Happy New Year Everyone!!

Pedro, Elena and myself wish you a very Happy New Year and we dedicate this nice singing and dancing act to you!!

=]

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Writing Samples: A Nightmare Journey

Hello again!

I decided a while back that I would publish here some of your best pieces of writing. However, I never did!

Well, here they are. I picked these two, although I could have picked some others as well, but I will when you get a new assignment. I think if you read them you can really learn from them.

Enjoy!

1. A Nightmare Journey

I had a nightmare journey two years ago, when I was going to Madrid on holiday by car with my sister. We chose that city because our uncle worked there and he invited us to spend some days with him. It was the third of August and it was boiling! 

I drove and my sister gave me the directions, but suddenly we realized that we had got lost! We were in the middle of nowhere, no road signs, and no people. At least, we had food, drink, and the air conditioning worked! I drove for one more hour but it didn’t help. Moreover, we started to sweat, the air conditioning stopped working! My sister, who is asthmatic, couldn’t breathe well. I was driving nervously when I finally saw a road sign that said: Madrid 30 kilometres.  

We arrived in Madrid twenty minutes later. We were safe and sound, but exhausted! In spite of the journey, we had a good time there!

Pili Oller

2. A NIGHTMARE JOURNEY

I remember the event as if it had happened yesterday. My nightmare started when I arrived at Moscow airport.

My idea was to enjoy a fantastic holiday week in Russia but I could not.

The problem began at customs where two policemen stopped me. They asked me for my passport and, after some verification, they took me to a small room close to the gate.

I don’t know if I looked suspicious because of my casual outfit, but the thing is they arrested me and they didn’t stop asking me many questions in very bad English.

At that moment I started thinking about many Cold War films and a small smile was reflected on my face. The policemen saw the smile and thought I was laughing at them and then, they got very angry and took me to prison. I stayed in jail for three days in a tiny room shared with four more people.

Finally, the Spanish Embassy got me out and I came back to Spain.

Francisco J. Payá García

Wrap Rage

Hello there!

Now that it's Christmas time and the Three Wise Men day is nearing we'll get to open a few presents, won't we? Then we may experience wrap rage. Have you ever heard of it? Well, if you haven't and are interested in finding out, click on the links below to download a nice article about it and the audio so that you can listen to it while you read.

Wrap Rage Reading

Wrap Rage Audio

Auld Lang Syne

Hi there again!

Since not a lot of you came to the Christmas party (ehem... ehem...), I wanted to share here with you this popular song  people in English-speaking countries sing traditionally on New Year's Eve right after the clock strikes midnight. I think it has a nice message since it talks about old friendships. Its lyrics come from a poem by Scottish writer Robert Burns. If you want to find out more about it, just google it and do some research!

Its melody is famous everywhere too, since it's been used for TV ads and such.

Does it ring a bell?

I hope you like it!

  
And here's an extended and "more serious" version.

Sorry about the spelling mistake in the word families though!! :(

Test Dates and Lost!

Hi Christmassy folks!

How are things? I hope you're having a great Christmas and that you'll have a great New Year's Eve too.

I wanted to remind you of the test dates. They are as follows:

1- 25^th January: Reading + Listening

2- 27^th January: Writing + Speaking

3- 1^st February: Speaking

I don't know if we'll need one more day for your speaking tests, but we'll see in January when everybody signs up. On those days we DO NOT have classes. They are entirely devoted to the tests (I think that's more than enough, isn't it?). If you have any questions or doubts, please, use the comments section below so that I can give you an answer for everyone else to see.
I also wanted to apologise for not being able to play Viva la Vida on our last day, but I swear I'll play it first thing after the break! lol I'll also try to fix the problem with playing videos. 
But, on a brighter note, here you have another song that I love from their last album. It's called Lost!

Enjoy!!

Just because I'm losing

Doesn't mean I'm lost

Doesn't mean I'll stop

Doesn't mean I would cross

Just because I'm hurting

Doesn't mean I'm hurt

Doesn't mean I didn't get

What I deserved

No better and no worse

I just got lost

Every river that I tried to cross

Every door I ever tried was locked

Ohhh and I'm...

Just waiting 'til the shine wears off

You might be a big fish

In a little pond

Doesn't mean you've won

'Cause along may come

A bigger one

And you'll be lost

Every river that you tried to cross

Every gun you ever held went off

Ohhh and I'm...

Just waiting until the firing stopped

Ohhh and I'm...

Just waiting 'til the shine wears off (x3)

Grammy Nominees

Hi there again!

I'm ecstatic because the new Grammy Nominees in the category of Best Rock Album include three of my all-time favourites: Dave Matthews Band, Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood and U2!!! How great is that? I'm really hoping one of them will get the coveted award! Anyway, I thought I'd post here two videos for you to enjoy their music too. 

But first, here's the list of nominees:

Best Rock Album
(Vocal or Instrumental. 
Includes Hard Rock and Metal.)

• Black Ice
  AC/DC
  [Columbia]
  
• Live From Madison Square Garden
  Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood
  [Reprise/Duck]
  
• 21st Century Breakdown
  Green Day
  [Reprise]
  
• Big Whiskey And The Groogrux King
  Dave Matthews Band
  [RCA Records / Bama Rags Recordings, LLC.]
• 
  
  No Line On The Horizon
  
  U2
  [Interscope]
  

My heart is really with Dave Matthews Band, but anyone can make it!! 

Last summer I was lucky enough to attend one of their concerts in Lisbon. I totally loved it. They're huge in Portugal, by the way. That was a bit weird to me, since they're not famous in Spain at all. Here's the video for their uplifting song Shake me like a monkey. It always gets me in a great mood. 

I was there somewhere cheering in the crowd...

I also got to go to one of Steve Winwood's concerts, in San Javier this time. It was great. He's got such a gorgeous voice.

This video here is for the song Can't find my way home with my beloved Eric Slowhand Clapton.

You can't get any better than his, can you? =]

So, what do you think? Who's your favourite? What artists do you listen to?

Go ahead and leave your comments, this blog is only useful if you collaborate!!

One More NI1 Blog for You

Hi there!

I wanted to post here the link to the blog of one of my ex colleagues (but current friend). His name is Enrique Carrillo and he's working in Murcia now. You'll love it!

Enjoy! =]

Small Talk

Hi there everyone!

I'm posting here a link for you to download a copy of the pdf called Making Small Talk. It's really useful, although you must already know many of the sentences there. But anyway, it's good for you.

Enjoy!

Checking into a Hotel

Hi there!

I've selected a dialogue about checking into a hotel for my NB2s, but I think it can come in very handy to you too. It also comes with a pdf with very useful vocabulary and expressions that you can use for practice at home at your own pace. 

Click here to download the pdf.

Click here for the audio.

(For the dialogue you need to listen from min. 2:20 approx.)

 I hope you like it and use those expressions when you travel!!

Roads Crossword and More

Hi there!

Why don't you try your knowledge about roads by doing this great BBC crossword?

I'm sure you'll learn new words!

Then, when you're finished, you can learn new phrasals about travel and holidays. Just click on the links. It's easy but useful!

Enjoy!!