In the morning, we had a talk on media (especially newspapers and TV).
We compared and contrasted the tabloids and broadsheets. My group had a look at 'The Times' and 'The Sun' which are managed by the same person - Rupert Murdoch, but we also had the opportunity to have a look at 'The Guardian', 'The Mirror' and others...
We understood that in politics, parties are more center oriented (not stict lefts or rights) and there is no organisation to censor the papers (freedom of speech).
After that, we talked about TV in Britain. If you have a TV at home, you have to pay a 70 pound/year fee. If you don`t, you may get fined.
BBC channel is sponsored by the government.
Downtown abbey is a massive TV series that was a great success last christmas and it talks about traditional England during the period of the World War I. It was successful probably because the costume drama brings back the time when Britain was 'great'. There is some nostalgia going on in the country. They miss the old times.
Coronation Street and Eastanders are the oldest soapoperas still being broadcasted (the first for about 50 years and the second one for about 40 years!).
quinta-feira, 5 de janeiro de 2012
London Day 3
Lost my pair of gloves today... The new ones! I had never used them... Now I'll have to try to find new ones, but I don't think I'll be able to find the same...
Well, today we had a session on Youth Speech with Jack Graham. He told us that now students can call their teachers by their first names rather than calling them Mr. or Mrs. + last name; this is because teachers want to close the gap between teachers and students. He showed us some of the slangs that are being used now and it was interesting and surprising to know that teenagers have been referring to old language and dialects (especially from New Castle) and using some expressions and words from that time.
Some examples are:
Aye = Yes (this one I have seen a lot in the book series 'Song of Ice and Fire')
Vexed = confused; upset (also seen it in the series)
Are ye alreet = Are you alright (phonetic language - you right the way you speak)
There's also influence from other languages, such as french. For exapme, Fauxpology = false apology. Or Gnarly (from the Australian surfers) meaning something really good.
The word Rents being used for Parents.
The main changes are happening due to technology (text messages, internet...).
It's also ok to be called Pet, Duck, Lad or Love in some places.
The speaker also talked a little about youth behaviour and attitude towards the government cuts for education, making them protest by occupying public buildings (e.g. St. Paul`s Cathedral). A college student spends about 10 thousand pounds a year between education fees, acommodation and personal expenses. In four years it would be about 40 thousand pounds. They don't need to pay it throughout the course. They can get a loan and pay it when they start making money after graduating, but many times they work while studying to pay for those expenses.
Universities are suposed to be public (for free), but he said that they are not only paying for their studies but also that the fees are rising.
He also talked about drugs and says that the government pictures the scenario worse than it really is.
C U L8R M8 (= See you later mate!)
Well, today we had a session on Youth Speech with Jack Graham. He told us that now students can call their teachers by their first names rather than calling them Mr. or Mrs. + last name; this is because teachers want to close the gap between teachers and students. He showed us some of the slangs that are being used now and it was interesting and surprising to know that teenagers have been referring to old language and dialects (especially from New Castle) and using some expressions and words from that time.
Some examples are:
Aye = Yes (this one I have seen a lot in the book series 'Song of Ice and Fire')
Vexed = confused; upset (also seen it in the series)
Are ye alreet = Are you alright (phonetic language - you right the way you speak)
There's also influence from other languages, such as french. For exapme, Fauxpology = false apology. Or Gnarly (from the Australian surfers) meaning something really good.
The word Rents being used for Parents.
The main changes are happening due to technology (text messages, internet...).
It's also ok to be called Pet, Duck, Lad or Love in some places.
The speaker also talked a little about youth behaviour and attitude towards the government cuts for education, making them protest by occupying public buildings (e.g. St. Paul`s Cathedral). A college student spends about 10 thousand pounds a year between education fees, acommodation and personal expenses. In four years it would be about 40 thousand pounds. They don't need to pay it throughout the course. They can get a loan and pay it when they start making money after graduating, but many times they work while studying to pay for those expenses.
Universities are suposed to be public (for free), but he said that they are not only paying for their studies but also that the fees are rising.
He also talked about drugs and says that the government pictures the scenario worse than it really is.
C U L8R M8 (= See you later mate!)
quarta-feira, 4 de janeiro de 2012
London Day 2 (cont. 2)
After lunch we listened to a really nice lecture about Homelessness by Lakshmi Patel and it was interesting to aknowledge that in London they face many problems similar to ours in Sao Paulo... Although it is considered a developed country, they also have to deal with financial cuts from the government (especially now that they`re facing a crisis in emplyment and economy areas) and there is also corruption and lack of support from public agencies...
London Day 2 (cont.)
Adriana, Ana and I had lunch at a very nice restaurant (a pizza place actually) and our waiter took a picture of us! He is Indian, but could speak some words in Portuguese.
It`s funny to see how they try to communicate to people in other languages!
This is the picture I mentioned...
London Day 2
Woke up late today cause I forgot to set my alarm clock, but thankfully I managed to arrive at the school in time! I even had time to have breakfast (cereal and milk - my host mother had left everything on the kitchen table for me).
I decided to go on foot to the station instead of taking the bus and it was a shorter walk since my host mom showed me a short cut at the end of her street. It was really cold, but nice walking in the morning. I took some pictures on the way. Althought it was after 8am it seemed earlier. It was a bit darker than it would be in Brazil. The tube was really busy in the morning but not as packed as it would be during rush hour in Sao Paulo...
Classes in the morning were fine but because of the cold I had a terrible headache...
London Day 1 (cont.)
I just had time to leave my things there and go back to the center of the city to have my very first class at Bell school.
Throuought the day we had a brief introduction of what the course wuld be like and of the activities we would have during our stay.
At the end of the day, I was exausted, so me, Adriana and Ana just grabbed a coffee and went straight home.
I arrived home at about 7pm (before that I went to the drugstore to buy a toothbrush and some tooth paste). My host mother was preparing dinner, so I had a shower and went downstairs to have dinner.
During dinner we had a really nice chat and I got to know more about her. She`s from Iran but lives in England for more than 15 years. She lives in a Jewish district. Her daughter is 8 years old and they speak English and Pershian. She`s got 9 brothers and sisters and some of them live in Iran, others in England and one lives in the USA, in North Carolina.
After dinner I gave them a gift from Brasil, which they loved (a T-shirt for the girl and 4 wooden knives with carved national birds - handmade - for the mom). Then we had a cigarette in the backyard - she also smokes - and in the end I just went to bed because I was totally drained!
Throuought the day we had a brief introduction of what the course wuld be like and of the activities we would have during our stay.
At the end of the day, I was exausted, so me, Adriana and Ana just grabbed a coffee and went straight home.
I arrived home at about 7pm (before that I went to the drugstore to buy a toothbrush and some tooth paste). My host mother was preparing dinner, so I had a shower and went downstairs to have dinner.
During dinner we had a really nice chat and I got to know more about her. She`s from Iran but lives in England for more than 15 years. She lives in a Jewish district. Her daughter is 8 years old and they speak English and Pershian. She`s got 9 brothers and sisters and some of them live in Iran, others in England and one lives in the USA, in North Carolina.
After dinner I gave them a gift from Brasil, which they loved (a T-shirt for the girl and 4 wooden knives with carved national birds - handmade - for the mom). Then we had a cigarette in the backyard - she also smokes - and in the end I just went to bed because I was totally drained!
terça-feira, 3 de janeiro de 2012
London Day 1
After a very, very long flight I finally arrived in London!
The adventure from Heathrow Airport to my homestay was something out of this world!
First, me and a group of teachers decided to take the underground instead of the Heathrow Express to get there. I had to buy the oyster card, which is a travel card to travel around the city by using public transport (tube, bus). I decided to charge it for the whole week so I wouldn`t have to pay for the transport everyday. It's actually cheaper and much more convenient.
The weather was really cold and wet and I had to carry my bags all the way...
Each one of us left on a different station to go on to our host family homes.
I must say I was a bit scared when I was left alone because I had no idea of where I was!
When I left at Golders Green Station I had to ask how to get to the address I had and I got to know it was quite far from the station, so had to take a bus and it was my first time on a double decker bus!!!
What was really interesting and surprising to me was to discover how helpful the British are! Everyone I asked for help was really kind!
Afterwards, I had to walk quite a lot to my house, under heavy rain and wid wind, but I finally got there!
The adventure from Heathrow Airport to my homestay was something out of this world!
First, me and a group of teachers decided to take the underground instead of the Heathrow Express to get there. I had to buy the oyster card, which is a travel card to travel around the city by using public transport (tube, bus). I decided to charge it for the whole week so I wouldn`t have to pay for the transport everyday. It's actually cheaper and much more convenient.
The weather was really cold and wet and I had to carry my bags all the way...
Each one of us left on a different station to go on to our host family homes.
I must say I was a bit scared when I was left alone because I had no idea of where I was!
When I left at Golders Green Station I had to ask how to get to the address I had and I got to know it was quite far from the station, so had to take a bus and it was my first time on a double decker bus!!!
What was really interesting and surprising to me was to discover how helpful the British are! Everyone I asked for help was really kind!
Afterwards, I had to walk quite a lot to my house, under heavy rain and wid wind, but I finally got there!
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