Mexico In Big Trouble

As of now Mexico is facing not one war but six! Most if not all are drug related issues. Drug related violence has lead to over more than 17,000 dead! Mexico is facing major threats right now. Mexico is in need of help, but who can help them now? I have no idea what happened to Mexico over the last few years, but it sounds like it is crazy over there right now. I would not feel safe at all going to Mexico for quite some time. I can only imagine what is going to happen to Mexico. 

Like I said in my last blog we just watched the spanish movie Motorcycle Diaries. I really quite enjoyed it and maybe it did some good to hear them speak so much spanish. Maybe, somehow, it will help my spanish a little! It was a little difficult to try to listen to them and translate because they speak so fast and I feel like they all have their own accents and slang. Anyways I am so glad this semester is pretty much over, but I'm super nervous about this final!! AYYY!!

Estoy nervioso acerca de nuestra prueba.

Chile Earthquake

Late February this year Chile had an Earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8. According to sources, the earthquake was felt as far as Sao Paolo which is about 1,800 miles away from the source of the earthquake. Many buildings were destroyed and 300 lives were taken by the earthquake. This sounds crazy to me. I have never even felt an earthquake so I can't even imagine what that was like, but I'm glad I can't. I know that this area is hit a lot by earthquakes, but I wish they could find a way of stopping it or at least lessen the damages. 

This week in Spanish class we just watched the movie Motorcycle Diaries. I was actually really surprised at how much I liked it. Although, the ending was kinda bad. It did teach me about all of those different countries and how bad it is over there. It was sort of and inspiring movie to see those two men travel so far and go through so much to help other people. It was a life changing experience for them and it made me want to do something of that sort. 

Me gusta la pelicula Diarios de Motocicleta.

Fire tornado

A combination of strong winds and high temperatures caused a fire tornado in Brazil. This whirlwind of flames spiraling several meters high danced across fields bringing traffic to a halt on a nearby road. Thankfully the tornado of fire didn't last very long and did not cause any major damage. This rare phenomenon was actually caught on video! If you just goggle or youtube it you will find it. It's crazy! Thankfully it didn't do any more harm than a small wildfire would. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssn2kmNf0ME&feature=player_embedded

Once again this week I had to miss the second day of class, but it looks like we covered preterite tense of regular verbs. That just sounds confusing. So for -ar verbs you would use the endings: e, aste, o, amos, asteis, aron. And for -er and -ir verbs you would use the endings: i, iste, o, imos, isteis, ieron. 

En invierno compramos ropa.

Transferring Nuclear Knowledge

Russia plans to build the first nuclear power plant in Venezuela. The deal was announced during a state visit to Moscow by Venezuela's president and is in keeping with a push by Russian businesses to expand sales of reactors and nuclear fuel around the world. Russia's president said that the United States should not object because Russia's intentions were "absolutely pure and open." 
I think this is quite dangerous. They are spreading nuclear technology all over the world. No one can ever be sure of one's motives. If they aren't careful this could be a terrible thing. 

This week in Spanish we learned about Direct Object Pronouns and Indirect Object Pronouns. Direct Object Pronouns are: me, te, lo, la, nos, os, los, las. Indirect Object Pronouns are: me, te, le, nos, os, les. I found this last part of the class very difficult and confusing. They are so similar and I'm not exactly sure when to use them. Looks like I'll be studying quite a bit tomorrow! 

Quieren estudiarla.

Puno Day

The city of Puno in Peru generally organizes a celebration for their foundation day on the 5th of November each year. The celebrate with pardades, music, and performances. It seems like other countries have a lot of holidays. I think it's cool though, because it seems like it brings the whole country together. Almost as if they become closer through celebrations. 


I wasn't there for the second day of class this week, but from the book it looks like we learned about direct object nouns and pronouns. The direct object noun answers the question for example: What are Alex and Javier taking? I've looked this over some and it seems kind of confusing. I am going to have to study this quite a bit Sunday for the test Tuesday. Ugh. 

Allen visita a la senora Heather. 

Anti-Smoking Bill

Smoking is to be banned in all bars and restaurants in Spain after the spanish parliament recently voted unanimously in favor of a new anti-smoking bill. Smoking will be forbidden in all public places with the exception of prisions and psychiatric institutes. The law is due to come into force on January 2, 2011. I think this is a great idea! I think this should happen in America too. Smoking is bad for you and second hand smoke is even worse. So the people that don't want to smoke get the blunt of it. Doesn't seem far does it? If you want to smoke fine, but do it on your own property. 






This week in Spanish class we learned how to say the months in spanish. Also we learned how to say how we feel (like our condition or emotion). For example, if we were happy, comfortable, worried, or even in love.

Viajo con mi equipo. Estoy cansado. 

Zaragoza Pilar Fiestas!

Some of the most popular events in Spain occur in October. It is the Zaragoza Pilar Fiestas. It includes a wide variety of activities all of the family. People fill the streets with entertainment for a week or even more. Such events that occur are theatre performances, concerts, shows, bullfights, music, and many more!
This sounds like a lot of fun. Almost sounds like Mardi Gras except the whole country celebrates it. That would be a crazy mess if all of America celebrated Mardi Gras!

So this week in Spanish so far I've learned that I am horrible at memorizing. I had studied really hard for the test Tuesday and when I went in for the oral part of the exam I looked at the paper and saw possessive adjectives and my mind went blank. I forgot what they were. So when we were finished we asked and felt like crap that we hadn't used any of them. :/ boo. 

Mis tios son alto.

(Not gonna forget anymore!)