Sport is all around

The moment you wake up these days you can hear the last news about the Olympic Games.

Even though you might not be very keen on sport, you can’t get away from it. It’s all around us, and if you devote a little time to any of the different sports you can’t but feel all the thrills and spills (the thrill and excitement) of the competitions taking place in Beijing.

Besides, you can also benefit from the Olympics by watching and identifying with all these sportsmen and women at their best. I’ve just come across an interesting video from the NBC, which tells us about these benefits. Click below to watch the video and do a listening activity.

CLICK HERE

Down, down the river

I went down the Sella River last Sunday. An exciting and rewarding experience, but I could hardly move my arms and most of my body ached the next days! Never mind, I managed to cross “the Finish Line” at LLovio (15 kms), so I was really proud of myself. Well, to tell you the truth, I think most of the many other tourists there got to the end too. So, it’s not really difficult and I recommend it to you.

Here you can read some interesting facts about the history of this international sports event. On the same web you can find information about the companies of canoes that organize the tourist descent of the Sella to give you all that you need to enjoy the charm of that beautiful river.
www.descensodelsella.com/english/historia.asp

Writing about a river has reminded me of an incredible song: The River, by Bruce Springsteen. The first time I heard this song (a long, long time ago, around 1980) I understood only a few sentences, but I could feel the melancholy and sadness behind the lyrics.

I think it’s a beautiful ballad that tells you about how a young person’s dreams of love and hapiness in the future run up against a reality full of responsibilities and demands. The realization of ‘their lost paradise’ is the most painful for them, although there’s still a bit of hope if they manage to cling to their memories.
I hope you enjoy it. However I should warn you that there are a few expressions which are not grammatically correct, e. g. she don’t. But, as you probably know, that’s what they call the artistic license.
Here is a video of one of his performances. After watching and listening just for fun, perhaps you would like to focus on the lyrics.

You can read the lyrics here:

Hello everybody!

I’d like to use this blog as a meeting point for my students and me. Anybody is welcome to participate, though. I hope this will be a useful and pleasant experience for both you and me.

When I first thought of ‘blogging’ I felt it would help me to be in contact with you in a different way, just to get out of the class and show you a new form of learning English. I know many of you spend quite a lot of free time in front of computers, talking to friends on the Messenger, listening to music and watching videos on YouTube or just surfing the net. Perhaps I can have my very little share in your internet routine. And for those who are not used to the Internet and the new technological tools, this can be a different opportunity to start their internet experience.

Now I feel the most difficult decisions are still ahead and there are all kinds of questions inside my mind. I’ll probably make mistakes but I hope they aren’t too many.

Finally I’d like to thank my colleagues Mª José and Carmen for encouraging and helping me to start blogging.