Security vs Privacy

In the fight against crime, the increase in Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV in advance) cameras at public places is thought to be recommended. In this way, whereas they appear only in banks, museums, jeweller’s and at high-security places until a few years ago,  nowadays it is very common to see them in public places such as small businesses, parks, shopping centers, petrol stations, underground,… I have seen them even at schools and streets. Many people are opposed to this, saying that it invades our privacy. What do you think about? I am inclined to believe that, like all thinks in life, it has its positive and negative side. 

As a general rule, people behave better when we know we are being observed. In this regard, it is impossible not to assume that CCTV cameras are a good way to instill civility into society. However, wouldn’t it be better if people behaved well without the necessity of installing cameras? In  my way of thinking, it would be better for society and to the fight against crime, to educate and to teach good manners to our children and young, rather than installing CCTV cameras everywhere. I would not only it would be a long-time solution but also more economical. 

On the other hand, criminals can be deterred, caught or even identified through the information recorded by these cameras. That information helps to reduce crime and consequently make the streets safer for people. Nevertheless, whether the information is a good thing, depends on who owns it. Therefore, for instance, corrupt authorities could use information in the wrong way or twist it to victimize people.

Finally, as was previously stated, many people think these cameras affect our privacy. It is thought that we should be free to travel or move around the world without being recorded by cameras. That is a human right which could be seen as a deprived right at the moment we are being 24 hours a day observed.

To conclude, it is important to remember that nothing in this life can be the absolute truth. So, cameras can not be the solution: I think we need to work in future generation’s education, in human right maintenance and in reducing crime (not only with cameras but also with new human methods). If we all work in one direction with all our tools, we will achieve more and better goals. 

Please, If you find any mistake or you have another point of view about the information that I have posted, please leave a comment. We can all learn together! This blog feeds on your coments!!

Looking For An English Teacher

Nowadays, the new information and comunication technologies give us the possibility of finding allmost everything on the Internet. It includes language teachers. In my personal experience I should say that this way of learning is as good as others: you can learn at home, on a one-on-one way and normally at a very affordable price.

There are a lot of options on the Internet. I started by browsing for teachers on this two sites:

1. Italki
2. El blog para aprender inglés

A couple of thoughts about your search:

1. I have found it helpful to have lessons at a fixed time, some teachers cannot offer this. 
2. The italki list seems to change slightly nearly every day and I have no idea why. Some days, one or two teachers disappear and new ones appear. Then on occasions, the ones who disappeared come back, so it is worth checking the list every day until you find one who suits you.
3. Some teachers have a poor or intermittent Internet connection, which makes it hard to communicate properly.

"Every student has different learning goals and learning styles. Some students may prefer more formal lessons, while other students prefer to learn in an unstructured way. Some students are under time pressure, while some students can learn in a more relaxed way."

So, it's important to take into account a couple of things in your search:

1. Setting your expectations
2. Make sure the teachers understand your goals
3. Try a few different teachers.

That's for now. I hope this post may help you to find your English teacher. 


Please, If you find any mistake or you have another point of view about the information that I have posted, please leave a comment. We can all learn together! This blog feeds on your coments!!

A Time When I Overslept And Missed My Own Birthday Party

Esther, a friend of mine, was born the third of April on 1979. I was born only one day after than her, indeed only a few hours later. We met at University time, and we had a group of friends in which we used to give surprise birthday parties to everyone. It was so funny because we even made T-shirts with pictures and had a treasure hunt for the birthday person to find the presents. 

Unfortunately, our birthdays were always during the holidays. So, we had never had a surprise party. Owing to that, one year Esther and I decided to celebrate together our birthdays twice. Thereafter we celebrated one time by ourselves - going out together and giving a little surprise or present to each other - and a second time with our friends as usual.

Ten years ago, the night between the third and fourth of April, when we became 23 years old, we went to have dinner at our favourite Japanese restaurant. That night was one of the most amazing nights I've ever had. It was a really especial night, but it is not our bussiness in this post, so I'll only say that I arrived home the next day at 2 pm.

I was so happy and tired... So, I went directly to bed forgetting to set the alarm clock. We was going to go out again that night. We had an appoitment at 10 pm to have dinner at another friend's house and to watch a film.

I woke up at 12 midnight. It was so late but I thought they would be still together and as I didn't want to stay at home in my birthday, I took a shower, got dressed quickly and went to my friend's house. I had a lot of missed calls in my mobile phone, but I didn't want to call back because I knew they were going to be very angry with me for the delay. Maybe they had been waiting for me to dinner!

I arrived at in my friend's house nearly at 2 am and I found all my friends dancing and drinking at my own birthday party. There was no dinner nor cinema session. It was my first surprise birthday party and I had missed it. 

To make matters worse, a neighbour had called the police because my friends had been making a lot of noise not allowing his family to sleep. So, the police came and the party finished only ten minutes after I arrived.

At least, I had a great night with Esther the day before. ;-)

Please, If you find any mistake or you have another point of view about the information that I have posted, please leave a comment. We can all learn together! This blog feeds on your coments!!

A Family Holiday I Didn't Enjoy

I was born in Cádiz, like my brother. However, I only lived there for 10 years. My father is a building services Engineer, and he have had to travel so much for job. Consequently, my family moved many times with him. 

When I was sixteen, we were living in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid) and I was studying at secondary school. The family's summer holidays were always the same. My brother and I spent one month in Carcabuey with our grandparents while my parents remained working in Alcalá. My parents took holidays the second month of the summer and we all went together for a couple of weeks to Cádiz.

The beaches in Cádiz were still very unspoiled and natural. They were calm, unoccupied and pleasant,... There weren't buildings closer to them neither restaurants or shopping centers. They were simply a place to relax.

That year I convinced my parents to change the beach. "Let's go to Torrevieja beach this time!" - I told them over and over. I had been trying to persuade them since September and finally my parents had given in. My friends of school went every summer to the same beach and they enjoyed the holidays all together. I wanted to join them. My parents asked me why I wanted to go there, and I gave them a lot of reasons except for the real one.

I knew I was wrong as soon as we arrived there. Torrevieja was overpopulated. There were enormeous buildings everywhere and the people who lived there were always around. The beach had so manuy people that it was difficult to lie down or even to go for a swim. We missed so much our calm and natural beach in Cádiz.

I felt so bad that I told my family why I had told to go to Torrevieja. My parents were very angry with me and they punished me with the worst of all possible punishments: I only could see my friends a couple of days during the holidays.


PS: You could find more vocabulary about holidays and other topics (and its pronuntiation) here. 


Please, If you find any mistake or you have another point of view about the information that I have posted, please leave a comment. We can all learn together! This blog feeds on your coments!!  

A Time When I Lost Something Important

I have never had closeness to material things. There was only one thing that I always had with me and witch - owing to events in my family (I came to consider a good-luck charm). However, in my opinion, most  material things are only a burden that constrain and limit your freedom in some way. The important things in life are those that can not be bought with money... I know, it sounds like an advertising slogan, but in my view it is so. Love, health, affection, happiness,... these non-material goods are the ones I think everybody should seek, wish for and fight for. Nevertheless, I would be lying if I didn't say that I felt terribly sad when I lost my bangle.

I had had the bangle with me since I was 18 years old. It was a present from my parents for my cum-laude at high school. I can remember now that I thought at the time that it was a little ugly: "Gold and silver together? My parents haven't any taste in bracelets...". But I didn't say anything about this. I put it on and I have had it with me thereafter. Initially I wore it as a courtesy, but some years later (after my parents separated) it became the symbol of my united family that I missed so much...

Two autumns ago, I was working in Fuente Obejuna as a mathematics teacher. A workmate was going to retire in a couple of days, so we all went to have lunch together. We were talking about school, students, parents,... (you know how boring people that talk about the job can be) when, suddenly, I realized that my wrist didn't weigh the same as usual. I had lost my bangle, the one that was inscribed "Mamá y Papá". The one thing I still kept from my united family. I really felt apart.

I was searching for it all evening. I went to every place I had been that day. I even made posters and hung them in the school and the main streets of the village.In the days that followed, I was telling everybody about my loss, but it never appeared.

I should admit that I cried and was scared... I had strange bad feelings... It was my charm... It protected me... My parents protected me... I never imagined that I would feel so bad!! Even today tears flow freely down my face when I think about the meaning my bangle had for me and that I lost it...


And what about you? Have you ever had a material charm? 

Please, If you find any mistake or you have another point of view about the information that I have posted, please leave a comment. We can all learn together! This blog feeds on your coments!! 

An Important Exam I Failed

In Spanish Education System, we spent four years in compulsory secondary school. After that, we have two (optional) years more at secondary school to prepare our university entry exams: we call them "exámenes de Selectividad". Your university access mark is calculated from both your average in the last secondary school years and from your marks in Selectividad.

I was 18 years old. I had the better average anyone can have in secondary school when I did my Selectividad exam. I had been selected as the better student in my high school. Supposedly, I was prepared to pass any exam I was going to do.

I had to do 8 exams in 3 days. I don't remember which subject I began with. I don't remember what day the mathematics exam was, or even if it was the first exam of the day. I only know that I felt very comfortable with most of the exams appart from the Spanish language and English ones. I'm very self-tough.

We did the exams in the Complutense University of Alcalá de Henares (Madrid). There were thousands of students there: all the students who had passed the last two year at every secondary school in Alcalá de Henares were there. 

I had selected my options before I knew the Selectividad marks. I wanted to study (in this order): Medicine, Physiotherapy or Engineering. 

I passed all my exams. In the English exam I got a low mark but I passed it. In the Spanish language one I got 10/10!! But in Mathematics... I really failed: I got 0/10. It changed to 4/10 after I made a formal appeal. Anyway, I couldn't study neither Medicine or Physiotherapy. 

Finally, after 6 years at the Technical University I became a Computer Engineer. However, nowadays I work as a Mathematics teacher in secondary school and I try to prepare my students well for their university entry exams.

Destiny or coincidence?? Who knows. I only hope my students will get entry to the degree they want.


PS: You could find more vocabulary about Education and other topics (and its pronuntiation) here. 



Please, If you find any mistake or you have another point of view about the information that I have posted, please leave a comment. We can all learn together! This blog feeds on your coments!!

A Time I Met A Celebrity

Two years ago I met "Culebra" and "Cabeza". These are the nicknames of Rafi y Fali, two Spanish boys from Sevilla who made comedy sketches. My friends and I had been laughing at their short comedies during the last summer holidays and suddenly...

Antonio and I were in Sevilla for the weekend, at my mother's house. It was a lovely sunny day so we decided to go out. We went for a walk across Betis Street. This street is one of the prettiest streets in Sevilla: it follows the bank of the Guadalquivir river and you can see the "Torre del Oro" and even the Cathedral from there, at the same time you see people canoeing in the river. The views you get from this street are just amazing!

After walking for a while, when we arrived at the Triana Bridge, we decided to stop and have a beer in the famous Faro restaurant/bar. We sat down on the terrace in order to enjoy the wonderful views. The sun was shining strongly, so it was hot. We quickly finished the first beers, so I went into the bar to order another couple. When I returned to the terrace I could see how Antonio was talking to two boys. - University friends, I thought while I got close to them -. After two minutes talking with them I realized who they were:

- OMG, you are "Culebra" and "Cabeza"! -, I said.

They didn't look like themselves, probably it was the reason why I didn't recognize them at first. In all the sketches they make, they get dressed as a stereotype of different people; as hippies, as posh people, as urban youths,... That day the looked like "normal people". In each of their comedies, they talk about the same topics, but these problems are told by the different stereotypical people who each have different points of view. It's not only funny but also very interesting to watch the sketches, because I think they open your mind in a humorous way.

Rafi and Fali produced their first film ("El mundo es nuestro") last December. It was the first Spanish film financed through crowdfunding. Its cinema session cost only two euros, as opposed to the 8 euros you must pay (at least) to watch any other film in Spain.

It's very difficult to understand their accent, but anyway it's funny to watch their scketches.


Please, If you find any mistake or you have another point of view about the information that I have posted, please leave a comment. We can all learn together! This blog feeds on your coments!! 

Each Other vs One Another

Which is the different between "each other" and "one another"?

Maybe you could think they have the same meaning, and you are not completely wrong. Both of them are reciprocal pronouns, generally synonimous. However, there is a little different between them:

• We frequently use  "each other" when there are only two persons involved in the action. For example, "Nines and Laura greeted each other"
• We commonly use "one another" when there are more than two people involved in the action. For example, "All guests greeted one another".

I hope this helps.


Please, If you find any mistake or you have another point of view about the information that I have posted, please leave a comment. We can all learn together! This blog feeds on your coments!!

Adjetive Order

You know you can put more than one adjective before a noun (often two and occasionally three). These adjectives go in a particular order:

1. Opinion adjective go before fact adjectives, 
2. If there is more than one fact adjective, the go in the following order:

This is very difficult to remember, so I'm writing a rime that a teacher tell me some time ago, in order to helping me to remain this order in my memory:

“In my nice (opinion) big (size) flat,

there’s an old (age) round (shape/style) box,

for my green (colour/pattern) Swiss (nationality) hat,

and my woolly (material) walking (purpose) socks”

If that doesn't work, you always can use the "acronim" formed by the first word of every adjective. I mean, you can use: OSAShCNMP

Even so, if this doen't help, you could try with the following chain of characters: it is used by Vicent, one of my blog reader and an English student too: 'BNLPISS', which means 'Big New Long Pink Italian Silk Skirt'

I hope this help.


Please, If you find any mistake or you have another point of view about the information that I have posted, please leave a comment. We can all learn together! This blog feeds on your coments!!

Carrying My House In My Back

There is an Spanish expression that means you are carrying your house in your back, just like snails. This expression is "con la casa a cuestas". I have been looking for a similar expression in English and I have found this one, "always on the move", but I am not sure if it is really right.

I studied Computer Engineering, but after 6 years working on it as a professional, I decided to make a change in my life and I became a mathematics teacher in Secondary School (in Spain, it is from twelve to eighteen years old). I had to work and study hard to get it, because after you get an university degree (in Spain, it takes you at least six years), you must get a master's degree in pedagogy. Once you both degrees, you are able to take a State exam. 

This exam has 4 parts: a written theory exam (you must expound on one lesson completely - selected randomly from 70 possible ones-, in only two hours), a practical written exam (where you have to solve five high-level mathematics problems, in two hours), a educational project (where you must develop a memory about an hypothetical complete course from Secondary School and you have to deliver it on exam day) and a practical oral exam (where you have to explain how you'd organize a lesson - selected randomly from the lessons you have included in your project - and how you'd explain it to the students, in one hour).  Only if you pass all of them, will you get into the State Education Employment exchange. To remain on it, you must pass this exam every 2 years.

Once you are in this Employment exchange, you can be called to work at any moment during the academic course (from 1th of September to 30th of Jun). You can be very lucky and get a vacancy for the rest of the course, or more likely you only get to work for a few months, weeks or even days. When the teaching possition is finishes, you go back again onto the Employment exchange and can be called once again until the course is over.  In any case, you have to move away to the city where your new school is. We are always carrying our houses in our backs.

 Today I am in 9th possition in the Employment exchange, so I think that I am going to move out very soon... Always "con la casa a cuestas" ;-)

PS: You could find more vocabulary about job and other topics (and its pronuntiation) here. 

Please, If you find any mistake or you have another point of view about the information that I have posted, please leave a comment. We can all learn together! This blog feeds on your coments!!

New Year Resolutions

Since I was a child, I have been scared of needles. I mean, the sort of needles that are placed in a vein - only those make me feel panicky. I have always had a bad relationship with them:

• When I was 5 years old, doctors prescribe my first blood test: When my parents and I arrived at the health clinic, nurses had to tie me (literally) in order to extract me blood.
• Every time I have had a blood test since then, I have felt dizzy and even fainted.

To give blood was not only a recurring "new year resolution", but also a "life resolution": I would like to help people to feel better and healthy.  It seems to be so easy that I always feel bad with myself when I don't take a step forward to give blood.

Last Friday, my mother had her back-checked at Puerta del Mar Hospital, in Cádiz. She was operated on 9 months ago. She had 4 slipped discs (hernias) at the bottom of her back (lumbar spine) and she needs to have the screws and the plate checked to see that they haven't moved. Normally, this type of checking takes a long time, so I don't know why but I decided to spend this time in banishing my fear.  

Today I can say that on 28 December 2012 it was just the first time I gave blood. It made me feel so so happy and proud of myself.   

And what about your resolutions? Did you carry them out in 2012? Have you thought abut your 2013 resolutions?

In relation to this post, I want to upload my next note here, and this one is about vocabulary for healthy (Illness And Treatment).


Please, If you find any mistake or you have another point of view about the information that I have posted, please leave a comment. We can all learn together! This blog feeds on your coments!!