Voice and guitar...

Back to our dreamworld after some reality bits... here's a video of Katie Melua, that girl I said that sang like angels. Just voice and guitar... enough to make you shiver.
Enjoy it!

I can't avoid it!

In spite all the bliss and happiness of our holidays, there are things that make my guts flip over. I mentioned something like this before, probably about Irak. But it comes over again. The war in Lebanon does not make out between soldiers and civilians, and innocent children are right in the eye of the hurricane.

How can a single father (I'm sure some of those who shot the rockets have their own children) think this cannot stop? Victims in Qana or in the other towns in Lebanon are dying like insects because Israel claims its right to defend from the threat of Hezbolla. That does NOT justify its cruel actions. We parents should stand and shout against these murders, but how can we?

So far, only tears of rage show our disapproval. I humbly think the state of Israel is digging its own grave; a grave in the land they had a right to claim.

Photographs taken from 11alive, truthdig and decaturdaily

Stage1: Segovia

Back from stage 1!!
Lots of children. Good temperature (thin coat at night, sleeping under your sheets). Lots of places to see: castles, palaces, gardens... and very nice people we've met. Best regards to M. Carmen, Carlos, Alberto, Jesús, Carmen, Bárbara, Joan Carles, Loli, Lara, Hugo, Javier, Luisa, Celia, Jorge and Javier Jr. We've had a very good time up there. It's been good to relax and to drowse through the afternoon, and read a good book (hard as it is during the year). Now it's a week's work at the office and then off to La Cerdanya. Anna seems to feel better about her pregnancy. Our third offspring seems to start behaving properly.
Here's a bubbleshare for you if you want to have a look. The swimming pool shower was freezing!


This album is powered by
BubbleShare
- Add to my blog

Bye for now!

Steep climb, indeed!

We did it!
A nice bunch of people (a big hug for Albert, Amàlia, Antonio, Glòria, Jorge & Lluís) got together last weekend to climb the Canigó, one of the sacred mountains of the catalans. The first stages were really pleasant, flowing streams and meadows, birds singing, and Antonio making fun. As we got to the "Tartera" (scree in English)... oh, that was tough!! Stepping on rocks and sliding pebbles makes the climb really exhausting. There was Glòria going up the slope like a goat (very good, Glòria). Right at the end of the tartera we sat for a snack to gain some strength, and there was the final climb. A steep path of rock where you had to hold on big boulders and rocks with both hands in order to get some control and go up to the top.
When I finally got to the sumit, Antonio, Glòria, Jorge and Lluís were already there... with another pack of 15 more people barbecueing some sausages together with their 6-7-year old children!! That was depressing: The children were wearing rubber sandals,and I was there with my boots and half fainted! It turned out that they had climbed from the other side, on a much gentler slope.
After Amàlia and Albert got to the top (that was a very brave climb... congratulations, Amàlia), we had something to eat and took some pictures (aren't we cute?).

Bork

This album is powered by
BubbleShare
- Add to my blog

We began the descent, much harder than we expected. The view of the empty fall in front of you made you think carefully where to put your hands and feet, but it was fun, believe me.
We got to the starting point completely exhausted, but very happy after having achieved our goal.
The stakes were high, the aim was tough, but the company paid for everything. It has been a real pleasure to meet such nice people as Albert, Glòria and Lluís (the others were old acquaintances). I want to thank Jorge for putting us together on this wonderful excursion.
Today is monday... my legs are a bit stiff, but my memories are splendid!
It's worth having a look at the pics, they are nice!

Briefing...

Hi there... sorry about the delay. We've been pretty hectic at home... but results have been very fruitful. Anna (wife) has passed her competition to become a state teacher for vocational education. That is good news, isn't it? But wait, still more coming up... she's pregnant!!!! Third one coming! The family will be enlarged with another crawling creature ready to suck our stamina. That makes me RRRReally happy, believe me. I'll keep you up to date with that.
Maybe these oncoming days I'm going to spend sometime trying to refurbish the blogsite (colours, links...) I'll come back with more posts ASAP.
Take care all of you, will you?

Referendum on Sunday

The weather forecasts are very promising: Gloomy skies slightly overcast with chances of rain... that means no beach = high participation in the referendum. The estimations say the Yes is going to win. Spain-biased conservatives and Independentists are for the No. Too much for the former, too little for the latter. None of them will ever be happy with any negotiated outcome, I guess.
So, let us see what will come out. What I always like to hear is the comments of the politicians after the results are given... All of them win!!

Local heroes

We always tend to see our heroes as strong, famous people... remarkable actors or actresses, singers, sportspeople, or even politicians!( I don't believe people see us teachers as heroes, do they?).
Real heroes live around the corner... in our neighbourhood, in our school, or next to our office table.
This is my first local hero in the series: Àlex, my neighbour. he plays football, and at the end of the season he's been appointed best colleague in the team. Congratulations, Àlex! Fairplay is as important as championships.

So... there I was

Yesterday, it was the time for Emmylou's concert in Barcelona. She was together with an english guy... I think his name was Knopfler, or something like that. He was fantastic as well, but that's not the point here. She played and sang like an angel, and at 59, she moves like she did years ago.
I was there together with my lifetime friend Jorge (the guy with the specs in the pictures), he was the one who introduced me to Emmylou's music. Thanks, Jorge!
Her music and her songs sound like heaven, and I felt like heaven! by the end of the concert, she sang "From Boulder to Bimingham", that made me feel younger, about twenty years, more or less.
I don't know if I will ever see her again, but yesterday's concert will be permanently fresh in my memory... a part of the soundtrack of my life.
I've pasted a BubbleShare presentation in large size, I hope the guys at blogger won't go mad at it, but she deserves it!!
I love you girl!!

This album is powered by
BubbleShare
- Add to my blog

TAFL

This stands for Teaching of Andaluz as a Foreign Language. Watch this "Folou mí" course and you'll be able to speak andalú in a few days. I advise you all language teachers to watch carefully and take notes. It's a bit long, but it pays, indeed.

By the way...

By the way, Current TV seems to be a different way to make television. Interesting documentaries and interviews about everyday life and hot issues, from the watchers' point of view (for a change).

Immigrants!!

After all the hassle produced by the immigration issue, both in Europe and in the States, I think it is worth having a look at this video from Current TV. They gives a comic approach of the problem, and make us see that we are all immigrants some time!

Here's the second!

2 hours of nerve-wrecking wait. No voice at all in the end. Eyes wide open, mouth gaping, sweat. We finally got to the end of the match one goal ahead, which was scored just 10 minutes before the end. The game was tight and difficult. Arsenal scored in the first half after having their goallie sent out. That left a 10 aginst 11 match which wasn't easy at all. When many of us thought that the cup would be lost, Eto'o and Belleti moved the balance for Barça in just 4 minutes. Unbelievable!!
Second European Champions Cup, and the feeling that the team has a promising future ahead. How far will they get?

Just feelings

No pictures, no links... just feelings. Tonight Barça are playing their Champions League Final in Paris against Arsenal. I'll be watching it at a friend's together with a bunch of people and Clara, my eldest daughter (she does like football, indeed!). If they win, the blog will have a colourful post tomorrow. If they lose, never mind, there much more important things in life than a simple football match... but this isn't a simple one, by no means! Funny how we tend to be mesmerized by such vacuous things.

Goosepimples

Yesterday I happened to listen to a song... goosepimples!! It was a cry of sensitivity, of tenderness and lyricism. Katie Melua, a young singer of georgian roots sings a beautiful song called "I Cried for You"... amazing how I was moved by her voice! I think I will definitely have a look at her other songs... and so should you; but first visit her website and watch the video of this song. My colleagues might even find the video interesting as an activity in the classroom. Her voice is crystal clear, the tempo is good, ans the movie can be very helpful to practise parts of the human face. Don't miss it!

President of my country... tough job, indeed!

Pasqual Maragall, my president, must be really having a bad time. His colleagues at power fom ERC (independentists), say they will foster their voters' "NO" at the referendum for our new "Estatut" (something like an autonoumous set of laws and rules to govern Catalonia). They claim the Estatut is short of power for Catalonia and still depends too much on Madrid. That leaves Maragall in a very uncomfortable position. Part of his ministers (those from ERC) will probably say NO in the referendum whereas he and his sidekicks (PSC, the socialists and IC, the ecosocialists) will ask for the voters' support with a YES. The spanish nationalist conservatives (PP) also stand for a NO, but for the opposite reasons of ERC. PP claims that too much autonomy will finally break Spain into pieces, trying to cause fear in the more moderate voters. This tug of war will probably benefit Convergència i Unió, the catalan conservative nationalist party who was in the government for 23 years. Wrapped in a patriotic flag, they ruled the country with a full right-wing bias. This present catalan government, made up of the three left-wing catalan parties, raised many people's hopes for a more equalitarian country. This conflict may cause the government's downfall and subsequently new elections will be held. That would mena that many projects would be held at a standstill or, depending on the next government, probably put off.

May the 17th.... mmmmm!

Barça made it! They defeated Milan in the two-match semifinal with a total score of 1-0. Poor as it may look. Not many teams can really boast to have beaten the italians.
And now the final! Arsenal are waiting for us in Paris... Henry, Fàbregas, Reyes... It's going to be a beatiful tug of war, I'm sure. I won't be there, but I'll be on my sofa watching it. Next champs... us... I'm sure.

Sowing the seeds of love... green love

Last tuesday we were having dinner at home and Mònica (5) took a green bean seed from the plate and asked my wife Anna if she would have a baby if dad put one of those in her belly... so... vegetarians beware!!

Good news... fears away

A brief note: I've just been through a couple of bothering things... I had to undergo a gastroscopy and an endoscopy because of different reasons. My family has a history of intestine polyps (my mother and my grandmother Petra). Some were good, some were bad. After 40, you must get a check up in order to prevent polyp development. No polyps in the end!
I also had a gastroscopy because of some swallowing problems... that gave me the creeps! I didn't know what could be wrong with my swallowing. In the end, it has turned up that I have a moderate hiatal hernia... NOTHING SERIOUS!!!! These days I have thought about my daughters and my wife, about many things... I was afraid, but finally I can look at the future again with the same strength and optimism!

An oasis for teachers... and speakers

I've been told a new café has opened up in Barcelona: The English Oasis Café. There you can have a drink and speak English. There are activities and even learning modules of spoken English for low-stage learners, and different topics for everyone to choose. Magazines, boardgames... anything that might help you feel in comfortable in an English speaking atmosphere.

Back from the hills!

So we are back. We had a great time there, in spite of the dangers you'll see later on this post. The house was cute and tidy, and there wasn't many people around, we met a family next to our place, but we didn't see much of each other.

On our arrival, we had the opportunity to celebrate Clara's birthday, and we took advantage of the present she got... a Monopoly!! We played and played, and she got used to winning pretty quickly.

The weather was fine, we had some fog (really thick), and sunshine, but scarcely any rain, so we managed to do some walks in the area.
We went into a vegetarian diet of barbecued ribs and spiced pork meat... together with boiled vegetables to compensate.
We met a very interesting man and his family. Mr Valentí Garrigasait, the owner of the place where we were staying. He is a very trustworthy man, always ready to help you and give any assistance you need. A man with a solid background and sympathy that make of him an outstanding character. He was the one who restored Hotel Sant Roc in Solsona, a beautiful art noveau building of 1929, and turned it into a fashionable hotel worth visiting run by his efficient daughter Dolors. On our way back, we stopped by and had lunch there, and were welcome by the staff with such kindness that my daughters behaved like sheep (easy joke... they usually do). Dolors showed us the newly decorated rooms, some of them painted by Tate, another one of Valentí's daughters. Really astounding!! I really encourage you to pay a visit to this nice hotel in Solsona.

Here's a little show of the things we had to endure up there in the wilderness!!

Bork

Bork

Bork

Bork

Bork

Bork

Bork

Bork

Bork

Bork

Bork

Bork

This album is powered by
BubbleShare - Add to my blog