I don´t have the feeling that I have taken
English classes. I have the feeling that I have been in a course about general
culture and so many things that has turned out to be very complete, interesting
and fulfilling. Even I have learned about myself.
If it weren´t for the exams, I´d like to repeat
the course once more and again, as I think it is different every year. And, if
I pass, I wish I could assist to some activities next year.
I have enjoyed a lot with all of you. And, as I have said other times, this
year we have faced challenges that has brought out the best in ourselves, and I
can´t imagine a better way of teaching.
This school year is being a surprising one. We are facing the challenges our teacher
suggests, like talking in front of all our classmates, writing an aphorism, a
poem or a microstory. Firstly, we, or at least I, don´t face these activities
with too much happiness… but once done, I strongly believe that these challenges
bring out the best in ourselves.
Last Thursday we had the opportunity to assist
to the presentation of a book in which we have taken part. It was a really
moving and unbeatable journey. I felt like having the book on my hands and when
we entered we could take one in order to follow the presentation.
Since the beginning, with Emilio´s
introduction, we started to listen to stories. The book includes microstories
in four different languages, but all of them translated into Spanish, so
everyone can understand them. What is more, every story is illustrated by two
students, one of them a classmate. I find it very interesting, knowing the
image that has appeared in the mind of another person when has read your story.
On the other hand, apart from the stories, the
way the words mixed with the music was really nice, especially during the
reading of the three last stories.
All in all, there are really moving
microstories in this book and it is special as it is part of us. According to
the journey, it was like “a group of people in circle telling stories in
different languages”, as in the past. This type of activities makes me feel a
little sad about this school year ending.
“A relationship between two people is the
meeting of two stories”.
I find this a really beautiful definition. Some days
ago, its author, Richard Harvey, gave us some interesting advices in order to
have a healthy relationship.
According to Richard, when you have a
relationship you communicate some information, you tell a story. But normally,
against what you could think, the problem is that you know a part of your story
but you don´t know the unconscious part. And the first step is to know yourself
and your shadows.
After that, you are ready to have other
relationships, which are with the other and with the world. In this level, you must communicate, and you
can do it talking, sharing, touching… and, at the same time, allowing yourself
to be touched.
What is more, another important thing is the
fact of avoiding problems and becoming emotionally intelligent, which seems to
me very difficult. It is wise to learn about your experiences and discover the
difference between love, need and desire. In addition, always keep in mind that
YOU ARE FREE.
On the other hand, he talked about unhealthy
relationships, representing them in a very clearly way with his hands.
All in all, I really enjoyed the lecture, due
to not only his pieces of wisdom but also the tone of his voice and the
atmosphere he created. I think he is a great orator.
Although I sometimes go for a walk in the Alhambra´s gardens, I enjoy very
little this wonderful place, still being so near.
Last Thursday I had a very nice time with my classmates in this beautiful
ancient city. I went to Granada by car and parked in the city centre in order
to walk through the gardens until the meeting point. In spite of the high
temperature, the walk was really comfortable: the trees’ shades, the water
running in the canal, the birds cheeping…
When I arrived to the main entrance, I noticed the enormous amount of
people that visit this monument every day, which is normal, due to its beauty.
It is hard to choose the most beautiful corner in the Alhambra but what I
liked the most was, without any doubt, “El patio de los Leones”. In
addition, I liked “El patio de los arrayanes” too, since I imagined the place
at night with the stars reflected on the water, as Emilio said.
But what struck me the most was the big presence of Maths in the Alhambra. I
found really interesting the fact that the 17 possible plane
crystallographic groups were present in the Alhambra´s walls. What is more, it
is incredible because it is known by the specialists that people who created
the mosaics could not know how many plane crystallographic groups existed due to the fact that Fedorov demonstrated it in
1891.
All in all, I loved this activity in which we could learn not only English,
but also history, art and religion in an unbeatable surroundings. I would say
that the more I visit this monument the more I like it.
Undoubtedly, technology
is actually very useful nowadays. However, it is technology that is weakening our
relationships, too.
People, me included,
save on a lot of our valuable time by using a computer or a smart phone for
everything, as communicating with others, buying almost everything and solving
any doubt on the internet, among other things.
This fact causes the
lack of social interaction. Most of people don´t go anymore to the bank or to
the supermarket. We can make the transactions and buy everything on the
internet, even food. And children play alone with their computers instead of
playing in the street with other children.
I remember until very
recently that everybody called their friends for their birthdays and now most
of us text a “whatsapp” or write a message on Facebook. Maybe more people wish
you a happy birthday now, but rarely had you had more cold and impersonal
greetings.
What is more, in my
opinion, technology is weakening our abilities. Suppose you didn´t have a
calculator. Would you be able to solve a difficult division?
I also remember myself looking information up
in the encyclopedia. Some years ago, an encyclopedia and a dictionary were essential
things at home and now children don´t use them, even at school, where there are
computers.
To conclude, I think it
would be a mistake to go back, keeping the advantages of technology in mind,
but we should be careful and don´t be so dependent.
Under this title, Anup Shah analyses the reasons for millions of deaths caused by preventable diseases in the world and some possible tools to tackling it.
“Eleven million people in poor countries will die from infectious diseases this year. Put a different way, it means that by the time you finish reading this column 100 people will have died.Half of them will be children aged under five”. Larry Elliott, Evil triumphs in a sick society, Guardian, February 12, 2001.
Tuberculosis, malaria or simply measles are some of these preventable and curable diseases which cost far more lives than, for example, natural or man-made catastrophes, even thought a measles vaccine and safe injection equipment costs less than 1 US dollars. However, different from this issue, which is often missed by the mainstream media, catastrophes make headlines. There is a little difference with AIDS, which is getting the most attention due to the fact that it remains a threat to developed countries.
Which are the causes of people dying by preventable diseases? Ken Silverstein points out in an article called “Millions for Viagra. Pennies for Diseases of the poor” that “People died because the drugs to treat those illnesses are nonexistent or are no longer effective. They died because it doesn´t pay to keep them alive”.
Furthermore, as Shah points to, increased poverty and debt is resulting in forced cut-backs in health and education. To that, we have to add the cultural and traditional barriers, social issues and taboos that need to be overcome in some parts of the developing world, for treatments to be made readily accessible.
Serving as an example, Ann-Louise Colgan makes a good summary of the situation in Africa. As she says, a substantial progress was made in the 1960s and 1970s. African governments increased spending on the health sector, endeavoring to extend primary health care. However, with the economic crisis of the 1980s, African governments became clients of the World Bank and IMF and the loan conditions of these institutions forced contraction in government spending on health and other social services. By 1990s, most African countries were spending more repaying foreign debts than on health or education for their people.
Another important issue is the privatization in the health sector, recommended by the World Bank, and that has reduced access to necessary services, transforming health care from a public service to a private commodity. Not to mention the fact that private care is less effective at prevention, and is less able to cope with epidemic situations. Considering that infectious diseases constitute the greatest challenge to health in Africa, it is flawed.
Finally, which are the steps to follow in order to tackle this global issue?
According to Africa Action, an organization looking into political, economic and social justice for Africa, “a debt cancellation should be the first step. Additional resources to support health and education programs should be conceived as public investment, not new loans.”
Another important step is pharmaceutical companies focusing on prevention rather than cures. Prevention does not replace treatment, but it does reduce the number of people whose lives will depend on drugs. The problem with this last issue is that pharmaceutical companies judge that they would not get sufficient return on research investment.
Concluding, not until some causes and issues like poverty are addressed, will these steps have much effective impact.
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