The Future

Hi there Blogmasters, When I was a young boy, I thought it would be nice to be a teacher. However, that idea only lasted 5 minutes and I soon decided I'd be a footballer, a musician or a movie director. Now, 100 hundred years later, here I am teaching in Chile. Believe me, it wasn't what I imagined I'd be doing. I’ve lived in lots of different places, done lots of different jobs and met lots of different people. So, in my experience, life very rarely turns out how we plan it. In fact, it would be very boring if it did. Just think, when I was your age there were no mobile phones, no commercial computers and the internet didn’t exist. How weird is that! Anyway, today I’d like you to get out your crystal ball and try and imagine what you’ll be doing in 10 years time. Say: Where you think you’ll be, What occupation you think you’ll be doing, Who you’ll share your life with (family/partner/children, etc) What things you will have achieved, What changes the world will have seen. Mention anything else you think is important. Write at least 250 words. Leave a comment on your teacher’s blog and on the blogs of at least 3 classmates.

The Long Weekend

Hi Bloggers,

This week I'd like you to write about the long weekend and what you did.

My Friday & Saturday were fairly normal so the highlight of my weekend was Sunday. First,  I watched Liverrpool win their first game of the new Premier League (English Football) against arch rivals Arsenal. Later, at midday I held a Bowieton in my flat that lasted for 12 hours (plus a bit more).

The Arsenal - Liverpool football match was really exciting. Liverpool went a goal behind but then scored 4 great goals that left Arsenal bewildered. Then, after a couple of substitutions Arsenal pulled a couple of goals back making it 3 - 4 so the last 10 minutes was nailbitting.

The Bowieton ran from 12 noon to 12 midnight. I'd invited about 30 people but only half turned up. Anyway, we listened to Bowie songs, watched Bowie films & videos and ate, drank & talked.

This was a get together that I'd been talking about doing for the last couple of months but I just didn't manage to organise sooner. To coincide with the event, I posted Bowie songs on Facebook from all the letters of the alphabet throughout the day (from Aladdin Sane to Ziggy Stardust).

I really had a great day. I listened to lots of wonderful music, hung out with lots of fun people and paid homage to my hero. I think I'll have to organise Bowieton 2 for Bowie's Birthday on January 8th. However, this time I'd like to find a bigger space & invite more people.

Write about what you did last weekend:
Say:
What things you did,
Who you saw.
What you enjoyed most.

Mention anything else you think is important. Write at least 200 words. Leave a post on my blog and on the blogs of at lease 3 classmates.

A classmate's blog

Write a review of the blog of the classmate below you on the blog list on your teacher’s blog.

Say:
Who it is,
How many posts they have written,

Describe the page design & layout
How many pictures/photos/videos there are.

Choose one post:
Say:
What it is about,
How many words it has
Why you chose it.


Review the language using the Revision Code.

Publish the revision on your blog & leave a comment on your classmate’s blog telling them you have revised their blog. Leave a similar comment on your teacher’s blog.

A Group or Artist

Good Morning Blogheads!

Today I'd like you to write about a group you have seen or would like to see. I'm lucky in that respect because I have seen 100's of great bands. As a teenage I started going to concerts (gigs) from the age of about 14 years old. Some of the artists I've seen include David Bowie, Nina Simone, The Clash, Joy Division, Prince, and lots of groups you most probably have never heard of. Today I'll write about Massive Attack who I seen here in Chile twice.
Massive Attack are a trip-hop band from Bristol. Trip-hop is a style of electronic hip-hop made in Britain at the end of the 1980's and into the 1990's. After Massive, the most well known artists are Moloko, Portishead and Tricky (all of whom I've seen live over the years).
I saw Massive Attack in Espacio Riesgo - which isn't a great place to see bands but by no means the worst. The band had a really spectacular live show with lots of slides or clips being projected on to the stage behind the band. They also work with various singers on record by use 2 or 3 when performing live. One of the main singers with the band is Horace Andy a Jamacian Singer who is about 65 years old. He has a special way of phrasing that I really enjoy listening to. The band also have some amazing songs like Safe from Harm, Unfinished Sympathy & Protection. Most people here in Chile know them for their 3rd album Mezzanine.
The thing I enjoyed most about the gig was just the fact of finally getting to see the group live, I'd been following them since their first official release in 1990 and every time I'd been in a position to see them live something went wrong and I could go. It was quite strange that I finally got to see them in Chile. I actually meet one of the band at my nephew's house in 2001, 3 years before I saw them live. Here is a video of the band on their 2nd visit to Chile in 2010.




Write about a group or singer you have seen (or would like to see).
Say:
Who they are,
What kind of music they play,
Where you saw them,
What you enjoyed about the concert.
Mention anything else you think is interesting. Write at least 200 words. Leave a comment on my blog and on the blogs of at least 3 classmates.

A Family Member or Relative

Good Morning FAU Bloggers:

Today I'd like you to write about someone from your family. It could be a brother or sister, one of your parents or another relative (uncle, aunt, cousin, etc). I'm going to write about my brother Adrian. Well Adrian, or Ady (AD?) as we like to call him, currently lives in New Zealand with his wife and 2 kids - Ella and Freya. He was a happy child, always joking and trying to make people laugh. He had a good temperament and rarely got angry. He learnt carpentry when he was a teenager and now works repairing violins and chelos and making groovy furniture. Ady is 18 months younger than me and we've always had a great relationship. He is someone you can depend on and is always ready to help out if things are complicated or you have a problem. The rest of the time he loves fooling about and playing music. He is a very good guitar player and an excellent violin player. He taught himself both instruments when he was younger. He is very perseverant. When he starts something he makes sure he keeps working on it until its right. Mostly, he just makes me laugh.

Here's a mix I did of one of Ady's songs:
https://vimeo.com/39607719

Write about someone from your Family.

Say:

Who it is,

What they do,

What they are like,

What sort of relationship you have with them.

Mention anything else you think is important. Write at least 200 words. Leave a comment on my blog and on the blogs of at least 3 classmates.

The Future

Hi there Blogmasters, When I was a young boy, I thought it would be nice to be a teacher. However, that idea only lasted 5 minutes and I soon decided I'd be a footballer, a musician or a movie director. Now, 100 hundred years later, here I am teaching in Chile. Believe me, it wasn't what I imagined I'd be doing. I’ve lived in lots of different places, done lots of different jobs and met lots of different people. So, in my experience, life very rarely turns out how we plan it. In fact, it would be very boring if it did. Just think, when I was your age there were no mobile phones, no commercial computers and the internet didn’t exist. How weird is that!
Anyway, today I’d like you to get out your crystal ball and try and imagine what you’ll be doing in 10 years time.
Say:
Where you think you’ll be,
What occupation you think you’ll be doing,
Who you’ll share your life with (family/partner/children, etc)
What things you will have achieved,
What changes the world will have seen.
Mention anything else you think is important.
Write at least 200 words. Leave a comment on your teacher’s blog and on the blogs of at least 3 classmates.

A Holiday

Hi Striking Bloggers!
This week I'd like you to write about a holiday you had or a journey you made.  I'm going to tell you about  a trip my wife and I made to Peru and Bolivia in 2001. We flew to Arica and stayed the night in a hostel. The next day we took a minibus to Tacna and a bus to Arequipa. We stayed in a cheap hostel in Arequipa but also spent one night in Colca Canyon (to see the baby Condors). On the trip to Colca we made friends with 2 Italian guys and 2 Israeli girls who we kept meeting throughout our trip. After about 4 days in Arequipa we took a flight to Cusco. We could have taken a 19-hour bus ride for about 2 dollars but we decided on the 30-minute, 50 dollar flight because it was rainy season and some of the roads were blocked. Also there had been rumours of bandits holding up the buses and robbing the tourists.

Cusco was great. Obviously we went to Machu Picchu which was amazing. It was raining when we arrived but the sun came out late in the afternoon when all the one-day tourists had left. My wife and I had arranged to stay overnight in Aguas Calientes, the nearest village, and we walked up to Machu Picchu again the following day at 8 am to see the sunrise. We also climbed Huayna Picchu as well which has an amazing view and is a great place to take photos. In Aguas Calientes we met a group of Argentines in a bar and they told us about an amazing hotel in Coroico, Bolivia that involved travelling down the "Road of Death". So, off we went to Coroico via Puno (for 30 minutes), Copacobana for two nights, with trips on Lake Titicaca to La Isla del Sol and La Isla de la Luna included, and La Paz.

Coroico was great. The Road of Death was scary and the hotel was just as amazing as the Argentines had said it was. Actually, the Road of Death was so scary I didn't want to leave Coroico! Eventually, I had to. Luckily we made it back to La Paz safe and sound. A couple of days we took a bus back to Chile via Lake Chungara. Great trip!

So, write about a great holiday you had.

Say:

Where you went,

Who you went with,

How long you stayed,

What you did,

Why you enjoyed it so much.

Mention anything else you thing is important. Write at least 200 words. Write a comment on your teacher's blog and on the blogs of at least 3 classmates.

A Beach

Hi Blogheads:)

Chile has hundreds of great beaches so I thought it would be nice if you could write about a beach that you like. Beaches are also important for geographers so this task ia also related to your studies.

I'm not really fond of sitting on the beach sunbathing. If I go to the beach I prefer to walk and look at things. One of the beach walks I like is from Maitencillo to Colchagua. I haven't done it for a couple of years but I have fond memories of the times I've done it. If you set off from La Laguna in Maitencillo walking North along the coast it will take about 2 hours or so to get to Colchagua. Some parts are a little difficult and they may be cut off by the tide depending on the time of the year. Also, if you do this walk in the summer you need to take drinking water and sunblock.

The beaches at the beginning and end of the walk are both long sandy bays. In between there are some beaches with pebbles and others with large boulders. Often you can see sea otters and lots of interesting seabirds.

If you don't like walking, the beach at Maitencillo is good for surfing, horse-riding, kite-flying or just sitting in the sun. It gets quite crowded in the summer so I tend to go out of season.

Write about a beach you like.

Say:

Where it is,

How often you go there,

What you do there,

Whay you like it.

Mention anything else you thing is important. Write at least 200 words. Leave a comment on my blog and on the blogs of 3 classmates.

A Job You Would Like to Do

Hi FAU Bloggers

Today I'd like you to write about a job you would like to do. Actually, I'd done a lot of jobs in my time. When I was a young boy I did several part time jobs. I did a paper round, then I worked in a Butcher's shop cleaning dirty refrigerators and finally I worked in a Clothes' Shop selling jeans. My first full-time job was as a Laboratory Assistant and 3-months later I was promoted to Laboratory Technician (Wow!!). Since then I've worked running a rehearsal studio, as a photographer, a photographer's assistant, a DJ, a lorry driver's assistant, a waiter, a musician, a warehouse technician, a barman, a Language Learning Centre assistant, a Course Director, a summer school teacher, a High School teacher, an examiner and no doubt some other things that I can't remember at the moment. However, I think the job I would like to do most is to be a free-lance music producer. I love to work with music and creating new things in the studio would be a great way to spend my time, especially if I was getting paid for it. I think the main quality you need for this job is to have a good ear for music. However, you also need to hear what isn't there, as well as being able to imagine how a song or piece of music would sound with different arrangements. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to work in a professional studio with me being in charge although I have recorded independently in smaller studios or using non-professional equipment. Currently I'm learning to use software like Ableton Live so maybe I'll get the chance to produce something after all!!!
Write about a job you would like to do.
Say:
What job it is,
Why you like this job,
What qualities you need to do this job well,
Why you think you would be good at this job, 
Which person who does this job is your inspiration.
Write at least 200 words. Leave a comment on my blog and on the blogs of 3 classmates.

London Calling!

Today in class we did the London Webquest. Please write about one of the places you learnt about on your blog.

Say:

Where it is.
How to get there.
How much it costs to get in,
What you can do there,
Why you would like to visit this place.

Write at least 120 words. Leave a message on my blog and on the blogs of 3 classmates.

An Ambition

Dear Bloggers,
Today I'd like you to write about an ambition you have for the future. It could be a trip you would like to make, a sport you would like to try, a person you would like to meet or a job you would like to do. It could be almost anything! Personally, I have always wanted to travel to the Far East. I think I gained this ambition because of books I read when I was younger. As a child I remember reading a book called Missee Lee by children’s author Arthur Ransome. The book was about some young children who were captured by Chinese pirates and taken to China after the boat they were sailing in sank. It mentions many Chinese customs related to food and the Dragon Festival and I was fascinated by the description of such an exotic place.
Later on, as an adult (!!), I read a book called Japanese Pilgrimage which is a true story of a North American man who spent a year travelling around some Japanese temples on the island of Shikoku . Many people in Japan who are followers of the Zen religion do this as spiritual journey. They leave all their possessions behind for a year and do a pilgrimage of 88 temples. Local people leave food for the pilgrims every day and the people who make the journey walk and meditate. I was really impressed by this idea and it is something I would love to do (though I doubt I ever will). The other book that made me want to travel to the Far East is my favourite book Titus Groan by British author Mervyn Peake. Peake’s parents were missionaries in China at the turn of the 20th century. Peake lived there until he was 7 years old and his books are filled with oriental imagery. All of these books fuelled my desire to visit China and Japan. I hope that my wish comes true one day!
Write about an ambition you have.
Say:
What your ambition is,
Why you would like to achieve this ambition,
Who or what inspired your ambition,
What it would mean to you to fulfil your ambition.
Write at least 200 words. Leave a comment on your teacher’s blog and the blogs of at least 3 classmates.

A TV Programme You Watched as a Child

Good Morning Bloggers!
Today I'd like to tell you about a TV programme I watched as a child. The show I'm going to write about is called Dr Who. I started watching it as a child from about age 8 years old. It is about a person who travels through time and who has different adventures in different parts of the universe or at different points in Earth's history. The Dr (or The Doctor) travels in a spaceship that has the appearance of an old Police phone box. It's called the Tardis and although if looks small it's actually bigger on the inside. When I was a child the show used to be broadcast on Saturday at 6pm. The Dr fought against many enemies, the most notorious being the Darleks (pictured below). I remember that I used to spend half of the show hiding behind the sofa because I found it so scary. The series ran from 1963 until 1989. It was revived again in 2005 and there have been 6 new series since that date. The show had lots of followers and it had a very recognisable theme tune. Many artists have recorded versions of the theme tune. A song called "Doctorin the Tardis" by The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu which featured a sample of the tune reached Nº1 in the British singles chart in 1988. As well as being a great series, the show is a big part of British culture.

Write about a TV programme you enjoyed watching when you were a child:
Say:
What it was called,
What it was about,
When it was on,
Why you enjoyed it.
Mention anything else you think is important. Write at least 200 words. Leave a comment on my blog and on the blogs of 3 classmates.

A Photograph

Hi FAU Bloggers,

Today I’d like you to write about a photograph you took. I’d like to show you a photograph that I took that I really like. I took it in Valparaiso 5 or 6 years ago. It was taken at the exit of El Peral elevator which takes passengers from Plaza de la Justicia up to Paseo Yugoslavo en Cerro Alegre. I’d gone there to give a mini-tour of Valparaiso to some of my family who were here in Chile on holiday. I’m quite a fan of street art when it’s harmonious with the surroundings and when I saw the figure with the birds on his arms I thought it was just what you’d expect to find on “Happy Hill”. I think the artwork has real charm. I especially like the effect from the different sized eyes. I guess I’m proud of the photo, not because of any special technical ability, but simply because I created a better than average image. I use this image as the screen saver on my PC and as the background on my Facebook page. I went back to Valparaiso about a year ago and this figure had been defaced and it was in bad shape. I did however find another piece of art by the same artist. It was on a stairwell in the same neighbourhood. I think it was just the little “little prince” and one bird.
Write about a photograph you took or appear in.
Say:
Where and when the photograph was taken,
What the photograph shows,
Why you like the photograph,
Write at least 200 words. Write a comment on your teacher’s blog and on the blogs of 3 classmates.

Technology

I'm a big fan of technology and I try to keep up to date with new electronic gadgets. I love playing with photographic cameras, video cameras, computers and that sort of thing. I guess these appliances have had a big effect on my life. When I was a child my parents brought their first television (black & white!) when I was 6 years old. The Higginson family got its first record player when I was 11 and digital watches and electronic calculators became common whilst I was at secondary school (I could never afford either!). Many of the appliances that people nowadays take for granted have become common during my life time, things like digital cameras, cell phones and computers didn't exist when I was a boy. I think the first piece of technology I owned was a synthesizer, a Korg MS10 which I bought in 1978. I never really learnt to use it properly and I must have sold it a few years later when I  moved to London. 

My favourite piece of technology nowadays has to be my sampler. I bought it in last year and, although I still haven't had time to learn all it's functions, it gives me hours of fun. It's an Akai MPC 5000 which is the biggest sampler in the MPC series. It has 16 in pads in 4 banks which means up to 64 samples can be loaded and then played into sequences. Each sequence can have up to 99 tracks. The sequences can then be programmed into songs. Traditionally, the MPC is used to make hip-hop but I experiment will lots of other styles too.
Here's something i produced with a friend:
Write about your favourite piece of technology. 
Say: 
What it is, 
When you got it, 
What you use it for, 
Why you like it.
Mention anything else you thing is important. Write at least 150 words. Leave a comment on your teacher’s blog and on at least 3 of your classmates’ blogs.

A Subject You Enjoy Studying

Write about a subject you enjoy studying.

Say:

What subject it is,

Why you enjoy studying it,

What you have learnt so far,

Why this subject is important.

Mention anything else you think is interesting. Write at least 150 words.

A Building You Like

Today I'm going to talk about a building I like. In Santiago, people are always making reference to buildings like The Torre Entel, The Telefonica Building, and, of course, La Moneda. Obviously, La Moneda has historic relevance but the other 2 are modern constructions.

Anyway, I'm going to talk about the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao which I was lucky enough to visit a couple of years ago.

I first caught a glimpse of the Guggenheim in 1997. I was staying in San Sebastian with some friends and we went to a party in Bilbao. I saw a quick view of part of the museum as we drove down a street close to the museum. The vision lasted about 2 seconds.

Actually, this is one of the things I like about the Guggenheim, the fact that it has lots of different view points. It doesn't dominate the skyline but when you get up close you can view it from lots of different perspectives.

The building is like some strange silver craft - half boat, half spaceship! It is a work of art that houses smaller works of art. When I finally got to see inside last September I actually thought the building was more impressive than 99% of the art work it contained.

I think the people of Bilbao are proud of the building. It is an internationally famous piece of architecture and an important tourist venue. I think it symbolises the modern Bilbao. It blends in very well with the surrounding architecture because it isn't too big or too fancy. I suggest you visit it if you ever get the chance.

Actually, Bilbao is a very interesting city architecturally and I think it's an amazing piece of urban planning. It blends old and new in an interesting and functional way that is well worth investigating if you like that sort of thing.

Write about a building you like.

Say:
Why you like it,
What it is/was used for,
When you first saw or heard about it,
What local people think about it
How it blends in with the surrounding architecture (if there is any).

Write at least 150 words and leave a comment on your teacher's blog and the blogs of 3 classmates.

Welcome to English 3

Hi, my name's Simon and I'm your English teacher for this semester. In this first post I'm going to tell you a little bit about myself.
I'm British, I was born in North Wales, but I've lived in Chile for the last 18 years. I come from a big family (I have 8 brothers & sisters) but both my parents are dead.
I have lots of hobbies and intrests: I like making music, reading, watching movies, playing football, watching football, cooking, going for long walks in the countryside, travelling, taking photographs and making videos.
I live with my Chilean wife and a handsomec black cat called Kat