Christmas post

Christmas is a wonderful time of the year when we celebrate faith, family, and the tradition of giving gifts and sending greeting cards. Even if nowadays, emails or text messages are more popular, sending Christmas greetings is a nice and easy way to show your family and friends that you care and that you think about them during this important time of year.

Christmas is almost here, that’s why I would like to wish you all the best! Don’t forget about true meaning of this special time. It’s about spending time with a family and not about how much money you can spend on gifts. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a wonderful dinner and to enjoy just being with your nearest and dearest instead of over spending and getting into debt? That’s my outlook on what Christmas should be and in my opinion, most of you will be agree with me, won’t you?

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you! :)

PS. I am posting one of my favorite songs related witch Christmas. I am sure that you know it: 

  

fame

As we know, there are many famous people in the world. Most of them have big troubles because of their fame. During my free time, I read sometimes some newspapers or articles about celebrities and I came to the conclusion that one of their biggest problems are paparazzi. 

A famous person is always followed by groups of photographers. They want to know about every little detail wchich concerns the star. When a celebrity comes to the public place, everybody immadiately recognizes him or her. It can have some advantages but also many disadvantages. If a group of fans want to have the star's autograph, such a famous person has to sign his or her posters, pictures etc. If it lasts too long, a star is getting angry and tired because it isn't really nice and pleasant to write the same thing again and again, is it?  

Moreover, stars can't do many things which every other person can do. They are treated as examples and a lot of people copy their beahviour or habits. Celebrities don't want to reveal all their secrets or problems to the public, and that's why they flee from the crowd and it can sometimes lead to misfortune, like with the case of princess Diana, who died in a car accident, when she was trying to flee from paparazzi.  

In addition, we know some cases, when a famous person couldn't stand all the problems connected with stardom and he or she commited a suicide. Luckily, stars don't choose such a drastic way too often. However, sometimes they shake off by being on drugs or by drinking alcohol. As far as I am concerned, more wiser choice would be to disappear from public life and to live a quiet life.

That's why, I believe that being famous is not only life full of variety, money and travels but it can be also a horrible experience.

And what is your opinion? Are you agree with me that stars don't have an easy life? 

an ideal teacher

Have you ever seen “Dead Poets Society”? I watched this movie once again this weekend and it inspired me to ask myself about the characteristics of an ideal teacher.

As far as I am concerned, an ideal teacher has many qualities. The effect of his personality on students should last long. He is a person who is loved and respected by every student. He should try to establish a kind of bond between the hearts and minds of himself and his pupils. And this type of  teacher was Mr. Keating, one of the main characters in the movie “Dead Poets Society”.

From the beginning, this English professor had a good relationship with his students. After the first lesson, boys were surprised, curious, and fascinated by him. They admired his different way of teaching and the way he made them think for themselves. John Keating was challenging the students to live life, not to just automatically go along with what they are told. Ripping out the introduction to their poetry textbook, standing on their desks to look at the world in a different way or kicking soccer balls while yelling poetry aloud – these unorthodox teaching methods demonstrated freedom of expression and non-conformity.

Moreover, Mr. Keating was the only person at the school whom this students trusted. They talked to him about their problems and treated him like a friend. He was not only interested in learning and in results. His students were important to him and he has also the special relationship with his pupils. All in all, although in others’ eyes, Mr. Keating was a bad teacher, I strongly believe that these students learned more than they had learned in their whole life.

Here you have a fragment of the movie. Can you imagine this way of teaching in Poland? According to you, what should the ideal teacher be like? 

subtitles or dubbing?

The last few years have seen a boom in the popularity of foreign films and television shows, especially in English. As a result, non-English-speaking audiences are getting used to subtitles and dubbing in their own languages. That is why, it seems interesting to discuss the reason why, in my opinion, it’s better to watch foreign movies with subtitles rather than the dubbed ones.

I have seen both subtitled and dubbed films, but I can tell that I find subtitling to be better. There are many reasons why I prefer this way of watching films, but the most important is  the occasion to learn some new language. In my opinion, subtitles can help a lot in learning new words and in acquiring a good accent. Understanding foreign speech is difficult and subtitles provide some lexical information.

Moreover, for me, it’s really distracting watching movies and hearing the sound which doesn’t correspond to the lip movements of the actors. The words coming out are often not synchronized and the dubbing voice doesn't match to the actors' characters.

But on the other hand, dubbing a program means that the audience doesn't have to read the dialogue while watching the show, so the attention is focused only on the image. However, according to me,  there is one particular situation where dubbing is the better method - cartoons for young children. There's a good reason for this: children can't read fast enough to understand the subtitles. That’s why, movies designed for them have to be dubbed.

To sum up, as far as I’m concerned, subtitles are better when it comes to watching foreign movies because they help in learning new language at the same time as enjoying the movies.

And what is your opinion about it? Do you think that it’s possible to learn a new language from watching foreign movies? Or do you prefer dubbed movies? J

travelling

I have just come back from Spain and inspired by conversation heard in the plane, I decided to write about travelling and its necessity. I was listening a little argument between two people (well, not quite polite from my part J ). One of them said that he can’t wait to come back home, to his comfortable bed and that “there is no place like home”. His friend, I guess, was really outraged and said that he can’t wait his next trip and he can’t stand at his own home more than one month. That’s why, I started to think about my own attitude to travelling.

Firstly, ok, it’s true that this popular proverb “there is no place like home” tells the truth. One can say that the best place for us is our home. In my opinion, it is connected with our attachment to our own place. People are used to their rooms, belongings and activities at home. When one is forced to leave, everything seems strange and hostile: a bed is uncomfortable, bathroom is ugly or a wardrobe is too small. And at home everything is suitable for you, everything is exactly the way you want it to be.

However, as far as I am concerned, travelling is an essential thing in our life. You have a possibility to discover new things, to meet new people of the different culture and to see how are they living. It broadens your mind and makes your life more interesting.

Ok, it can be expensive but, in my opinion, saving money does not make any sens! Waste some money! Go to the places which you have been dreaming about! Invest money on travelling, learn new things, learn new languages and complete your crazy dreams! J Nobody will ask you in 30 years what car you had in the past…The only thing you will have after these 30 years are memories.

Moreover, without travelling it's easy to believe there is only one way to live and only one way to think…BUT IT’S NOT TRUE! Travelling is the best way of having new experiences. Imagine climbing  a mountain or going for a walk on the beach, or going to a museum … Imagine the infinite possibilities travelling opens up for you.

To sum up, I think I am quite lucky, cause I've had a lot of possibilities to travel around the world and I can surely say that it’s one of the best things you can do in your life! And what is your opinion about it? Do you prefer to stay at home or to travel? What type of  person are you: “home-bird” or just the opposite? 

topic of the month

Inspired by the post made by our lecturer of English, I decided to present my opinion about quite controversial subject, and more precisely, to answer the following question:

“Should those who choose to live in a foreign country be required to learn its official language?”

Firstly, forcing immigrants to do something against their will is a sign of xenophobia and, in a word, it’s simply unfair. It's their life and their own wish to learn a language or not. Moreover, as a student of French philology, I know that it’s extremely difficult to learn a new language.

What’s more, one of the reasons for people to come to a foreign country, is to start a new life, without any requirements. Everybody should be allowed to come to the new place no matter what language he speaks. So why make unnecessary demands?

But on the other hand, it makes sense that the newcomers should learn the official language. How else would they supposed to communicate? What happens if there would be an accident and they would need help and finally didn't get it because they didn't speak the language? There are a hundred different reasons why people need to learn the language of the country they live in, not just for assimilation but also for safety. I would say that it’s a sort of survival.

Furthermore, there’s no need to speak like a lawyer, I mean, to be grammatically correct. You need just learn the basic words and that's all. I think that people are smart enough to choose for themselves if they want to speak one language or not. In the course of time, for whatever reason (to earn more money or even to be able to speak with others), the newcomers will probably learn one language so it’s no need to force them to do it.

To sum up, in my opinion, learning official language of the country you choose to live in, should be a matter of personal choice and not of the requirement of law.

And what is your opinions about it? Are you agree with me? :)

"the true story of a real fake"

Have you seen the movie "Catch me if you can"? It's a 2002 American biographical crime drama film based on the life of Frank Abagnale, a good-looking American boy who, before his 19th  birthday, pretended to be first Airways pilot, a Georgia doctor and then a lawyer. This story is so outrageous that if I didn't know it was based on a true story, I would have thought that it was just Hollywood garbage. That's why, I would like to tell you a few words about this amazing man. 

Before he was 19 years ols, Frank Abagnale pulled off so many impossible scams that you can hardly believe that he was able to do it. For five years he travelled the world for free, stayed in expensive hotels and had relationships with beautiful women. By the age of 21. he had cheated his way to $2.5 million!!! He was an international man od mystery. He was wanted by the FBI and Interpol (International Police) in 26 countries! His good looks helped him, but his charm was his most important tool...He dressed well and everybody believed the stories he made up. Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays Frank Abagnale in the film, said that "Abagnale is one of the greatest actors who has walked the Earth". 

At the age of 16., Frank ran away from home and began to be an international trickster. He used magnetic ink to change bank code numbers illegally. He managed to steal $40.000 of other customers' money before the banks worked out what he was doing. He also got a pilot's uniform by saiyng that his was lost at the dry cleaner's and that he had an urgent flight. What's more, he pretended to be a doctor for a year. With no formal training, he picked up the skills by reading medical books and watching other doctors at work. Can you imagine?

I won't tell you his whole story because you have to see this movie! It's really worth watching! (even if it would be only for Leonardo DiCaprio, who can really act! )

Here some shots of the movie:

And Frank Abagnale in the flesh: