Living in Spain

In May 2010 I studied abroad in Spain for a month. I lived with a host family and another girl from my college, St. Joseph's. The host family only spoke Spanish, so I was able to practice my speaking and understanding of the language. I also tried different foods that my host Mom made that I normally would not eat at home. I went to school every day and learned more about the language and culture. I lived in a beautiful city called Alicante, right on the beach. Everyday I went to the beach during the siesta. At night we would go to town to eat and hang out. We also watched a bullfight, parades, soccer games, and climbed an old castle. There I met other people from the United States who came from colleges in other states. All of us traveled to other cities like Barcelona and Granada. There were so many things to do there I am sure we did not do all. We saw Flamenco dancers in Granada and climbed to the tallest point in Barcelona.We also visited many monuments, like Alhambra. It was the best experience of my life so far and I would love to go back.

Vocabulary 

Culture- the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time.

Beach- an area covered with sand or small rocks that is next to an ocean or lake.

Siesta-  a regular period of sleep or rest in the afternoon in some countries.

Bullfight- an event that is popular especially in Spain in which a person fights with and usually kills a bull for public entertainment.

Castle- a large building usually with high, thick walls and towers that was built in the past to protect against attack.

Flamenco- a fast and lively Spanish dance, that sometimes tells a story. 

Monuments- a building, statue, etc., that honors a person or even. 

Vocabulary Exercise

Fill in the banks in each sentence with the correct vocabulary word from above. 

1. The king and queen lived in a big ________________ that protected them from dangerous people. 

2. Everyday I take a  ____________ so that for the rest of the day I am not tired. 

3. When I visited Mexico, I wanted to experience the culture. So I went to see a _______________, where a matador and a bull fight each other. 

4. Living in Spain, I got to not only learn about the language but the ______________ as well.

5. I like many different types of dances, but my favorite is the _______________.

6. The White House is a very important _________________ in the United States. 

Grammar Point 

I used a lot of past tense verbs in the paragraph above. First underline the verbs and then write a paragraph about something you did in the past. (Ex- vacation, trip, holiday, etc)

Lake George

When I was little my family and I used to go to Lake George for many summers. We also had some friends of the family come along as well. It was always a fun time. We would go horseback riding, shopping, whitewater rafting, para-sailing,  boat riding. We also went to amusement parks and many other places. Lake George is filled with fun things to do over the summer. White water rafting and horseback riding were definitely two of my favorite things to do. Every year we would also watch fireworks at the lake, while eating ice cream. I have been to Disney World in Florida as well. That was great time too. I can't decide which place I like more.

Vocabulary

Summer-  The warmest season of the year that is after spring and before fall.
Horseback riding- A hobby or activity in which a person rides around on horseback.
Whitewater rafting- A hobby or activity in which people go on a raft in rough waters and paddle their way through.
Para-sailing- A hobby or activity in which a person flies in the air on a parachute that is attached to a boat.
Fireworks- Small devices that explode to make light and noise.
Ice cream- A frozen food containing sweetened and flavored cream. 

 Vocabulary Exercise- 

Label each picture with the correct vocabulary words from above.

1. ________________________ 2. _________________________ 3. _________________________

4. _______________________ 5. __________________________ 6. _________________________

Grammar Point 

When one is writing a sentence name more than 2 activities, commas need to follow after each activity except the last one. (Ex - We would go horseback riding, shopping, whitewater rafting, para-sailing,  boat riding.) Now write a small paragraph (5 sentences) explaining activities you have done on a trip or your hobbies. Make sure to include more than 2 activities in 2 of the sentences to practice commas after a series of elements.

Six Flags

On Saturday October 27th I went to Six Flags with my sister, cousin, and some friends. Six flags is an amusement park, mostly made up of roller coasters. I told my sister I would pay for her ticket for her birthday, not realizing how expensive the day was going to be. The tickets must have gone up in price since I last went. The Coca Cola cans do not give you a ticket for free on the weekends either, they only took $5 off for each ticket. All together the two tickets cost me $124. The lines were crazy long because of Fright Fest, so we decided to get a flash pass. With a flash pass you can cut the line, by going to the ride on a separate line for the time you are scheduled. If we did not get that we would have been online for only about 3 roller coasters the whole night. The flash pass for each person cost $51. Since my sister only have $20 on her I also had to pay for that. So that was another $100. Then I had to pay $12 for a locker. I gave $30 to my cousin for toll and gas money. Plus I ate and drink which also cost a fortune. I must have spent $300 in one day. Way too much money for a broke college student. I obviously had fun and love roller coasters, but it was too expensive. How can you charge so much for one ticket and then another $50 for a flash pass. Six Flags definitely profits a crazy amount of money. Even though I love it there, I might go to other cheaper amusement parks from now on.

Vocabulary

Amusement park- a place that has many games and rides for entertainment.
Roller coaster- a ride at an amusement park which is like a small, open train with tracks that are high off the ground and that have sharp curves and steep hills.
Ticket- a piece of paper that allows you to see a show, participate in an event, travel on a vehicle, etc.
Expensive- costing a lot of money.
Locker- cabinet that has a door which can be locked and that is used to store personal items.
Profit- money that is made in a business, through investing, etc., after all the costs and expenses are paid.

Vocabulary exercise 

Label the pictures below with correct words from the vocabulary above.

 1. _________________________  2.__________________________ 3. _______________________

4. _________________________ 5. __________________________ 6. _______________________

Grammar Point

Take the dollar amounts and write them out in word form.(ex- $45- Forty-five dollars)

The end of the world?

According to the Mayans, December 21st 2012 is the end of the world. As to the reason why  I am not sure. However, I don't believe any of it. Some people are freaking out because the Mayans have been right about other things and because of natural disasters and other occurrences happening lately. Hurricane Sandy added to the panic as well. What people don't understand is that there have always been natural disasters. Now since it is happening here and maybe more severe people are starting to believe it is really the end of the world. But what about the natural disasters in the past? They didn't lead to the end of the world. It seems to be all about media hype. Getting people to panic, getting their attention, and making money off of shows and movies. Of course the weather is changing, but that could be global warming or something else. Even if it's real why worry? Worrying will not stop it from happening. Just enjoy the time you have left. But I really hope I am right and that it isn't real because 2012 has been the worst year (besides for landing a subbing job) and that isn't how I want to end my life.

 Vocabulary

Mayans- Mesoamerican Indians that lived/live in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize.

Natural Disaster- a sudden and terrible event in nature (such as a hurricane, tornado, or flood) that usually results in serious damage and many deaths.
Media - the radio stations, television stations, and newspapers through which information is communicated to the public.
Hype- talk or writing that is intended to make people excited about or interested in something or someone.
Panic- a state or feeling of extreme fear that makes someone unable to act or think normally
Global Warming- he recent increase in the world's temperature that is believed to be caused by the increase of certain gases (such as carbon dioxide) in the atmosphere.

Vocabulary Exercise

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GLOBAL WARMING	HYPE	MAYANS
MEDIA	NATURAL DISASTER	PANIC

Grammar Point

Change all the contractions into 2 words. (Example- Won't ---> Will not)

Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy was a tragedy that many people did not expect to be so bad. Even I did not think it would be so severe. I work at Ace Hardware and people were going crazy buying everything like batteries, flashlights, and generators, etc. My family did not need to buy anything because we always have emergency things, but still we were not prepared for what was to come. Hurricane Sandy destroyed homes, killed lives, and paused daily routine. I lost power for 13 days. It was so cold I stayed at my friends  house for most nights. I showered at my relatives houses that were already packed with people. I did not drive far because of the crazy gas lines. I was lucky that my job at ace is only 2 minutes away. School was closed all week and the internet did not work so I could not do any school work. We finally got a generator after 8 or 9 days of no power because my parents could not take the cold anymore. It was so much better but still inconvenient. However, no matter what I went through I cannot really complain because other people went through much worse. My manager who lives in Lindenhurst and has 5 kids lost everything except for her truck and family. Other people lost their lives, family, and their houses were completely destroyed. Even though  people were going crazy over losing electric and the long gas lines, most people came together to help others out. Ace took donations and after a week we could not take anymore because we had no room to store it and not enough trucks to transfer it all. FEMA stopped taking clothes because they got so much. Even though some people were fighting at the gas station and throwing things at LIPA workers, it is still nice to see people come together in the time of need.

Vocabulary 

Hurricane - an extremely large, powerful, and destructive storm with very strong winds.
Tragedy- a very bad event that causes great sadness and often involves someone's death.
Severe- very bad, serious, or unpleasant.
Emergency- an unexpected and usually dangerous situation that calls for immediate action.
Routine- a regular way of doing things in a particular order.
Inconvenient- causing trouble or problems.
FEMA- Federal Emergency Management Agency 
LIPA- Long Island Power Authority

Vocabulary Exercise

Fill in the blanks with the correct words from above. (FEMA and LIPA not included)

1. There was traffic when I was driving to work this morning. It was very ___________________, causing me to be late and waste more gas.
2. The __________________ was so windy that it knocked the tree down.
3. Romeo and Juliet was a _______________ because both of the main characters die in the end.
4. Everyday I got to work and then go to class at night. Then when I get home I do school work. Going to the gym is no longer part of my _________________ because I do not have time.
5. You should only call 911 when there is an ___________________.
6. All day I was coughing, sneezing, throwing up, and had a high fever. It was so ______________ I had to go to the doctor for some medicine.


Grammar Point

Circle all the helping verbs in the paragraph. Then create a sentence using a helping verb.

First day being a substitute teacher

On Thursday 10/18/12 I was called in as a substitute for my first time at Plainedge middle school, a school I once attended. I was excited but also nervous because I was sick and did not get a great deal of sleep. I decided to take the job anyway because I did not want to turn down my first offer. I got a call the first day I was on the list. I have been on the subbing list for Farmingdale since the beginning of  the school year and still no call. I was glad however that my first time was at Plainedge, somewhere I felt comfortable. It was a great experience. I subbed for my 7th grade social studies teacher. The students had to take a test for four of the periods and the other period they were working on a project on the computer. The students behaved pretty well for the most part, except for ninth period. The students were hyper and could not wait for the school day to be over. Like every other period the students finished the test early. They worked on the puzzle I gave them but did not want to quietly while other students were still taking a test. I had to quiet them down which was much more difficult then it was the other periods, but eventually they did listen. All in all I have to say even though I was sick and almost lost my voice, my first day subbing was better than I expected.


Vocabulary 

Substitute-  A temporary teacher teaching the class, while the teacher is out.
Attended - Regularly went to (school, church, class).
Sleep - To rest your mind and body by closing your eyes and becoming unconscious.
Beginning- The point at which something starts.
Comfortable - Feeling relaxed and happy, not worried and troubled.
Hyper - Very excited, nervous, or active.


Vocabulary Exercise

1. Yesterday I was very tired because I did get much ________________ the night before.
2. You have to indent the _________________ of every paragraph.
3. The other day I went to my friends house that I haven't seen in years, but I still felt very ________________ being there. It was like I saw them yesterday.
4. My teacher was sick today so we had a ________________ teach the class.
5. While I was babysitting the other night, the kids were very _____________, running all over the place.
6. When I was little I ______________ church every Sunday.


Grammar Point 

I used some words explaining how I or others felt (adjectives). For each of those words, write a sentence explaining a time you felt like that. If you can't think of a time, make it up.

Are reality shows really reality?

Reality shows seem to be taking over. They are very popular for a wide range of age groups. MTV known as MUSIC TV, even though it doesn’t seem to play music anymore, airs many reality shows. Some examples are The Jersey Shore, 16 and pregnant, and Teen Mom. There are also other reality shows on other channels such as Mobwives, Toddlers in Tiaras, and Honey Boo Boo, plus many more. Are these shows really reality? Majority of these kinds of shows are based on fighting, alcohol, and money, which is reality but not the way they advertise it. These kinds of reality shows today seem to be a bad influence on people, especially teenagers. TV shows already take people away from reality, but now these shows can make people think it is reality. One of the most popular shows called “The Jersey Shore”; a show I even watch has had many teenagers believing life is all about partying. Yes these stars also work at a shirt store, but they mainly party and get paid for it. The shows “16 and pregnant” and “Teen Mom” advertise pregnant teens and teen moms. They do show the hardships of being pregnant and a Mom at such a young age but they also can be influencing many young teenagers to get pregnant because then they can be on a TV show. Also some teenagers may look up to these girls and want to be like them. “Mobwives” is just a bunch of 40 and 50 year old women living rich lives while partying and fighting. Unless you are rich like them and do not work no one will live a life like that at that age. It in a way advertizes that women don’t have to work, that men make all the money, and the women just have fun. It’s pathetic watching women at that age act worse than the 20 year olds on The Jersey Shore.  “Toddlers in Tiaras” is about spoiled girls who get what they want and if they don’t, they throw a tantrum. Some of these young girls dress and act like teenagers at three years old. I am not saying all reality shows are bad, but most of them today should not be labeled reality TV. Of course most of this is my opinion but I am sure many people agree, even if they do watch them. There are some reality shows that do not fit under this category, like “American Idol,” “Dancing with the Stars,” and “Pawn Stars,” and “Tanked.” These reality shows are either contests or are somewhat educational, with little drama.

Vocabulary

Reality – Something that is true, a part of real life. 

Popular – Liked by many

Advertise – To show to the public, to call attention to

Influence – To change or create someone’s views or actions

Teenagers- Anybody that is under the age group of 13-19

Tantrum- A fit of bad temper

Vocabulary Cloze Exercise

1.     The book “Harry Potter” is fictional where as the book “Accept the Challenge” is based on __________________.

2.     It is known that many ______________ would rather spend time with their friends instead of their parents.

3.     My sister threw a ______________ when she found out that our family was not going on vacation this summer.

4.     Many parents believe that video games are a bad ________________ for their children.

5.     The Yankees are liked by many even by people who live outside of New York. They are very _______________.

6.     Commercials ______________ products, food, movies, and places to go.

Grammar Point

The verb “To Be” is used many times throughout this paragraph. How many times is it used? Is it ever used in the past tense? If so, write down those sentences that use it.