[--->Isa's Blog<---]

TLP: Fantastic Opportunity

2007-03-31T23:18:00.000-05:00

The first time Mr. Hide commented about the Teen Life Project was when came from December vacations. At first, I wasn't really interested because in the only thing I could think was that I had entered school again, and I was really tired. Soon, after we started making our Google lists and started looking at the other school's webpages I got a little more interested. However, my real interest started when we made the Introduction Video. At first, I thought it was going to be imposible to make it, but when we got the pictures and music it was easy to put it together.

After that, was when we made the Wiki and we started looking up after our goal. At first, I thought that we wouldn't achieve the goal because every school was like in their own stuff. We didn't talk to each other and few comments were posted. That was when I started loosing the interest again. Then, we started talking about the phone call. The day of the phonecall we went to Mr Hide's apartament and get to know his baby. That was really fun. That day, I realized that the TLP was starting and that it was going to be really fun.

Then came the part of choosing the topics. We needed to think a lot in what we chose because it was a very long project and we needed to be very interested in our topic. At first, I was thinking in terrorism. Especially the one here in Colombia. Then, we thought on poverty. That made us think a lot. We really liked it because in Cartagena there's a lot of poverty so we could investigate on that a lot. Then Isabel and me were thinking to change to eating disorders, but then we decided to stay in poverty. That was when the posts started. Even though it was interesting investigating about poverty, it was very hard to make each week 500 words of writing. There, I started loosing my interest again.

Few days later, some of the students of Malaysia add me to their msn. Getting to talk to them and know about their lifes made me become for interested. Then, some students of North America add me and I added some. That was when I became interested again. I started thinking in how was that I was making the same project as other 3 schools in the world. I was talking with people I didn't know existed. I was talking with people very different from me, with other ways of living, activities, etc. There was where I realized how much I could learn from those people and how much I could discuss with them.

Finally, making the video. That was a hard part, but it was really fun making it. Isabel and I went to Niños de Papel. That is a foundation that helps poor children. That day I realized how fortunate we are. How fortunate we are of having a family, food, and a home were to sleep. One of the girls of the place answered some questions we asked, and I realized that we are very fortunate persons. The people there don't have a family that goes after them and loves them. That is something very sad. Finally, after many problems for finding a camera, we finished the video!

I, and I know that all my classmates are happy with what each of us did in this project. I want to congratulate Mr Hide and all the teachers from other schools. I think we achieved our goal.

Imagining Songs

2007-03-26T07:08:00.000-05:00

It seems as if water was falling from a lake. As I heard the first part of the song, what first came to my mind was a girl drinking water in a forest. This happened beside a lake or something. This girl was a poor, beautiful, and kind girl that lived near the forest. Then, I imagined the girl running looking for someone or something. I also imagined that in her way, she encounters many obstacles, like animals or enemies who try to atack her but at the end she always beat them. At the end, I imagined the girl etering a castle and getting rewarded. The king rewarded her by marrying his son, the prince. They both loved each other from a long time ago so they were both very happy. Finally, she realizes that the music she was been hearing was from a group of musicians from outside the castle. The day of the wedding the girl looked awesome. She was always beautiful, but this day she was even more. She had a very long white dress with her beautiful hair under a veil. The music that played as she entered the church, was the same music she heard the day she was rewarded with who was now going to be her husband.

The second one made me think on the farms and the cowboys dancing with their hats and their ropes. It remembered me a movie, I dont remember the name, that showed some cowboys dancing with hats like those from Mexico and then they entered a place like a restaurant that is tipic from the cowboys. This place is like all in wood and to enter the bathrooms there arer special doors that when you push them they don't stop moving. In this place all the cowboys drink beer and most of the time, in movies, in here is the place where the people always end up fighting.

The third song made me remember sad moments in movies. It made me remember the tipic moment of most movies. The main character is sad so he takes a taxi and it is raining so you see the rain plus the tears in the face of the person. The movie that mainly reminded me was The Parent Trap. It made me remember when the girls, afte the camp, reunite their parents but then they went each home. At the end, everyone gets living together so it is really happy. The end of the song reminds me the palenqueras from here in Cartagena singing in the beach.

Poverty in Cartagena

2007-03-03T22:18:00.000-05:00

Finally, I could research about poverty in Cartagena. While I was researching I found a website called "Cartagena, Como Vamos." It talks about different things in Cartagena. In 2005, it was said that Cartagena's population was 1.030.149 people. From this, the 49% was considered as poor people. As the people living in Cartagena said, the topics that most attention need in Cartagena are education, health, and jobs for people. Nicolas Curi, is planning a Project "una Cartagena mas social y equitativa." This means a more social Cartagena with equalness. It consists in a place that offers better conditions for its people.

In the summer of 2005 a survey was done. This was done to see the perception of the economic situation. 1000 people above 18 years old participated in the survey. Following the results, the 29% of the people in Cartagena said that their economic situation in 2005 was better than in 2004; the 46% said that their economic situation compared to 2004 was the same. On the other side, the 25% said that their economic situation compared to 2004 worsened. The arguments these people discussed were: the cost of the food, the cost of the public services, lack of jobs, and lost of job. Some people don't eat the 3 meals a day because of lack of money, but definitely, others don't eat it because they don't want to or because of eating disorders. One of the primary causes of poverty is lack of basic needs. So a family, to be able to live, they need a budget. For many families, this budget is not enough in order to be able to live. The basic needs are: a proper house, a living with basic services, being able to eat, being able to go to school, and feeling good with your economic situation. In Cartagena, many families have a lack of these things. The one who less people has is the basic services one, most of the people don't have it.

Finally, after all the surveys done it was viewed that Cartagena's poverty increased from 2002 to 2004. The lack of basic services is what affects most poverty in Cartagena. Cartagena needs so much help in order to overpass this situation. It needs the help of its people, government and politicians. Cartagena is not the only city in which this is happening. Poverty is affecting worldwide!

I think that getting out of poverty is not easy. There is so much poverty in the cities that getting out of this big problem isn't as easy as it looks. Not even if all the wealthy people help others this problem is going to end, what we really need is a miracle. I feel so sad when I am in my car and I pass by a poor family. They look so sad in the floor, all dirty, and hungry. There are some kids that stand up in the streets asking for money, but if they get used to receive money from others they are going to be no one in life, so that’s why many people don't give them money. Also, some kids, as they get money they go and buy drugs, so that is why sometimes it is better to buy them food instead of giving them the money. I wish I could someday grow up and change the world, but I know this is just a dream.

Poverty in Developing Countries

2007-02-20T18:19:00.000-05:00

According to Poverty.com, many people die because of hunger and homelessness. Actually, 25,000 people die each day because of this reasons, this means that every 3 and a half seconds someone dies. However, most of this people are children. Although many people die because of hunger, inreality, there's enough food all over the world, but the problem is that many people have a lack of money, so they aren't able to buy it. Because they don't eat, they don't get energies, so they get each time weaker and weaker so they end up dying.

However, there are some ways in which these things are solved. There are two programs which help to solve this problem. For adults, there is "food for work." It consists on diging and building things, but instead of getting paid with money, they are paid with food. For children, there's a program called "food for education." This one consits of giving food and education to children. If they get well educated, they can work, and this makes them go out of poverty.

I am especially interested, as I told you before, on poverty on kids, but also in poverty on developing countries. A developing country is a country that has low economy, low way of living etc. Sometimes, the government of the country affects if it is poor or not. A developing government is the government of a developing country. If the government is poor, the country has more probabilities to have poor people. Also, if the country is a developing nation, it has poorer people because there is less advances and less jobs. Developing nations are reguarly called "South." This is so because most of them are located in the Southern Hemisphere. Often, in developing countries there's 'corruption'. This means that some judges or policemen take off bribes to rich people, so obviously this affect the poor. Also, there's worser corruption. In the government this happens too, but much more worse and with huge amount of money. Another fact that doesen't let poor people get our of that problem is the lack of opportunities and jobs.

In developing countries, many people die because of many diseases. Some of these include diarrhea. This disease is mostly caused to poor people in developing countries. It is an infectious disease that works in the intestines and can dehydrate you and can lead you to death. Also, many people die because of eating unsecure food. This means that the food or water isn't cleaned in order to be eaten or drinken. Definetely, the disease that kills the most is Aids/HIV. This disease affects the most in Africa, which is the poorest continent, so the poorer the place, the most it atacks on. Finally, a very dangerous disease also, Malaria. This disease is spread by mosquitoes and it kills millions of people yearly.

"An absolute poverty defines poverty as the state of living under a certain,
pre-determined amount of income or consumption. The most common absolute poverty
line is the $1-a-day line."

What I think about poverty in developing countries is very simple. Obviously, developing countries are poorer than developed countries, so the have more poor people. Also, that the people aren't wise enough. Some causes are caused by the same people of the affected country. If they know that being corrupt will cause more harm in your city or country, why do they make it? They need to realize that being rich isn't the only thing in the world. Yes, its true, people need to be able to afford some things, but I think that is isn't fair that while some people are starving in one place, others are going shoping in another place.

I could finally research about developing countries. Still, I want to research on poverty in Cartagena. Maybe, this may not be posible because I didn't find enough resources and I could only do it on my observations, but the schools from other countries can't observe this.

Helping Poor Kids

2007-02-17T10:30:00.000-05:00

Poverty is not having enough resources for someone to live, living in very bad conditions, and suffering a lot. This is what millions of people around the world are suffering from. This is happening all around the world, but especially in Africa. While I was researching, I found out that the poorest countries in the world, are located in Africa. Mali, Niger, Ethiopia, Congo, Tanzania, and Malawi are just some of the poorest countries in the world.

I also took a look at other resources. Grameen Foundation is a foundation fighting agains poverty. Their goal is to push poor people out of poverty with dignity. This foundation works in: Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, South Asia, and East Asia. This foundation works with microfinance. This is small loans from different companies in order to be able to help the poor people. An example seen in this webpage is that if a woman borrows $50 to buy a chicken soon she'll have many eggs, so she will be able to sell the other chickens born and have more money.

Another website I looked at was one called: Child Poverty. Right now, in many countries, many people live under $2 per day. Poverty is not only affecting poor countries, developed countries are also being affected by this. 1 of every 10 people in a rich country suffer from poverty. However, in developing countries this is worse. Poverty populations are garder to adapt to changes, and have a lack in education. Meanwhile, better educated populations can adapt to changes easier and faster. Poor children end up very sick because they aren't able to pay medical resources. If a country spends some money in helping a poor kid, it sabes more because the child will not get sick.

What is Child Poverty?
Child poverty is a significant lack of the basic
needs required for healthy
physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual
development. Child poverty is also
defined as a lack of opportunities
(capability deprivation), a lack of control
over one’s life, as social
isolation and as discriminatory treatment at the
hands of others.

Poverty is categorized as a lack of: food, education, and medical resources. About 650 million people live in poverty conditions around the world. This is something very sad, and each time the number grows more. Also, about 14 million kids about under 5 die each year because of poverty conditions. Some people think that poverty is only seen in develping countries. Unfortunadely, this is not true. Canada, which is a developed country, and ranked the best one to live in by some people has each time more poverty. It is very sad that a wonderful country like this one, is loosinf control under poverty.

Finally, and look at a last website. It was called Who are America's Poor Children? In the U.S the following states are the ones who have most poverty: Louisiana, Missisipi, Arkansas, New Mexico, North Carolina, West Virginia, New York, Alabama, and Tennessee. From these states, Louisiana is the one who most poverty has. Children Poverty is very dangerous. It can lead to social problems, mental problems, and health problems. This is more likely to be caused when the children is more young.

Now, that I have already researched about other foundations and organizations and other important things, I still want to research about poverty in here. Cartagena is a very poor city, and most of it's population is composed of poor children. I want to learn more about it and put lots of effort in it.

Poverty in Kids

2007-02-10T14:20:00.000-05:00

I am concerned about many things, but I am mostly concerned about Poverty. Poverty is something really sad, especially in kids. This is something that each day grows more and more and we all know that what will mostly solve it is education. While I was searching for information about my topic I learned many new things. What primarly affects the amount of poor people in a place is its country. Poor countries obviously have much more poverty than others. This is so, because poor countries often owe huge amounts of money to richer countries. For example, Africa, has most of the poorest countries in the world, so many poor people live there. On the other hand, there's Canada which has a very small percentage of poor people. Really, I have never been to Canada, but from what I have read, it isn't a poor country.

I also took a look at some other websites. Another one was: Kids Care which also talks about poverty in kids. CARE is an organization to help poor kids and their families all over the world. They are trying to end poverty by suppliying different things to poor people and countries. CARE, helps to build things such as hospitals, schools, water wells, and houses. It also tries to improve the education on poor people. CARE is being help by people who donate money in order to help others. CARE also provides food for some families and help improve their community, this organization has been helping for 50 years. For this organization poverty means the following:

Poverty means not having enough food, shelter, clothing or medical care to live a healthy life. Poverty hurts kids. Almost 1 billion people in the world live in poverty, and more than 500 million of these are children. We know that the best way to escape a life of poverty is through education. But in the developing world, more than 125 million children never attend school. Another 150 million children who begin school must stop before they learn to read or
write because they must work to help to feed their families.
Children should spend their youth by playing, laughing and joking; living happy. This is imposible for poor children. They spend their days workinf and asking for money in the streets in order to survive. Sine children can't even work because they die very young because they don't have food or medical resources. All of this happens because of lack of help and money. What really amazes me about poor children is their attitude. Although, inside, they are ying and are very hungry they always have a happy attitude. On the other side, most of the rich children only complain and complain because they are never happy with what thery have. They always want more. I think it isn't fair that while some kids don't cry because they don't have shoes, other cry because they have Adidas and wantes Nike.
You may think that an option is public schools, but really it isn't. Some parents force their children, specially girls, to stay at home taking care for their younger brothers or sisters. Other parents, force their children to ask for money in the middle of a street and at the end, the parent take the money from the child who has stand in a street all day. Really, poverty is something the world needs to be aware of. Help others as you want others to help you. I have seen many people who as others ask for help they ignore them. I hope someday we can make a change in the world were poverty ends, but I now this is just a dream.
I think that now, my next step is discuss with my partner about what we both found. I will also want to research about the poorest country in the world and how do poor people survive there. Also, research on other organizations that help poor people. Another thing I will like to investigate abour is poverty in Cartagena; that is what I am mainly interested in.

Weekends

2007-01-29T07:41:00.000-05:00

As I was reading Paulina's Blog, I got the idea to talk about hanging out. In her post, she explained what she do on weekends and what she does to have fun. Here in Cartagena, there's not much to do, but we always have fun wherever we go.

Fridays is they day our weekend starts. In the afternoon, some people have volleyball, soccer, or basketball practices. I have basketball practices, and almost all Fridays we have games versus other schools. I really enjoy this practices. Then, we go to our houses and get ready to go out. Almost all Fridays we go to the commercial area. This is where Mc Donalds, Crepes, and El Corral are. Sometimes, after we finish eating we go to El Campito or to Club Cartagena. I finish the day very tired, so as soon as I get home I fall asleep. Sometimes, I sleep over at a friends house or viseverse. In sleepovers, we sleep late, so the next day we eake up really late.

Then, we wake up on Saturdays. As I told you, is we had a sleepover, we wake up late. Usually, on mornings, we go to the pool, but sometimes I go out with my mom and we do familiar things. Some afternoons, we get together in a house and get to see movies, but sometimes we go to Juan Valdez or stuff like that. In the nights, we usually go to the more residential area. There is where El Campito, Club Cartagena, and El Otoyal us located. Sometimes we eat at Club Cartagena and they stay there, but we usually eat at El Otoyal and then go to El Campito or to Club Cartagena. There, we talk, have milkshakes or if there is a soccer or baseball game we see them. At the end, we go home or if Friday we didn't have a sleepover we may have one.

On Sunday, I wake up sad because it is the last day of the weekend. This is a familiar day. Sometimes, but almost never we go to a friends house to see a movie or something like that, but the majority of the times, we are with our families. Sometimes my family and I go to the Castellana. This is a mall a little far from Bocagrande; where I live. Other times we go to farms. There, we ride horse and things like that. Almost all Sundays I go to visit my grandma and all my cousins also go, so I have a very good time. Some Sundays are just for staying home at bed, especially when I am tired. Then, on Monday we arrive to school very sleepy and at first hour we have English class.

Sometimes, on weekends, we go out of the city with our parents. Sometimes, we go to Rosario Islands. This is a beautiful place where we have LOTS of fun! There, we go snorkling, ride kayak, donut, and many other things. Some islands have beaches, so we just swim there and have fun. In the night, we play boardgames or look at the stars. Everyones hopes to see a shooting star to ask for a wish. Other weekends there are parties. Most parties are located at Club Cartagena or other clubs. Also, they are located in the house of the host. On weekends we also go to the beack and ride wave runner, donut etc. Although there's not much to do, we always have fun!

Colombia; Beautiful but Dangerous

2007-01-15T07:58:00.000-05:00

Hi, my name is Isabella and I study in Colegio Jorge Washington (COJOWA). This school is located in Cartagena, Colombia in front of the beach. It takes part of the SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools). The past October I turned 13 years old. I go to school from 7:00AM-2:30PM. After school, I usually play tennis or basketball; my favorite sports. On Weekends I usually go out with my friends. We usually go to Campito, Club Cartagena, Mc Donald’s, El Corral, and other restaurants. Sometimes, I go with my family to Rosario Islands or to farms. Wherever I go, I am never bored.

Something I am really concerned about is Cartagena's security. Some years ago, walking by Cartagena's streets was like walking by your house, this means it was very secure. Although Cartagena is much more secure than any other cities, there have been many serious cases having to do with unsecurity. The poor parts of Cartagena are very dangerous. This is so, because the people don't have money, so they steal things from other people in order to sell them, that way, they get the money they need. Then, comes Centro, Laguito, and Manga. In this places, it is dangerous walking alone. Finally, there is Bocagrande and Castillogrande. In here, people walk alone, but still, there have been cases of caused by unsecurity.

Another issue concerns me al lot is poverty. The majority of Cartagena's population is composed by poor people. This people don't have resources needed in order to survive, so they look for fast solutions. Some work in the streets as "vendedores ambulantes". They are people who invade the streets and sell things such as purses, earings, glasses, food and many other things. Other people, decide to transport drugs. Most of these people end up in jail or even dead. Some other poor people decide to enter the FARC. In Spanish FARC is Federacion Armada Revolucionaria de Colombia. These are people who think that Colombia should be equal in all senses (social, politic, and economic). In order to complete their goal, they do unlegal things. For exmaple, they capture people who have a lot of money and they kidnap them. Then they ask their family for a huge amount of money, the family pay and the person is free. They also kill lots of people and even force kids to join the team. Right now, driving through Colombia is very dangerous because of this, so imagine how it's going to be in a couple of years!

Finally, my last concerning issue; the consume of drugs. Some people, especially those who have depression, consume drugs very often. At first, they start and just taste it. They think that by consuming drugs they are going to find hapiness. Really, they are damaging their lives. Once they get involved in drugs, they can't get out of it. The consume of drugs can also affect many other people. When someone is druged, he or she isn't really conscious of what are they doing. As this happens, some kill people or cars accidents occur. Also, some poeple die because of consuming so much drugs. Little by little, more people get involved in drugs, and if this happens we don't know what will happen to our country in a few years.

Getting to Meet New Cultures!

2006-11-04T18:06:00.000-05:00

On June 18, my family and I were in our way to Barranquilla. This time, it wasn’t to shop, or to go to the zoo; it was for something much more interesting. That day, we were going to a Batmitzbah. It was going to take place in the Barranquilla Synagogue. I was very excited, because I had never been to one Batmitzvah until that day. I was also excited, because I will be staying at the Dan Carton hotel with many of my friends. When I arrived to the hotel, I checked in, and like n hour later I went with my family to Buena Vista mall, which was in front of the hotel. There, we look at stores, but didn’t shop. Finally, we went back to the hotel and started getting ready for the ceremony.

When we were all ready, we arrived to the synagogue. There, I encountered with lots of my friends, it was really fun. The synagogue is very similar to a Christian church, but it had its differences. Finally, the ceremony began. There were 7 girls making their Batmitzvah, one of them was Yona Schuster, which was the one who invited me. The ceremony wasn’t so long; there was a rabbi which is like the “sacerdote” in the Christian church. Each of the 7 girls, made a speech in which they thank god, and also thank their parents, sibling, friends, and extended families for all the help they had received from them. At the end, everyone congratulated the girls, but this wasn’t over, now there was a party.

We arrived to the Jews’ club which was just beside the synagogue. There, a gigantic party was taking place. There was lots of tables and music. They served bankets of food; I was very impressed of seeing so much food! There were 2 buffets. At first, there was one which included the “entradas”. Then, they served the real food and the desserts. There were all kinds of desserts; chocolates, cakes, cookies etc. That part was very fun, we danced, played, and obviously ate. At the end, I was very tired, and as soon as I arrived to the hotel, I fall a sleep.

The next day, we went down to eat breakfast, but unfortunately, all the food was over because we woke up very late. Then, we decided to get into the pool, Yona would be getting with us too, but there was one problem, my cousin didn’t have bathing suit. We solved the problem immediately; we went to the Buena Vista and bought her one. Then, we went into the pool and had an awesome time. After so much exercise, we were hungry. We decided to take a bath, and then we went to the Buena Vista and ate lunch. In those 2 days, I had an awesome time!

It was very interesting getting to know new cultures; this was an experience I will never forget!

Monsters are Due on Maple Street!

2006-10-30T07:31:00.000-05:00

"They pick the most dangerous enemy thet can find...and it's themselves." What dose this mean to you? For me, it has one clear message. I think that the aliens are trying to say that what people do to leave problems and to get out of them quickly is blame others. This is clear because at the end of Act one, everyone blamed Goodman, and in reality they didn't know if he had really the fault, they were only making that to get out of the problem real quick. Once they find a scapegoat they blame him or her the more they can, but really, inside they know that he or she isn't guilty, he or she didn't do anything in at all. Although they know this, they still keep blaming the person until everyone is sure that the guilty is the person everyone is blaming. Once this happens, they get satisfied and have once more, completed their goal. The real monsters, are really themselves, they are the ones who are causing danger in the world by hurting other people's feelings and lifes. This is something in life that needs to change, and that's what the author of this story trying to do, he is trying to make others realize what people do in life, and that this, should definetely change.

I agree with this message. I can assure this to you, because I have had problems which get solved by this ways. Once, something got stoled in my class, and everyone blamed one of my classmates only because they had the feeling that this person was the guilty one, they didn't have any evidence. You can try, and try to stop people from blaming you, but you can't do a thing. Although early, or late problems get solved the way it really needs to be, people get really hurted when they start blaming them for things that really didn't happen. If this story is updated it should be much better, but this still happens in life, and it has been happening from long ago. Although I was not there, in 1960 to tell if this problem happened in that time, this story is an evidence that in that time, that problem really happened.

Still, this play needs to be updated so it can be more revelant. For example, when Tommy says that aliens may be the ones who are causing the danger, the residents reacted in a crazy way. They inmediately discarted this option. If they update this story, I would include that the residents may think that the aliens may have been involved in the problem, this is so, because right know, we have evidence that there may be life in outer space. In the updated story, Tommy got his alien ideas from T.V programs, not only books. Also, I would include a part in which at first, the cellphones and labtops will work, but then the power of this instruments failed again. This is so, because I would like to show the technology that the world has in daily life. The location of the story would be a big city. The around land would be filled with buildings, houses markets etc., not only trees and natural things. Finally, include a part were people try to use an electric plant, but the can't. All this things may sound as little details, but it may help a lot to make the story modern and better.

My 11th Birthday Party!

2006-10-28T17:01:00.000-05:00

My 11th Birthday Party is remembered by everyone because it was a party with lots of music and lights. It was in a big room, and it had Halloween deocrations; my birthday is almost the day of Halloween. In that ocasion, the goal for my party guests was to dance in the dance floor. I remeber that at first, anyone wanted to dance, but then, little by little, people began geting animated and started dancing.

The food for this ocasion, was the delicious pizza of Club Cartagena, and cake from Patricia Beron. Obviously, candies were also included in the Menu, not only because it was my Birthday, but also because it was Halloween. At the end of the party, there was many cake leftover, so I took it to my house to keep celebrating my Birthday. Everyone was satisfied with the Menu, even my little sister, who enjoys eating only certain food.

I had an awesome time at the party, we danced and singed a lot. But definetely, the best was opening the gifts at the end. I received lots of gifts! I could not complain, I had clothes, shoes, accesories, and more. I was very happy, and wished that the party wouldn't have finished.

This birthday was celebrated thanks to my parents, who gave it to me with all their effort. From the invitations to the celebration all was excellent. In addition, I had the support of my family to choose each detail that the party needed to look better. For example, the deocration of the party was excellent,it was all related to Halloween. It will never be enough the "thanks" to thank my parents for this awesome party. In addition, it will never erase form my memory.

♫♥First Draft!♥♫

2006-10-24T21:30:00.000-05:00

I placed my view on the window at Caroline's room. I could see the murallas, and feel the hot sun in my face which entered from the big window. I placed my bag back at Caroline's pink bed. "Finally my mother decided to let me have a sleeppover," I said. My mother had never gave me permission to sleep at a friend's house. After long hours of making her realize why not, she finally gave me permission. My friends Marissa, Katherine, and Caroline were talking about fashion; their passion. I also loved fashion, but I had the opportunity to look by a window and see the centro of the beautiful city I lived in. We were the only ones at Caroline's house exept for her little brother, Mark, who was always playing jokes on people.

We were all having fun, it was all perfect until the thing that started the problem occured, Caroline said, "Hey girls, I am going to the bathroom, I'll be back in two minutes, do whatever you want to have fun." The worst of all was that the bathroom was outside the room.

When Caroline left, we were still having fun and getting fashion tips from Katherine, the most fashionable girl in the world! We opened Caroline's closet, and got out all her clothes. We put them on and made Katherine put make-up on us and made us some beautiful hair styles. Then, we started making a photoshoot by ourselves, all with the awesome camera Marissa had. I was wearing some pink clothes, which is my favorite color. Marissa, was wearing shorts and a black t-shirt. Finally, Katherine was wearing jeans and a white t-shirt with a wide belt. We all loved our clothes, especially Marissa who said: "Oh, Katherine, thank you so much, you are very fashionable, I wish I was like you." Our make up was really good, when Katherine grows up, she is going to be a cosmetologist, and a very good one. But for me, the best and pretiest of all, were the hair-styles, I am obsesed with the hair stuff, and each time I can do so, I go to the hair salon so they can make me the blower. We were having lots of fun until something stoped us.

The door of Caroline's room opened very slowly. We were very, very scared, I was the one who fealt more fear; I am the most fearful person in this whole world! "Katherine, I am very scared, I feel as if someone, a ghost or something was outside the room." I said. Katherine ignored me, and said I was telling stupid things. At first, we thought that it was just someone joking, so we continue hearing Katherine who said:

"The total-look is so out in fashion, but the shorts are so in!" Katherine wasn't scared at all, and she continued talking, and talking about fashion. Marissa, wasn't so scared, but she still felt some fear. We decided to ignore the opening door and continue talking about fashion.

Then, we heard footsteps by the room, but it couldn't be anyone at the house, because Caroline was without shoes, and Caroline's parents were not at home (only Mark, who we believed he was sleeping). It was 11:00PM, and Caroline was still at the bathroom, we were very worried. We decided we were going to be valiant and go out of the room, especially, Marissa who said: "Hey girls, don't be chickens, I am very corious, lets go and get Caroline." I was thinking it, although I was very worried for Caroline, inside, I felt lots of fear and couldn't imagine all what could happen if we left the room. Finally, Marissa and Katherine convinced me, and started telling me all those reasons we should go out, starting by the one which was that Caroline was outside, and we didn't know anything about her. When we were all set to go, something horrible happened.

The lights when on and off really fast, and no one was turning them off! We were very scared, and this time, we weren't going out of the room for nothing in the world, especially me, who this time, didn't had to think it twice, I was definetely not leaving the room. By this time, nothing worst could happen, I felt so bad inside myself, I should've not left Caroline leave the room. But this part, the part I am going to tell you right now, was the scariest and most awful experience I had ever had in my whole life! Something with a white blanket on top, and a candle in it's hand entered the room making the scariest sounds I had ever heard. My friends and me, couldn't speak, we were in shock and couldn't say nothing about what was happening, we were all hugged and very scared at the floor!

The next thing that happened was that the thing, got off the blanket, and you will never believe it, it was Caroline! "Hey, don't get scared, it was all me!", Caroline said.

"Ok, ok I'll be sure that next time I don't scare you ok?"

She had been playing a joke on us, she is a very joker person. I felt a relief inside me and began thanking God in my mind it was Caroline and not anything else. Now, we were safe, and so was Caroline.

"But, how did you do all those scary things?", I asked.

"The door I pushed it with a ribbon so you couldn't see me, it was very hard, because you were always turning back to see if I would arrive any sooner. In the footsteps part, I put a tape recorder in which before, I had recorded the sound of footsteps, that was Mark's idea. Finally, the lights I controlled them from the fuse box of the house." We were all impressed on the imagination of that girl, although we were very scared, we congratulated her for having such an immagination. From that day and on, I have been having less afraid than I had always been.

Cheerleading!

2006-10-10T20:15:00.000-05:00

Two years ago, my friends and I decided to continue the school's tradition; cheerleading. At first, we had no idea about it, but little by little we got the idea and start working on it. Our coach was Ms. Elsy, she was a very good coach, she was always making the best to teach us in a way we fathom it. The first classes, were the most horrible at all! They were hard and though, we had to work and listen a lot. Later, the classes became more fun, we danced, and made pyramids, I remembered Isabel and me were flyers. Everybody saw us more than the rest of the team, because we were raised by the other team members.

Our first competition was at a coliseum about 30 min from our school. Our presentation was fun and very hard worked. At first, we did letters with our bodies that spelled: COJOWA, the abbreviation of our school. Then, we did a cheer called "Fans get Ready". That cheer was a song Ms. Elsy made for us. After, we did a dance of a song called "Beso". It was very fun, and cool to dance. In that competition, we did not won 1st place, neither, second place, nor third place. Although we didn't won, we were statisfied with our hard work, and our presentation.

Another presentation we had was in a school in the Zona Norte. We were all prepared, but the day before, the cassette were the music was fell to the floor. We thought it was nothing, and waited until the next day. The next day when we were already out to present, the cassette didn't worked. We were very scared, and waited longer. Finally the cassette worked, but it still sounded a little bad. We did our presentation, but we were very uncomfortable. At the end, we returned to our school as if nothing had happened.

Cheerleading was my passion. While I made and worked on the presentations, I felt as if nothing in the world matter more than what I was dancing and cheering on. Many people teached us cheers that the school had before, and this made us even more better. Right now, I am not a cheerleader anymore. This is so, because Ms. Elsy no longer works in my school. I hope one day, another teacher as good coach as Ms. Elsy teach us even more things, so one day we can become great, and the best cheerleaders ever!

My Worst Holiday!

2006-10-09T07:57:00.000-05:00

Last year, I had a terrible holiday. I went to Barranquilla, for a party my parents had. 1-Arriving to the hotel, we discovered the air conditioner wasn't working. The room was 2-hot, dark, and small. 3-Ow, It was horrible! 4-Under the bed, I found an enormous cockroach! 5-When we went down to the lobby, we went directly to the restaurant. The only thing I liked there were 6-french fries, meat, and coke. That wasn't healthy, and I imagined the food much better than it was. When my parents went to the wedding I had an awful time. 7-I watched a movie, I played a game, and I ate dinner. The movie I watched was the worst, it was scary and then in the night, I couldn't sleep. I lost the game, like always, I always loose in Monopoly. Last, the dinner was awful, the pizza was cold, ugly, and had to much cheese. Finally, I slept until the next day. (It was still hot)

When I woke up, I was sweating, and so was my family. We asked my parents to tell us about the wedding. My parents told us that the guests of the wedding arrived 8-by car, by taxi, and on bus. My parents went on foot, they arrove to the wedding very, very sweat, as they were in the moment they were telling us the story. They also told us that the food of the party made my mom feel bad. After this awful trip, we promised ourselves, we weren't returning to that hotel never ever!

1-Introductory Participial Phrases
2-Series of Modifiers
3-Interjections
4-Introductory Prepositional Phrases
5-Introductory Adverb Clause
6-Series of Objects
7-Series of Independent Clauses
8-Series of Phrases

Rosario Islands

2006-10-06T15:19:00.000-05:00

The Rosario Islands are a place were you can go and relax yourself. The sound of the ocean makes you feel tranquillity; it is a very satisfying feeling. There, you can do many things, go scuba diving, go swimming, ride donut and many other things. I am going to tell you about an experience I once had.

Last Novembrinas, I went to Gabriela’s island. She is a good friend of mine, my parents and her parents are also very good friends. The first day we arrived at 2:00 P.M. As soon as we got there, we went into the ocean. It was delicious; it was cold and very clear. A few hours later, we rode kayak around the island to take a look how was it. About at 5:30 P.M we went to the Aquarium. There, we gave food to the dolphins and took a look at other animals. Once we got to the island, we took a bath and then eat dinner. After dinner, we played Monopoly and other game. Finally, we went to bed until the next day.

The following days were similar to this one, except that our parents decided to rent a donut. We passed almost all this days riding donut, scuba diving, and riding kayak, it was very fun! At lunch time we had, fish, which is delicious, or meat, chicken etc. The food part was very good, all food was delicious. At nights, we went to the top part of the island, there we took a look at the stars and watched for falling stars, it was very cool. After a whole week of being at the islands we returned home. I was very tired!

Solving Problems

2006-10-02T07:35:00.000-05:00

In my life, I have several ways to solve problems. For example, I can talk with the person and ask her if he or she forgives me or if we can get to an agreement. If the conflict is more severe, we can ask for help from other people or authority. Sometimes, I get mad very fast, so I yell at the person instead of calmly try to talk with the person and get top an agreement. I consider this as a bad habbit. Obviously, if I am under pressure I use strategies that give more accurate solutions, I may go with the faster way, so the problem is solved faster, and I get out from the pressure. For example, if I know I am not going to get to an agreement with someone I may ask for help first, instead of talking with the person. If I ask for help to someone it would be my parents or a very special friend. This is so, because this are the people I trust most, and I know they are not going to say to anyone else without my permission.

I remembered a problem I had when I was in fourth grade, three years ago. Two more friends and me, told something to a friend she didn't like. We told her tattletale for saying something to the teacher we didn't want her to say. We told her that because were very angry that she told to the teacher we weren't paying attention in class, we were talking while the teacher was talking. After the mistake was made, we tried to get to an agreement, but she went to the principal and told her what had happened. The next day, we were send to the principal's office and had a talk. We were punished by the school, and by our parents. My parents were very mad at me, I talked with my mom and told her that the problem was minimum and that she was forming a pandemonium for something very, very small! My mom came to the school and talked with the principal, but the principal told her I had no excuse for telling that to the girl. I felt very bad, it was the first time I was sent to the office and I was scared they were going to punish me hard. At the end, they only gave a recess detention, but I was still very scared. After, we talked with the girl we had the problem with and everything was fixed.

Barranquilla Games!

2006-09-27T15:09:00.000-05:00

As always, Barranquilla Games is one of the Middle School tournaments. Some friends and I went to play in our school's basketball team, that was last year. We got to Barranquilla in a very cool bus. In the bus, we had much fun, se sanged, laugh, and ate. We arrived to Barranquilla one hour later. When we arrived, we went directly to the Parrish School, which was the place were the competition was going to take place. Every team played a game, after all the games were finished, the bus drove us to the hotel, Barranquilla Plaza. I remembered I stay in a room with Lichi and Margui. We settled up there and then we went to Buena Vista mall.

In the Buena Vista mall, we had lots of fun! First, we ate dinner at Crepes and Waffles, I remembered I ate a Bolognesa Crepe, it was delicious! Then, all my friends and I went to City Park. City Park is a game room were everyone goes. I got on the Pirate Boat, Chocking Cars and Ola Marina. I also played in some machines. At the end, we were tired of playing, so we decided to go and look at some stores. It was really fun, but there were many things we saw and couldn't buy. That day I had lots of fun!

The next day, we woke up early to go to the school again. We picked all our things because we weren't returning to the hotel. When we arrived to the Parrish School everyone played their last games. My team won every game it played. This made my team be in the first place. We were very glad of gaining that trophy. Cojowa also won the Sportmanship Trophy. This trophy was given to us because we played clearly and treated each other nicely. All of Cojowa was hapy after this announcement. Although all teams weren't in first place, that trophy meant al lot to me and the rest of the school.

Finally, having this trip was awesome. I had lots of fun, and best of all I was with my friends. It was my first time at Parrish School, so I got to know all the school and the students. It had a great time, and I hope this year I get to go again.

Blogging, Fun Way of Learning

2006-09-25T07:57:00.000-05:00

While I was reflecting on my expectations on blogging, I realized how they are similar to what it really is. I knew blogging was going to be a great and very fun experience, I think it is very interesting that people around the world can see what you write and can make. Although it is very fun, sometimes it's hard to maintain it. You need to be always publishing comments and posts, and always updating it. Also, you need to be aware of always publishing things with appropiate language, and without spelling mistakes.

I feel very good about having a blog. I think it is very fun that I can say to a person to type my web direction and they can see all what I have posted. Also, it is more easier than going everywhere with a journal, and get tired of writing, while in the computer, you type and type and never get tired.

My feeling has only change a little since the begining. Although I always knew it was going to be fun and easier, sometimes it's harder than I imagined.This is so because you don't know what to write, and if you make a little mistake or so, everyone is going to see it. Or, if you want to say something but don't want others to see it, you can't post it.

The technical aspects, are something designed for kids. For example, inserting pictures, is something easy, and blogger makes it that way so that kids don't have problems in such things. Also, adding links to your blog is not as difficult as I thought it would be. It is something easy that leads you to something more specific.

Something surprising of blogging is that everyone can see what you post. As soon as you post something, all the world can see it and post you comments.

Posting comments is also another good thing. Little by little, I have been learning how to make better comments each time. It feels good that other people can give you advices by posting comments without even knowing you. Finally, making a blog was something I would always be proud of.

Maria Sharapova

2006-09-23T10:55:00.000-05:00

This gorgeous young lady, is known as the third best tennis player in the world in the category of women. She was borned in April 19, 1987 in Russia.

It has been a rumor that Sharapova has been dating another tennis player called Andy Roddick, but he says they are just friends. They are often called "Rodapova" for their awesome power in the sport. Roddick is the image of Lacoste, while Sharapova wears Nike at the court.

Maria Sharapova just won the 2006 US Open. The final was against Justine Henine-Hardenne. This final was won 6-4, 6-4 by Sharapova. Sharapova weared a black Nike dress.It had a neckline of crystals at the front, and an ovaled whole at the back.

Trivia:

Residence: Bradenton, Florida
Place of Birth: Nyagan, Siberia, Russia
Height: 1.88m
Weight: 68kg

An Exaggerated Story!

2006-09-18T07:35:00.000-05:00

I just read a story called Three Skeleton Key. Although it was a "scary story" it didn't scare me, but it was very interesting. It reminds me to an experience I had. One day I was at a friend's house, and out of the sudden a rat came. We were very scared and had to brought another person to kill the rat. The worst is that I was with my scariest friend, she scares herself with some stupid things. As I was reading the story, I realized how we formed a pandemonium because of a little rat, while other people don't say nothing about a big rat. This was very different from the story, because in the story there are hundreds of rats, while in my friend's house there was only one.

I wonder why the author exaggerated to much. If I was the author I wouldn't exaggerate so much in the part where it says that there where so many rats they covered all of the light house, this makes it look more fiction, and for my opinion I like realistic stories better. The good thing about this story is that it intrigues you of what is going to happen next. While my teacher read the part that the ship was wandering around the key I was very intrigue of what was going to happen next. At the end I really like it, so I think I didn't waste my time reading it, so I really recommend you Three Skeleton Key, a good story I read in my English class.

My Trip To New York City!

2006-09-15T15:25:00.000-05:00

In summer vacations of 2005 my mother had a wonderful surprise planned for me. Before, she had gone a couple of times to New York City, New York, and she knew I wanted to go. One day she told me I was going, I was so excited I didn’t even ask her who we were going with. Two days before the trip, I discovered that I was going with my mom, Sandra and Aileen (friends of my mom), their sons and Valentina, one of my best friends! We couldn’t wait to get there; we both knew this was going to be a wonderful experience!

When we arrived on July 11th to New York it was midnight. In our ride to the hotel we passed through Times Square, which is a street in New York City. This street is awesome! It is filled with lights of all the colours and big advertisements of the coolest stores. The next day, we went to World Trade Centre, where the Twin Towers used to be. When I saw that hole I almost fall to the floor! It is very, very big! That night we went to The Empire State. We saw the entire city illuminated, it was very cool. We also went to The Statue of Liberty. There we ate lunch and walk around the island, it was a great experience. Other places I went were: Mars 2112, which is a restaurant like the planet, Mars. The Science Museum, The Wax Museum, and The Metropolitan Museum were so interesting I could spend a lifetime visiting them! I had fun in all and every place I visited in that awesome city.

Visiting NYC, the capital of the world was an experience I will never forget. From the moment I jumped out of the airplane to the moment I came back to Cartagena were the best moments of my life. From the food to my shops, it was all great. Although I didn’t want to leave New York it was time to see my father, my brother, and my little sister again. It will never be enough to say thanks to my family, because this trip was the best trip I’ve ever made. I hope one day I will visit this awesome city again.

Rembering Steve Irwin

2006-09-11T08:01:00.000-05:00

The crocodrile hunter Steve Irwin, dies as a Stingray attacked him. Dina El Nabli wrote a report on Irwin's life and death called "Remebering Steve Irwin". This article in Time for Kids News shows the biography of the man who spend his life facing danger.

Animal lovers around the world are paying tribute to a brave and beloved conservation hero today. Steve Irwin, also known as
the “crocodile hunter,” died after being attacked by a stingray at Australia’s
Great Barrier Reef. He was 44.

I think this man, called “passionate environmentalist” by Australians was a person who triumph in life. All his movies came to be loved by all the world. He helped the humanity discovered each time more about the environment. He was a brave man who faced danger as if it was an obligation. Irwin's death was big loss for the environment all around earth. I hope one day any other person around the world take care of animals as Irwin once did it.

Some of My Friend's Blogs

2006-09-04T07:21:00.000-05:00

This is my friend Sara's blog, she likes to dance and laugh a lot. She is a very good friend and a very dedicated person.
http://sara112.blogspot.com/

Another interesting blog is Isabel's. She likes people to call her Isa and loves making people laugh. I will never forget all the funny words she makes up.

And last is Suad's Blog. She likes people to call her Suadi. She loves to laugh, play soccer and play basketball.

Technology Makes Work Easier

2006-08-28T08:20:00.000-05:00

Technology affects my education in good and bad ways. For example, the computer helps me work easier, because it has certain programs to type, draw, find information easier etc... Other things can be photocopiers, who help you learn in an easier way and understand more. On the other hand, there are bad things to. For example, in the television, computer, etc... unexpected and inappropriate things can appear on your screen. These things can make your child or you learned things he or she shouldn't. Technology also makes students lazier each time,they think they can leave all for the last moment because they have a computer that can make them work easier and faster.

My expectations for making a blog are very high. I expect it to be fun and interesting. I like seeing other people's point of view and what they think about the world. I will also like others to see what I think and can do. Another things is that I think is great that people around the world can leave you comments and this makes you be better each time.