EXAM

Love that becomes doubt

Once upon a time, there was a couple with a very nice relationship, they had four years of marriage. Christine was easygoing, she liked to spend time at work, but what she liked the most was to spent time with Richard, her husband. He was smiling, responsible, but he was a workaholic. They always talked about everything, well almost everything because sometimes Richard was very reserved about his problems and friendships. They tried to base their relationship on truth, trust and love. But, one day everything change.  It was a sunny day in the afternoon, Richard was a little bit tired because of his job, but Christine wanted to go out for a walk at the mall. Richard accepted reluctantly. On their way to the mall Richard changed his attitude and they began to have a very pleasant talk about their days at work. At the mall they bought an ice-cream and they started just looking around the stores, they did not want to buy anything. Suddenly, Christine remembered that she needed some new underwear, and she asked Richard to accompany her to choose some outfits. At the store Richard chose the outfits that he liked the most, and when Christine was about to try the outfits on, Richard asked her to take some pictures with his cell phone. Christine was very surprised because Richard had never let her see or touch his cell phone, but she accepted. She started trying on the outfits; she had already taken some pictures when she began to feel certain curiosity to look over her husband’s cell phone. She was confused, she thought that if she looked over her husband’s cell phone, she would be giving away the trust they had. But at the same time she could not understand why her husband lent her the cell phone. After analyzing all these thoughts that attacked her, she decided to follow her intuition. And at the end she got a big surprise. She found some text messages where Richard told another woman beautiful words. Christine felt how her heart exploded into a thousand pieces. She felt the need to cry, but at the same time she felt much bitterness. Many questions went through her mind “why did he do this to me?”, “what did I miss, If I have him all” Christine sat for a moment on the floor to think, she had to be strong. After a while, she left the dressing with no expression on her face. She did not want to buy anything; she returned the phone to her husband and kept walking without saying anything. Richard did not understand what was happening, he asked Christine and she did not say a word. After some minutes, Christine confronted her husband. She wanted an explanation about those messages. What most surprised her was that her husband did not know how to explain what he had done. He just said; “it was a friend, I had nothing to do with her”. But Christine felt something in her heart that told her that it was not true, that he was lying. Until that moment she could cry. Richard asked her to forgive him, but Christine’s soul was so hurt that she could not forgive him. After a long time, Christine forgave Richard. They are about to celebrate another year of marriage, they tried to improve their relationship, but the doubt remains in Christine’s heart.

This is a story based on real life. It is tell by one of the characters, Christine. There are just two principal characters: Richard and Christine. The names of the characters were changed, but the entire thing that I tell on the story is true. The entire plot took place at the Mall. I decided to tell this story because it is something that happens in almost all the relationships, infidelity. And most of the time we do not know and we do not understand why it happens if we give everything to be a good partner, to improve day by day our relationship. And at the end we forgive, but the doubt remains in the person who was injured and this is very harmful. I think there is one golden rule: if you forgive you, you forget.

Compare & Contrast (final copy)

Yoga VS Aerobics

Nowadays keeping fit is not easy. If you want to lose weight or keep in shape because you want to look good or because you want to be healthier, you must do some kind of exercise. Yoga and Aerobics are two excellent types of exercise to accomplish your objective. According to Livestrong.com (n.d.) “…yoga is a system of postures that stretches and strengthens your body”. On the other hand, aerobics means “with oxygen” and, this type of exercise helps you keep your heart and lungs in good shape. However, there are some differences between these types of exercise: the way you do it, their benefits and consequences.

The first difference between aerobics and yoga is the way you do it. Aerobics is an exercise where you have to use your oxygen to mobilize your body’s energy. It consists on steady, repetitive and rhythmic routines where you use some tools like weights and, you make your heart beat faster and your body sweats, burn calories and tone your muscles. On the other hand, yoga is done in one place with bare feet and there is no need for equipment of any kind, the movements are not brusque and they are done slowly, breathing is also of great importance in every movement.

Another difference between aerobics and yoga is the benefits you get. Doing aerobics is an excellent way to burn fat and to keep your body fit; moreover, it helps to prevent osteoporosis and heart disease because as you exercise your body you oxygenate it and as a consequence, you get a youthful appearance. On the other hand, doing yoga is more than just stretching your body and improving your flexibility. The greatest benefit that you get while doing yoga is the connection between your mind, body and spirit through respiratory techniques; it also helps you to fill your body with good energy and to release the negative one.

The last but not the least difference between aerobics and yoga is the consequences. As aerobics is a high-impact exercise, your joints can get hurt. It is very common that if you practice aerobics for a long period of time your knees get hurt; moreover, if you do not adopt a correct posture while exercising you can harm your spine. While doing yoga you get more benefits than consequences; however, like in any sport where you do not exercise in the correct way, you can end up hurting your spine.

Doing yoga is better than aerobics because while practicing yoga you oxygenate all your body and internal organs; besides, you improve your flexibility, and the best thing is that your body, spirit and mind get connected as one. If you want to keep fit but at the same time you want internal and spiritual benefits, you must practice yoga, by doing this your mental and physical health will be kept sharp at all times.

Movie Review

Life is hard and it can change in a Minute

“1973” is a Mexican documentary movie, filmed on January 1^st, 2005 that brings the audience in 96 minutes a real life of three young guys that were born in the same year (1973), grow up and live in Mexico City. They tell their own history seen through their eyes.

Antonino Isordia was the director of the film. He graduated from the film training Centre. During his studies he made several short films like “Sangre de tu sangre” in 1992, “Discurso del alcohol para una hija adormecida” in 1994 and “Descenso” in 2000.

In this movie Isordia tells the story of a “porro” Rodolfo Escogido, Maria Fernanda Ramos a girl whose life was full of excess and Alejandro Cota who become a criminal. Antonino Isordia shows how these three people face their lives in this great world where confused by their thoughts, feelings and excesses they make decisions without consider the consequences that will define the rest of their lives. The three stories are shocking; however, it is clear that there is a loss of values in society. It is a fact that more than one person can feel identified in one of the stories.

With all this crude but real stories it was nominated for Ariel awards and won a Silver Goddess Mexican Award and the JVC award of the Guadalajara International Film Festival, this last is the most important and prestigious film festival for Mexican and International independent filmmakers in Latin America for Spanish language film festivals  in the world.

This documentary is very interesting at the beginning it may seem a bit boring without sense because you only see people talking about their experiences in life; moreover, all scenes are just in black and white without color or things that attract your attention, sometimes the image was very dark and you cannot distinguish what was on it; moreover, during the movie there are several parts where you cannot understand what they are saying, they seem to mumble.

However, when you start paying attention to each one of the stories, understanding the causes that led those guys to commit such actions with irreversible changes, you can find a great message between lines. There is no doubt that the film is heartbreaking, because it shows the stark reality of our Mexico, but at the same time it is an opportunity for the spectators to analyze and address violence and drug addiction.

Something interesting about the movie is that the director showed things from the real life but it was more surprising that the characters had the courage and they dared to openly tell their lives and tell what they felt on that moment. During the movie the characters seems to be talking to the camera as if they were talking in a therapy session.

Argumentative essay

Mexican immigration to the United Stated

What is an immigrant? For some people an immigrant is a person who moves from one country to another country either legaly or illegaly. Some of these people moves to another country because of their jobs, sometimes the look for better opportunities and in some other cases they moves because of security reasons. With legal immigrants there is not a problem because they have the permission to enter to that country. But what about illegal immigrants? In the United States there are some terms that are commonly used to name a person who is residing illegaly, some of those terms are illegal migrant, migrant or even they call immigrants “illegal aliens” (US immigration support ,2010) which is definitely racist. But why Americans are against immigration?

Some Americans say that Mexicans take away jobs that belong to them. According to the US immigration support (2010) Mexicans have illegally cross the border during many decades because in their country they do not find good job opportunities. According to researches most of the immigrants are from poor towns that goes to the United States to get a better job for a better life. Some of the jobs that Mexican immigrants get are pay at a low wage because those jobs do not require many skills; though, they are often labor intensive. Some examples of that kind of jobs are landscaping, construction sectors, at restaurants washing dishes or as a waiters, domestic service, agriculture and even prostitution. Those are jobs that Americans are not willing to do because of the low pay and because they require a lot of time and dedication. Mexicans do not take away jobs that belong to them.  Americans simply do not want that kind of jobs. Mexican immigrants are more workers that Americans, because as they want to success and get a better life, even they get a low pay job they take it because they know that the receive money will greatly help their families in Mexico.

Americans are against illegal immigration because Mexican immigrants do not contribute to the economic development of the United States. As any country the United States has ups and downs in its economic system, but not due to Mexican immigrants. Mexicans contribute to the economic developmento of the United States, for example they help in the construction of houses and buildings, maybe not all the money that they produce remains in USA because they send remittances to their families in Mexico. According to the Migration Policy Institute (2001) remittances are the third largest source of income for Mexico. However, some of the money that mexicans earn is used to pay the basic needs for survival like rent, electricity, water, some of them have to pay for medical assistance and all those factors are linked to the econimic development of the United States. Some other say that Mexicans do not pay taxes, but this is not true, because in all the things that they pay like the rent, water and so on, they must pay taxes and at the end of each year both illegal immigrants and American citizens receive a percentaje of those taxes back.

Some Americans citizens do not accept illegal immigration because they argue that Mexicans are criminals. Violence is present in every country it does not matter the age, race, skin color or the socioeconomic status to a person become a criminal. As we know in the United States there are immigrants from all over the world, and it has been proven that in neighborhoods where there are more Mexicans the level of violence has decline than in the neighborhoods where there is a greater number of African American people. Somehow, Americans perceive that Mexican immigrants are criminals because in our country there has been much violence over drugs and cartels, but it is also due to the fact that the police rarely make any distinction between crimes committed by US citizen and illegal immigrants. Noteworthy that in the United States have existed more violence and crime than in Mexico, for example in USA exist serial murderes and it is there where drug trafficking is stronger.

Nowadays Mexican immigration to the United States is a controversial topic because Americans do not want illegal people in their country; however, it has been proven that immigrants have contributed to the development of that country. They need immigrants as much as immigrants need them. For years Mexico and the United States have been in a constant struggle to combat illegal immigration of Mexicans; however, things have not changed and neither of the two countries can prevent that Mexicans continue crossing the border illegally. Something smart that both countries could make is an alliance for immigration issues and so both countries would get a benefit.

References

US Immigration Support. (2010). Illegal immigration from Mexico. Retrieved from:

www.usimmigrationsupport.org/illegal-immigration-from-mexico.html

US Immigration Support. (2010).Illegal immigration. Retrieved from:

www.usimmigrationsupport.org/illegal-immigration.html

Mexican immigration to the United Stated (Argumentative essay)

Mexican immigration to the United Stated

What is an immigrant? For some people an immigrant is a person who moves from one country to another country either legaly or illegaly. Some of these people migrate to another country because of their jobs, sometimes they look for better opportunities and in some other cases they do it because of security reasons. With legal immigrants there is not a problem because they have the permission to enter that country. But what about illegal immigrants? In the United States there are some terms that are commonly used to name a person who is residingillegally, some of those terms are illegal migrant, migrant or even they call immigrants “illegal aliens” (US immigration support ,2010) which is definitely racist. But why Americans do not accept immigrants and they treat them like “aliens” (as they call them)?

Some Americans say that Mexicans take away jobs that belong to them. According to the US immigration support (2010) Mexicans have illegally crossed the border for many decades because in their country they do not find good job opportunities. According to researches most of the immigrants are from poor towns and they just go to the United States to get a better job for a better life. Some of the jobs that Mexican immigrants get are paid at a low wage because those jobs do not require many skills; though, they are often intensive labor. Some examples of that kind of jobs are landscaping, construction sectors, waiters, domestic service, agriculture and even prostitution. Those are jobs that Americans are not willing to do because of the low pay and because they require a lot of time and dedication. Mexicans do not take away jobs that belong to them, Americans simply do not want that kind of jobs. Mexican immigrants are more hard workers than Americans, because Mexicans want to succeed and get a better life they are willing to get a low wage job because they know that the received money will greatly help their families in Mexico.

            Americans are against illegal immigration because Mexican immigrants do not contribute to the economic development of the United States. As any country the United States has ups and downs in its economic system, but not due to Mexican immigrants. Mexicans contribute to the economic development of the United States, by helping in the construction of houses, schools, churches, parks, stadiums and buildings, maybe not all the money that they earn remains in  USA because they send remittances to their families in Mexico. According to the Migration Policy Institute (2001) remittances are the third largest source of income for Mexico. However, some of the money that Mexicans earn is used to pay the basic needs for survival like rent, electricity, water, some of them have to pay for medical assistance and all those factors are linked to the economic development of the United States. According to Lee Iwan (2007) the elimination of illegal immigrants will cause substantial increases in the costs of food, restaurants, hotels, construction and certain consumer and industrial goods and services. Immigrant labor is needed to maintain the US economy.

Some Americans citizens do not accept illegal immigration because they argue that Mexicans are criminals. Violence is present in every country it does not matter the age, race, skin color or the socioeconomic status for a person becomes a criminal. As we know in the United States there are immigrants from all over the world, and it has been proven that in neighborhoods where there are more Mexicans the level of violence has declined than in the neighborhoods where there is a greater number of black people. Somehow, Americans perceive that Mexican immigrants are criminals because in our country there has been a lot of violence over drugs and cartels, but it is also due to the fact that the U.S. police rarely makes a distinction between crimes committed by US citizen and illegal immigrants. And one of the highlights in the United States is that there have existed more violence and crime than in Mexico, for example in USA have existed several  serial murderers and it is there where drug trafficking is stronger.

Nowadays Mexican immigration to the United States is a controversial topic because Americans do not want illegal people in their country; however , it has been proven that immigrants have contributed to the development of that country. They need immigrants as much as immigrants need them. For years Mexico and the United States have been in a constant struggle to combat illegal immigration of Mexicans; however, things have not changed and neither of the two countries can prevent Mexicans from crossing the border illegally. Something smart that both countries could do is an alliance for immigration issues and so both countries would get a benefit.

Exam

An Accident

Everything happened in an instant yet it happened in slow motion. I remember that day like if it were yesterday. Even, eleven years has passed full of good memories that make me feel happy and humorous, bad memories attract negative feelings that make me feel depressed, dejected, downcast and impatient. This accident is a bad memory for me; however, I can not take it off of my mind because during this horrible experience, since the beginning to the end I felt so many things that made me appreciate my life and my health.

The sweet and contagious laughs of the children playing around, the loud noise of the traffic, the soft and kind voice of a mother talking to her son, the delicious and inspiring smell of coffee, the beautiful view of the sunset that covered my skin with its gentle warmth and the mild breeze stroking my face and my hair with delicacy like saying goodbye. Suddenly without knowing how or why, I felt my body fall into the void with a high speed.

While I was falling I could feel so many things in that short period of time. I felt how the fear gripped my whole body. I felt how my mind and my brain were filled of bad feelings. The agony and desperation paralized each part of me, I could feel how my cells were anguish because they could not do anything to stop the fall. My view was blurred, all my organs got contracted because of the fear. I was trying to hold on of something while I was falling, then I felt that my respiratory system broke down for an instant and that was the sign that something horrible was about to happen. I just let the gravity do its work.

In an abruptly way I got to the hard, rough and cold floor that was covered with a thin and nasty carpet that had an unpleasant odor to sweat and dust that was all over the carpet. I was terrified, all my body and organs were paralyzed, my brain did not respond to my orders. I wanted to move but my legs were sleeping they did not react. Something was wrong with them. My desperate and agitating screams asking for help were not enough to make my body react. Far away I could hear the stressful and tormenting noise of an ambulance, in that moment the fear started to leave my body very slowly, and the tranquility came again.

I never imagined that I could feel so many things at the same time and in a very short period of time. That was the most stressful day in my life, full of adrenaline and bad feelings. Since that day I value more my beautiful and happy life and my health. I remember each detail of that day of my accident like if it were happened yesterday afternoon, and when I remember it I could feel and imagine each smell, each feeling, each little place and person. That day I keep it in my mind like a photography.

My evolution in Electronic Literacy (2)

My evolution in Electronic Literacy

Do you know what literacy is? According to the UNESCO in the past literacy was considered as the condition of being able to read and write. However, nowadays with the advance of technology a literate person is able to read and write about different kinds of topics like culture, politics, health, etc. not only of printed text but also of electronic texts. There are different kinds of literacy as functional, critical, historical, etc., but the one that has become very important because of the advance of electronic technology is the Electronic Literacy which goes beyond that only know read and write on the computer or know how to use one, we must know how to use web pages like blogs, wikis, social networks, etc. Being literate is not an easy play, it is a personal growth in different areas, that is why we should acquire the important habit of reading to become educated and rational people.

But how and when I started to use electronic  tools? Well, my first really contact with a computer was when I was at fifth grade of primary school. There they taught me how to turn in a computer, the functions and use of each part of the computer and also they taught me how to use a very basic program that consisted on gave instructions to a turtle to form some figures.  Then at elementary school I learnt advanced things like how to use word and excel, and at that stage of my life I started to use the internet. At the beginning I just used the internet for searching information related to school, like my homework. But then that I knew about the messenger and that I could meet people by internet I created an account on messenger. Then I started just to chat and searching for information about different interesting things for me like places, famous people, medicine, music and so on.

Nowadays I do not only use the internet for chatting, I also use it with educational and academic purposes. At the university it is necessary that a student has at least an e-mail, because sometimes the teachers ask students to send some information like homework or projects to them by e-mail. Moreover, it is easier to share interesting information with friends and classmates by this way. In my case I have an e-mail and a blog. I use the e-mail to send documents, school works, photos, videos and so on to my contacts; moreover, it is necessary to have an e-mail to be part of a social network as Facebook, Hi5, My space, etc. By the way, I have an account on Facebook, at the beginning I did not like the idea of being part of this social network but then that I saw that almost all of my friends belonged to this website I decided to join in, because I liked the idea of be in contact with some friend that I have not seen in ages. About the matter of my blog, I just created it for this subject, and I think that it is a good idea of teachers to encourage the students to use the internet and electronic tools in a positive way.

As future teachers electronic tools will be very helpful for us, because if we are good at using internet, computers, cameras, etc. our classes would be very dynamic and interesting for students, that is why we have to learn how to use them correctly. In order to achieve that, I think it would be necessary for me to take a computer course because in that way I will make full use of what the technology offers me. As a teacher I would let students to search for information on the internet, maybe I would let them to create their own webpage in order to create a portfolio with all their works, these with the aim of the students get familiarize with all the benefits that the internet and technology offers to them. I would like that my students see the good things that can take advantage of the internet, like the books, online courses, etc. On the other hand, I think that we never stop being students, we always have something new to learn and that is way I would like to study a master degree, I would like it more if I could go abroad to study but if it is not possible,  I would like to study it on line.

The advance of technology has had a great impact on society, however it is on our hands the way we use those advances. Most of the time we use the internet for bad things, but if we use it in the correct and productive way our world would be different. I have evolved in electronic literacy since I was a child to nowadays, but I still need to keep working on it. I think that each of us have to contribute to use the technology to become a better literate person. It is up to you if you want to be literate or just be part of the lot. Let’s do our best to have a better future.