"Toilet" suena mejor en francés

Esta noche me he dado cuenta de algo que ya sabía desde hace mucho tiempo: me muero por poder hablar en francés.
La mayoría de la gente que me conoce posiblemente se pueda sorprender, después de toda la vara que estoy dando con el inglés: estudio en la escuela oficial de idiomas, intento preguntar cómo se pronuncia tal palabra, leo libros en inglés (mi viaje este verano a Londres ha acabado casi con un espolio a las librerías inglesas),...
Pero es que si escogemos, por ejemplo, la palabra del título, creo que habría muy poca gente que defendería que suena mejor en inglés... Bueno, algunos dirían que es menos cursi, pero en francés parece como si, en lugar de ir a hacer tus necesidades, quisieran hacerte las tuyas.

Bueno, todo esto viene porque hoy me he encontrado con el marido del amigo de mi novio (¡Uh!, vaya lío), el cual sabe poquísimo del español, algo del inglés y todo sobre el francés... Yo, como mal estudiante del inglés, intentaba mentalmente por todos los medios buscar palabras en francés con las que hablar con él... y he llegado a la palabra "toilet" en unas de mis incursiones al baño. Ha sido como agua de mayo, la verdad. Era defender una pronunciación frente al lenguaje universalmente útil y práctico, con el que puedes hablar en cualquier parte del mundo...

Los que bien me conocen saben que soy, ante todo, práctico y cabezón (para qué negarlo). Por eso, después de tantos años, tengo que terminar mis clases de inglés. Llegar a un título homologado oficialmente (no por el puto first, sino por un título oficial de la Unión Europea, aunque esté menos publicitada que el de la universidad inglesa... uno se cansa de explicar la diferencia entre la Europa institucional y la Gran Bretaña profunda), solamente para poder sentirme que sé inglés y poder mantener una conversación en ese idioma que se disculpa diciendo "estoy desolado" y no resulta tan sumamente "matemático"...

Arwen me entenderá (y Valle).

Nota: acabo de volver de marcha y no me voy a poner a corregir el texto, suficiente es que lo he escrito medio borracho a estas 9:27 de la mañana.

An informal letter

I had to write an informal letter like homework and there we are:

My address
41009 Sevilla
18th February 2009


Dear Mrs Sanders
Thank you for your letter. I’m really looking foward to staying there.
I’m arriving at Gatwick airport at 10.00 on July 31st. I’ve already looked for the timetable on the Internet and there is a train to Brighton at 11.00, I think I’ll be able to take it. Anyway, the next one leaves at 12.00. My phone number is 0034636889911. I hope I won’t get lost.
I like all kinds of food and I don’t mind if I have to share a room, although I’d prefer a single room because my room’s always untidy.
If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to stay a week there after the end of the course.
Best wishes,
Antonio Torres.

P.S. I’m sending you a photo of me because I think I’ll be so amazed that I won’t be able to recognize you.

The story behind a photo

This is one of my favorite photos, because it was taken when I went to England.
It was in December 2005 when I took a week off for holidays and I went to Cambridge to visit a friend.
We stayed in Cambridge everyday, except on Friday, when we went to London.
That day we woke up early and took a bus to London. We were walking around all day, so we were very tired at six o’clock. Then we entered a bookshop and we saw there were people who were sitting on the carpet, reading books. So we did the same and took some photography books.
We could rest a little bit and continue walking around.
Although I took a lot of photos in London, I like this photo because it’s not the typical photo which a tourist could take and I think it’s so cool that you could sit down in a bookshop.

Otro writing

Al fin y al cabo son cosas que he escrito, ¿no?
Éste fue del examen que hice el lunes, en el que entraba, al igual que en los otros, solamente el presente simple y continuo. Además, salvo que me dé la vena creativa, suelo ser bastante conservador en la escritura. Está aún sin corregir, y espero que esté bien. El tema era, como el e-mail, la descripción de una persona. Tenía que ser un familiar y opté por hacerlo de mi hermano, el mini-yo. Nos pedían 100 palabras y, como he dicho, opté por poco más.

Pongo una foto en la que una "amiga" comenta que se nota que ya tengo los 30 (aunque ella tenga más, claro).


I'm talking about my youngest brother. His name is Jose. He is 23 years old and he lives in Cordoba.
I can say that he lives with my parents, but he is always out. He often stays at home for dinner and to sleep.
He is a secretary (no recordaba cómo se dice contable) and he's studying too.
He is the most extrovert in the family. He is always talking and laughing. He likes going out to parties, clubs and restaurants. He loves drinking and dancing with his friends. He is usually having parties and meeting people.
He wasn't very sporty, but now he is going to the gym twice a week. He doesn't smoke, but he doesn't eat a lot of healthy food.

Dos cositas de inglés

Este año mi curso de segundo está siendo totalmente extraño. Hemos tenido poco más de un mes de clase y con 4 profesoras distintas. Además, como se empieza repasando, hemos dado poco más del presente simple y el continuo.
Aquí adjunto dos cosillas que he hecho para clase. Una es la descripción de un cuadro y la otra es un email. En ambos se ve mi maravilloso dominio del presente continuo.


This picture is called Baño en Asnieres by Georges Seurat and I have a mother’s copy in my living room. I love this picture because I relax when I’m looking at it.
It’s a picture about a hill and a river where people are sitting or swimming.
In the middle you can see a man who is sitting. He is only wearing shorts and a hat and is staring the water. It seems he is so relaxed.
On the left there are three men, but they are alone. The nearest man is lying on the grass, next to him there is a dog. He is wearing a white jacket, black trousers and a hat. The two men are sitting, one is wearing a grey underwear t-shirt, a hat and trousers. The other is so far that you only can see he is wearing white clothes.
On the right, there are two young men into the river. The nearest boy is standing and the water is near his waist. It seems he is only wearing shorts and a hat and he is cool, because he is blowing his hands. The other boy is standing too.
In the background you can see a city and some boats on the river.


From: Antonio Torres (anthonytowers@gmail.com)
To: ****
Subject: Hi

Hi, Brian.
I’m Antonio, from Seville, Spain. I was really born in Cordoba, but I live in Seville since 1996. I’m a civil servant and I work in a call center. I like my job, because I report about unemployment benefit. I’m always studying laws.
I live in a flat that I’ve bought six months ago. I live alone but I like living with a partner too.

I like books and films. I’m always reading a book and looking for information about films on Internet. I’m learning English because I like music and travelling, and I’d like to understand what I’m listening to and who I’m speaking.
At weekend, I usually go out with my friends. I like speaking with them and dancing. I think I’m extrovert and talkative. And I take care of them, too.
I’m doing exercises at home, because I’m short of money now.

Waiting for your answer.
Wishes,

The phone doesn't work

My job is asking phone, but now the phone is off. I think it is a software problem. On the other side, today is my first English exam, so I'm going to write in English.

I live in Seville since 1996. I came for studying Math and I started working here, although I've never wanted to come back to Cordoba.
The main different between Sevilla and Cordoba is the size, because I think people is really similar when weather is the same. Moreover, I can go to Cordoba whenever I wish.

Now I'm writting about me.
I love travelling, but I have two problems to do it: I don't have enough money and time. So I can only travel once a year. I'm going to buy a flat right now, so I think I can´t travel during two or three years. To purchase a flat in Spain is very difficult to young people.
I like reading, even I buy two or three books in a month or
check a book out of the library.
I like do exercise. I went to the gym, but now I have to save money. When I'd be owner perphaps I'll go to a cheaper gym or I'll go jogging, cycling, rowing... I can't predict what I wish.

P.S: I would thank your contribution for get better my written English.

A writing

My friend's name's Pili. She's 27 years old. She studies Statistics at University. She's from Mallorca and has been living in Sevilla for 12 years.

She likes going out with her friends and dancing. She loves reading and listening to music. She doesn´t like Spanish films and Spanish music. She can dance all night but she can't go out without doing housework.

She's tall and thin. She has long dark hair and brown eyes.

My favorite day of the week (another homework)

My favorite day of the week is Saturday, because I don´t have to work.
I usually stay in bed until 10.00 or 11.00. Then I have breakfast and watch TV. After I do housework or go to the supermarket. I usually do the things that I can't do during the rest of the week.
I usually make a good lunch. After lunch I watch a film and talk to friend on the phone. I sometimes meet my friends.
In the evening I sometimes invite friends for dinner. After we go to pubs to drink and dance. I always see friends that I can't see another day.

My second homework is an e-mail

Es un e-mail a un penfriend, aunque realmente Rad me pidió que se lo mandara a él y es lo que he hecho.




Hi, Rad. How are you?

My name's Antonio and I'm from Cordoba-Spain, but I've lived in Seville since 1996. I'm 29.

I'm a civil servant, I work in the Employment Service.

I study English in an Official School. I speak Spanish and a little English. I want to learn English because I like to travel and i'd like to work in other country.

My family live in Cordoba. My father is retired and my mother is a housewife. They're 63 and 61 years old. I have two brothers. They're 34 and 22. My older brother is married.

I like music, reading and sports. I do capoeira and ride on my bike.I have a blog too. I think I'm a fanatic of cinema.

Write soon,
Antonio Torres


Imagen sacada de www.thamesis.es