Además de una experiencia asombrosa en Etiopía, tuve la suerte de conocer a Tadi. Él y yo trabajamos juntos en el aula todos los días que estuve enseñando. Es una de esas personas únicas y merecedoras de la oportunidad de realizar su sueño de ser profesor de su aldea. Sin él no hay ninguno.
Besides Ethiopia being an amazing experience, I had the good fortune to meet Tadi. He and I taught together in the classroom every day while I was there. He's one of those unique people who truly deserves the opportunity of achieving his dream of becoming his village's school teacher. Otherwise, there's none.
At the moment the page and request are in Spanish, but don't let that stop you from translating the text and making a kind donation of $5 or $10 so that Tadi can get certified as a teacher for his (and now my beloved village of Dhadim).
I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree.
Source: Poetry (August 1913). Joyce Kilmer (1886–1918) was an American writer and poet mainly remembered for his short poem titled “Trees” (1913), published in the collection Trees and Other Poems (1914). A prolific poet whose works celebrated the common beauty of the natural world as well as his religious faith, Kilmer was also a journalist, literary critic, lecturer, and editor. While most of his works are largely unknown, a select few of his poems remain popular and are published frequently in anthologies.
Paul Robeson (1898-1976) sings the poem “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer.
Posing as Father Christmas, Tolkien wrote letters for over twenty years to his children, John, Michael, Christopher and Priscilla. Almost every letter is a juvenile literature classic with plots and subplots, characters, instructions and advice.
It's impossible not to fall in love with NPB, North Polar Bear, and his downfalls and antics, and the humorous interplay between him and Father Christmas, both writing their own versions of incidents, mostly at the North Pole. There are delightful moments like NPB getting stuck in the snow, developing the whooping cough and barking like bears on Boxing Day, and how FC talks about with the right organisation you can get about 1000 stockings a minute done. He also gives insight to his character and fatherly sense of level-headed justice. "I don't forget people, even when they're past stocking age, not until they forget me."
There are snowboys, the children of snowmen, of course, and all kinds of magic, which Tolkien says, is strongest at Christmas.
Finally, the illustrations, which are also Tolkien's handiwork, are a treasure in and of themselves.
A highly recommendable read, but one to take slowly, maybe starting right after Thanksgiving and reading a bit every day to savour it all.
What's does a Fish have to do with the separatist movement in Catalonia? Well, it's a fairy tale about a magical fish and a Catalonian government that every time wants more and more from Spain. While the outcome surely won't be the same, the demands and expectations of Spain's most prosperous province sound much too similar.First, you'll have to have read the Grimm Brother's Tale of The Fisherman and his Wife to understand what I'm going to write next.
¿Qué tiene que ver el Pez de la fábula con el movimiento separatista de Cataluña? Bueno, hay un cuento de hadas sobre un pez mágico que concede deseos y alguien que siempre quiere más, como el gobierno de Cataluña respecto de España. Si bien el resultado seguramente no será el mismo, las exigencias y expectativas de la región más próspera de España son muy similares. Primero, tendrás que haber leído el Cuento de Grimm "El Pescador y su Esposa" para entender lo que voy a escribir a continuación.
"What curriculum did you use?" a new friend asked me when she discovered that we both homeschooled our children for well over a decade. We both had used the same integrated studies based on our love of literature. There was an immediate sense of commonality that got me thinking about connection and it's meaning at a deeper level. Life can be many things to many people. There's commonality, what we share, and then there's a reaching out and making contact, and that's connection. A seedling reaches upward towards a bright sunlit sky and finds the nourishment to grow and flourish. A foal reaches up to its mother for warm life-sustaining milk. A single cell attaches and holds onto nutrient-rich lining to multiply into a complexity that still baffles scientists. There's a bridging of chasms where otherwise there'd be nothingness. Death is bridged by life. I love life and therefore the giver of life. I love when a limp little creature bursts forth helpless from the womb and finally gains its strength, or a wet butterfly emerges from is cocoon and actually has the chance to dry its wings to fly. And, I love when Christ, the only figure to do so in all of religiondom, reaches out, spans the expanse of eternity to make peace between a just God and a world of hopelessly separated individuals. I love that there's a God, who's not just about commonality, but of connection. Of reaching out. Of life.
All photos from walking tour of Bilbao, País Vasco - Basque Country
At another time in my life I would have cringed to reference Sparknotes and Wikipedia in a book or film critique, but since the subject is so weighty, with philosophical quotes and dealings of the ancients, I gave myself full license this time. Not to mention the most insightful critique of all I found, written by Reason and Meaning; Philosophical reflections about life, death, and the meaning of life.
Regarding my own commentary, be sure to read to the end to understand why after discussions and political debate I ended up wondering how much Kundera plays devil's advocate and toys with his reader, and found his book to be a classic in philosophical thought regarding the meaning of life.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being opens with a
philosophical discussion of lightness versus heaviness. Kundera contrasts
Nietzsche's philosophy of eternal return, or of heaviness, with Parmenides's
understanding of life as light. Kundera wonders if any meaning or weight can be
attributed to life, since there is no eternal return: if man only has the
opportunity to try one path, to make one decision, he cannot return to take a
different path, and then compare the two lives. Without the ability to compare
lives, Kundera argues, we cannot find meaning; where meaning should exist we
find only an unbearable weightlessness. The uncertain existence of meaning, and
the opposition of lightness and heaviness, the key dichotomy of The Unbearable
Lightness of Being, sets the stage for the entire novel.
- Sparknotes
Kundera uses Friedrich
Nietzsche's doctrine of the Eternal Return to illustrate Lightness. Eternal
Return dictates that all things in existence recur over and over again for all
eternity. This is to say that human history is a preset circle without
progress, the same events arising perpetually and doomed never to alter or to
improve. Existence is thus weighty because it stands fixed in an infinite
cycle. This weightiness is “the heaviest of burdens”, for “if every second of
our lives recurs an infinite number of times, we are nailed to eternity as
Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross.” At the same time, it is necessary for
any event to occur in the cycle of events exactly as it has always occurred for
the cycle to be identical; consequently, everything takes on an eternally fixed
meaning. This fact prevents one from believing things to be fleeting and
worthless.
The inverse of this
concept is Kundera's “unbearable lightness of being.” Assuming that eternal
return were impossible, humankind would experience an “absolute absence of
burden,” and this would “[cause] man to be lighter than air” in his lack of
weight of meaning. Something which does not forever recur has its brief
existence, and, once it is complete, the universe goes on existing, utterly
indifferent to the completed phenomenon. “Life which disappears once and for
all, which does not return” writes Kundera, is “without weight...and whether it
was horrible, beautiful, or sublime...means nothing.” Each life is
insignificant; every decision does not matter. Since decisions do not matter,
they are "light": they do not tie us down. However, at the same time,
the insignificance of our decisions - our lives, or being - is unbearable.
Hence, "the unbearable lightness of being." On the other hand,
eternal existence would demand of us strict adherence to prescripted rules and
laws; a sense of duty and rigorous morality.
"What then shall
we choose? Weight or lightness?" Kundera notes that this is not a new
question. Parmenides posed it in the sixth century BC. He saw the world divided
into pairs of opposites: light/darkness, fineness/coarseness etc. One half of
the opposition he called positive (light, fineness, warmth, being), the other
negative. We might find this division into positive and negative poles simple
except for one difficulty: which one is positive, weight or lightness?
Parmenides responded that lightness is positive, weight negative. Kundera then
questions "Was he correct or not?" The lightness/weight opposition
remains the most ambiguous of all. Kundera then asks, should one live with
weight and duty or with lightness and freedom? In Nietzschean terms, weight is
life-affirming in that to live with positive intensity is to live in a way
you'd be prepared to repeat. The emptiness of Sabina's life in 'The Unbearable
Lightness Of Being', and that she wanted to "die in lightness" —
which is to say that she is indifferent to her life — shows that she would not
want to repeat her life and would not accept an eternal return. - Opinion
piece, Wikipedia
While some might find Tomas' sexual appetite and exploits
edgy, daring or on the contrary, maybe even repulsive, I became bored and
tired quickly of them. By the end I found his going-ons really unpleasant and distasteful,
maybe even as much as Tereza and maybe because of her. I suppose this is due to
two reasons. One, I abhor waste and wastefulness and experiencing sex in such
consumeristic excess is a total throw away of possibilities, of feelings,
loyalties, personalities, friendships, all qualities of humanity and even basic
decency. Secondly, said consumerism is entirely void of any nobler or higher
emotion. This isn't something to be argued. Maybe for some it's fine, but it's
not my idea of anything valuable in life. The plot, in and of itself, therefore, didn't provide a great
read.
What I did find thought provoking and worthwhile was the
philosophical journey and even certain application of Nietzsche's premise and its inverse. In
Milan Kundera's work we delve into the the study of how life can't have meaning
if we're unable to study it from the far end. In other words, if we can't study our lives looking backwards, from the point of view of our death. Instead, in real time, when we must make our most important decisions how can we absolutely know if
they are right and wrong if we can never practice what it is to choose well
for ourselves, and what choices could be bad and even disastrous? How, therefore, can morality be
attached to our choices? This is the deeper, more meaningful essence
and redemptive element of the novel. It poses questions about the heaviness and
lightness of life. And in the end, many, myself included might decide that
while lightness, or lives free as the air we breathe, might be tempting, it might not be the most desirous
choice after all. We might decide the light is insignificant, void of meaning and decide that it's simply unbearable and choose heaviness, together
with meaning and purpose, instead. Still, in conclusion, not I, nor most lectors
will be able to answer simply by the end of this read. That's what gives this book cause for deeper reflection and true
value.
Student stories are the BEST and it's been a long time since I've included one on my blog. Here's one, a college adventure, that made me laugh out loud!
This story happened two years ago, when I was studying in the University of León. The protagonists of this story were my inseparable school friends and work companions.
This story began the day when my friends and I enrolled in a class called Artistic Expression Workshop. To pass de class we had to prepare a proyect. The proyect consisted of creating a story which combined parts of corporal, music and plastic expression.
After a few days and after very much thought, we had an idea. Our story was based on a man who saw his life changd in a 180 degrees. At first he was very appy, but then he lost his job and by the end he was evicted and ends his life; a tragedy.
So, we got on with the challenge. We found and spliced different pieces of music according to how he was feeling at each stage and we made a mural. In this mural one of us painted and expressed the same feelings as the songs.
Nevertheless, the highpoint of the story was at the moment when we decided to use a mannequin to represent the man.
At first, María’s friend gave us one. However, the mannequin fell to the ground and broke.
Unfortuantely, that catastrophe happened just a few days before the exam. My friends and I couldn’t believe it! Our huge problem regarding the mannequin didn’t seem to have any solution.
Finally, we decided to go to the Chinese shop to search for a mannequin. After negotiating with the clerk, we found a mannequin for 20 €! The best part of that moment was when we left the shop and people were watching us like; “Oh my God, What is that?”
Some tourists even took photos with us and our mannequin.
When everything seemed to be going well, the day before the exam, in our last rehearsal, the velcro strap that the mannequin had around his neck got caught on me and when I ran the mannequin fell to the ground. His hand was broken!
It was the worst moment in that proyect. We didn’t have any time to find a solution!
Finally, the next day we did our project and it was amazing. Everybody was fascinated by our handless mannequin and our teacher gave us a 10.
There is a lot of confusion about second languages in the US. Bilingualism is a benefit to all, something to promote and be proud of. "In monolingual children, semantic preference increases with age, suggesting that bilingual children reach a stage of semantic development 2–3 years earlier than their monolingual peers. ... They argue that the linguistic benefits of being bilingual are more than simply being able to speak two languages." This isn't a political statement, just common sense. Now, more than ever let's applaud bilingualism! We live in a global society. Besides, speaking two or more languages is good for you! "Bilingualism has the ability to change and improve cognitive function across the lifespan (throughout your life!), even delay symptoms of dementia in older age." Learn a new language! You can start with https://www.duolingo.com/ Its free and fun. I'm practicing Italian. There's a great menu to choose from!
Hasta el Último Hombre - Altamente recomendada. Normalmente evito películas de guerra y su sangre y violencia como a la peste. Nunca me verás viendo Platoon, La Colina de la Hamburguesa (Hamburger Hill) y me costó mucho ver Salvar al Soldado Ryan. Pero, Hasta el Último Hombre, una historia verdadera de un pacifista que quería servir a su país y salvar vidas, realmente vale la pena.
Astral is a documentary from the program Salvados (Saved), which is also the name of the luxury yacht that was converted into a rescue boat through the NGO Proactive Open Arms. Salvados has been with the NGO for 10 days, furrowing the Mediterranean Sea rescuing lives.
"This rich sailboat was transformed into a ship for the poor, a small metaphor for what could be with the redistribution of wealth."
Astral es un documental del programa Salvados y el nombre del yate de lujo que fue cedido a la ONG Proactiva Open Arms para ser convertido en un barco de rescate. En la película Salvados ha estado 10 días con la ONG surcando el mar mediterráneo rescatando vidas.
“El velero de ricos se ha transformado en un barco para pobres, una pequeña metáfora de lo que podría ser la redistribución de la riqueza”
De la página CFPI (Centro de Formación del Profesorado en Idiomas), León, España: Los cursos de verano de idiomas 2016 son cursos de alta calidad con ponentes nativos de reconocido prestigio esenciales para el desarrollo de la competencia comunicativa de nuestros docentes de idiomas - CFPIDIOMAS.CENTROS.EDUCA.JCYL.ES From the CFPI (Center for Teacher Training in Languages,) León, Spain: 2016 Summer language courses are high quality courses taught by prestigious native teachers specifically recognized for their ability to develop communicative competency among our language teachers.
Shawn and I appear in the first five seconds of the teaching video, and we also got to see each other for tapas and dinner in Madrid just a week earlier. Of course, in Madrid neither of these two, he nor Enrique could miss the opportunity for a lively conversation about technology, or more specifically a debate about which is better, Microsoft tablet or an ipad with the operating system of Windows10. I'm not sure either ended convinced of the other's point of view.
We attended a modest, but very well-attended luncheon benefit to fight hunger and help those in need around the world in numerous other projects such as AIDS relief, schools and educational funds and more. As I meditated on the issue of feeding the world I couldn't help but think how many mouths could be fed by feeding the grain to people instead of using it to fatten up cattle, pigs and fowl for just a fraction of those on this earth.
It's not usual to see a slam poet of this age pound out a message like this. I couldn't have said it better.
In the age in which we’re living, There is ever more misgiving
Every January 6th (Epiphany), the festival of the The Three Wise Men, or Three Kings, is celebrated in the Basilica of San Isidoro with a high mass and responsal remembering the Kings of León, many whose remains are resting in the Kings' Pantheon. Enrique, together with the other members of The Very Illustrious, Royal and Imperial Brotherhood of the Miraculous Banner of Saint Isidoro, organize this mass every year led by the Bishop of León and sung by the Isidoriana Choir.
Cada 6 de enero (Epifanía), festividad de los Reyes Magos, se celebra misa solemne y responso por los reyes de León en la Basilica de San Isidoro, en cuyo Panteón de Reyes descansan los restos de muchos de ellos. Enrique, junto con los otros miembros de La Muy Ilustre, Real e Imperial Cofradía del Milagroso Pendón de San Isidoro organiza, como cada año, esta misa presidida por el Obispo de León y cantada por la Coral Isidoriana.
The brotherhood was founded by Emperor Alfonso VII of León the year 1147, (the only crowned emperor in the history of the Iberian Peninsula). It is the oldest brotherhood still in existence today in its native land. I never knew about brotherhoods until coming to Spain. They were the imaginary stuff of films like National Treasure. There's not even a good translation for the word, Cofradría. So, I didn't realise the historical significance, the rich beauty of hundreds of years of culture and tradition. There are no words to express how this is a most singular experience.
La "Muy Ilustre, Real e Imperial Cofradía del Milagroso Pendón de San Isidoro", fue fundada en el año 1147 por Alfonso VII de León, el Emperador, (único emperador coronado en toda la historia de la península). Es la Cofradía más antigua de las existentes en la actualidad en todo el territorio español. Nunca sabía de cofradías antes de venir a España. Eran como fantasías de película, como National Treasure. Ni siquiera existe una buena traducción para la palabra "cofradía." Por eso, no entendía el significado histórico y la rica belleza de cientos de años de cultura y tradición. Me faltan palabras expresar que, desde luego, esta es una experiencia única.
