46. Good Manners

A terrible silence invaded America. People walk aimless; emptiness brings indifference. Today I write this empty paper hopeless, looking for answers. Americans put their manners in a trash can. Is it indifference, emptiness or fear? For the last couple weeks, I have been arriving to the EPI building around 8 am, one hour before the time I am suppose to be in the building. Usually the lobby is empty; I sit there by myself waiting for my classes. People start arriving to the building with unexpressive face… People cross the door, look inexpressively around, and continue to the elevator without say “GOOD MORNING”. Am I another chair of that empty room? Am I another tale of the floor? My God!! What happen with this people? Didn’t take their breakfast? Didn’t their parents give them enough education or love? Are they so miserable with their own life than they couldn’t take care of somebody else? I don’t expect a hug or a conversation; contrarily, I only expect good manners or basic education. It is unbelievable how people can seem so stupid in front of their own society without notice it. I am sure they do not care about what an International student can think about them, but they are the image of America.

When I started noticing this incredible behavior, I decided to excuse them with a good reason. I started excusing young people. Young people usually need more time to sleep; maybe they had not waked up yet. Also, young people usually do not care much about other people. I continued with older people, those who look like parents. They didn’t say good morning either. Maybe they burned their coffee that morning or had a bad commute to the building. Then, I decided to observe people looking like teachers or important people wearing nice clothes and expensive shoes. Those didn’t say good morning either. Can they pay for expensive shoes but they can’t say hello? What are they afraid of? Are they afraid of me or themselves? Are they afraid of my exotic accent and my unusual features? Do I need to look like American to deserve a greeting? Is it because of me? Do I need to dye my hair to be blond like them? Do I need to look like American? Then, something really amazing happened. An EPI Teacher arrived. I was ready to say a nice good morning, but she crossed the lobby aiming to the first floor teacher room. She didn’t say hello either. Wow, what can I expect from other people? I don’t like to judge people for fist impressions, but sometimes it is useless to wait something else. Being cold and distant is another way to protect ourselves from the hostile world. A couple times, I ended up blaming myself about their behavior. Maybe, those people think that I am really busy because I had a book in my lap. I closed my books and looked directly to the door. I was expecting eye contact to smile and say hello. Nothing happened.

Some days after, I was in the lobby with another International student talking about aliens, when she turned around and said “people here do not say good morning”. Wow!! It is not only me, there are someone else feeling in the same way. I wasn’t alone. We started greeting the people without expectations. It was a really interesting exercise. People seemed to be disturbed by us. How fragile they are? Do we interrupt a strong self talk? We did it for five minutes; we get a couple of scary faces, one smile and one long and uncomfortable silence. Then we decided to stop wasting our time and continued talking about aliens. I was trying to find an answer, but I didn’t find it... I don’t like to be depressing so early in the mornings; so, I haven’t sat in the lobby again.

I love America. I admire some of the good qualities of Americans, but I am really disappointed with their poor manners. Theoretically Americans are open minded and outgoing. It is unfair to say 100% of Americans do not have good manners, but I have my own conclusions. Do the people have different behavior according to the situation? Can I be polite with acquaints and impolite with unknown people? Good manners are part of the universal language. If people are afraid of Internationals, they don’t need to say anything. A sincere smile is enough to make feel better other people or even themselves. Smiles don’t need translation.

45. Marriage Changes

I can’t imagine how women’s life was 100 years ago. It was a different world. Women got some of their rights in 1790 after the French revolution, but until 1920 in United States women didn’t have the right to vote. It was a big change in the world. Marriage had suffered a lot of changes during the last 100 years, but most of all the changes are related to women’s place in the society and their rights. In 1900 world was in the industrialization period, woman had the opportunity to work and show their skills out of their house. Basically, women had had a long period of oppression and silence. Women had an “invaluable” place in the marriage. Women had to stay at home taking care of their children and husband. There were places and jobs only for man. Women couldn’t vote before 1920 but they can be in the war. It is a contradiction, woman couldn’t vote but they were good enough to work in the war. Women worked in some of the places where they had been rejected before. Women took the place of man, while men were fighting in the war. Women wore pants and uniforms in the First World War. Those changes in the world helped women to get a better place in the society and in their marriages. Women workers wanted to have the same rights and responsibilities in the society. In Colombia women rights took more time than in United States, women could vote in 1954.

Age of marriage had changed also, people used to get married younger. In Colombia women got married between 16 and 20 years. Nowadays women get married older because they want to study and get a job before. Women want to get their independence, to learn and develop their skills and to have a space in the society. Women had to endure all the differences between them and men. Usually man had the power to decide over their families. Man had the responsibility to provide a safe place to live and food. They had the right to decide over women desires, body and mind. Women were a property, and ornament at home.

I admire my mother, my grandmother and all the women in my family. Women for me are power. My grandmother get married when she was 16 years old, she had 6 children. She moved to a little farm. There she worked with the animals and plants. Also she took care of her family. My mother started to work when she was 18. She decided to take care of me without a husband. She worked so hard to give me a better life. I believe marriage is really important for woman. Nowadays marriage is more valuable because men and women take the decision to be together. Even though divorce is a choice, I believe men and women have the same responsibilities and opportunities to have a better relationship. Thank God, marriage is not the same anymore.

44. Memory?

Some Psychologists believe Facebook “improve” people’s memory because people have to remember their friends. In tweeter people don’t need to remember anything. I think people in the world are trying to find and give other people good reasons to use the best tool in the world to waste time. In fact, people don’t need to remember their 1000 friends because Facebook have a tool to put the people in groups. It helps people to remember. Facebook don’t help people in anything. Some people loose identity, real life, real friends, and real opportunities wasting time in Facebook. Life is about choices.

43. Only for five minutes

I decided to stay in this place for only five minutes every day. Without sounds... Only Coldplay's songs! I need a stop for myself, to put myself together. Only incredible thinks happen when I decide to stay in calm and be happy. Today I decide to be calm and fresh... Emotional and happily success. The hardest part is stop my mind and decide to be focus. I need to be here, today, now... Only five minutes to let it go, five minutes to increase my concentration and my reality.

Meaningless words came to my mind. I want to express my self, be creative. I want to forget my responsabilities and fly. It is time to go back to reality. Chris Martin sang for me. It is time to go.

Good bye ... Looking for another 5 minutes.

42. I love Movies

I am a passionate person. I love movies, art, music and design. I love to travel, to read, to eat pasta and so on. But movies are my favorites. My husband and I like to go to the movies almost every weekend or stay at home watching movies. It had helped me a lot with my English; I don’t need subtitles any more. This year I have seen so far really nice movies, I can’t remember all the titles. But this year I have seen a lot of movies about Hitler and the Second World War. Valkyrie (2008), Miracle at St. Anna (2008), the boy in the striped pajamas (2008) and Inglorious Bastards (2009). I haven’t figured out why all those movies are themed about Germany, the holocaust and Hitler. Those movies are really dramatic, my favorite is “the boy in the striped pajamas”, a really well done movie, really deep feelings and strong plot. This movie is about the contrast between a German boy (Bruno) and a Jewish boy (Shmuel) in the second war. I was heartbroken after that movie. Excellent!!!

Yesterday we went to the movies again, one of our favorite activity! We saw: Inglorious bastards, a tarantino’s movie. Quentin Tarantino’s movies are really weird and graphic (Kill bill, Pulp fiction, Reservoir Dogs) and now this movie. Really weird and graphic (it is almost grotesque and macabre) I closed my eyes in a couple scenes because I didn’t want to have nightmares last night. Inglorious bastards’ movie was weird, strong, long and bloody movie. Even though I don’t like bloody movies, It had a different sense of humor.

On Friday we saw “Julie and Julia” , a really nice movie, the kind of movies I like. My husband says I like girly movies. I prefer to say, I like romantic comedy J but it is true. I am a girl and I prefer girly movies J the Movie theater was full of woman, only 3 or 4 husbands was there. My husband is the sweetest man in the world, he doesn’t care to go with me to my movies, because I always go with him to the movies he wants to see. He actually liked the movie!! It was inspirational. It is the contrast between two woman in different times and places, who wanted to do something special with their lives. This movie is based on two true stories. Julie is a conventional woman who wanted something else in her life. She tried to cook as well as Julia a famous cooker. She tried to cook her recipes and write about her experience in her blog. Her challenge was to cook recipe every day. I would love to read the book; I will try to find it in the library.

Very inspirational movie, in one scene, Julie felt in her kitchen floor, she was frustrated and crying. I was almost in the same position (not in the floor) trying to decode an assignment for my grammar class. “Citations”… I was asking myself … What I was doing, why it will be useful to make correct citations. When I was in the movies, I realized, I was in the same position of Julie. Frustrated with something but It will be better. “I can, if I think I can” (unknown writer). I need to learn to handle frustrations, everything will be fine, and everything could be nice and fun. Even though I don’t like my grammar class, I am trying to be my best as always. Julie gave me faith. I love that movie!!

41. Color is not important

I don’t believe in politics and I don’t follow politics either. In United States politics is a big issue, but learning about the government and the parties is a good way to introduce yourself into American culture. I am not Democrat or Republican, I am an independent. I feel every party has something good and tons of bad thinks at the same time. I will have a couple years to decide what color I want to wear. The last election was really interesting because it had 3 different points of view: one Afro-American, one veteran and 2 women. People in United States had the opportunity to make history and they did it. America was living a really hard moment and the election affected the future. The war, the economic crisis and other problems made this decision harder. Candidates had to make innovational proposals to get people’s sympathy. The big problem of the elections and the reason because I don’t like politics, is because politicians make anything to win. Candidates cannot sacrifice their beliefs only because they have to win, candidates can not lie and diatribe of the other candidates only to win. Television networks take part of the elections showing their candidate, talking about why the other candidate is wrong. I didn’t expect a war in the election, but it was a war. Republicans were talking about values in one channel, meanwhile in the other channel Democrats were talking about Sarah Palin’s daughter’s pregnancy.

I believe Obama was a good choice because he was consistent in his speeches and respectful to the others candidates. I think Obama is a good man, I don’t believe he is the perfect solution, but I think he is trying to solve some of the current problems. United States are a huge country, it is a wonderful country but there are a lot of people trying to take advantage of the situations. Education is a big problem in America, the level of illiteracy in this country is unbelievable. Wealth is only in a few hands.

Obama is a phenomenon, there are people around the world who like him, but also there are people who believe he is God, the messiahs, a Nazi, an African, Hitler and a lot of silly thinks. He is the president of the United States, nothing else. He is a man, a really intelligent man. He is trying to do his best for this country. People with funny and wrong ideas should be learning or doing something good for their life. This country need more people working for a better future. Government and politician should be working harder everyday to make this country a better place to live. Life is colorful; it is not important what skin color you have or political party you belong to.

40. It had fun in my classes!

I really had fun in my classes. This is the last week in the university. I am not sure if I can go to the next term. I really enjoyed this experience. I feel more confident with my English. I made good friends for other countries. Also I challenged myself to be a good student and get good grades. I have to keep going. But this experience helped me to understand why I want to learn English and how I have to do it. Also helped me to realize my situation in this country is different than other people who came here only for months to learn English. I need to learn more because it is a life choice.

I was blessed to have this opportunity. Even though it's not easy to study, to take care of my home and work at the same time. I feel very proud of myself. I am not ready. I need to talk! I can write essays but when I want to talk I feel stuck! This is a process. I am sure that I Haven't finished.

39. Learning about internationals

It’s really amazing the amount of information about other countries I have learned in my classes with international people. I really like to hear about their countries, it’s really interesting. I don't remember everything but I will try.

1. Texting is really important for Chinese people. Chinese boys ask girls to go out with them though a text message... wow it's weird for me because If somebody text me to ask me to go in a date by a text message, I would think he don't want really do it. Also they broke up by a text messenger. For them it is really fast and easier to communicate their ideas. For their culture is not easy to communicate deep feelings. 600 million people have celphone in China (NPR). Young people are starting and ending relationships by texts messages. A text messages is a half shiper than a call.

2. Dating is prohibited in Saudi Arabia. "A man and a woman are not allowed to be alone together, and any physical contact before marriage is forbidden. Hence, Dating is not permitted in Islam." (islamonline.com). Whenever a man is alone with a woman, Satan is the third among them (Reported by At-Tirmidhi)

3. Don't use RED INK for alive people in Korea: It is a tradition and superstition to sign or write alive people's names with red ink because in Korea color red is associated with dead. Only dead people's names can be written with red ink.

4. Number 4 in Korea and China are unlucky numbers. In America number 13 is a bad number because in Chinese and Korean the pronunciation for the word four is sounds like the word for death. They also skip the 4Th floor in buildings and room 4.

5. Chinese people receive things with both hands in the same time to be respectful with adults and teachers.

6. Chinese girls don't like their eyes. They want tohave "Eyelid Surgery".

38. Bowling

Last week we won tickets to go bowling with my speaking class. I had never bowling before. It was cool, but I am the worst.

I lose a nail and my dignity!! jejeje It was really nice activity with my friends ! In the picture: my teacher Mark, Ashley from Korea and Cristal from China!
We had a good time. I really need to practice. One of my classmates are really good, he was a little upset because he was playing with girls. I want to go again to practice with my husband, I really like it.

I need to protect my nails the next time. It is really nice to make activities outside class with friends.

37. A big dissapoinment

" Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed." Jonathan Swift

I was angrier than an angry person that day. It was a weekend when I was 18 years old. I was studying in the university. My mother’s friend called me and invited me to her house to take lunch. I went there. There were two men in her living room. They greeted me. One of them was my friend’s husband. The other one told me his name, when I heard his name; I said “your name is like my father’s name”. The man smiling said “I am your father”. He hugged me and I wanted to die. I was so disappointed. I had 3 strong feelings in that moment: Sadness, angriness and confusion.

I was so sad because I didn’t want to meet my father at 18 years old. I wanted to cry and run far away. It was a really sad moment in my life. I felt that I was losing something really important in my life. I wanted to keep a really nice memory or idea of my father, but it was too late. I was there stuck with him for a week. It was the longest week in my life.

My second feeling was angriness. I was so disappointed because I felt everybody was tricked me. My mother helped him to “give me a surprise”, but in this case I didn’t want a surprise. It was so painful. I pretended to be happy but I couldn’t do it. I went to the restroom and cried for 10 minutes. Then I pretended everything was fine. I deserved to know it would happen. But nobody told me.

I was really confused. He is my father but in that time I hadn’t had a relationship with him. I didn’t know what to say or what to do. I wanted to be in another place. We went to take coffee to my favorite coffee shop. We sat. We didn’t have anything to say. He asked me no to ask anything about the past. Oh God!!! What I was doing there. He didn’t want to talk about the past… we had lost 18 years. There I understand I couldn’t recover lost time.

That was the worst experience in my life. I was so disappointed. If I had the opportunity to go back that day I would like to stop him and tell him my feelings. Today 10 years after that I don’t know him and I don’t know if I want to meet him again. I had 3 strong feelings in that moment: Sadness, angriness and confusion. It was really awkward moment, and I don’t want to feel that again.

36. Technology has changed everything

“It is appallingly obvious our technology has exceeded our humanity” Albert Einstein

Technology is one of the biggest changes in the 21Th century. Nowadays the world is controlled by computers. Everyone is a statistic or a fact. Our life has changed and it will continue changing. Technology makes our life easier and complicated in the same time. People around the world are using everywhere computers, IPhones, Cellphones and a lot of devices. There are 3 main reasons because people are using technology: Information accessibility, communication and Just for fun.

Information accessibility is really important for people. People need to know what is happening right now in the world. Internet is an enormous platform of information. People need to transfer information all the time. People are making business around the world and they need to use technology to save time and money. Technology has changed everything. People like to read news or information and access to the information immediately.

Communication is a human necessity, People need to contact other people, make friends, manage business or check personal information. Cellphones and computers help people to communicate with people around the world. Also people are updating blogs, writing about their own ideas, buying or dating on the internet. Internet has changed people’s communication.

People like to get technology just for Fun! It’s amazing to see how people are spending a lot of time playing games, sharing pictures and video, watching TV or videos in YouTube and chatting. Nowadays people love social networks like Facebook, Myspace or Tweeter. People are getting Cellphones, gadgets or devices all the time. People always want to but the last and coolest new devices in the stores.

It’s amazing to analyze how human life has changed in the last 20 years because technology. Technology is indispensable right now for business and personal life. Also technology has contributed with medicine, nuclear projects, environmental projects, architectural, history, media and a lot of fields. There are 3 main reasons to use technology: Information accessibility, communication and Just for fun. Also is important to considerate if people are using technology to have a faster life. Sometimes people don’t realize the amount of time they have been spending using technology.

35. Frushi

I love to try different food. When I am traveling, we like to try different food in different places. In Chicago we went to eat breakfast with my cousin and his girlfriend. We went to "Orange" a brunch restaurant. It was at 10 am. It was a really crowd place outside, everybody was waiting to go in. Finally we went in. My cousin girlfriend ordered "FRUSHI" OH my God !!!! It was really good, Delicious and creative dish.

Frushi = Sushi made with fruits !!! I love fruits. I am learning to eat sushi but I love frushi. It' is made with rice and fresh fruits (kiwi, mango) . It is a really nice place to go, also they have nice eggs and french toasts.

I ordered french toast. The orange juice was amazing ! it was really orange juice. I used to drink real juice at home in my country. Definitely, If I go again there I will order Frushi. Maybe I would like to try at home.

34.The worst storm I have ever seen...

The worst storm I have ever seen happened when I was 8 years old. I used to live with my mother, my aunt and my grandmother. It was in the afternoon after school, I was at home with my granny when we felt that the rain was starting. The sky turned dark and cloudy... I told my grandmother that the rain would be strong. The rain turned into a big storm !!! We turned off all the devices then we went to the kitchen and we stayed there. I don't really like storms because thunders scare me. I think back on that day and I was so scared, I laid down on my grandmother's lap, when I opened my eyes I remember my grandmother was hugging me and she had felled sleep too !!! The rain had finished but the water came in the living room and some wet papers were on the floor. We dried out the floor and open the windows again.

33. Are ready to go to the Jungle?

Are you ready to go to the “Jungle”? Are 4 years enough time for High school? It is important to consider two points: requirements or expectation for thee students after graduate, and Additional Experience as a tool to improve students skill.

Nowadays, getting a good job after graduate for High School is not an easy task. People are interesting in learning more and more skills to be competitive. Sometimes it is not enough to have a High School diploma. People around the world are learning communication skill. It is really important to have a “PLUS” in your resume.

On the other hand, it is important to interact with people and participate activity in social work help the students to see the world for another point of view. Community service could help to improve analysis, communication and social skills.

Business world is a really competitive space. Only people with special skills; hard workers and people who take enough advantage of their circumstances can survive. Four years High Scholl diploma is not enough to be successful. It is necessary to consider a 5 year to improve student’s skills. It is important to consider Expectation or requirements for students after graduate; also an additional experience as a tool to improve student’s skills. Only the strongest and the cleverest people will survive and be successful in the “Jungle”.

32. Sears Tower

I visited the Willis Tower also known as Sears Tower in Chicago ! It was really amazing ! The tower with 1,450 feet (442 m) .

Wikipedia says "At the time of its completion in 1973 it was the tallest building in the world, surpassing the World Trade Center towers in New York."

We went to the tower in the morning before came back home. We had bought tickets the day before. We went in the 103 floors elevator. In that elevator you only can stop in the 99 floor or in the 103. We went to the 103. It was really nice. It was a big floor with windows around.

It is the tallest building in the Americas. It was really nice to go in the "Skydeck" or "skybox" , It is 1-1/2-inch-thick glass box. I read a lot of news about different reactions from people who had been there. The adrenaline is too high for some people that it makes them feel sick.

I felt really comfortable even thought I don't like hights. I think is because it's totally close. Wen I went to the Eiffel tower, I feel a little uncomfortable because it was open and I felt the tower was moving. But in the sears tower I felt really comfortable ! I want to go back. My husband was scarier than me. I couldn't believe it because usually he is really brave.

It was a really nice experience. It was unforgettable.

31. Colombia: The only risk is wanting to stay!

Do you know what the people say about my country? Terrible and horrible things! That makes me really angry and confused. Because I know OF COURSE it’s not true! ANYWAY, I can’t change the history, but, I can try to show you something it is not in the news about my country.

It’s really funny, sometimes; people ask me how to cook tacos... ummmm... I don’t know! I am not from Mexico! A high percentage of people believes everybody from south of the border is Mexican. Could you believe that?

The important point here is that people around the world are thinking in a wrong way about my country because “IT IS IN THE NEWS”. People are talking about drugs, violence and insecurity. But it’s not the only true about my country. There is an international campaign about my country, which slogan is “Colombia: The only risk is wanting to stay” So many American people have told me that they want to go back to Colombia because their experience was so fun!

There are so many festivals and holidays in Colombia that I couldn’t finish to talk about. But today I will talk about 3 of them:

1. Barranquilla’s carnival, is the second largest carnival parades in the world after Rio de Janeiro's. The festival takes 4 days. There are people on the streets, street dances, music and parades. The Carnival of Barranquilla was proclaimed by UNESCO, in November 2003, as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. [1]

2. Iberoamerican theater festival is the biggest theater festival in the world. It’s a 17 days festival in Bogota; it’s a colorful festival, beautiful performances, dance and theater.

3. Carnival of blacks and whites is the most ancient carnival in South America. It’s a 2 days festival that celebrates when African slaves had a free day. One day people celebrate Day of the Blacks, people paint each other bodies with black makeup. The Day of the Whites people paint each other bodies with white makeup

People in Colombia are happy. There was a world survey in 2007 that said Colombia is the 3^rd world happiest country of the world. Colombian people have a lot of things to be proud.
Colombian people are intelligent people, useful people. There are beautiful and intelligent people in Colombia... Do you know someone with those characteristics? Je Je Je

[1] Wikipedia

30. We went to Chicago !!!

I always had wanted to go to Chicago! Finally we went this weekend. The biggest reason was my cousin lives there and I wanted to visit him. Also because it is summer and people say Chicago is a really difficult experience in winter time.

It was 4Th of July weekend! We planned this trip relatively fast. We decided to stay for the weekend. I flew on Friday and we came back on Sunday. We drove to Mirthe beach. The weather was really nice, between 70 and 80 . Chicago is really windy because Michigan lake !

Its really amazing the lake, it is like sea. You can't see the other side. We stayed in a nice hotel in downtown Chicago, near my cousin's girlfriend's place.

I was ready for the weather. I brought my scarfs and I felt really comfortable. I can't endure windy time because it makes me sick. It makes me feel soar throat. Chicago's landscape its really nice, old buildings, water, bridges, the lake. I can't imagine Chicago in winter. Chicago is like a good 30's movie. Mechanical. We didn't have enough time to see everything. We went to then aquarium, the bean in the millennium park, Museum of science and industry and the planetarium.

My husband loves history and World war II. We went to the Museum of science and industry because he wanted to see the U-505—the only German submarine in the United. It is really big !!! That submarine was captured in 1944. It is really amazing. The constructors put the submarine before the building was finished. This trip was really nice! I met SARA my cousin's girlfriend. They are planning to get married next year.

29. Night owl

Today we talked in class about night owls. Can you stay awake all night? Can you pull an all-nighter ? I used to do it but not anymore. In the university and I know I did it once or twice, on the other hand, I remember my classmates used to do it very often. I was studying Architecture and when you work on design projects, the time is an enemy. I used to take my time to do my homework, while my classmates did it just in the nick of time. The deadline used to be a crazy and stressful day for everybody because, sometimes some people was in a bad mood or in a hurry. Sometimes, they used to call me to ask for help or to ask if I could finish the project on time. On the first term I had an accident 2 days before the deadline; I cut my thumb with a cutter. I had spent the whole night building a Scale model, I was so tired, and I was cutting the last piece. I went to the hospital and I got 7 stitches on my hand. I was so sad because I needed to finish my project and I couldn’t. Since that day, I decided to work in the morning and manage my time well. It was better, I used to go to the bed early and wake up early too. It was funny because in the deadline, I was ready, neat and relax; nevertheless my friends were tired, under a lot of pressure.

I like to hit the books on time, I hate to take a test cold or be in hot water because I procrastinate something or because I tried to cram a big test in the last minute. I like to take my time. Sometimes I like to do the things over again to be ready and to make it well.

Now, sometimes I stay awake late but I can’t be the whole night. I like to be a early bird because I like to know I have plenty time to do whatever I have to do.

28. 4th of July is comming

Next week is one of the most important holidays in United States. It is a celebration of liberty, patriotism and love for the country. I really like to celebrate my new country celebrations. But it is important to understand the origin of the holiday and the true meaning.

4Th of July is the most important celebrations in United states. Every fourth of July, We celebrate the Independence Day of Unite States. In 1776 the declaration was approved in Philadelphia , after King George suggested to apply more control to the colonies. Five men redacted the declaration. The first celebration was on 8 of July when the declaration was read in Philadelphia. The crowd celebrated with fireworks and celebrate King George's symbolic funeral. A statue of King George in New York was melted into bullets to the revolution. By coincidence Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, the editor and the writer of the declaration, died July 4Th of 1826.

The celebration of 4Th of July has changed since 1776, first of all the celebration was part of the revolution when the people celebrate with double drinks. After 1870, the civil work, the people celebrated the Independence day without pay, but in 1938, Independence Day was declared an official holiday. Since then the holiday has been celebrated in United States.

Independence day is a big day in America, there are big celebrations everywhere. Usually the families share together that summer day. It is traditional, to eat Barbecue on the fourth of July. Also, Fireworks and parades are tradition in united states.

Last year, I participated in a big celebration of the 4Th of July with an American family. They started 2 days before buying all the decorations. We went to the crafts store, the store was full of colors and flags. It is a big celebration in America, Even thought, I am not an American Citizen, I like to learn and live all the traditions and celebrations in United States.

http://www.history.com/video.do?name=culture&bcpid=1681694254&bclid=1672079684&bctid=1584787506

27. In a rainy day

A rainy day is a perfect day to stay at home. If somebody asks me whether I prefer staying at home in a rainy day, I will not think about because my answer will be I prefer stay at home. I'd rather a rainy weekend instead of a rainy week.

We like to do nothing in a rainy day; sometimes we enjoy sleeping longer, watch good movies. When I am alone at home, I like to read, write or stay in the sofa. Winter is not my season. Cold weather is so painful, my hands sometimes can't get warm, I lose energy faster and I feel a little weaker. I have to wear on so many things and that's uncomfortable for a while.

But in a rainy day I like to wear a comfortable outfit, thicker socks. Sometimes in a colder night I like to drink hot drinks like coffee or tea before go to bed, it makes me feel better and warm inside, it is like a therapy for my heart and soul. I believe there are a lot of ways to help ourselves to feel better and a hot drink is definitely a good way to do it.

When I think in a rainy day I feel something inside and immediately I related it with melancholy and sadness but in the same way with cozy feelings like to be at home, hot chocolate and opportunities to enjoy staying at home with our family.

26. Memories about my childhood

I don't really think very often about my childhood. I can't explain it but I believe that sometimes when I think about the past makes me feel a little sad. My memory is like a big scrapbook, I think I can remember faces, colors, spaces, voices and silences... I think I was happy in a different way that I am happy now. I used to live with my grandmother, my uncle and my mother. I was the only child. I did not have a lot of friends to play with but I had my imagination and my creativity that have made me who I am. I remember my childhood's house; I used to know each corner and secret. I used to play with paper, markers, books and notebooks. I used to draw and paint everywhere. I remember I used to sew dresses and hats for my dolls. My mother every time says that when she used to ask me what I was doing, I used to answer that I was organizing. She every time laughs about that memory because she says that I used to answer that but I used to make a mess everywhere. Since I was a Child I have liked trying to put everything in the right place but sometimes the place is not the right for everybody.

I remember I had a Parrot and I used to play with her, her name is Sarah and right now is living with some friends. When Sarah lived with us she used to like to stay near my uncle's window, she used to sing and make strange and funny noises. I used to play with Sarah and my dolls. It used to be funny because when we were playing she used to bite the dolls and walk on my toys.
I remember I used to like to go to the school, when I was in kindergarten I had to wake up very early to be ready for my school bus. One rainy day, I woke up earlier, I took the shower and I wore my uniform. It was 6 am and I sat in front of my door to wait for the bus and the bus never came. I was so sad. My mother did not know why the bus had not picked me up until my uncle told us that the school had called the day before to announce that the school would be closed that day because the teachers had a special meeting. My mother was very upset and sorry about me because she made me be ready in a no school day.

Today I was not in the mood to write about my childhood but I think those memories made me to smile. I think could be a good exercise to try harder to remind about my past and my childhood.

25. Future or present?

Sometimes I am so concern about the future, I think a lot about what I want to do tomorrow, and the next month and the next year. I think life is a race, and we always as humans are looking for the best path to take. This morning I woke up thinking about a website I saw last night. I thought “I would like to have something like that”. But If I analyze my life, I don’t need to envy other people, because I have all I wanted to have a couple years ago. Every day my dreams go farther.

Creative process is a difficult path to follow, because it requires auto-discipline, confidence, faith, imagination and auto-determination. There are no time, no deadlines and every step drives to another one. Years ago, I wasn’t brave enough to be consistently with my wishes and desires. My husband believes in my creativity. He has helped me to continue, to be focus and to determine my own path.

There are no limits in the human imagination. I used to say “I can’t”, but since I started my own process I decided to do whatever I want to do.

My priorities have been changed. The way I manage my time changed. I promised myself to be focus in all my goals. I have found my happiness in every detail of my family, my English and my goals.

24. What do you think about regrets?

What do you think about regrets? We only have only one life, we can’t say I will do this in another life, unless you want to avoid it. I believe our life is a gift and every day is a big opportunity to do whatever we want to do. Sometimes, it is difficult to change our habits, and say “TODAY I WILL BE SOMEONE DIFFERENT”.

It’s possible but a few people take the risk. A big regret could be say “I wish I had lived my life in another way”. But it’s not late. I don’t like to regret about my life, because I think every day that I had lived, I had done whatever I wanted to do. However, sometimes I like to stop and think about how I have lived my life. I think I have taken the correct decisions.

What do you have to regret in your life? When I came to this country I wasn’t 100% sure, but I knew what I want to have in my life. I wanted to be happy. I choose to leave everything for my relationship and it was the best decision.

I don’t know how would be my life now if I hadn’t chosen to get married and travel. I could have chosen to stay; but that decision changed my life and everything would be different. Our life is a chain reaction. Some events determine a lot of circumstances in our lives. When I met my husband I was working, I was happy at home with my mother, I was working in my designs… I was happy, but I wanted to travel, to see more things around the world. I am pretty sure; I wouldn’t do a lot of things if I hadn’t met my husband. When I met him, I spent a lot of time in the computers; I wanted to meet people around the world. If I hadn’t spent a lot of time in the computer, I wouldn’t meet him.

We spent 2 years in a relationship, it wasn’t easy because he was here and I was there in my country. Nevertheless, we decided to get married in 2007. I took the decision and I traveled. Everything could be different if I hadn’t said YES!

If I hadn’t decided to come, I would be in my country. If I hadn’t come to the US, I wouldn’t have learned English and I wouldn’t been writing this post!
Life is a Roller coaster! Enjoy your life today because tomorrow could be late!

23. A Series of Unfortunate Events

This is the book I have been reading this week ! I want to finish my reading report today, but I wanted to share a little bit ot thi book !!! I have already seen the movie and its really good. This is the trailer:

Fairy tales usually has happy endings, but in this book, the author warned the reader to stop and find another book. “In this book, not only is there no happy ending, there is not happy beginning and very few things in the middle” [1] There were only misfortune and misery in the lives of the three Boudelaire children. They were Violet, Klaus and Sunny. They were so smart children. Violet, the oldest with 14, was a very intelligent and clever girl. She liked to build estrange devices and Inventions. Klaus, the middle boy with 12, was a very intelligent boy. He loved to read and examine creatures. He had read a lot of the books. Sunny, the youngest, was a tinny girl who liked to bit everything. They lived with their parents in one enormous mansion in the middle of the city.

The unfortunate events began one gray and foggy day. The Boudelaire children liked to go the beach on foggy days because the beach was empty for them. They saw a tall man in the fog. It was Mr. Poe, a friend of their parents, who they had met in their house. He worked in the bank. The children wondered why Mr. Poe was there in the beach. He looked like sad. Finally he told the children their parents had passed away in a terrible fire that had destroyed their house.
[1] Snicket, Lemony. A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the first : The Bad Beginning, New York, 1999

22. Traveling

I really like to go to new places. Sometimes I like to read about places I have never been before to be ready to go. My husband and I like to travel a lot, we have been in many places together and we have been planning a new trip this year to Argentina. Last year we went to Europe for 2 weeks and it was exciting, it was our wedding and honeymoon. I have been in Europe only once but my husband has been twice I would like to go back. He used to live in Spain when he was making his Masters degree. He wanted to share with me the places he had been when he was studying in Spain.

On our trip, we went to Rome, Florence and Venice in Italy, Barcelona in Spain, Amsterdam in The Netherlands, Cologne in Germany and Paris in France. That trip was a dream because I was wanted to go since my childhood. I have been taken pictures in front the coliseum in Rome, I have walked between the roman forum's ruins, I have visited the Trevi fountain and trown coins inside too. I have eaten "Gelatto" , Italian gelato is incredible! but I think the best is to eat pizza, You can eat good pizza in so many places in Rome, and it isn't expensive after all. I think the Italian pizza is the best pizza I have ever eaten in my life. My favorite is "Quattro for Maggi" pizza that means four cheeses in English. I have walked around Michellangelo's David in Florence; I have crossed Venice on Gondola and been in the middle of San Mark's Square.

I have been in Barcelona, visited Gaudi's masterpieces like Park Guell, "Casa Mila", "Casa Battillo" and his best masterpiece, the Sacred Family Church. I have been inside "The Mies van Der Rohe pavilion and that was so nice because Mies Van der Rohe is one of my favorites Architects.I have walked in the Red light district in Amsterdam, that place is so famous for the night life and the adult entertainment. I have ridden in a Tandem (a two-seat bicycle) in Amsterdam too. I have walked in Paris, sailed up the Sena River and climbed the Eifels tower too.

I haven't only had that trip; I have also been in Panama, in so many places in my country and in some places within the United States. Since I arrived to this country I have been in a lot of places. I used to live in Miami and I lived in Florida for 6 months and I went to Keywest, Marathon, Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. I have been in Washington Dc, I have traveled across North and South Carolina, I have been in places like Raleigh, Wilmington, Asheville, Charleston, Charlotte, Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head. I want to go to many places inside and outside of United States I have never been before. I would like to go like San Francisco, Vegas, Big Canyon, New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago, etc. Overseas I would like to go to Australia, Mexico, Thailand, Japan and China.... I can't imagine all the places around the world I have never been, but maybe someday.

21. SIX thousand dollars

I was last week in my speaking class. We had a personal presentation. We had to talk about ourselves. One of my classmates said that his hobby was shopping on Internet. He said that he spent a lot of time and money shopping by Internet. I couldn't believe when he said that he spent 6.000 [6 thousand dollars] shopping every term [approx 2 months]. I couldn't believe it ! How is possible to spent that amount of money in 2 months shopping on Internet? wow ! His parents have to be very rich.

I would like to know more about him, because I think he need something else than money. He said their parents have a lot of money and they work a lot. I am not sure if it is safe and positive for his life to have that amount of money. He is so young, he can't buy beer , but he can buy wherever he want on Internet.

You can't buy happiness!

20. I finished my book

I was reading a book in my Reading class. I like to read in my free time, I would like to have more time to read a lot of books. Last year I read 13 books, but this year I only have reading 2. I finished my second book last week. I love young adult books ! When I was in my country I almost read 6 of the 7 harry potter's books. I couldn't read the last one because I am a little afraid of reading that book because that book is British English and I don't know if I am ready to do it. When I came here, my husband told me that if I wanted to read that book I should do it in English.

I am reading books between 150 and 250 pages. I can read a book for week, but lately I have been so busy with all the homework and assignments that I have to do. I would like to have more free reading. I like to do my reading report because I can read whatever I want and make the report.

I finished the book I had been reading. "The garden of Eve" . It's a strange story about Eve, an eleven year old girl. Her father bought an orchard in Michigan and they moved there. Eve's mother had died months before they moved to the orchard. All the trees in the orchard were dead. The town people said that the orchard was cursed. It is a misterious story. If you like mistery and fantasy this is a good book to read. I made 4 reading reports for that book and I got good grades !

I went to the library yesterday to find a good book to read. I chose 2 books:

1. A series of unfortunate events : The bad beginning

2. The sisterhood of the traveling pants

I will start with these books today ! There are movies about these books too ! I will try to see the movies after I finish the books.

19. I am under the weather today!

I can't even think about it. Today I decide to talk to one of my classmates about this annoying situation in the school. I am totally pist off and heartbroken. I have already talked about this, but I really need to talk about it. The big problem is the people form my country in the English Program didn't like me, because I don't want to speak Spanish anymore there. When I met them I tried to speak English with them. They didn't like it . Also they heard from somebody else that I didn't like to have Colombian friends because I didn't want to talk Spanish.

It's totally true! I don't want, because my goal is to learn English. I have worked so hard to be in level five, and I won't stop until I reach all my goals. It is really sad (for me) to know that, and sad for them because they are wasting a lot of very valuable time. I can't try to change their mind, but I would like to have someday the oportunity to talk about. I am a really nice person, they are too young to understand.

On the other hand, I feel terrible, because they always are so mean with me. They always are pretending that I don't even exist. They sit in the lunch time in one table, and a couple times ,I have tried to talk with them , but they didn't answer or they have turned their back. Yesterday was terrible day.

Today, I decided to ask one of them about that. He told me the truth. They enjoy to make me feel bad. How is that possible? How is possible that somebody can enjoy to make someone feel bad? I couldn't do it.

I don't know what to do.

18. Trading Partners

Since ancient times, Colombia have been trading with some of the countries of America (Mexico, Venezuela, Panama, Ecuador) and United States. The principal product is the Coffee. Colombian coffee is one of the biggest quality in the world. Colombia is exporting more products such as Flowers, tropical fruits and petroleum. Colombia’s trading partners are United states, Venezuela, China, Mexico, Brazil and Ecuador.

17. Good Weekend

My mother in law and my father in law came to visit us this weekend. They hadn't come to visit us since last year, and we had a good time together. They came on Friday afternoon. My husband was in Charleston working for the week and he came back early that Friday.

After my classes I went home to clean my apartment and to be ready for their visit. I went to the laundry room to make some laundry, then I went to the dry cleaning to leave some shirts of my husband. My husband arrived at 4pm. Then we called my mother in law, they were driving and they would arrive around 7 pm.

My husband decided to cook that night. He hadn't decided between Pasta or Meet. Finally, he decided to cook both ! We went to the supermarket to buy some stuff for the meal, we bought meet, onions and cheese. I love pasta, I think if I wasn't from my country, I would be from Italy.

Finally, they arrived. We spend that night at home. In the next day we took breakfast together and we went to Lake Murray. Then we went to the movies. We went to see the new Pixar's movie UP. My husband and me had seen that movie before, but we wanted to share it with them. It is a really good movie, I love it !

That night when we were taking dinner, my husband told us a real story about a child in California. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/pixar-up-movie-2468059-home-show. She was a 10 years old girl, who was dying from a very estrange type of cancer. She wanted to see the movie, but she couldn't because she was so sick. Somebody from her family called to Pixar and told them the story. They send an employee with a copy of the film. Colbie couldn't open her eyes because she had so much pain. Her mother told her everything in the film. Colbie died 7 hours after seeing the movie.

16. Handwrite

Nowadays it’s not necessary to have a nice handwriting. People spend a lot of time texting or typing in the computer. It is true is cleanest and faster to correct, but we are losing that skill. When I was at the school it was so important. The people had to take calligraphy classes. If the computer didn’t exist, we would need to write more. I could be writing this post in my notebook and I couldn’t share it. Every day I type more and handwrite lees. Could people have forgotten how to have a good handwrite?

I like my handritting I think is clear and legible but it was better 10 years ago in the scholl. I loved to use ink and colors to write in my notebooks, maybe I have to do it again. Now, I am only using my handwritting in my English classes.

15. I really like to study English

I am so happy learning English. I know I have to work harder. I have been learning English for 1 year and I feel very comfortable and confident with my English. I have to practice and practice. I need to improve my speech. I am learning a lot in this new school , I needed a challenge in my life. I was dreaming about going to the university, but I couldn't pay it. It's too expensive and I can't afford it.

When I arrived to United States I was so afraid of not being able to learn English, but during this time, I have felt so comfortable. I would like to meet more American people but sometimes it is so difficult. I am amazed at learning English because It is a long process, but on the other hand, once you are be able to talk, everything is easier.

I speak Spanish and I can speak with a lot of people around the world (21 countries in the world speaks Spanish) and now, I can speak English and I can speak with people from 51 countries! It's amazing!

I feel like being in the middle of everything. Now I can read the news and watch movies in 2 languages! I feel very lucky. I have to deal with being shy, but I have tried hard to avoid feeling in that way.

14. she gave me a book

Yesterday was an awesome day, something unexpected happened to me! Two weeks ago, I went to the library and I received a paper with some of the April's events, and I found a very good event with a famous writer who would come to Columbia. Her name is Kimberly Willis Holt.
http://www.myrcpl.com/children/augusta-bakers-dozen

That day I tried to read more about her and her books and I found her website http://www.kimberlywillisholt.com/ and I found the link to her blog. I made a comment in her blog and she replied with a very nice comment.

“Dear Maria Jose,I love your website! It's so colorful and fun. And I love your greeting cards.You are so right that feelings don't have a language. That's beautifully put. Please make sure to say hello to me next week at the Augusta Baker's Dozen. And keep writing!Kimberly”

Wow I was excited, she wanted me to say hello! I was scared because when you are learning a new language to break the ice is not easy, BUT I promised myself that I will do it. Yesterday I went to the event and when it finished, with my heart in my hand I walked to meet her. She was busy but she talked with me. I gave her my business card and I told her, my name is Maria I have been commenting in your blog. She smiled. She seemed happy to meet me. It was only 3 minutes but my heart and my legs were shaking. Then I realized that I expected to ask her to take a picture but when I went to talk with her my husband wasn’t there to take the picture. He told me that we could make the line with the other people to ask her. We made the line and I asked if I could have a picture with her, and she said yes. My husband took the picture and she opened her purse and gave me the opportunity to choose between two books. I pointed one of them; she opened the book and signed it. She gave me a book! I was so happy, thankful and proud again about myself. She was very nice with me and I won’t forget that moment.

You can believe what would happen if I didn’t take the risk to talk to her, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to talk with a famous and inspirational writer, she wouldn’t have given me a book, and I would have felt so guilty because I wouldn’t have taken the risk. She started to write when she was 33 years old, I am 28 and I haven’t written in 7 almost 7 years.Yesterday I didn’t understand all her speech, but I remember she said, when you write with your heart you can be a writer. I want to be a writer! I can do because my heart is in all that I do.

13. What have I done?

I can't believe some people in the English classes want to learn English. It's so sad to see people speaking in their own language all the time. I can't lie, I have done it but I try to avoid that kind of thinks.

There are a lot of Spanish speakers in my classes and in other classes. I have been trying to be their friends but they don't want to do it.

It's still difficult to write about my feelings. I have tried to write this post since last week, It’s about the way I have been felling. Alone. I would like to have more friends. People from my country are sitting there speaking Spanish, I have tried to be friendly, but some of them are not nice with me. I sit with them, but they don't talk to me. I know they don't like me. I know the reason, when I came here, I wanted to learn English, and I believe I have to try harder to do it. But in the other hand, I am so sensible and I like to make friends. They don't like me because I don't want to speak my language.

Today I feel heartbroken. I don't know what I will do tomorrow for lunch, but I don't deserve this. They only turned their back and I was in the middle of the room, eating my sandwich alone, while they were laughing.

I need to do something. I don't want to mess my termn for other people, I only want to learn faster and correctly ! I don't want to fight with anybody ! People like to prejudice. For me is really difficult to make friends because I am shy. I don't know everithing is confusing. I would like to stop this here but I think I will have to endure this situation for long time.

Endure the present, and watch for better things.” Vargil

12. The lion was sad!

The lion was sad, he was so depressed. I don’t know who was more sad. I felt shame for them, they were in a big space without trees, without water. It was a very hot day and there was the lion, without energy, tired. I think that lion was sick because he was breading so fast. I really like animals but I think is so sad for them to live there.

I enjoyed to go to the Zoo with my classmates, I was with 2 friends from China and 1 from Korea. I really enjoy to share time with them because they think different than me and because when we are together he have to speak English.

We ate lunch in the zoo and we stayed there until 3pm. It was so hot today. The flamingoes are so beautiful. They looked like happy.

The elephants were doing a show. The instructor gave them instructions and food.

I had a good time today in the Zoo, I think is a good place to go. I had never been there before. I don’t agree with some things in the Zoo but I think that place is a great place to go. I don’t know if Zoos are fair with the animals or if it is a safe place for them. Maybe, they would be in better conditions out of the captivity.

11. Zoo Day!

Today I will go to the Zoo, I have never been there before, and I am excited to go. I will bring many pictures to show you! I will have a good day today, we will take lunch in the zoo, I have a grammar test .

10. A very good article

Yesterday in my reading class, we chosed an article and we wrote about the article. I chose a MPR article about a homeless person. I want to share it here because I think is a very good article. This is the adress for the article http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105047997&ps=cprs

Being a homeless doesn’t mean living in other world. Eric Sheptock, a 40 years old homeless, who lives in Washington, DC, uses technology to communicate his ideas. He keeps a blog, a Facebook account and a Twiter account. All of these current social networks are use to communicate ideas in different ways, but Sheptock uses them to tell the world about what it means to be a homeless.

Even though he doesn’t have a laptop, an Iphone or all the devices that people around the world are using to access to Internet, he spends a lot of time in the public library checking his e-mail, updating his blog and his accounts. He likes to write about what means to be homeless people, how hard is for a homeless to get a job. He also has a cellphone to keep in touch with other people. He gets a job to get money to pay for his phone.

He has been a homeless for the last 15 years and he became a homeless activist two years ago. He spends a lot of time blogging, trying to mobilize other homeless, and working with other people to prevent the city close some shelters before the people find another place to stay.

He has been working so hard, but his life hasn’t been an easy one. His parents tried to kill him when he was 8 years old; they left him to die in a motel room. Five years later, a New Jersey family adopted him. When he finished high School, he had a lot of problems, he began to use cocaine and he spent some time in Jail.

Now, he is working, expressing his ideas and trying to dignify homeless lives and their space in the society without discrimination and stereotypes.

What do you think?

9. Good grades!

I am really happy because this week I get wonderful grades in my assigments and I have met a lot of people! I fell really grateful. Everyday is a Gift!

I had an A in my Reading class with Joe, he said in his class he doesn't give a lot of A but my esay was good ! I hope to get an A next week. I really fel confortable writting, I don't need to write in a paper first, I only need to turn on the computer and I can do it.

The report was about a Book I started 2 weeks ago. I am a good reader but right now I can't read all I would like to read because I have a lot of asigments to do everyday. I would like to have more time for my books, but my teachers don't think that's a good idea.

The book I have been reading is "The Garden of Eve", I am suppose to finish the book last week but I haven't had enough time to read it, usually I read a book in one or two weeks, but this one will take me more. This is my 14th book in English. I think my grammar has improved because I like to write and read. My teacher Jeff always says " what do you have to do to write more? read and write". I think is true. I know a lot of people who don't like to read but it's the only way to learn a new lenguage.

8. I have been so tired

I am sorry, I haven't written lately because I have had a headache since Sunday. I feel so tired, yesterday I went to my bed at 8 and I woke up this morning at 6 am. I have a verb test today and a lot of things to do.

I really don't like verb test because I don't like to memorize information, I like practice. I can't memorize 200 verbs in one week without make sentences. Anyway tomorrow by this time I will have finished my test. I will try to write more this week. Thank your for your comments ! Sammin I promise I will write more about my Childhood.

7. Nice weekend

I had a great weekend! On Friday I was doing my homework, when my husband come home. He worked the whole week in Charlotte. It was 7 pm, we were at home watching TV and I told my husband " What do you want to do? I would like to go to Charlotte, I have never been there. Do you want to go? and he said "Ok "

That night was raining, we went to the hotel and we decide to go out to eat something. We went out, the floor was wet. There was a festival in downtown Charlotte but there were only a few people because the rain. It was 10 pm and we needed to eat something, there were two or three options and we chose "Hooters" I had not been there before, that restaurant is so popular [Specially for men] because the waitresses are woman with shorts and t-shirts. There are beautiful women in that restaurant.

I ate a hamburger with chips [ I don't eat hamburgers very often, but sometimes I like to do it]. My husband drank a beer, then we walked around, the rain had stopped , then we went to the hotel to sleep. The next day we went to take breakfast and then we went to IKEA to buy some thinks. I love IKEA , I think is a really good store, because the design, the prices and the quality. That store is huge, and you can find a lot of spaces with all you need for your house and more. I have gone to IKEA tree times, twice in Florida and now once in Charlotte.

The first time we went in Florida, we bought a lot of things for our apartment, we bought, candles, a bookcase and other thinks. This time we went to buy candles, I can't live without candles, I really like to have candles at home.

We also bought "Beto" our new puppet !I had already had a frog, but Beto is a crocodile !!! When we finished in Ikea, we went to Downtown again, there was a festival again, we fund a lot of people there in the street. Then we came back to Colombia. It was a wonderful trip !

6. My family the year I was born.

I was born in 1981. In 1979, four years before the year that I was born, my mom moved to another city by herself after she had been living with her mother and her brother for long time and then she decided to study and work in a big city. By the time she was working and studying in the university, she got pregnant. She had been working in the same place for 1 year. I was born 3 months before the date I was supposed to be born and I stayed 15 days in an incubator. My mom was so worry about me, because I was so small and fragile. My aunt went to take care of my mother and me for 1 month. 8 months later my mother decided to take me to my grandmother’s house because I had been so sick. She left me there for 3 months before she had to go back because I had been so sick again. She had been studying in the university before she moved to my grandmother’s house; there she had to validate some of her classes, but finally she graduated.

I grow up with my mother, my uncle and my grandmother. My uncle was a Math teacher and my mother was working as accountant in a store. I had a really nice childhood even thought I didn’t have a father, my uncle made the roll.

5. Crazy Morning

I have been so busy with my classes, my books, my homework and my business in the same time; I have been going to bed late and waking up early. When I am sleepy I can do a lot of silly things. Every day I wake up, I turn off the alarm and go to the bathroom to brush my teeth but my problem is when I am sleepy, and this has happened to me almost 5 times this year!!!

I was so sleepy and I thought I put toothpaste but instead I put “Moisturizing Face Cream” but I didn’t realize until I felt that my toothpaste tested different that morning. OH my god I did it again. It happens because booth products’ Packaging are green. It’s really funny but it happens when I am so sleepy.

It' really hard to study and in the same time be a wife and a self-employee. I will be studying for 2 months. I think it will be hard to take care of my homework, my house, my husband and my little workshop. Everything is really important for my life. I can't give up !!

I have been thinking seriously about my life ! I need to work harder everyday to reach my goals. I like to be motivated and cheerful, but sometimes it is really hard because I would like to have more time for myself ! I need to rest !!!

I don't want to moisturize my mouth today !!!! Jejejjee I was so sleepy and I thought I put toothpaste but instead I put “Moisturizing Face Cream” ... It is really funny !

4. Keep Moving

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving."

Albert Einstein

One of my goals in America is to start my own business. When I was in college in my country, I used to dream about designing big projects, cities, houses, chairs or wherever I wanted to design, but in the real word some of those ideas are so ambitious, abstract and idealistic. When I finished college I knew I couldn't really design wherever I wanted. Then I worked 3 years in the same company, gave all my ideas to someone else and delayed all my goals. When I arrived here I had the opportunity to re-start my life, my values, my dreams and my goals.

I decided to work in my own ideas and I have been working very hard every day to reach my goals. The only way to reach a goal is working. I started one year ago and in one year I have designed some of the products and my own website http://www.mariapalitousa.com/ , I have had some orders too.

Being a self-employee is not always fun because you don't have a salary, you have to work for yourself and you have to learn to manage your time, but in the other hand you can decide when, how and how much do you want to work every day. I am a hard worker and I really like to challenge myself but some people don't have enough discipline to work by themselves.

I don't expect to be rich but I would like to make enough money to have a store and help my husband with all the expenses we have. I really enjoy designing, and I think I have two valuable skills; my creativity and my determination. When you have a goal and you know what your aim is, every step you take will have been aiming to the place you are expecting to go.

3. Successful Histories

Last weekend I was reading Reader’s Digest for my reading report, I think I don’t have to say I really like to read, I get a very old edition from 1992. I started to jump between pages and I found an article about “ Dr Seuss” I didn’t expect anything about that article but I really enjoy it and I think that article was inspirational for me. I love Children Books and I would like to be a Children book’s writer. [I know I have to start with something but I haven’t done it yet… That’s another topic right now!!! :) ]

Dr Seuss’ writer had to try several times before he found an editor! His art teacher said he couldn’t draw something good! That part of his story reminded me things about my life.
When I was in Preschool, I had dyslexia – a learning problem, spelling problem- I used to switch some letters [P and Q] and [B and D]. I had to work very hard every day to fix that problem. But one day one teacher told my mom that I had Mental retardation. That was so hard for my mom, because she knew, it wasn’t true. I changed my school that day.

When I was in High School, My art teacher told me something I can’t forget. She asked me: what do you want to study? I say, I want to be an artist; I want to go the Art school.
She smiled and said… You can’t do that, you are terrible drawing. I felt so sad and heartbroken. That day I cried a lot at home and I decide to change my goal. I was only 15 years old, and then I started to write poetry. [ I draw sometimes]

Its incredible how fragile could be a Young heart. When I was Younger and Single I used to write tons of words, every night I spent at least 1 hour writing in my Journals, I have 10 of them in my country with all my poetry. I like to count and I had been counting my poems… I have more than 2.000 I was so proud of myself with all my poetry, but I realized I was writing only sad and heartbroken words, then I started to write less and less every day. I decided that I needed to write positive. Then I met my husband and I found a good reason to write. I haven’t write poetry since I came here.

Life is something changeable, everyday is different, everyday is an opportunity to grow and do wherever we want to do, but the only way is working in your goals and understanding that you only have today to start.

2. I feel very proud of myself

Everything has been happening very fast, but everything has been wonderful. It is true that when I am focus and working in my goals and projects, everything is going faster. This week I have been very busy, I have been planning and doing everything I am suppose to do. Yesterday I was reading about some methods, the people use to reach goals and there are some ideas that I would like to apply for my life. Everything I am doing now will affect my future, I am taking some decisions that will affect everything and I won’t want to lost time. Right now I feel, I have a once in a life opportunity and I think the best way that I have now is take advantage of everything the life is giving me now.

I want to reach my goals, I am a dreamer and I want to make true all those dreams. I know, I am so lucky because the life every time is open doors, new and big doors for me, I have met wonderful people, I have talked with a lot of people from different places in the world. My best friend is from Thailand, I have some friends from Japan, Italy, China, Russia and Korea. It’s wonderful to understand all our differences but it’s amazing to feel their friendship, they are kind and intelligent women.

I feel so good, My English and conversation skills are better every day, and believe me or not, I can talk by cell phone and feel comfortable in the same time, is really nice. I couldn’t believe it last week I receive a call from some places I have applied to learn English and Design. I am architect in my country but here everything is different. I have the skills but I want to validate my knowledge.

Anyway, I feel fabulous, strong, smart, cleaver, beautiful although some pounds I won since I came back from my country, big !!! Right now I feel I will be able to do whatever I want to do! Thank God for each day, Thank god because I didn’t give up and I am still fighting for my life.

1. LIFE IS NOW

Dream as If you will live forever, live as if you will die today [James Dean]. Do you think I will have enough time to do whatever I want to do? Sometimes I fell I am trying to do more than enough with my life. When I was younger – 10 years ago- I used to think “what would happen if I die today?” and I used to tell myself “Don’t worry about life because you will die soon”. Suddenly I stopped to have those auto-destructive ideas. I think now about that and I think I was lost and I wanted to know what would have meant for some people if I would have died.
Now everything has change, I would like to have more time. I have had some awkward moments with myself when I have realized that I have been so busy than I have forgotten to eat or sleep. I am happy with my challenges, my goals and my dreams. I can’t understand how some people can feel bored when I don’t have enough time… I will figure it out…

I really like to challenge myself. I like to wake up in the morning with a new idea, a new challenge or dream. My problem is sometimes to be focus. I am working in that. It is hard to decide what to do first !!!