¿De dónde vienen mis cosas y adónde van?

Hola a todos! As many of you go about your holiday shopping, I just thought I'd take this opportunity to encourage you to reflect on how we as US consumers are part of a greater, global economy. This video about where stuff comes from, how it's processed and where it ends up illustrates just how far reaching the consequences of purchasing lots of "stuff" can be for others and ourselves. Our consumerism feeds into a lot of the problems facing developing countries in central and south america such as child labor, toxic pollution, mass migration from rural communities that can no longer sustain themselves due to loss of resources to huge cities to find any available work to ensure survival, etc. Many kids your age and younger are working 12 or more hours a day in factories making products for developed nations like ours. This video is about 20 minutes long so make sure you have enough time to view in full. (Here's the link in case you wish to view it in a larger format (recommended!) http://www.storyofstuff.com/ ) I think you'll find it an interesting and worthwhile viewing. It is my hope that you'll approach your holiday shopping with more international-mindedness and with a greater sense of your global responsibility. Perhaps this season nature your creative side instead of your consumer side and make your own holiday gifts. At the very least, use your purchasing power with an increased awareness of the individuals, communities, environments and economies around the world that might have been impacted in the making of whatver "stuff" you buy. Reflejen y piensen en el poder que tienen para crear cambio en el mundo. ¡Felices fiestas!

Humor con verbos...

Here's that joke I told you about. It's much more amusing in the original Spanish than it seemed to be when I related it to you in English... Obviously, something is lost in translation; it couldn't possibly be that I'm just not that funny.

decir/dice = to say or tell/ she says
gritar/gritando = to yell/yelling
dime = give me
a lo cual = to which

En clase le dice la profesora a Jaimito:
-- A ver, Jaimito. Dime el presente de indicativo del verbo nadar.
A lo cual responde el niño gritando:-
-- YO NADO, TU NADAS, EL NADA...
-- Jaimito, más bajo, más bajo...
-- Yo buceo, tú buceas, él bucea...

¿Cómo eres? Un ‘test’ de personalidad

Click on this link for an artistic look at your personality. For you AbInitios, keep a window open to Word Reference because these descriptions are completamente en espanol!

¡Sí se puede!

Just for you, Amalia!

These tortugas hatch underground from eggs and them squirm to the surface. Then they book-it to the high seas (in this clip they do so despite quite a large audience of gawkers who have conveniently dug them a slight trench so they can find their way more easily. It seems to be quite a large feat considering that thir heads seem to weigh more than their bodies. :)
(You can probably skip the first 1:45 of this clip.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNqKi2eUUi0&feature=related

This one is cute, too. ¡Sí se puede!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5724101698025238287

El pasillo ecuatoriano...

Here are the links for the Pasillo video clips we viewed in class. Goza de la musica ecuatoriana!

El trio de jovenes colombianos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4eqX-IEZb0&feature=related

El hombre peruano que se llama "rojasyrojas":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcPUSofg2mM

...y con la guitarra muy pequena:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y6dVDOq4wI&feature=related