Stuck on Canada...

This happened to me. Hahaha.

I was supposed to fly tonight to Argentina but now I need to wait until the snow melt. Hahaha.
30 days more….
The countdown has begun…

2nd Step is done...

One certificate, much knowledge and more willingness to keep learning

:o)

ILAC 's last day...

Vito and Euge

I was receiving my diploma.

My brazilian's friends at ILAC: Emerson and Marcelo. When I go back to Argentina , I 'll be able to practise Portuguese with them! Otimo!

My "last week" class. I was in this class just one week because I took the level test the week before and I passed from Advance to High Advance. They were really nice people but I didn't have enough time to share with them.

Chris, my teacher in High Advance Level.
My class room

Chapter 21...

It was then that the fox appeared.
"Good morning," said the fox.
"Good morning," the little prince responded politely, although when he turned around he saw nothing.
"I am right here," the voice said, "under the apple tree." "
Who are you?" asked the little prince, and added, "You are very pretty to look at."
"I am a fox," said the fox.
"Come and play with me," proposed the little prince.
"I am so unhappy." "I cannot play with you," the fox said. "I am not tamed."
(….) . "What does that mean, 'tame'?" …
"It is an act too often neglected," said the fox. It means to establish ties."
"'To establish ties'?"
"Just that," said the fox. "To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world..."
"I am beginning to understand," said the little prince. "There is a flower... I think that she has tamed me..."
….
"My life is very monotonous," the fox said. "I hunt chickens; men hunt me. All the chickens are just alike, and all the men are just alike. And, in consequence, I am a little bored. But if you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life . I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow. And then look: you see the grain-fields down yonder? I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. The wheat fields have nothing to say to me. And that is sad. But you have hair that is the colour of gold. Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me! The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat..." The fox gazed at the little prince, for a long time. "Please, tame me!" he said.
"I want to, very much," the little prince replied. "But I have not much time. I have friends to discover, and a great many things to understand."
"One only understands the things that one tames," said the fox.
"What must I do, to tame you?" asked the little prince.
"You must be very patient," replied the fox. "First you will sit down at a little distance from me, like that, in the grass. I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings. But you will sit a little closer to me, every day..."
The next day the little prince came back.
"It would have been better to come back at the same hour," said the fox. "If, for example, you come at four o'clock in the afternoon, then at three o'clock I shall begin to be happy. I shall feel happier and happier as the hour advances. At four o'clock, I shall already be worrying and jumping about. I shall show you how happy I am! ….
So the little prince tamed the fox. And when the hour of his departure drew near...
"Ah," said the fox, "I shall cry."
"It is your own fault," said the little prince. "I never wished you any sort of harm; but you wanted me to tame you..."
"Yes, that is so," said the fox.
"But now you are going to cry!" said the little prince.
"Yes, that is so," said the fox.
"Then it has done you no good at all!"
"It has done me good," said the fox, "because of the color of the wheat fields." And then he added: "Go and look again at the roses. You will understand now that yours is unique in all the world. Then come back to say goodbye to me, and I will make you a present of a secret."
The little prince went away, to look again at the roses. "You are not at all like my rose," he said. "As yet you are nothing. No one has tamed you, and you have tamed no one. You are like my fox when I first knew him. He was only a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But I have made him my friend, and now he is unique in all the world." And the roses were very much embarrassed. "You are beautiful, but you are empty," he went on. "One could not die for you. To be sure, an ordinary passerby would think that my rose looked just like you, the rose that belongs to me. But in herself alone she is more important than all the hundreds of you other roses: because it is she that I have watered; because it is she that I have put under the glass globe; because it is she that I have sheltered behind the screen; because it is for her that I have killed the caterpillars (except the two or three that we saved to become butterflies); because it is she that I have listened to, when she grumbled, or boasted, or even sometimes when she said nothing. Because she is my rose.
And he went back to meet the fox. "Goodbye," he said.
"Goodbye," said the fox. "And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
"What is essential is invisible to the eye," the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.
"It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important."
"It is the time I have wasted for my rose..." said the little prince, so that he would be sure to remember.
"Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose..."

Buenos Aires and Toronto, different but the same

Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina, Toronto is not the capital of Canada but it is the most important city of the country financially speaking. Buenos Aires is a financial city as well. Buenos Aires City and Toronto have almost the same population: 3 million people. However, if we take into consideration the surrounded area, there are 5 million in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), while there are 11 million in the “Conurbano Bonaerense” (GBA Greater Buenos Aires). That makes us a little more overcrowded.

It is said that Toronto is the most multicultural city of the world, no doubt about that. However, Buenos Aires is a multicultural city too. While Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Hindus and Arabs choose Toronto as a city to settle down; most people from Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay choose Argentina to immigrate. If you walk in the street you can hear many different languages in Toronto. In Buenos Aires you are able to hear the same language (Spanish) but with many different accents, mine (the santiaguenio) included.

Toronto has the “CN Tower” as a symbol of the city; Buenos Aires has “El Obelisco”. However, I can’t understand why we can’t go up to the top of that building. The view from the CN Tower is amazing.

Toronto has the largest street in the world: “Yonge Street”. Buenos Aires has the widest one: “9 de Julio Avenue”. However, if we take into account the location and importance of the streets, “Yonge Street” could be compare to “Corrientes Avenue”. Both of them drive you directly to downtown and they have a very nice sightseeing to look and walk. While in the middle of Corrientes Av, we have our “Abasto Mall”, in the southbound of Yonge Street is located the “Eaton Center”, the biggest mall in Toronto. It is huge, believe me. Perhaps it is two o three times our “Abasto”

Buenos Aires the same as Toronto have subway system. While in Buenos Aires the main company is called METROVIAS, in Toronto it is called TTC (Toronto Transit Comission). There are three main differences between METROVIAS and TTC. Firstly, while METROVIAS owns only the subway trains, TTC owns the subway, the buses and the street cars and they are all connected. If you want to use public transportation in Toronto, it is better if you buy the Metro Pass (monthly pass) which enables you unlimited access to the transport system and you pay only once. If you want to use public transport in Buenos Aires, you pay every time you want to use the service and you need one way pass for the subway and coins for the buses. There are not transfers between buses and subways here. The second difference is regarding the “rush hour”. While in Toronto everyone tries to be “safe and considerate”, in Buenos Aires you need to be inconsiderate if you want to be safe. While in Toronto you travel as a human being, in Buenos Aires you only try not to loose your human condition. And finally, there is another important difference. I think that the most important one. While TTC goes on strike once in a while, METROVIAS lives on strike… hahaha. TTC has the policy to announce when they are going to stop the service; METROVIAS stops the service without announcements. And listen to this, this is the best one: If TTC goes on strike, they give your money back for the days they didn’t give you the service! On the other hand, if METROVIAS goes on strike: Who is responsible for the time and money that we loose? Anyone knows? Hahaha.

Despite those differences, “Bloor and Yonge Subway Station” could be the equivalent to “Carlos Pellegrini- 9 de Julio” in Buenos Aires. In Bloor and Yonge the green line meets the yellow one. In “Carlos Pellegrini” you can transfer from the red to the green and to the blue too.

If you take a look to the map of these cities, what will you be able to visit? Toronto has many distinctive areas that you “must visit” such as: China Town, Korea Town, Little Italy, The Greek Area, The Annex, Bloor Ville and the Lake Shore. There you can eat traditional food, do window shopping, shop, walk and spend a good time. Buenos Aires has many distinctive areas as well. If you stay few days in “la City Portenia” you must go to: La Boca, Palermo, Palermo Soho, Abasto, San Telmo, Recoleta and Puerto Madero. They are beautiful places to see and stay.

If you come to Toronto; you will see that “ice-hockey” is the most popular sport. In Buenos Aires is “soccer”. Toronto is next to a lake (Ontario Lake) while Buenos Aires is next to a river (River Plate). Both cities have an island too. In Toronto you can take a ferry to go to Centre Island, in Buenos Aires you can cross the river to visit “Martin Garcia Island”.

If you like going to the gym, Toronto will offer you three main fitness chains: Fitness Extreme, Good Life and Curves. Buenos Aires will give you many good options too, for example: Megatlon, SportClub and WellClub. If you want to eat hamburgers you will find Mc Donald’s all over Toronto and Buenos Aires. The competitor of this global company in Toronto is “Wendy’s” and in Buenos Aires is "Burguer King". If you feel like eating Pizza: “Pizza Pizza” in Toronto is the equivalent to "Uggis Pizza” in Buenos Aires. The main difference is in the size of the portion: in Toronto one slice is two times bigger than in Buenos Aires and they don’t offer you “empanadas” as well.

Everything is huge here. “The bigger, the better” they might think. You can buy “Jumbo Cereal” (a box of 1.5 kg) or a pack with 4 sachets of milk and a 1.5 litres bottle of ketchup. However, they don’t have as many low fat products as I thought it would be. The sweetener is only powder, no liquid. There is no Hellmann’s Light. Can you believe that? Instead, they have Hellmann’s half and a half, but it has too much fat from my point of view. Cookies and Crakers? There is nothing similar to “Ser Cookies”, and nothing similar to “Criollitas Crackers”. Diet jam? Forget about it. I couldn’t find anything. However, they have “Dulce de Leche” made in Canada. Unbelievable, isn’t it? And the Yogurt is OK because you can find “Danone” everywhere.

When in Buenos Aires you eat one “factura” or “vigilante”, in Toronto you will buy a “donout” or a “muffin”. Our “Dulce de Leche” it is their “Maple Syrup”. If you want to drink a coffee or a tea, in Buenos Aires you will go to “Café Tortoni”, “Los Angelitos” or “Las Violetas” and you will sit and spend time while you enjoy your “espresso”. On the contrary, in Toronto you will drink your coffee on the fly. Tim Horton, Timothy’s, Starbucks and Second Cup are the most popular coffee shops. In Buenos Aires, “Aroma Café” could be the comparable, but they are not the same. Our ‘Hoyts” Cinemas are their “Rainbow” movie theatres and our “Dr. Cormillot” line products, their “Weight Watchers” system to lose weight.

If you turn on the TV you will find more than one similarities: “El Gen Argentino” = “The Greatest Canadian”; “Cuestion de peso” = “The biggest loser”; “Operacion Triunfo”= “American Idol”; “Bailando por un suenio”= Dancing with the stars” (of course, there is no Marcelo Tinellu here hahaha). Everything seems to be the same in this “global television world”.

Finally, what else can I add? In Buenos Aires as well as in Toronto, you can meet good people, bad people, and crazy people. In Buenos Aires as well as Toronto there are homeless and people asking for money in the street. However, you don’t see barefoot kids neither windscreen cleaners in each corner and may be here you can walk more relax with your backpack in your back.

Nevertheless, despite that, Toronto is not so different from Buenos Aires or viceversa. That is why sometimes I don’t miss the city because I feel that I am just around the corner. And I strongly believe that if you can live (and survive) in Buenos Aires, you can live anywhere in the world, but, even though, there is no place on earth like my “Santiago Querido”.

:o)

Life is like a box of chocolate...

... You never know what you 're gonna get.

One day like today... but in 1810...

One day like today but in 1810....

It took place the “May Revolution” in Argentina.

Why was so important that date in our history?

Because it installed the first local government not designated by the Spanish Crown in the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata. After that, in many countries began the fight for their independence.

Happy 25 de Mayo!

Did you eat "Locro", "Empanadas", "Chocolate Caliente" y "Pastelitos"????

Walk Euge Walk!

Green Line: Danforth- Bloor

From Main Street to Spadina: 1 hour and a half by foot.

It was a long Sunday and I am sick again. Sore throat. I have sore throat three or four times a year…this is the second time. Fortunately, I have the medication that my mom gave me: “Amoxicilina”, “Paracetamol” and “Cafiaspirina”. The worst part about sore throat is that it steals all your energy and makes you sleep a lot.

I slept until noon today. Then I wrote in my blog, I watched TV and I read. But around 5 o’clock I was bored. Nice day outside and me inside…Well, I needed some movement, so I went to the supermarket to buy the food that I will eat during the week: cereal, milk, ham, yogurt, jam, apples and oranges. At 7 ‘o clock my purchases were finished, except for the sweetener that I couldn’t find in the supermarket so, I needed to go to another one. I went and I bought it. With the box of sweetener in my backpack I wondered “What will I do now?”. The answer was easy: I’ll walk.

My mom always say “don’t go to the gym and don’t exercise when you are sick”. Yes .. I know mom, but I was so bored and I started to get homesick that I decided to go for a walk. This time the Green Line, not the yellow.

I started at Main Street Subway Station at 7:15 pm and I finished in Spadina Station at 8:45 pm. It usually takes you 20 minutes by subway but it took me one hour and a half by foot. I didn’t take pictures and I didn’t stop anywhere because my trekking was unplanned. However, I can tell you that from Greenwood Station to Chester it is a beautiful sightseeing walk. There is the Greek Area in the middle with a lot of pubs, restaurants and young people.

When I was coming back home (by subway) I was thinking about why I like enjoy walking so much and I remembered the movie “Forest Gump”: Run Forest Run!!! Hahaha…Walk Euge Walk!!! Hahaha.. Sometimes, there is no reason…you just run or you just walk.

:o)

This is Steve, my "one week" teacher at ILAC

He was very funny. He worked as a journalist in the Bermudas and he had his own magazine at that time " Houses and Gardens". Now, he enjoys teaching English.

Desperado.. this song has nice "metaphoras"

Steve's song suggestion:

Desperado, why don't you come to your senses
You've been out ridin' fences,
for so long - now.
Ohh you're a hard one.
I know that you've got your reasons.
These things that are pleasin'you
Can hurt you somehow.

Don't you draw the queen of diamonds boy
She'll beat you if she's able.
You know the queen of hearts is always your best bet.
Now it seems to me, some fine things
Have been laid upon your table.
But you only want the ones
That you can't get.

Desperado,
Ohhhh you aint getting no younger.
Your pain and your hunger,
They're driving you home.
And freedom, ohh freedom.
Well that's just some people talking.
Your prison is walking through this world all alone.

Don't your feet get cold in the winter time?
The sky won't snow and the sun won't shine.
It's hard to tell the night time from the day.
And you're losing all your highs and lows
aint it funny how the feeling goes
away...

Desperado,
Why don't you come to your senses?
come down from your fences, open the gate.
It may be rainin', but there's a rainbow above you.
You better let somebody love you.
(let sombody love you)
You better let somebody love you...ohhh..hooo
before it's too..oooo.. late.

Let's talk about... " Table Topics"

Under Construction.

Unfortunately I do not have time to write about everything that attract my attention, but these "Table Topics" are an amizing idea.

www.tabletopics.com

ILAC's Assigments: Discuss the Impact of the Internet in the society (for and against composition)

The Impact of the Internet in the Society

The Internet can be considered one of the most important developments in the telecommunication’s field in the last 20 years. It has produced such a big change in our life that it can be seen as a revolutionary development. While many people have adopted the Internet as an essential part of their life, others believe it is not a good thing for the society. So, there are for and against regarding the use of internet.

On the one hand, people who are against the Internet argue that this means of communication produces isolation and loneliness. Because of the internet, you can work form your home, you do not need to go to the office every day and therefore, you loose personal contact and relationships with your office mates or partners. Since sadness, depression and suicide have become a serious problem in many cities; the isolation that the internet produces can be very dangerous, they believe.

On the other hand, many people think that the Internet is not generating isolation. In contrast, the Internet has established a “new pattern of socialization” and it not only helps us to keep in touch with your family and friends, but also it allows us to develop new relationships. For example, if you are travelling all around the world, the internet gives you the chance to get in touch with your family and friends at anytime. The e mail, the chat rooms, the online messages software’s and the web cams make your communication easier and faster. In addition to this, if you are looking for new friends or new partners to exchange information or share interests, the Internet gives you a lot of resources to find out what you are looking for. The blogs, the online communities and the research tools such as “Google maps” are excellent means to link people with the same profile and interests.

In conclusion, the Internet has changed our life in many different ways, but it is hardly believed that it makes us more loneliness and isolated. On the contrary, the more people have access to the Internet, the more communicate we are.

ILAC's Assigments: Letter of Application ( just a model)

The task was: write a letter to work as a journalist in the field of sports, arts or science in an English Newspaper.

Toronto, Wednesday 20th May, 2008

Dear Sir or Madam,

I would like to apply for the position of ‘Reporter in the Sport’s field” as advertised in "Toronto Star" newspaper last Monday 12, May. I got my degree in Journalism two years ago and I am fond of sports and fitness activities, so I would be grateful if I could work in your company.

Regarding your requirements, I believe I fulfill all of them. I have been working for a Fitness Magazine called MERCADO FITNESS in Argentina and I have been studying all the new trends in the Wellness field all over Latin America. If you would like to see some of my work, you could visit my “on line port folio” in the following address” http://stepvivo.blogpost.com. Although all the published articles are in Spanish, because it is my first language, I can write, read and speak in English as well. I got my certificate in Advance English at ILAC Institute, one of the most famous schools of North America.

With regards to my personal qualities, I consider myself a determined person. I never give up until I achieve my objectives. In addition to this, I have been told that I am a reliable person too.

For all those reasons, I believe that I am the accurated person for the job that you are offering. If you have any doubt or you need more information about me, I want you to know that I am available for an interview at anytime.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Maria Eugenia D.

May 19, Victoria Day: the night the sky was full of brightness and colour!

It was beautiful!

Victoria' s Night: Fireworks Displays at Ashbridge Bay Park

It looks like Happy New Year, but we are in May!

It was Victoria's Day.

The moon was the most beautiful "firework" that night...for me it won the first prize...

May 19, Victoria's Day

EDITORIAL
TheStar.com comment Keep Victoria's name

Keep Victoria's name

May 19, 2008 04:30 AM

Today is known across the country (except Quebec) as "Victoria Day," in honour of the queen who reined for a record 64 years. But some have suggested the name is an anachronism and should be changed.

After all, it is argued, Victoria was a British queen who never even visited us, we are no longer a colony, and Canada in the 21st century is a multicultural country with a multitude of citizens for whom the old monarch holds no relevance.

Finally, it is noted somewhat triumphantly, not even the British celebrate a day in Victoria's name.

On the other side are these arguments: Victoria was the monarch who gave royal assent to the British North America Act, which created our nation in 1867, and who chose Ottawa as the capital. And while we are no longer a colony, we remain a dominion, with the Queen as our head of state. Furthermore, while we are now a far more diverse country than at the time of Confederation, many newer Canadians also come from former British colonies in the subcontinent (where Victoria was "empress"), Africa and the Caribbean. The monarchy is hardly strange to them.

As for the British not marking Victoria Day, so what? Think of it as something proudly and distinctly Canadian.

On too few occasions do we celebrate our history. Today is one of them. Take a moment to think of the past while enjoying the present.

http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/426711

What's open and closed Victoria Day
May 19, 2008 04:30 AM
Today:

• Banks, government offices and most shopping malls will be closed. There will be no mail delivery or pickup.
• All LCBO and The Beer Stores will be closed.
• The Eaton Centre will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Many stores and restaurants in Bloor-Yorkville will also be open, as will Vaughan Mills and Pacific Mall.
• The Royal Ontario Museum, Ontario Science Centre and CN Tower are open.
• The TTC will offer reduced service, except in the evening on the Bloor-Danforth subway line and on several east-end bus routes to take people to and from the fireworks display at Ashbridge's Bay Park that begins at 9:45 p.m.
• Ontario Place will hold fireworks at 9:30 p.m., weather permitting.
  

http://www.thestar.com/article/427317

19 May, Royal Ontario Museum... a bit of culture in my trip

Last Monday 19th May (Victoria Day) I went to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). The first thing that attracts your attention is the shape of the building. As you can see in the picture it is literately a diamond.

This diamond was designed by Michel Lee Chin and it is known as the Michael Lee Chin Crystal. The aim of this Crystal is to work as the new symbol of Toronto for the 21 st century. It was inaugurated just one year ago (June 3, 2007) and it marked the beginning of a new stage for the Royal Ontario Museum.

The ROM has 4 levels to visit. It is huge. It has its permanent exhibition and there are other ones that change from time to time.

There are many artefacts to watch. What did I like the most?

Taking into consideration the “rule of three”, the three things I will never forget are:

• The Darwin Exhibition: The Evolution Revolution http://www.rom.on.ca/darwin/evolution_revolution.php






• The Shanghai Kaleidoscope http://www.rom.on.ca/exhibitions/special/shanghai.php



• The Samuel European Gallery with all the history of the European art and style. http://www.rom.on.ca/exhibitions/wculture/euro.php
  
  
  Tia Marta! I was thinking about you all the time I was in the Museum. I am sure that if you came here, you would like to stay for ever !!! Hahaha. I was missing all your explanations in many galleries of science, design and culture. Kisses and regards from your niece Eugi

Me inside the Cristal

:o)

ROM, Darwin: The Evolution Revolution

Did you know that Darwin’s father and grand father were doctors and they wanted Darwin to become a doctor too?

Did you know that Darwin didn’t like medicine but he was utterly interested in botany and biology?

Did you know that Darwin took a 5 year voyage in a ship called “The Beagle” and he almost sailed all over the world included Argentina, Brazil and Chile?

Did you know that Darwin not only investigate the animals and plants but also the embryos?

Did you know that when Darwin wrote his book “The Origin of the Species” he never used the word “evolution” until the end? The word that appeared all over his book is “transmutation”.

Did you know that Darwin finally decided to publish his book because he received another essay written by Alfred Russel Wallace with the same ideas?

Did you know that Darwin got married with his cousin Emma Wedgwood, and they had 10 children? Ant that two of them died in infancy, and that Annie's death at the age of ten had a devastating effect on her parents?

Did you know that after his trip he became very ill and for the rest of his life he was, he was repeatedly incapacitated with episodes of stomach pains, vomiting, severe boils, palpitations, trembling and other symptoms? And that the the cause of Darwin’s illness was unknown during his lifetime?

If you didn ‘t know that and you want to know more about Darwin and his life, I absolutely suggest visiting this exhibition.

I am not interested in science, but I was really surprised with Darwin life. He was a revolutionary, no doubt about it.

ROM, Shanghai Kaleidoscope

The 2 things that I like the most in this exhibition:

1. Yang Zhenzhong’s Let’s Puff (2002) by walking between two large video screens. This installation creates a visual metaphor for the winds of change that have swept through China’s cities during the past decade. On one side a woman inhales and exhales with great force. At each exhalation, a central Shanghai street scene suddenly accelerates on the opposite screen.

2. A three-screen video installation entitled Flutter, Flutter, Jasmine, Jasmine (2002) by Yang Fudong tells a fictitious and fragmented story about a Chinese couple living in one of Shanghai’s high rises. The characters speak frankly to the camera about their insecurities and at the end they pledge their love to one another from the building’s rooftop. The video sequence contrasts their naïve idealism with images of the city’s harsh landscape

Flutter, Flutter, Jasmin, Jasmin
(Yang Fudong, Sept. 2002)

The Girl in the Sky, A Love Song

1. (man):
I lift you to the sky
and gaze at you
you look different
from what you were
i want to say you look prettier
and more tender now
i love you so much
my girl in the sky

2. (woman):
if you love me
say it out directly
i am in your dream
no matter how you treat me
i will place you in my heart
my only hope is
you look the same as the man
in my dream

3. (man):
beautiful flowers have sweet scent
my lover’s blood is flowing in my heart
i can no longer cheat myself
and let my beloved flower wither for me

4. (woman):
behave like a real man
love me as i love you
who says all men are the same
is it true that you want me to think that way

5. (man):
only you can see i am different
i am the sea
you are the fish living there
no matter how fierce the storm comes
don’t be scared
in my arms, you will be safe for ever

6. (woman):
men like speaking honeyed words
like bees buzzing in the flowers
their world is full of fragrant flowers
and they get lost in it
all flowers are different from each other
i am unique
i have my own smell

7. (man):
why can’t you understand me
instead you always break my heart
like the unfeeling cloud in the sky,
you treat your sweetheart without a heart

8. (woman):
i said nothing to upset you
i don’t hope our life in the future
will be a mess
my sweetheart
i long to fly in the sky with him
and accompany him for ever
no matter happiness or hardship
i will feel what he feels
and live together till the end of the day
even death cannot make up part
only he knows
my scent

9. (man):
darling, i am happy to death
you are the girl in my dream
your love for me enlightens my life
your love for me gives me courage

10. (together):
Nothing will be said and nothing will be done
we love each other so deeply
time flies and things change
no matter what happens
we will fly in the sky
for that is the place where we belong to

ROM, The history of European Art Styles

Medieval: the Middle Ages, period of time between the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 400s and the beginning of the Renaissance in 1400s (in Italy) and in 1500s (in the rest of Europe). Symbolism and Devotion:
Symbolism because most of the symbols represented Christian ideas.
Devotion because religious institutions were the chief patrons of the arts during this time. Medieval art frequently expressed religious belief and hope.

Renaissance: 1400 – 1620: Renaissance means Rebirth; it was a renewal of the ideals and values that underlay the greatness of Ancient Roman civilization. Naturalism and Classicism.
Naturalism because artists mastered the means of portraying the physical world as they eye sees it, in the naturalistic way.
Classicism because architects and artist endeavoured to revive the artistic forms and conventions of ancient Classical Rome, which seemed to them a golden age.


Baroque 1600-1750: Grandeur and Extravagance
Grandeur because the baroque style represents a dynamic, opulent interpretation of Classical Roman art, characterized by dramatic effects.
It is Extravagant because it was designed to have a strong visual impact; hence its sense of movement, its complex yet integrated arrangements of elements, its sculptural and decorative qualities and its rich materials.

Rococo: 1730 – 1770: Lightness and Sensuality. This style was called the picturesque or modern fashion. In the late 1700s, critics invented the word rococo meaning rock-work or shell work.
It was Lightness: less serious, more playful and more imaginative than the Baroque style which preceded it.
It was Sensual because in subject matter and appearance, Rococo was more intimate, sensual and relaxed than Baroque art. Natural and markedly curvaceous forms were among its hallmarks.


Neoclassical: 1760- 1840: Simplicity and Idealism
Simplicity: partly of a reaction against Rococo style, the Neo Classical style tended toward simplicity of form, restraint in decoration, flatness, symmetry, and geometrical shapes.
Idealism: Neo Classical artists and architects consciously attempted to create a reformed, ideal style based on universal laws of nature and reason.

Victorian Period: 1830-1900: Historicism and Eclecticism
During the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901), Great Britain became the most powerful industrial and imperial state in the world. The word is now applied to European and North America decorative arts of the time.
Historicism: there was no single Victorian style. Instead, architects and designers revived various historical styles. The classical tradition lost its pre eminent position .
Eclecticism: Victorian architects and designers combined elements from different styles in the same design. Victorian styles represented a reaction against certain aspects of contemporary society such as industrialization. Other styles resulted from a nostalgia for the past or an interest in non European cultures.

After 1890: Modernism and Diversity
Modernism: in aesthetics, choice of materials, and fabrication methods, many architects, artist and designers rejected tradition in an attempt to create a style that was appropriate to an industrial world.
Diversity: no unified style developed in the year after 1890. As it turned out, modernism took numerous forms. At the same time, less purely modernist approaches continued to borrow from the past

Art Nouveau Style in France and Belgium 1890-1905: this style tends to be sinuous and asymmetrical and it often emphasizes plants, languid female figures and motif derived from Japanese decorative arts. This style achieve it highest popularity at the Paris International Exposition in 1900.

Art Deco Style: 1920 -1940. Art Deco is a very symmetrical with stylized geometric decoration and bright colours. During 1930, the style became more severe and functional, with less ornamentation and greater emphasis on the properties of the materials used. By 1930 a range of streamed lined and functional everyday objects in Art Deco style was readily available.

In the middle of the course, we went for lunch

From left to right: U ve (Korea), Rozet (Filipinas), Gaby (Mexico) Eugenia (Argentina), Emerson (Brasil), Ser Gei (Russia) Sean-Young (Korea), Marcelo (Brasil), Don't remember her name (Korea), Fred the teacher and Aran (Turkia)

ILAC's Class - Advance

My favourite scene of my favourite movie

SEAN I was thinking about what you said to me the other day, about my painting. I stayed up half the night thinking about it and then something occurred to me and I fell into a deep peaceful sleep and haven't thought about you since. You know what occurred to me?

WILL No.

SEAN You're just a boy. You don't have the faintest idea what you're talking about.

WILL Why thank you.

SEAN You've never been out of Boston.

WILL No.

SEAN So if I asked you about art you could give me the skinny on every art book ever written...Michelangelo? You know a lot about him I bet. Life's work, criticisms, political aspirations. But you couldn't tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You've never stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling.

And if I asked you about women I'm sure you could give me a syllabus of your personal favorites, and maybe you've been laid a few times too. But you couldn't tell me how it feels to wake up next to a woman and be truly happy.

If I asked you about war you could refer me to a bevy of fictional and non-fictional material, but you've never been in one. You've never held your best friend's head in your lap and watched him draw his last breath, looking to you for help.

And if I asked you about love I'd get a sonnet, but you've never looked at a woman and been truly vulnerable. Known that someone could kill you with a look. That someone could rescue you from grief. That God had put an angel on Earth just for you. And you wouldn't know how it felt to be her angel. To have the love be there for her forever. Through anything, through cancer. You wouldn't know about sleeping sitting up in a hospital room for two months holding her hand and not leaving because the doctors could see in your eyes that the term "visiting hours" didn't apply to you. And you wouldn't know about real loss, because that only occurs when you lose something you love more than yourself, and you've never dared to love anything that much.

I look at you and I don't see an intelligent confident man, I don't see a peer, and I don't see my equal. I see a boy. Nobody could possibly understand you, right Will? Yet you presume to know so much about me because of a painting you saw. You must know everything about me. You're an orphan, right?

Will nods quietly.

SEAN (cont'd) Do you think I would presume to know the first thing about who you are because I read "Oliver Twist?" And I don't buy the argument that you don't want to be here, because I think you like all the attention you're getting. Personally, I don't care. There's nothing you can tell me that I can't read somewhere else. Unless we talk about your life. But you won't do that. Maybe you're afraid of what you might say.

Sean stands,

SEAN (cont'd) It's up to you.

And walks away.

Argentinean Immigration to Canada

Argentinean Immigration to Canada

Introduction

A human being is a gregarious animal. People are always seeking to live together in communities or organized groups. Because of this primary necessity, cities, nations, countries and states are formed. Every country has its own culture and people adopt the nationality of the country where he/she was born.

When someone leaves its own country with the aim to live in another one, he/she becomes an ‘immigrant’. Immigrants need to get used to a new culture and society, however, they can not forget their roots and their costums. For that reason, immigration has transformed many cities in multicultural areas.

Canada is an immigration friendly country and Toronto is the most multicultural city in the world. According to the last Canada Statistics Report that analyzes the 2006 Census based on ethnic origin, there are more than 200 different ethnic groups in Canada.

Which are these groups? Chinese are in the top of the ethnic origin’s group list. Then, they are followed by “the South Asian” and “the Blacks” as the second and third largest groups, respectively. Other visible minorities are Filipinos (8.1%), Latin-Americans (6%) and Arabs (5.2%) (Delaney, 2008).

Many Argentinean people have chosen Canada as a country to immigrate to and settle down. However, Is the Argentinean community a visible minority in Canada? How many Argentineans are living here? How did these people immigrate to Canada? When and why did it happen? How did they become part of the Canadian community? How did they integrate to the Canadian culture?

This is an exploratory essay which tends to answer these questions through three main areas of study. First of all, the process of Argentinean immigration to Canada will be observed. Secondly, some reasons that explain this phenomenon will be identified. Finally, the third part of this paper will analyze how Argentinean people have been integrated to this society and in which ways they try to preserve and highlight their own culture.

The Argentinean Immigration to Canada

There is almost 11,000 km of distance that separates Argentina from Canada. Argentina is situated in the south part of South America. Canada, in contrast, is located in the north part of North America. Despite this distance, both of them have something in common: Argentina and Canada are immigrant countries.

At the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century, Argentina received a high volume of European immigration. Many Italian and Spanish came to this country which had an open immigration policy. Because its population was not big enough, Argentina needed people to work in the farms and in the construction of the railroad. For example, in 1870 the population was less than 2 million. In 1915, in contrast, the population increased up to 8 million (Metropolis International, 1999). However, in the middle of the last century immigration decreased and many people started to emigrate.

Canada, as well as Argentina, has been an open country to immigrants. Immigration has played an important role in the constitution of Canadian society. Today Canada has such a variety of immigrants that it is a multicultural country. At the beginning of the 20th century, most immigrants came from Europe. Nowadays, in contrast, most immigrants come from Asia. However, many people from Latin America, Argentineans included, immigrate to Canada too.
How many Argentineans have immigrated to Canada? According to Canada’s National Statistical Agency, by the year 2006 there were 18,120 Argentinean people living here. It represents the 0.6% of the country’s population. Most of them (9,935) have settled down in the province of Ontario (Canada’s National Statistical Agency).

When did Argentinean people come to Canada? How the immigration process was? Agueda Reuz Bazan, an expert in multiculturalism in Canada, analyzed this process in her paper called “Argentinians”. According to this paper, the arrival of Argentinean people to Canada can be identified at the beginning of the 20th century. However, the largest amount of immigration started in 1956. Since that year, three main immigration waves can be identified: the first wave took place from 1955 to 1973; the second wave from 1973 to 1983 and the last wave from 1983 to 1989.

The first significant group of Argentineans immigrants traveled to Canada in the middle of the 20th century. By the year 1963, 1286 Argentineans had arrived to this country. Since that date and until 1973, an average number of 400 people were coming to this country every year (Reuz-Bazan). This first immigration wave was possible because of the Canadian Immigration Act of 1952. This document encouraged European and American immigrants by giving them special treatment. As many Argentineans had a European background, they benefited from this policy.
The second wave of immigration started in 1973. At that time, many people wanted to leave the country due to the political situation in Argentina. Militaries came into the government by force and began to control the country. Because of the political oppression, the ideological persecution and the military repression that many Argentineans suffered in that days, they decided to leave the country.

In this period of time, the number of people that came to Canada increased from 400 per year in 1969 to more than 1000 in 1973. The second wave of immigrants was larger and more massive than the first one. However, this phenomenon stopped when the democracy returned to Argentina in 1983.

Despite the fact that many Argentineans came back to their country when a new civil president was elected in the beginnings of the 80s, many of them still wanted to immigrate due to the economic instability and hyperinflation. This is the main reason that explains the third wave of immigration to Canada at the end of the 80s. Finally, after these three waves, by the year of 1991, more than 11.000 of Argentineans were living in Canada.

Although Reuz Bazan made an exhaustive analysis of the Argentinean immigration process; her paper did not contemplate the last 15 years. Therefore, if the last Canada’s Census is observed, another wave of immigration can be added: the fourth wave (Canada’s National Statistical Agency).

The fourth wave started in 1991 and finished in 2006. According to the statistics, the number of Argentineans that arrived to Canada between 1991 and 2000 is 3,185. However, in the year 2000 a massive arrival started. In the time of 6 years, from 2000 to 2006, 6,200 Argentineans arrived in this country. This dramatic increase can be explained by the collapse of Argentina’s politics and economy. In that period of time, Argentina defaulted in foreign debt, unemployment rose dramatically, almost half of the population fell below the poverty line and the number of homeless increased. From 2001 to 2003 Argentina suffered an exodus of 255,000, six times the total number of emigrants reported in the period 1993-2000 (Jachimowicz, 2003). Spain, Italy, Israel and the United States were the most popular destinations, but also many Argentineans chose Canada to settle down.

The main reasons that pushed Argentineans to leave the country in all these waves have been economic recession, political changes and social instability. When things started to go bad in one country, people see emigration as a positive change, a relief and as a possibility to improve their standard of living.

On the other hand, there are some reasons that might explain why Canada was chosen as a country to immigrate. In the first place, that Canada had an open immigration policy and encouraged European immigration was very favorable to Argentinean immigrants who might have felt identified with that culture. Having a European past and immigrant antecedents, make it easier for Argentinean people to integrate into the society (Reuz-Bazan). In addition to this, Canada offered them the possibility of prosperity and success that other countries did not give them. Finally, a long history of harmonious bilateral relations between Canada and Argentina and the commitment with the same global values (such as multilateralism, human rights, democracy and non- proliferation) can be also argued as a good reason.

How did Argentinean people integrate into the Canadian society? Do they have a specific or distinctive area in Toronto where they can be found easily?

If the map of the city of Toronto is observed, many specific communities can be identified at first sight. There are a “Chinatown” at Spadina St. and Dundas Ave., a “Koreatown” in the “Annex” neighborhood, a “Greek Area”, a “Little Italy”, a “Little Poland” and a “Portuguese Village”. Argentinean people do not have a distinct area in Toronto.

The inexistence of a distinctive Argentinean area can be explained by two main reasons. First of all, the Argentineans who immigrated to Canada belonged to the “urban intelligentsia” and the “skilled labour” population, so, through their professions, they could integrate easily to the Canadian Society. According to Reuz Bazan, Argentineans in Canada worked as electricians, mechanics, carpenters, construction workers, hairdressers, small retailers, travel, insurance, physicians, dentists, architects, and engineers, university professors, and civil servants. Secondly, the Argentinean specific area does not exist because of their European background. Many Argentineans are descendants from Italian or Spanish; as a result, they were able to establish close relationships with these communities in Canada. (Reuz Bazan).

Despite the fact that Argentinean people do not have a distinctive area, Argentina’s culture can be found in Canadian society in two main fields: dance and food.

Regarding dance, there are many places where “Tango”, the typical dance of Buenos Aires, is taught. There is an Argentina Tango Club in Vancouver. There is another one in Victoria (British Columbia). Also, Argentinean Tango has a place at University of Toronto. The aim of these Clubs is to promote and support the dancing of Tango in the same way it is danced in Argentina. Many “tango masters” come from Buenos Aires to Canada teach and show the dance every year. In addition to this, these clubs work as a way to keep in close touch with their native culture.

Regarding food, Argentinean most popular cuisine can be tasted in Toronto. The “Sky Ranch Restaurant”, an eating place situated in Dufferin St. at Castlefield, offered a wide range of Argentinean dishes such as: grilled meat, steak, paella, Argentinean meat pie and homemade custard with “dulce de leche” (caramel cream). This restaurant has been in business for 14 years at the same location which indicates that many Argentineans have been living here since a long time ago. Another place where Argentinean food can be purchased and tasted is “El Gaucho”. El Gaucho is a butchery and general store which is situated in the intersection of Jane St. and Wilson Ave. All the products that it sells are related to Argentinean costums: “mate” (traditional drink), “yerba’ (special herb to prepare mate), “dulce de leche” (sweet milk or caramel cream), meat (beef or steak) and coal necessary to make the “asado” (barbecue or grill).

Conclusion

The Argentinean Community in Canada is not big. Argentineans are a minority ethnic group here, but not a visible one. Argentineans immigrants arrived in this country since the beginning of the 20th century. However, the mains flows of immigrants occurred in 1973 due to the dictatorial government and in 1990 and 2001 because of the economic crisis. Canada has always been seen as a country of better opportunities to grow professionally and economically by the Argentineans. On the other hand, Canada has always been friendly to European immigrants. For that reason, Argentinean people could take advantage of this preferential treatment.

Argentinean immigrants have been integrated very well to the Canadian Society. They could develop their profession and skills on many fields such as services, education or independent activities. Although there is not a distinctive are in the city of Toronto in which Argentinean people could be found, its culture is represented through the Tango and the cuisine. Tango is taught by many Argentinean dancers who want to promote the dancing and maintain close relationships with their native country. The Argentinean cuisine can also be tasted in a specific and traditional restaurant.

That is the way Argentinean immigrants do not lose their costums. That is the way; immigrants do not miss their country and that is the way they can show and share their culture and transform societies in multicultural ones. Argentinean people in Canada are just a little part of its multicultural mosaic.

Bibliography
· CANADA IN THE MAKING: Immigration Acts (1866 - 2001). Available on line in: http://www.canadiana.org/citm/specifique/immigration_e.html
· CANADA’S NATIONAL STATISTICAL AGENCY: Tables: Argentinean Immigration in Canada and in the Province of Ontario. Available on line in: http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/highlights/Immigration/Table404.cfm and http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/highlights/Immigration/Table404.cfm
· CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION OF CANADA: Recent Immigrants in Metropolitan Areas: Toronto—A Comparative Profile Based on the 2001 Census Http://Www.Cic.Gc.Ca/English/Resources/Research/Census2001/Toronto/Parta.Asp
· DELANEY, J. (2008, April 3): Canada’s multicultural evolution. The Epoch Times. pp: Main page and Continued on A3 Nation.
· JACHIMOWICZ, M. (2003): Argentina, a new era of migration and migration policy. Princenton University. Avalilabe online: http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?ID=374
· JAVED, N. and KEUNG, N. (2008, April 03): Visible minorities gaining. Toronto Star. pp: main page and A13.
· METROPOLIS INTERNATIONAL (1999) An Integral Part of the Whole. Volume 2 Number 2. Avalailable on line in http://canada.metropolis.net/publications/newsletter/newslet22_e.html
· REUS-BAZÁN, A.: Argentineans. Canada’s Multicultural Historical Resources Online. Available online in: http://www.multiculturalcanada.ca/ecp/content/argentinians.html
· RUIZ, W.: Latinamericans. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Avalilable on line:http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1SEC823211
· STURO, J. : History of Canadian Immigration. Available on line in: http://ezinearticles.com/?History-of-Canadian-Immigration&id=410287
· VELEZ, W: South American Immigration: Argentina. University of Yale. Available on line in: http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1990/1/90.01.06.x.html
· VERONIS, L: Rethinking Transnationalism:Latin Americans’ Experiences of Migration and Participation in Toronto. Department of Geography University of Ottawa. Available online in: http://ceris.metropolis.net/frameset_e.html


Web Sites
· Argentine Tango in Vancouver: http://www.sfu.ca/~jsanders/
· The Home of Argentine Tango in Victoria: http://www.tangovita.com/
· Tango in Toronto: http://www.torontotango.com/
· Sky Ranch: Argentinean Restaurant: http://skyranch.sites.toronto.com/

Word Number (Characters with spaces) 12.745

==========================

This was my final essay at YORK UNIVERSITY

A bit of thought in my cup of tea...

I like tea. Every day I drink at least one cup of tea. Today I went to Starbucks, one of the most popular coffee shops in Toronto. I needed to relax and charged my batteries, so I bought a cup and I sat in a comfortable chair to see the people walking around. When I looked at my cup, I realized that something was written in it:

"The Way I See It # 141"*

And I read it:

“I used to feel so alone in the city. All these gazillions of people and then me, on the outside.

Because how do you meet a new person? I was very stumped by this for many years. And then I realized, you just say “Hi”. They may ignore you. Or you may marry them. And that possibility is worth that one word: Hi.”

Augusten Burroughs (Author)


Nice, isn’t it ? May be the next person you say Hi can be your wife or husband or may be not... but at least there is one possibility....

================================

* STARBUCKS “The way I see it” is a collection of thoughts, opinions and expressions provided by notable figures that now appear on Starbucks widely shared cups.

I did it! From Finch to Union walking...

It was my challenge! and I did it!

I walked from Finch to Union Station.

Everybody thought I was crazy hahaha

but you know what? I just like walking.

It took me 4 hours and 20 minutes

but walking is the best way to know the city.

I discovered beautiful places and

I pass through the filming of a commercial.

I did it!

17 Subway Stations by Foot

Finch Station

Departure Point: 9:50 am

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North York Center Station 10:15 am

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Sheppard Station 10:30 am

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York Mills Station 11:05 am

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Lawrence Station 11:30 am

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Eglinton Station 12: 05

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Davisville Station 12:25

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St. Clair Station 12:40

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Summerhill Station 12:50

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Rosedale Station 1:00 pm

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Bloor Station 1:10pm

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Wellesley Station 1:16pm

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College Station 1:25 pm

I took here 10 minutes break

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Dundas Station 1:50 pm

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Queen Station 1:55 pm

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King Station 2:05 pm

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Union Station 2:10 pm