PECHAKUCHA

We did a PECHAKUCHA (a ppt with 20 slides) talking about the dutch people. Here you can see our work!

Slide 1:

We are Blau Camarasa and Isabel Domingo and we are going to talk about Dutch people. In these image we can see some things that are typically from there: The bikes,the bear, the cow,the tulips, the clogs,  but we are going to focus in the Dutch people.

Slide 2:

We are going to start talking about the physical characteristics of Dutch people because it’s the first thing that appear in your mind when you meet a person. Then, after meeting someone, you can learn about their personality: if they are tolerant, strict, nice, rude… Dutch people have a very peculiar personality. Do you want to know more about them?

Slide 3: To describe the Dutch the adjectives tall and blond won’t let you down. Of course immigration is changing that picture but still, anyone under 1,75 meters will have to look up when addressing most Dutch, whether they be male or female./// We suggest that anyone with a height complex should be friend the Indonesian, Moroccan or Turkish populations who are considerably shorter.

Slide 4: The Dutch are on average the tallest people in the world. Men are six feet tall (182.5 cm) and women are 5 feet 7 inches (170.5 cm). Researchers point to a healthy diet and good medical care as the main factors that lead to a tall population.

Slide 5: Both Dutch women and Dutch men are renowned for being straight-forward in conversation, and little social negativity is attached to asking personal questions or openly stating one's unsolicited opinion in the Netherlands. The Dutch tend to believe it is better to be honest than mislead someone.To the untrained dater it may appear rude or direct but it is a refreshing scene of playing with your cards on the table.     

Slide6:The Dutch are famous for how tolerant they are. A large part of their history involves welcoming foreigners to the country and allowing them to continue living lives as they chose. It reflects on the cuisine as well.Nowadays foreign products and ingredients are more and more added to the daily cooking.   

Slide 7: The Netherlands is also well known for its liberal attitude towards specific subjects, such as gay rights or marriage, euthanasia, soft drugs, freedom of speech, abortion etc. That doesn’t mean that locals can’t get extremely upset sometimes when it comes to ‘’drug tourism’’. Smoking a joint in public is not recommended and could give you a lot of angry faces.

Slide 8: They aren’t friendly with the people around them, they should be a little bit more open. They need more soul and showing more about their feelings. Sometimes foreigners doesn’t make Dutch friends because they don’t like how Dutch people interact with the others. But this appointment isn’t negative for them, they are proud of what they are.

Slide 9: They also tend to be exaggerated, oversimplified and a tremendous amount of fun. The Dutch, or at the very least the stereotypical Dutch, are able to laugh at themselves and so they won’t be too offended by the following.  They celebrate the Queen’s day and more than 800,000 people went there to have fun, drank some bear and to be with their friends.               

Slide 10: When meeting a Dutch person, it’s very common to shake hands or when you know someone better, to give that person three ‘’kisses’’  on the cheeks instead of two. A big no-no is to ask someone how much money he or she makes in a year! Asking that would be considered VERY rude and would end up in getting a snappy answer like ‘’none of your business’’.

Slide 11: Dutch people are very blunt, they will give you their opinion being honest. For example if you phone them ,  you will start the conversation saying hello, how are you, but then they immediately will answer “hi,hi what are you calling for?

Dutch people can call a person who they haven’t seen for two years and ask directly if you can borrow them a bicycle, this is very normal for them, not for catalan people.

Slide 12: In particular Dutch people don’t like to be told what to do, they don’t like to be pushed, they like to do their own way and follow their decisions and opinions. They feel they have nearly the right to live in the way they were raised. Well, Dutch people feel like they have a right about every single thing.

Slide 13: They tend to live a pretty structured life. Everybody has agendas. They’re not very fond of surprise visits, they like to follow their own schedule and you cannot change it unless you have a strong reason. We can just define them as almost the most organized people of the European Union. This appointment very important for them, without organization, you cannot be a real Dutch person.

Slide 14: Dutch are this kind of people that pay for themselves even if they are in a date, they don’t like to spend their money for other people. They are a little bit stringly, thanks to the fixed expression “ going Dutch” that means that everybody have to pay for himself, the personality of the Dutch people is recognized over the world.

Slide 15: Dutch nature would be a pragmatic view of life. They are really pragmatic people, if you have a problem with them, it’s very easy to find a solution and solve it.But don’t be surprised if they have a rude behaviour when you asked them to solve the problem. They are not interested on pulling your last nerve, they just want to be in peace with all their friends, family, colleagues....

Slide 16: No-one loves a bargain quite like the Dutch. That’s why window shopping takes many forms: special offer (aanbieding or aktie); offer (reclame); and the most exciting of all, everything must go (alles moet weg). If you say gratis (free), you’ve just made a Dutchie very very happy.    

Slide 17: The Dutch were the first in the world to legalise gay marriage: same-sex marriage has been legal in the Netherlands since 2001. Dutch law requires either partner must have Dutch nationality or to reside in the Netherlands. The marriageable age in the Netherlands is 18, or below 18 with parental consent.

Slide 18:The Netherlands has the highest population density in Europe: Not counting countries just a few kilometres long (such as Monaco), the Netherlands is the most densely populated country with around 17 million people in 41,500 square kilometres, at around 500 people per square kilometre.

Slide 19: Home births are still cherished in the Netherlands: around 20 percent of babies in 2013 were born in homes.This is partly due to the Dutch attitude on not medicalising birth, lower costs compared to hospital births and a good screening system of women who can safely deliver at home. Home births are covered by Dutch health insurance while hospital births without medical necessity can be refused.

Slide20: To finish our presentation here we have some funny words in dutch:

The Pindakaas the translation will be peanut cheese and the word in english peanut butter

The Apenstaartje the translation will be Little monkey tail and the word in english at sign

The Mirenneuker the translation will be somebody who is intimate with ants and the word in english some body who care too much for details.

That’s it

The Netherlands

This week we worked on the Netherlands. We had to choose a city and explain the most important places or tourist attractions from there and an important person who lived there.
You can see my presentation about Delft in this link.

https://voicethread.com/myvoice/#thread/8564935/48047546/48306941

GREAT TOURIST DESTINATIONS IN THE PROVINCE OF LLEIDA

I’m lucky enough to live in Lleida, which is one of the four province capitals in Catalonia. Although there aren’t loads of tourists, we have nice activities to do here that are worth visiting.

One place that is a must for tourists is going kayaking in the Congost de Mont Rebei. Kayaking is very nice because you are in a narrow pass and the walls are huge. It isn’t a difficult activity, but it’s a little bit expensive (35 Euros per person). It’s a great activity to know a little bit more about the territory and to have a good time with family or friends.

The second place that is a must for teenagers is doing paintball in Miravall. There are three different fields to play with different decorations and places to hide. The activity has a different cost depending on how many balls of paint you want. You must be 12 years old or older to be able to play. You can go with your friends, do two teams and have a competition to know which team is the best.

Going kayaking in the Congost de Mont Rebei and doing paintball in Miravall shouldn’t be missed. The Congost de Mont Rebei and offers you a taste of our beautiful landscapes and paintball in Miravall offers you a funny moment to play with your friends.

Cheat Sheet Methods

Hi friends!
This week Blau and me did a poster with 10 different ways of cheating. Read it! Who know if some day it will  be useful for you! ;)

LONDOOON!!

The 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th we went to London with all the class and two teachers. We went there to practice english, to visit the city and to live a new experience. I was very happy and all the days we did very interesting acitvities. The places that I liked more were the Camden town, the places were they filmed Harry Potter and the squirrels of Saint James and Hyde park. It was a really nice travel. I'll never forget it!

SCHOOLS IN MY COUNTRY

Hello!!

Here you can read the article of this week. I hope you like it!

SCHOOLS IN MY COUNTRY

Does the number 231,808 mean something to you? It’s the number of students that go to primary or secondary school in Catalonia.

Students in Catalonia attend primary school from the age of 3 to 11 (but it’s not compulsory before 6) and then we start secondary school. After thirteen years going to school we have to choose if we want to continue studying two more years and then go to the university or if we want to go on a vocational training course.

I am 14 years old and I’m in my third secondary school year. I go to a state school and I do six hours a day with the exception of Saturdays and Sundays. I’m studying nine different subjects: English, Spanish, Catalan, Projects, P.E., Music, Social Studies and -Tutorial- as compulsory subjects. Then we have two hours per week of optional subjects: German, French or quarterly activities. My favourite subject is English of course. In my school you can also do some extra-curricular activities like Sport, Music, ICT and rehearsals.

In my opinion, girls and boys in my country are lucky because everybody can go to school and learn almost all things you will need for the future.

  

My favourite song

This week our teacher suggested us to share our favourite music to know a little bit more about each other.

This is my favourite song!

Divergent: one choice can transform you

DIVERGENT

I’m reading “Divergent” the first book of the trilogy written by Veronica Roth and my favourite character is Beatrice Prior. She is the narrator and the main character of the Divergent’s book. She was born in Abnegation, she is 16 years old, she has a brother called Caleb and she is Divergent. Her alias is Tris.

I like this character because she is brave, smart, kind and she is a nice person. She fights to reach what she wants and to protect the people she loves. When the book starts she is very weak but thanks to the training and her willpower she becomes one of the best in her initiates group. She is the kind of person you would like to be in another life although the problems she may have.

Divergent’s passage:

But I understand now what Tori said about her tattoo represtanting a fear she overcame- a reminder of where she was, as well a reminder of where she is now. Maybe there is a way to honour my old life as I embrace my new one.

“Yes,” I say. “Three of  these flying birds.”

I touch my collarbone, making the path of their flight – toward my heart. One for each member of the family I left behind.

Personal opinion:

I like this passage of the book because I think it’s very nice that Tris gets a tattoo in her collarbone with three birds representing her family and her old life. I think that is like a message saying that although she had not chose her family faction she will never forget them.

Homemade experiments

Hello!
I did some easy and homemade experiments that I would like to show you!
Whatch the video and tell me what do you think  ;-)

Film review: NERVE

NERVE

Some friends, my sister and I went to the cinema last week to see the new film Nerve.

It is a 2016 American techno-thriller adventure film directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. It’s based on the novel “Nerve” written by Jeanne Ryan. The film stars are Emma Roberts (Vee), Dave Franco (Ian) and Juliette Lewis (Vee’s mother).

This film takes place in New York City. It is about a girl, Vee, which sings up as player in a truth or dare video game. She becomes a very good player and receives a lot of money every time she gets pass an event. She starts playing with a mysterious boy called Ian. But when she reaches the highest levels of the game she will get involved in a dangerous situation.

I like this film because it has an interesting plot. Some of the events of the game are hard-hitting. It has funny and moving scenes and it has an unpredictable ending.

I recommend this film to teenagers that like breath-taking films.

Summer holidays

LE PETIT TRAIN D’ARTOUSTE

This summer I went to Artouste with my family. It’s a French village located near the border, between Spain and France, in the Ossau valley. Although it isn’t a crowded area, it receives a lot of tourist, like me and my family, which wants to take “Le petit Train”. “Le petit Train” is a red and yellow train that goes through beautiful valley and it takes you to a nice lake. It’s the highest train in Europe!

When we bought the tickets for it, we took a cable car that brought as to the train. From there, there were very beautiful views of the Midi d’Ossau. The trip took 1 hour approximately. 

The train passed through a very narrow tunnel, it was so narrow that only a train could pass through it. When we were out of the tunnel we saw amazing and huge mountains. We were so high that although it was summer, we were wearing jackets. When we arrived, we walked around 20 minutes of an ascent path till a very beautiful lake. We had lunch there, sandwiches and some fruit. Then my sister and I found a small pond with lots of tadpoles and some tritons. I had never seen tritons before, they are in danger of extinction. 

In our way back we saw six marmots near the tracks, probably they were waiting for us to give them some food. We also saw an eagle. When we arrived at the train station I drank a typical drink of France, mint syrup. It was delicious!

After this nice day we returned to our apartment.  

See you soon

Hello!

Today I finish my blog, but don't worry beacause in September I will continue writting on it.
It has been a pleasure for me. I hope you like my articles.

See you soon.

TV programme: TEENAGERS' WORLD

Hi everybody!!
This week we did a TV programme for teenagers.
In this programme a family  discuss about important topics in adolescence: drugs, alcohol, addictions... It's very interesting because every member of the family has a different poin of view.

I hope you like it!!

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B106txEXF6XDTmphZ08wQ0ZXSms

Gender Equality

Hello!!
This is a news article about Gender Equality. I think that this is a very important topic to think about. I chose Emma Watson because she did a lot of things to fight against Gender Equality.

I hope you like it and remember to think about it.

MEN AND WOMEN TOGETHER FOR THE GENDER EQUALITY!

THE ACTRESS OF HARRY POTTER RECEIVE THE “PERSON OF THE YEAR” AWARD

Yesterday, 10^th of April 2016, Emma Watson the actress of Harry Potter received in the UK the most prestigious and important award: the Person of the year award.

She received this important award because of her fight in favor of gender equality.

Watson began questioning gender-based assumptions at age eight when she was called "bossy" whilst boys were not and at 14 when she was "sexualized by certain elements of the media".

 In 2014, she was appointed as a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador. That same year she was named the first representative in the campaign called HeForShe to show to the people that women but also men have to work together to the achievement of gender equality. In the speech she said: I want men to take up this mantle so that their daughters, sisters, and mothers can be free from prejudice, but also so that their sons have permission to be vulnerable and human too, reclaim those parts of themselves they abandoned, and in doing so, be a truer and complete version of themselves.

Emma has also promoted education for girls, visiting Bangladesh and Zambia to do so and she has done a lot of speeches around the world. She defends and also remembers other people the meaning of feminist "the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities" and she also remembered that this doesn’t mean the hating of men.

She made people think about gender equality with her speeches and in 2015 Malala Yousafzai told Watson she decided to call herself a feminist after hearing her speech.

Film review

Hi!

Do you know The hunger games film? It's amazing!!

If you don't know it, you can read my film review.

THE HUNGER GAMES

This is a science fiction adventure film. It is based on the first book of a trilogy written by Suzanne Collins.

The story takes place in a dystopian post-apocalyptic future in the nation of Pane. This film is about boys and girls between 12 and 18 years old that must participate in The Hunger Games, which is a televised event. The boys and girls must fight between them until there is only one survivor. Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are the main characters; they are going to fight for the 12th district. The film stars are Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland.

I like this film because some scenes are full of suspense, the acting is so convincing that they make everything seem real and the plot is very interesting.

I recommend this film to teenagers and adults that like horror films.

James Bond

Hello!!

This is a video that two of my friends and I did for the school. I'm representing Jame Bond!

I hope you like it.

SAINT GEORGE’S DAY

This celebration is very important in Catalonia; it represents love and culture, love between people and love between literature. In that day books and roses are every were creating a very nice atmosphere. In the last years it has been exported around the world.

This historical event started on the medieval age.

The legend tells that Saint George was a knight that defended a kingdom from a dragon. The kingdom was very afraid because they have to give the princes as food for the dragon, but fortunately St George could kill it. After the fight between the knight and the dragon, a drop of blood drooped from the terrific dragon, that blood transformed into a red rose. St George gave the rose to the princes showing his love for her. You can believe it or not, but since that day we celebrate that St George killed the dragon and the princes was saved.

Saint George’s day was celebrated for the first time on the XVI century.

Now a day, we celebrate St George’s day on the 23th of April because it’s the day that he died. Women give a book for men and men give a rose for women like St George did. This celebration is the Catalan version of Valentine’s Day.

We also commemorate the death of Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare.

St George is the patron saint official of Catalonia since 1456.