the foreign language magazine le magazine de langues étrangères

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VOL. 20 No. 29 February 2010
THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE MAGAZINE
LE MAGAZINE DE LANGUES ÉTRANGÈRES
By Alfredo Castillo
I can’t believe it now that I see my daily planner that December is here. This year has gone by
really fast. It´s going to be four years since my dad passed away. It seems like yesterday when this
avalanche of bitterness and pain appeared in our lives shaking all of his descendants. No doubt that
year wasn’t a happy one because we lost our chief, our anchor and our spiritual guru. Unlike other
years, that one in particular wasn’t what it is called a lazy year, term given by Angela Mastretta to
some years that come and go without so much agitation.
According to her, there are years that won’t
crack and break our future with the memory of
a mystery or a loss that still hurts. Years that
would carry us away with the beginning of a
new love. Years with low-key days that made
us live normality in the most abnormal way,
where the hot afternoons would return exactly
the same, sticky and slow, as if they weren’t
special because of the monotony in their coming and going with the same repetitious duties.
I have had lazy years in which God didn’t
deny protection and shelter to me, years that
went by through my life without much commotion, years in which nothing bad made me
stumble and fall or that made me believe I
owned the bluest star or that pushed me into
pain or that took away my joy, it´s just that
those years crossed my shoulders without taking away my tranquility and hope that I could
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have had back then. It´s not that I had lost my eternal gastritis or
that my debts had been paid off and my insomnia had vanished or
that I hadn´t been in a rush as I always am. It´s not that time had
covered me with tediousness while I observed the same landscape,
it is just that during those times, I had what Mastretta calls a lazy
year. Lazy years in which adventures, anecdotes or travels weren’t
worth writing about because nothing extraordinary happened and
as a consequence nothing was printed, photographed or shared.
I have had lazy years for which some day I would feel nostalgia and
yearning…
When my mother didn’t respect my Master´s and still forced me
to go get tortillas while I lived at home. When together with Mauricio, my Jewish friend, we used to dodge traffic at Reforma Avenue in Mexico City, paying no
attention to the curses coming from irritated drivers.
When my nephews were much younger and they would hold my hand to cross any wide
street here in Tampico. When I stayed up late with my friends drinking a good red Chilean
wine, knowing for sure that the following day I would have a terrible hangover accompanied
by a headache. When I observed from the window of a Mexico City apartment, how the oak
trees bent due to the strong winter wind blowing.
When I found myself at 25 thousand feet above sea level, on a Mexicana Boeing 727, hidden in a rear galley listening to my flight attendant friend, narrate his latest adventures while
he illegally poured champagne into my coach class glass. Shame on him, instead of attending
passengers, he chatted with me and he was happy I had bumped into one of his flights bound
to God knows where.
When I didn’t go out and happily anchored myself to the sofa watching TV with anyone at
home who wanted to keep me company. When together with my dad, we read the Sunday
paper deciding where we would have lunch that day. When I had to make a stopover far
away from home and spend the night either at a bus terminal or a cold airport gate.
When I headed for the beach on a freezing January night carrying a thermos filled with hot
cocoa. When my dog “Huggie” splashed me right after bathing her and I ended up as soaked
as she was. When I ate roasted chestnuts together with a Diet Coke in Madrid, while snowflakes fell on the Cibeles Fountain, wondering where I would spend the night with little money
in my pockets. When I pushed the cart at Comercial Mexicana while mom constantly complained about prices as she continued filling it up to the max. When I kidnapped dad and and
went for some coffee at Supercream while he listened to my new projects and new possible
photographic trips. When I taught the kids how to make a wish by throwing a coin in any
fountain in their paths without ever telling what they had wished for. When I thumbed rides
and ended up in Tijuana meeting a lot of people whose lives and experiences contributed
with material for articles I later wrote.
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When I sat on the old boardwalk at the Chairel Lagoon while a beautiful thunder storm
soaked both the city and me. When I experienced a tootsie pop-sticky kiss from Pamela and
Arturo while they said a “Hello, Uncle Freddy”. When the kids and I made paper boats and
sailed them in the water from the broken pipe on our street, courtesy of COMAPA. When lying
on the grass, I used to look for shooting stars in the vast stillness of a summer night.
I don’t ask for anything else in my life except for blessings and many of those lazy years that
will make me live normally in the most abnormal way.
By Alejandro Palafox
Feelings is what I have
Confusing me, inside my mind
Taking away all I have
Without destiny to arrive.
Don’t try entering my dark domain
Without boundaries or frontiers
It will destroy everything within
your heart.
To love you from the beginning to
the end
It doesn’t matter how much you
could love me. This loneliness will
never go away.
Life turns me around
Without love, without faith
That’s the way I am living right
now
In the most private moment
This is like a nightmare.
Don’t let my body
Surrender to the loneliness
Please keep the flame
So that I can’t lose the way
To your endless beauty.
You are the joy in my suffering life.
This way I confess
Since my poems aren’t in verse
That If reason has no logic
It’s because you make my world go
nuts.
I don’t want to hide anymore
I need to tell you my truth
My heart is screaming out for you
Since it´s the silence which is killing my soul.
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Let me write a poem
For your love, and let me win Your heart with my words.
My soul flies through the sky and reaches your hand, hold me tight
Never leave me alone
I don’t want to miss you anymore.
You are the princess of my dreams
The reason of my absent mind
Without you the poetry dies and loses the charm, disappearing in the dark
nights.
Let me love you in silence, so that way my love for you never dies
Let me write you a poem, so everybody knows that you are the one that I
love.
Maria Emilia Rodriguez
I decided to follow her. I don’t know why but I
just did.
I’m not an impulsive person. I
thought...How odd, I’m attracted to
so meo n e’ s
back. Old pair of Keds, jeans and a purple sweatshirt, brown hair, no purse. So I entered that shop
she got in. It was a tattoo shop , I didn’t want
her to think I was some kind of stalker so I put on
my headphones
pretending I was listening to
that song that was being played on my iPod , and
I started to hear her voice.
She was talking about how bad she wanted to get
an orchid tattoo in her right wrist. There was something beautiful about orchids, but I couldn’t listen
much. I finally figured out her name. It turned out to
be Becca , and she was 16. She said -Hey, What do
you think about me getting an orchid in my right
wrist, do you like it ? She was looking at me, –Well..
Yes, -I stuttered- I think it’ll fit a Becca for sure.
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-So, Dean, Come on, I want
to see it. – Umm... What do
you want to see?
-The tattoo you’re getting, I
mean you didn’t come here to
listen to your ipod, did you?
- I.. I was.. Umm, I don’t know
yet... I’m not planning on getting one soon, until I find a
good reason for it. It sticks
with you your whole life after
all...- Well I’m sure you’ll find
one.
And that’s the way it all started. We hang out almost every day after school. Talking on the
phone wasn’t boring with Becca; she always had something to say, so we became close a little
bit fast. Okay, too fast. But close in another way, at first I had a crush on her, but the last
thing I needed was a girlfriend, she was more like a friend to me and I meant the same for
her. Becca turned out to be a rare, one of a kind girl, I mean the way she talked and danced
and just...didn’t care much about the world helped me change my perspective about life - You
take life too serious, my Dean- she would constantly say, and she was my best friend. I guess
that’s why we were compatible, because in order to have that with someone you need to be
different than the other person. I was always the shy one, -“Is that really what you’re wearing
to the concert Dean, for God’s sake! You’re so boring!
-Boring? Please, I’m normal, something you’re not. And we could go on and on with stupid
fights, but at the end we always laughed about it. I’d never understood that quote that goes :
she lights up the whole room , until I met Becca . We had so much fun together that summer… I remember everything like it happened yesterday.
But things started to be different. At first I refused to deal with it , but eventually I knew I
couldn’t deny it anymore. Becca changed, we changed. She didn’t act the same or smile the
same; I knew what was going on even though she wouldn’t tell me. -What are you saying,
that all of the sudden I’m the boring one? Hell no! Dean, that’s you, not me! There’s just no
way I’m going to Laurie’s party, she’s so stupid!
And suddenly all of the parties, the visits to the art gallery, the times we would go dressed
up as rockers on the subway, the milkshakes at the Waffle House, they were all gone. She
was becoming too tired; sometimes I had to hold her hand when she was walking so that she
wouldn’t fall. She was so thin and fragile, it just made me sad thinking about it. -You know
that I know what’s going on, right Becca? -What are you talking about, leave me alone! And
she didn’t want to see me or answer her phone, until one day, she admitted it...- I’m sick, you
jerk! and there’s nothing I can do about it , I’ve been sick since the day I met you, but it’s
getting worse now, the doctor says I’m running out of time. Tears formed behind my eyes but
I didn’t cry, If Becca told me something, it would be easy how to be strong and laugh about
problems and life...so I did exactly that. I wanted her to smile and to sing just like she used
to, I wanted to bring Becca back. There was one time when she didn’t want to take her pills,
so I said to her: - I dare you, to take your pills and I’ll do anything you want. - Anything? Her
eyes brightened up...
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We had a blast that night , she took her pills and felt a lot
better , we went to see The Arctic Monkeys play and she
made me wear this ridiculous wig which was pink, and of
course I looked horrible, everyone was staring at me, even
that girl I liked , but I didn’t care. I was with my best friend
and she was happy. When she was feeling fine she invited
me to watch scary movies and eat pizza, I would get so
mad at her because she wasn’t even allowed to eat that,
but I knew it made her happy so I never told her mom.
Then she had her bad days and I felt sad to see her like
that. -Are you never getting out of those pajamas or what!
Come on, get up grandma! , I’ll bring your meds, it’ll be
fun! -Stop being so nice Dean, I don’t want to get out. I’m tired,
I swear, all I want to do is sleep...
It made me angry, the fact that she didn’t fight against leukemia at all, it’s like she wanted to die already... But then I understood her, she was sick. And
her days were almost over; I was so scared to lose her. I spent the next month almost every
day in her house, I didn’t care if she didn’t talk or See me because she was sleeping, and I
just stood with her.
I used to cheer her up with stupid jokes I had thought about, you know what they say
about sick people, they can’t see you but they can hear you... That was the time when I
started to realize...she really is leaving this world..And it’s happening all so fast.
Of course I cried a few times at night, remembering all of our great memories. I was only going to buy supplies, but then I saw her, and she talked to me being a complete stranger and
let this complete stranger into her life.
If God really was taking her, I would have to face the world all by myself. -Do you really
want to go to the prom with Laurie, well just ask her, be a man Dean... My god what would
you do without me!! Don’t be afraid to be different, “different is better”She’s right, what would I do without her, without Becca I was nobody, she was the only friend
I had. The guys at school, they were a bunch of jerks, Becca and I made a real pair of friends.
The night of the prom, she wanted to make sure I was wearing the right clothes for Laurie.
-Well, you don’t look too bad… kidding, you look amazing Dean , really , have lots of fun ,
don’t bother calling me, because I won’t answer, I’ll probably be asleep.
And I did exactly as she said. I didn’t call her; I got drunk and made out with Laurie for the
first time, so I forgot about Becca. The next day, I had a feeling I couldn’t explain. 22 missed
calls, She must be wondering what happened yesterday at the prom.
I found out it wasn’t Becca who was dialing my number, it was Mrs. Wilt. The next minutes
were the longest I’ve ever had in my whole life, there I was, facing her final steps, moving
nonstop at the emergency room. I finally took a seat, until a gentle nurse let me in her room.
Finally, visiting hours, I felt relieved. Where are you, Becca? How would you be like in case
you wake up ? Will you remember me or will I have to tell you about everything we’ve been
together?
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-God help your friend-, a lady whose little girl was also suffering for leukemia told me. I
started to cry. Visiting hours were over. The only think I can remember about that endless
day, was hearing what the doctor was saying. – I’m sorry for your loss, mam, there was nothing more we could do – Those words were the only words I could think of for days. She was
gone. She had passed away to another life, young and kindhearted…I have a reason now, I
kept on thinking.
So I decided to go to that place , where we had met…You take life for granted until you lose
someone you really cared about and you don’t dare telling your best friend that you admire
her until you’re not able to do it anymore. But I guess that’s just the way life goes. Whenever
I look at my tattooed wrist I think of her and I smile. I sure did find my reason Becca, and it’s
you. I had to write this because whatever I don’t write my memory forgets, so what better
way to say my final goodbyes to you, Becca, than writing about you. I’ll be seeing you soon,
love, your best friend Dean.
L’origine de la fête de Saint Valentin
Le valentinage de la cour d'Angleterre
Les sources avérées des origines de la saint Valentin remontent à la fin du moyen-âge. C'est
au XIVème siècle que l'on prit l'habitude de former un couple au hasard en Angleterre. La coutume du "Valentinage" est née dans l'aristocratie anglaise à la fin du Moyen-âge. Une jeune
fille était associée à un jeune homme et durant la journée ils avaient des obligations l'un envers l'autre. Le valentin et sa Valentine devaient s'offrir en secret des petits cadeaux et se faire des galanteries. Cette coutume est arrivée à la cour de Savoie puis elle s'est répandue dans
les régions voisines. Le "valentinage" s'est enrichi de l'envoi de poèmes. Depuis Valentins et
Valentines Anglo-saxons s'envoient des "Valentines" Cette coutume d'échange d'amitié se
transforma peu à peu en fête des amoureux.
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Dans les pays anglo-saxons les amis échangent aussi des mots d'amitié pour la Saint Valentin.
Depuis le XVIII e siècle la coutume de l'envoi des "valentines" s'est généralisée en GrandeBretagne puis en Amérique du Nord ou elle prend le nom de "Valentine's day". La coutume
s'est répandue en Europe avec l'arrivée des GI à la fin de la seconde guerre mondiale.
Quelques symboles de la Saint Valentin
Il y les symboles classiques de la Saint Valentin : Cupidon, les couleurs rouge et blanc, les
cœurs, les fleurs ... et les éléments qui sont associés à la saint Valentin comme le chocolat.
Les symboles de la Saint Valentin sont nombreux, en voici un petit rappel :
Cupidon symbole de la Saint Valentin.
Le Cupidon représente le dieu de l'amour dans la Rome antique. Cupidon est représenté sous
la forme d'un jeune enfant de 7 ans environ ailé peu vêtu, qui porte un arc et une flèche. La
légende veut que toute personne touchée par l'une de ses flèches tombe follement amoureuse
de la première personne qu'elle rencontre.
Le Cupidon symbolise le coup de foudre amoureux.
Cupidon et Psyché illustre le couple amoureux de la Saint Valentin. Selon la légende Cupidon
tomba amoureux d'une simple mortelle Psyché qui était d'une grande beauté. Cupidon voulu
l'épouser, mais sa mère Vénus s'y opposa et soumit Psyché à de nombreuses épreuves. Cupidon plaida sa cause auprès de Jupiter qui donna l'ordre à Mercure d'enlever Psyché pour la
conduire à Olympe. Psyché but l'ambroisie, le nectar des dieux, devint immortel et pu enfin
épouser Cupidon.
Le cœur :
Le cœur est le grand symbole de la Saint Valentin. Offrir un cœur c'est offrir son cœur.
Le rouge et le blanc :
Le blanc symbolise la pureté des sentiments et de l'amour alors que le rouge est la couleur de
la passion, du dévouement et de la loyauté.
Les fleurs pour le message symbolique :
Depuis toujours les fleurs sont porteuses d'un message secret. Elles s'accordent parfaitement
avec l'esprit de la fête des amoureux et l'habitude d'échanger en secret des messages
d'amour.
La fleur reine de la Saint Valentin est la rose :
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Rose blanche : Virginité, Pureté, Amour platonique
•
Rose en bouton : Amour naissant
•
Rose jaune : Amour déclinant, Infidélité, Jalousie, Amitié
•
Rose rose : Peur, Serment d'amour
•
Rose rouge : Amour ardent, Passion
Le chocolat :
Le chocolat est un symbole de la saint Valentin pour sa volupté et pour le plaisir des papilles
partagé.
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My first week at school was amazing, I made friends right away. I met the most wonderful people you’d ever imagine. They were already a nice and compact group of friends from
different countries: Brazil, Switzerland, Germany and South Korea. They took me in quickly
and without questions, they made me feel welcomed.
I felt like I had found home in the hearts of people I’d never thought I’d meet. I
opened my thoughts and my heart to these strangers only to find appreciation. Nobody
judged me, nobody messed with me. I was happy, comfortable and safe. I felt, like I said, at
home. Those were the best six weeks of my life.
Vancouver, and my friends, gave me the chance to rediscover myself. I now find myself
a happier and self confident person. I left Vancouver with e-mails, home addresses and promises; promises that I’d e-mail, send letters and postcards but most important, promises to
meet again. A few people thought it’d be too hard but I believe it’s possible.
To this day, I keep in touch with some of my friends. Some others are busy still traveling around. I think of Vancouver and the people I met there every day. I see the pictures they
upload of things they’ve done after I left.
For my next vacation period I have so many choices: South Korea, Germany, Japan… I
have a hard choice ahead of me, but this is a long life, there will be time. I’ll see them again
someday, I’m sure.
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Une expérience inoubliable Par Ana Silvia Casanova.
Il y a un an, ma meilleure amie et moi avons décidé de
voyager à Québec pour faire une immersion dans une école
là-bas pendant six mois. Au début on avait peur parce qu’on
devait aller vivre dans une famille, une culture et une langue complètement inconnues et différentes.
Finalement, ce jour tant attendu est arrivé. Nous avons atterri à Québec le 21 Juin et ma famille d’accueil est venue
nous chercher à l’aéroport. Dès que je l’ai vue, j’ai su que
c’était la meilleure famille, même si je n’avais ni frères ni
sœurs qui habitaient chez moi. Mes parents d’accueil, Carole
et Guil étaient les personnes les plus aimables et les plus
gentilles qu’ils soient.
L’école a commencé en Août et le premier jour nous
avons connu environ 20 autres mexicains qui étaient aussi
en train de faire une immersion dans la même école. On a
aussi fait connaissance avec beaucoup de québécois qui
sont devenus nos amis très rapidement. Les premières semaines étaient un peu difficiles parce
qu’on devait s’adapter à beaucoup de nouvelles choses, par
exemple on devait faire notre linge, aider dans la maison,
bien connaitre les routes des autobus, s’habituer à parler en français dans tous nos cours et à
la maison, spécialement s’habituer à la nourriture complètement différente, et nos familles et
amis nous manquaient mais après, tout a commencé à aller mieux.
Octobre est arrivé et les feuilles des arbres ont commencé à changer leur couleur et à tomber. La température a commencé à descendre et le temps de mettre des vêtements chauds
était déjà arrivé. C’était très difficile parce que mon corps n’était pas habitué à ces températures mais heureusement j’étais très bien équipée pour le froid.
Des gants, pantalons thermiques, grosses chaussettes, chapeau, foulard, bottes et un parapluie étaient les choses qu’on ne devait pas oublier avant
de sortir de la maison. Il a commencé à neiger et peu de
temps après on ne voyait plus que du blanc. Quand le vrai
froid a commencé, je pensais que je n’allais jamais sortir
de chez moi mais finalement je me suis habituée et j’ai
appris à vivre normalement même s’il faisait moins 20 degrés.
En Novembre, le directeur des programmes d’immersion
de mon école à Québec a organisé un voyage a New York
pour les mexicains qui faisaient l’échange.
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On a passé une semaine là-bas et on a fait beaucoup de
choses comme visiter des musées, faire du shopping, marcher dans Central Park, aller voir « The Lion King » dans
Broadway, etc. On est presque tous allés et ce fut vraiment
un voyage incroyable.
Décembre est arrivé et déjà il ne nous restait que 20
jours. J’étais super triste parce que je ne voulais pas partir,
je savais que mes nouveaux amis et ma nouvelle famille
allaient beaucoup me manquer, j’aurais voulu rester 6 mois
de plus mais en même temps j’avais vraiment hâte de revoir mes parents, mes sœurs, mon frère et mes amis du
Mexique.
Maintenant, je suis vraiment heureuse parce que je peux
dire que j’ai profité à 100% de mon voyage au Québec. Je me suis fait beaucoup d’amis avec
qui je parle toujours, j’ai perfectionné mon français, j’ai connu les plus gentils parents d’accueil
mais surtout, j’ai appris à être indépendante, chose très importante! Grâce à ce voyage je sais
maintenant que je suis préparée à affronter différentes situations. Je suis certaine que jamais,
je n’oublierais mes amis, mes parents, chaque fête, l’école, les professeurs, ma maison, le climat, toutes les activités auxquelles j’ai participé. Toutes ces choses que j’ai faites en 6 mois et
qui ont fait de mon voyage une expérience magnifique et inoubliable.
By Oscar Chavolla
High School Student
It’s very annoying
when
someone asks
which sport I
practice,
and
my
answer,”
row-canoe”,
and the second
question
that
usually follows, what's that?. In fact, rowing-canoeing is not a very popular sport in the whole
continent, but still it doesn't mean it is not practiced at all. I would like more people to know
about it, so next time I don't get a "what” as an answer.
Rowing-canoeing is one of the oldest Olympic sports. Competitions began among the professional watermen that provided ferry and taxi service on the River Thames in London, but
actually the place in which is more practiced is in Hungary and Romania, fact that is really
strange since the rivers of Hungary and Romania are most of the time frozen. Indeed, rowingcanoeing is the official national sport in Hungary.
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In our country, it is only practiced in very few cities, including Tampico. Then, there are different types and modalities in rowing-canoeing. It can be practiced in the ocean, where you
need a different racing boat (often called "kayak") that has less speed and more stability. There
is another type, which is practiced in rapids and is commonly called rafting, it only uses the
rapid as a force to move through the river and it uses a raft.
And the last type is practiced in a river or in an artificial course, where there's no water surge.
For this, you need a special racing boat, very light and with very little balance so that it speeds
up to 6 miles per hour. This one is the more common, and the only one included in the Olympic
sports. Also it has different modalities. There are racing boats for a single, double or a fourth
person boat. Each one can use different types of oars that are used to propel the boat. In addition, there are official distances for the races; they consist in 1000 meters, 500 meters and 200
meters. The goal, is to make each distance in the lowest possible time, the first boat that
crosses the finish line, wins.
In my opinion, it's a very exciting sport, which requires a lot of energy and strength. Unfortunately in México, CONADE (the national sport commission) does not support it, and many talented canoeists give up because of the bad aid. In fact, there is one canoeist in México named
Manuel Cortina, who participated in the last Olympic Games, and nobody noticed him.
I hope this short information gave you an idea of what rowing-canoeing is, and the next
time, you can answer anyone who asks you about what it is.
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By Karina Alvarado
An earthquake is the sudden release of
strain energy in the Earth’s crust resulting
in waves of sharking that radiate outward
from the earthquake source. When
stresses in the crust exceed the strength of
the rock, it breaks along lines of weakness,
either a pre-existing or new fault plane.
The point where an earthquake starts is
termed the focus or hypocenter and may
be many kilometers deep within the earth.
The point at the surface directly above the
focus is called the earthquake epicenter.
W h e r e
d o
e a r t h q u a k e s
o c c u r ?
Anywhere! However, they are unevenly distributed over the earth, with the majority occurring at the boundaries of the major crustal plates. These plate boundaries are of three types:
destructive, where the plates collide; constructive, where the plates move apart; and conservative plate boundaries, like the San Andreas Fault, where the plates slide past each other.
Earthquakes also occur, less frequently, within the plates and far from the plate boundaries,
as in eastern USA, Australia and the United Kingdom.
W h y
d o
e a r t h q u a k e s
h a p p e n ?
Most earthquakes occur along the edge of the oceanic and continental plates. The earth’s
crust (the outer layer of the planet) is made up of several pieces called plates. The plates under the oceans are called oceanic plates and the rest are continental plates. The plates are
moved around by the motion of a deeper part of the earth (the mantle) that lies underneath
the crust. These plates are always bumping into each other, pulling away from each other.
The plates usually move at about the same speed that your finger nails grow. Earthquakes
usually occur where two plates are running into each other or sliding past each other.
Earthquakes are usually caused when rock underground suddenly breaks along a fault. This
sudden release of energy causes the seismic waves that make the ground shakes. When to
block of rock or two plates are rubbing against each other, they stick a little. They don’t just
slide smoothly; the rocks catch on each other. The rocks are still pushing against each other,
but not moving. After a while, the rocks break because of all the pressure that’s build up.
When the rocks break, the earthquake occurs. During the earthquake and afterward, the
plates or blocks of rock start moving, and they continued to move until they get stuck again.
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A Special Friend By Andrea Amieva
We always try to find
a good friend, someone
to trust in, to share
good moments with, to
talk to and much more.
In life, friends come and
go, but real friends always stay there for us
and when we need
some help whenever we
have problems, our
friend will be there and
we know it. If we need
some advice or just
some company, we can
always count on a
friend.
I have many friends and I love them. Each one with his or her own personality. Some
are crazy, some others are serious, shy, outgoing , etc... Sometimes I have problems that
I´d rather share with a good friend and of course if they feel sad or something, I will help
them and try to make them happy again. I don't have brothers so I think it is because of
this, that I care about my friends as if they were my “brothers” and I love them so much.
Of course, a good friend doesn't always have to be a person, it could be a pet too, like
my little friend “Markys”. Markys was my special friend in the whole wide world. He was a
dog, a little terrier that changed my life. I’ve always loved animals and had a lot of pets
but this one in particular changed my life.. On Christmas 2007 my mom gave me a big
present and it was a little puppy (originally I wanted a bunny) and I was exited because
very few times, my mom had let me have a pet. His name was Marko Antonio (long
story..) but I always told him “Markys” .
He was so frisky and crazy, full of energy and always doing new things. Once he ate a
little bit of poison and he was so sick and I was so sad and I made a promise that if survived , I would take care of him and never leave him alone. He lived inside the house because he was small and I taught him to do his duties outside and it wasn't much of a
problem. Because of my mom´s job,, she had to work all day so after lunch I was always
alone but things changed because I had a new friend that made me company. Like all
puppies, Markys was so naughty he would bite everything but he was a good friend
though. When I felt sad he always tried to make me happy. He was so curious and intelligent, I had a visual problem and when something fell down , he gave it back to me like if
he knew that I couldn’t see. It. He also slept with me on my bed (well.. sometimes) he
used to go with me everywhere.
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Finally I have found a friend but life can be cruel. My mom decided to send me to Canada to
learn French just for 4 months and I had to leave Markys alone. I didn’t want to, I cried but I
didn’t have any other option and when I came back to Tampico I found out that my best friend
had been stolen. I was so sad you don’t know how much. I lost my little brother, my company,
my friend. Nowadays, I´ve tried to have another pet, but it isn’t the same , I can’t get over it.
I do have a lot of good memories of him and that is the most important thing.
As I have been practicing Muay
Thais, not for so long ago, I have discovered that this is more than exercise, but is a great sport which I prefer among others. I’m not a professional and it will take a long time to
become one, but the more I practice , the more I love it.
It is a martial art that involves
styles like kickboxing, pradal serey,
tomoi, Ethwei and Muay Lao. It is
Thailand’s national sport and it has been practiced since 1868. The word muay derives from
Sanskrit mavya and Thai comes from the word Tai. Muay Thai is referred to as the “Art of Eight
limbs” because it makes use of punches, kicks, elbows ,and knee strikes ,thus using eight
“points of contact”, as opposed to “two points” (fists) in Western boxing and “four points”
hands and feet) used in sport-oriented martial arts. A practitioner of Muay Thai is known as a
nak muay. Western practitioners are sometimes called nak muay farang meaning foreign
boxer. The modern Muay as we know it now it was first declared as a national sport by the
King Rama the VII,he set the rules for modern Muay Thai. The first boxing ring was built in
1921 at Suan Kularp.
Rules are simple, make a good visible effect on the opponent and your technique, you can’t
wear shirt or shoes. Girls have to wear a top and have their hair pulled back. In both cases
(men and women) you have to use a Thai Short, which looks like boxing shorts, do the Ram
Muay ritual and you win because you are the strongest, by K.O. or because the referee sees
that one fighter can´t continue.
There are two Muay Thai techniques, which are divided in Mae Mai which are the major
techniques and Luk Mai, the minor techniques. The common techniques are Mud Trong which
means jab, Mud Wiang San which is the hook, mud wiang glub that is made with your fist,
mud wiang yao also using the fist, kra-dod chock to punch your opponent, mud suey to the
chin, sok tee with your elbow, tae trong a kick, and many others.
Muay Thai also involves meditation, we use a dance that is called Wai kru and you do it before you start training and it shows respect to your teachers and the special bond you create
with them. The other dance is the Ram Muay (Muay Thai’s music) and you do this dance before a fight. It also shows respect to your teacher.
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There are some Muay Thai amulets in different colors, which you use to show which level
you are in, there’s a kind of bracelet called prajed which you put on your arm whenever you
are fighting. You can’t never wash it because it is your lucky amulet and if you do it you will
wash away your luck. The other amulet is called mongkon and it goes on your head, it’s a
head circlet which you use before a fight while doing the Wai kru dance or the ram muay.
Muay Thai involves a lot of cardio exercise, you have to run , jump rope, hit a boxing bag
and many other things. To get prepared for a fight you must train at least 3 months for your
first fight, 3 more for the second, 4 more for the third and so on. It takes a lot of time to become a master,and it even takes a lot of time to become an amateur, this will take you about
a year.
Muay Thai is not only a sport, it’s a way of living for many people in Thailand. Since they
are 4 years old they start to train , so by the time they are teenagers they become professionals.
There’s a fight of Muay Thai everyday in Thailand, they are very aggressive and you can always break a bone while fighting.
DAVID GOMEZ FUENTES
PRESIDENT
ALEJANDRO MONTANO DURAN
INSTITUTO DE ESTUDIOS
ACADEMIC VICEPRESIDENT
SUPERIORES DE TAMAULIPAS
KAREN BEATON ARVES
Avenida Dr. Burton E. Grossman
LANGUAGE CENTER
501 PTE. Col. Tampico-Altamira
COORDINATOR
C.P. 89609
Altamira Tamaulipas México
ALFREDO CASTILLO
Tel. ( 833 ) 230-2566
EDITOR
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