Telling stories

Many years ago, in summer of 1974, my husband and I travelled to Sweden. We went to visit some friends who lived there. Actually, one part of these friends were acquaintance because we only met once. It was the year before, when the Pinochet’s coup d’état took place in Chile. We met a curious couple formed by a Swedish blind woman and a Swedish catholic priest who had visited our country in order to make campaign for people who fought against Pinochet. These people were really friendly and open minded, so they offered us their home in Sweden.
The day which we arrived in their city, named Lund, it was very late, near midnight, and therefore we didn’t dare to go to their house. It was very cold and dark and we decided to sleep in a kind of garden near to the rail station. Luckily we had a warm sleeping bag and we didn’t feel cold.
During the night we heard many young people singing and shouting because, in Sweden, on Friday night is free drink and people were used to drink like a fish and became completely drunk. Despite the noise we slept like a log but suddenly I noticed something besides me. As I didn’t see anything I touched around and I could perceive a hedgehog with sharp spikes covering its back. I was really terrified and in this moment it began to rain, therefore we woke up and ran through the garden. In that moment, we just couldn’t believe our eyes! We weren’t in a garden, we were in a cemetery! For a long time my heart was in a crazy speed.
We went outside the cemetery and we walked to the bus station where we got the first bus in the morning to our friends’ home. When we arrived we explained to our friend our adventure and they even nearly laughed head off.
Looking back on it, it was one of the funniest things that’s ever happened to me!

Happy Saint George's day 2008!

What if the princess wasn’t as beautiful and pretty as everybody thought? What if the cavalier George was really dull and mood? What if the dragon was vegetarian?

Discuss about it?

Happy Saint George's day plenty of roses and books!! !

ART AS FOOD FOR THOUGHT

“My painting is visible images which conceal nothing; they evoke mystery and, indeed, when one sees one of my pictures, one asks oneself this simple question 'What does that mean'? It does not mean anything, because mystery means nothing either, it is unknowable."

René Magritte

Many years ago there was an exhibition from Rene Magritte in Barcelona, concretely, in Miro Fundation. It was really successful and for me was a marvellous discovery. Magritte’s paintings had been printing in my mind since I saw that exhibition.
Rene Magritte was a prodigiously talented master, but his mainly feature is as a cerebral painter; his paintings served as vehicles for the translation of abstract ideas into visual form.

There are many Magritte’s impressive paintings, however I’ve chosen The Human Condition because is an example of how Magritte appeals to our mind.

In this painting we can see the landscape which is painted mix with the painter’s easel and the painting itself. It means: what is the relationship between reality and image? Magritte makes us question whether the external world we take for reality is not merely an image itself. His work means that reality itself might only be a dream and, conversely, our dreams and desires are the stuff of which reality is made.

Moreover, with Magritte’s paintings I understood a very important matter: whether the reality is part of us, everyone can see the reality in a different way.

Urban legend

I remember that in my childhood, time to time, I received a letter that asked me to distribute some copies to my friends or acquirers promising good luck if the letter was replicated and bad luck if it was not. These were named chain letters.
Common methods used in chain letters included emotionally manipulative stories, get rich very quickly, the exploitation of superstition to threaten the recipient with bad luck or even physical violence or death if you "breaks the chain" and refuses to adhere to the conditions set out in the letter.

This kind of stories could be considerate urban legends because people didn’t know if it was true or not. Urban legends, like chain letters, are sometimes repeated in news stories and, in recent years, distributed by e-mail.

Looking for Internet I’ve found this fun chain letter. Have a look!

"This chain letter was started in hopes bringing relief to other tired and discouraged women. Unlike most chain letters, this one does not cost anything. Just send a copy of this letter to five of your friends who are equally tired and discontented. Then bundle up your husband or boyfriend and send him to the women whose name appears at the top of the list, and add your name to the bottom of the list. When your turn comes, you will receive 5,625 men. One of them is bound to be better than the one you already have.
At the writing of this letter, a friend of mine had already received 184 men, 4 of whom were worth keeping. REMEMBER: this chain brings luck. An unmarried woman was able to choose between an orthodontist and a successful gynecologist. You can be lucky too, but DO NOT BREAK THE CHAIN! One woman break the chain, and got her own husband back again."

What a coincidence!

Last Thursday in the English class we are practising vocabulary, collocations and how to plan a party. Different class-mate groups explained to others what kind of party they threw; some different parties were: a Mariona’s farewell party, a mushroom’s party, a rain's party, a Pedrera’s party, a special fancy dress party (sort of dress beginning by “M”), a cava’s party, and so on. Walking home, I was still thinking about these kind of parties I enjoy going to most of them when I run across my friend Maria. What was my surprise when she invited me at her divorce party. Obviously, I was very shocked and when Maria notice my astonishment said: I’m part of a trend of women and men embracing their breakups with divorce parties. "A new season, a new me, a new beginning: That's why I wanted the party; I wanted to celebrate my new life."
-I asked her: have you sorted out everything for your divorce party yet? Do you need a hand with anything?
-Maria said: Don’t worry. For me the party is a great way to thank all the people who stood by me through the ordeal of separation, so I’ve decided to hire the company services.
-Well, I said, very well. I'm looking forward to it. See you soon.

When I arrived home I was looking up in internet if really there was this kind of companies. I just couldn’t believe my eyes. I found a lot of webs that held you a divorce party. Besides, there I could see many people who were on the same Maria’s wave length and wrote things like this:
“My divorce party brought much needed closure to a horrible time in my life. It helped me turn the corner and start living again.” (Rhoda)
“After my divorce, I was bad-tempered and slightly crazy for months. My divorce party was cathartic. I finally let go of all the anger, sadness and regret. It marked the end of a difficult chaotic time.” (Rick)

Good for Maria!

It's a free world

I’m up to my eyes because the second term is ready to end, so I have been absent from my blog for two weeks. Last Sunday, I look for a film in the newspaper. I read and saw the advice of Nuria about the film “Once”, but I go to the cinema with a friend who hate the musicals. So, I look for another option, of course, an original version in Yelmo Ikaria because is the only place where there are cinema in the Sundays morning.
The film I choose was “It’s a free world” directed by Ken Loach. Ken Loach is known for his naturalistic, social realism directing style and for his socialist beliefs. He made long time ago a famous film about the Spanish Civil War named “Tierra y Libertad”.

The main character is Angie, a working class woman, who is having been unjustly sacked from her job in an employment agency. So, she decides to set up her own agency with her flatmate, Rose. Taking advantage of the desperation of recent Polish immigrants, Angie build a successful business extremely quickly.

Honestly, I can’t recommend this film because it is very hard. But I’m keen on Ken Loach’s films although he shows the worst side of the human being.

An uncanny story

When I was a child I used to live in the family’s country house all my summer’s holidays. Very often I felt unhappy because I was away from home and I missed my family, especially my mum. That means I was homesick. In fact, I hadn’t any reasons for feeling bad because my grandmother and my aunt made me feel comfortable at home by doing all that I wanted and even buying me all I asked for. Although I was only nine, I can remember perfectly how they pampered me all the time. My cousins made fun of me about my sadness, specially, my cousin Maria used to tell me scary stories and silly tales in order to make me laugh.
One day, we were sitting down on a bench opposite the house, the sun was going down and there were wonderful colours and lights in the sky when several insects began to fly around us. Suddenly, we saw a humble-bee and Maria said: “you are lucky because this humble-bee is brown and a good thing will soon happen. But take care when you see a black humble-bee because then a bad thing will happen”. Although her words sounded as a joke I paid attention to her and I thought: “I wish my parents come soon!”
It was no longer than past eleven when I went to my room to sleep. Suddenly I heard a car. It stopped in front of the hause and after a while I could hear my mum’s voice. I jumped out of my bed and I run to give her a great big hug.
Some days after, in the evening, we were playing in front of the house again when I saw a black humble-bee flying around the light. I felt very bad and I was afraid for my family. After dinner my aunt was on the phone for a long time and when she finished she told me that my mum was in the hospital because she had had an accident.
Was it a coincidence or do you believe that some kind of animals can announce you positive or negative events?