking for him everywhere, did i find his head under the bed

3- Not until the year 2067 will i earn more than $480000

4- Such is her enthusiasm for winning the race, that she is going crazy

5- So amazing was his presentation, that the audience asked him for his autograph

6-On no account will students get a seven in the text

7- Not only did I visit Narnia, but I also went to Howards last year

8- Not until he gets me a dog, will I have talked him again

9- Not any expression did he demonstrate

10- Little do they recieve in return

11- Hardly had I bought a new phone, when I lost it in the cafeteria

                                       My life in past, present and future events

It is said that the past events shouldn’t be bring back to the present because it might have us wish what we can’t  get back, and as a consequence, to damage ourselves deeply. However, to recall what I lived 15 years ago makes me smile, laugh, and have a moment of tranquility in my heart and mind.  One of the things I can get out of my mind is when my mum didn’t allow my siblings and I to watch the soap opera due to the fact that we had homework to do. After dinner, we would sit at the table all together and start doing our assignments. My mum was the one who helped us do our tasks because my dad was busy checking tests or preparing the lessons for the next day. Besides, he was not patient enough to teach us. If we were lucky and finished earlier our tasks as we used to, we could see the last five minutes of the soap opera.   Despite it may look a kind of strictness, we got used to having this routine; moreover, the next day we had our reward; we could get up late and watch our favorite cartoons on the TV.  Another event that I love remembering is when my brother and I used to play to be gunmen; a game that many times ended in a fight.  The game had the simplest and easiest rule: who kills the enemy, it is the winner. Nevertheless, neither of us wanted to lose so the fights started. They finished when my mum told us off. Although we are now adults, I must confess that we still have the same argues, which have the same ends as they did when we were children: to be scolded by mum and dad and get angry at each other.

Definitely, the time has flown so fast and now I am 23. It is not easy to realize that I have a university student life, and I get overwhelmed by issues that affect everybody, such as love, friendship, maturity, frustration, solitude, responsibility, wrong and right decisions, etc.  Even though that there are things that make life a bit complicated, I spend my days trying to do what I like, be and know myself, enjoy my friends and my family, dream, make projects, give up the same projects,  and so on.  And as part of me, who gets stressed thinking and analyzing every and each situation, I love reading psychological articles and studies in order to understand and know the processes we undergo as beings who think and feel. So then and because I have lastly been concerned with my future career, I have started to think of what I want and wish as a professional and who I want to become. Consequently, as a pre-service teacher who is really passionate of teaching and I am willing to making positive and meaningful changes in students’ lives, I have realized that I want to get specialized in the area of Neuroscience and Education.

I hope heartily that within 15 years I will have finished my Magister’s degree in Brain, Mind, and Education, and consequently I will be teaching English to my students  based on the strategies and  principles regarding Neuroscience and Education. Besides, I will have traveled to many countries, I will speak more than three languages, and I will have learned to cook a variety of dishes. And one of the most important thing for me, I will have formed my own family, and I will be educating my children to be people who love the Arts and enjoy learning.    

Public Perception of teacher status

I`ve been asked a couple of times what  I do for a living. I answer smilingly: I'm a student,  I do a  bachelor's degree in English Pedagogy. 

It's not surprising they way they have looked at me, and what they have first uttered;... mmm ...good...a difficult and  not well paid profession. Of course, I know exactly what that means, I perceive it immediately, even before they say something. It is like your sixth sense was telling you what they have omitted or thought. However, I deeply know they are right. 

Why to study a profession that is undervalued, underpaid, full of sacrificies, unrewarded, exhausting,  a full time job, etc? -I'm for sure that the list doesn't end here-.No matter what the answer might be, you do a bachelor's degree in Education, and you are concious of the coming events and episodes you will be facing and dealing with as a teacher. For example, struggles with studenst and parents, disobedience, frustration, tiredness, etc. 
Moreover, concerning with the public perception of our role in society, it makes harder and more stressing our job due to the lack of concern and respect expressed by most of individuals, consequently, teachers' job turns into  the most worn-out and miserable one.

Maybe, because this profession is paid poorly. most of people believe that the prestigue  and respect should be given only for those who make a huge salary. So then, it is truly right the saying Money talks. And I know it is not their fault, society  changes over time and people's minds as well by many reasons. Nevertheless, they used to be admired, valued, esteemed, etc. People recognised their labor and role, they were aware of the great contribution made by teachers - I know there are a few ones who still  back our profession. Then, why has the perception of people changed? why is this profession badly remunerated? -Again, there are many reasons that History may explain- but personally dunno.  

However, when talking to a roommate, she considers the fact that teaching is not valued at all is because of teachers' own guilt; it means, if teachers had demosntrated to be more responsible and show vocation, people's perception would be totally different.

Bu I do believe it is a kind of change reaction. In other words, few ones evidence vocation, meanwhile most of teacher educators teach without showing real interest in what they do beacuse they do not feel valued by the rest of society. Consequently, If only people thought differently, a lot of positive and good things would happened, and more rewarding episodes in both students' and teachers' lives would occur.

Story 2

Dark voices in the shadows

On a windy, chilly, and stormy day, exactly Tuesday 13^th, two common girls kept up with their hectic routine as university students. After a long day and tedious lesson, they decided to take a rest and have lunch. Natalia ate her favorite food “hot dogs” and drank a bottle of Coke, as usual. While she ate her tasty and delicious food, Angela was waiting in line to get her lunch.

The weather conditions had not changed, and both of the girls wished deeply in their hearts to feel that pleasant and warm sunshine, touching their skin  and making them dream of summer vacations. However, that day, and I don´t know if it was because of the day, looked gloomy and heartbreaking, and a horrifying sense was in the air.  Everybody felt that way.

Meanwhile, Natalia and Angela made a big effort to vanish that unpleasant sensation in their minds and hearts, bringing back to their minds what they most loved talking about: books, music, movies, etc. and that is how an interesting and enjoyable conversation started.

Angela:  Don´t you think that Ville Valo should release a new album?

Natalia: I agree completely with you, you know that his band is my lifelong favorite one, and I hope they visit Chile very soon.

Angela: I’m really interested in knowing more about this band and its music style, so would you mind lending me one of your cds?

Natalia: Errrr..I usually say no, but this time I’ll make an exception. I know you are going to take care of it a lot as it was yours.

Angela: ohhh Thank you so much.

Natalia:  when you started to search for your English thesis project, you also mentioned you had been reading a book titled ‘Violin’ at the same time. Did you already finish the book?

Angela:  No I didn´t, Despite I had been dividing my free time to continue reading it, I felt forced to stop doing it because I didn’t have enough time to spend on the book.

The time seemed to fly very fast, however, they had not realized that it was being late, and they urgently needed to finish a graded assignment in the library.

 One of the girls noticed that few people were in the canteen, and that meant they had spent a long time talking without thinking of the time, the weather, and their homework. They stared at each other, picked up their stuff and ran to the library.

When doing their homework, they had been discussing of the dismal and mysterious atmosphere the university was having that day, what made them feel scared.

Natalia: I feel haunted with fear, today looks like a nightmare. It is being late and dark, and we can’t still return to our homes.

Angela :  That is exactly what I feel. Unfortunately, we have to end this freaking piece of homework.

Natalia: I was thinking that tomorrow we are having one free hour, so we could finish during that space.

Angela: Are you serious? You´ve got to be kidding

Natalia: ok. It was just a suggestion.

Natalia: Could you pass me your notes? because  you wrote some ideas that might be useful for this task.

Angela: yeah, sure.

The time passed and they couldn’t leave the university without finishing the assignment.   A book dropped from the shelves, echoing in the whole facility and making a strong noise that brought the girls back to the reality. They looked around, but no student was in there. Suddenly, one of the librarians told them that it was time to go home and the library was closing.  They didn’t understand how the hours flew. Maybe it was because they had been working on the task for a long time, and as a consequence, it made them feel worn out and forget of time and space.

 They left the library in surprising astonishment because of what had happened. When they were on their way to the entrance of the university, they could hear no more than the echo of their footsteps, what made them remain in silence and in fear. Probably, their energies were frozen by the cold and icy weather, preventing them to utter a single word.

Near the church, the air seemed to be dense and tenebrous, and the shadows of the trees looked like the silhouettes of Franciscan monks.  The wind whistled and one owl hooted shrilly. All seemed to be so unfamiliar for those girls, the cozy and  safe place they once thought the university was turned out to look like a thriller novel scene. Few seconds later, all seemed to be quiet, the wind had stopped and the owl had flown away, and the trees’ shadows had a less frightening appearance.  Everything was just a product of their imagination and tiredness, they both said.

Natalia and Angela had been trying to calm down and avoiding getting into panic when unintelligible voices came out of the church. Those voices started to whisper their names again and again, and the door and windows of the church opened and closed violently as they were being controlled by a powerful and evil force. They were paralyzed with fear.

…Wake up, wake up Angela… Natalia repeated a couple of times. You fell asleep while doing the homework.

Really? What time is it? Angela replied

It is 9 pm, we are in the library, today is Tuesday 13^th, 2012. Natalia answered sarcastically.

Mmm ok…so let’s go home I’m really tired and hungry…it has been a long, long day.

Angela had been sleeping for an hour or so, and she had lost awareness of what had gone on during that time. For her luck, Natalia had finished the assignment.

On the way out, they heard a noise, the same sound a book makes when it drops from a shelf … her nightmare was coming true…

useful websites

http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/326.html

 http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/usedto.html

Summer Holidays

                                           Summer Holidays

Let me tell you some ephemeral and hazy memories, but  the most beautiful and happiest ones  I lived being a child. Despite I´m used to forgetting my life events and almost everything, here is my story.

My family and I would go to La Trinchera beach every summer. We went  camping there for a week. As most of the people camping in the same area, we slep in a tent. We  got used to sleeping in a tent since we were 6 people for just a small one.

We used to wake up early, but my parents used to get up first. Everyday they  lit a  fire to put the kettle on and cook.  After lunch, my brother and I would swim until the sun went down, and we used to compete  to get  the  other edge of the river in less time;unfortunately, I always lost because my brother swam faster than me.  My sisters used to walk by the beach and picked up shells, and sometimes they went into the water and got their feet wet. At night, I would look at the stars, waiting for seeing a falling star to make a wish. When getting home, I got to used to the furniture and the issue of living in a house...that was a weird sense of disorientation. However, the experience of living in a place with no comforts made me feel free and and think that time had stopped.

...Hoping to revive those memories some day :)