Maia's blog

Living with Feng Shui

2007-04-25T02:54:00.000-07:00

These days Oriental culture is in fashion. Occidental people want to prove a new way to live, a new option to make their lives more comfortable and cosy. It is in our cities, around us. The main point is harmony. We must be in harmony with ourselves, among us and with the environment. A practice, that is now taking new followers, is Feng Shui. The origin was in China and it interprets time and space energy flows in the nature for ensuring the harmony of human constructions with the environment. Basis for feng shui recognize several origins.

This practice believes in the existence of a vital breath or chi and it is altered substantially by the shape and position, cardinal points and temporary changes. If we move that to our life, we must study the structure of our house and the position in the street, locations of rooms and the furniture. For instance, when we choose a house, we have to take into account several questions: the floor of the house has to be at the same level to the street, regular shapes are better than irregular. If we have a terraced house, it can't be too high or too low, we must avoid corners and roofs to our house, the front door has to have a favourable measure, the kitchen and the bathroom can't be in the middle of the house or flat…This practice takes care for all details around us to put in order our house, from the structure to where we must place the oven. Every thing has its place and its time, because it thinks we mustn't keep very old things at home and for that reason, sometimes, we have to throw away old things to let new things come in.

It's an interesting way to live but very stressing if we are too strict with rules, because you can feel very well at your home with a mirror, the position of a wall, or a room without feng shui. But when you visit a house or an apartment of a follower of this practice, it’s a very pleasant feeling because every thing seems in its place, it’s very curious. I don’t know, maybe I will have to start to practice, why not?

The Battle for a Mortgage

2007-04-02T08:29:00.000-07:00

On 1^st April of 2007, The New York Times published an article about mortgages. The author of the article, Christine Haughney, tells us what it happens in New York when you want to buy a house. I thought that if you had a high salary (with six-figure salary) you would have more facilities to borrow money from banks. But, it seems that in recent weeks, it has begun to be very difficult, because lenders try to stem losses from loans to the weakest borrowers. Of course, lenders always lend money when they don’t loose anything, but it’s curious that they try to make up for money with high level people. You could think that it’s a justice question.

But if you continue reading the article, you realize that it isn’t the question. The problem is new lending requirements and the kind of payer. Basically, banks say: ‘You are going to pay the piper for any little mistake’. I mean, for instance, delays in their mortgage applications. Then, when New Yorkers want to have a mortgage, potential problems are low credit scores, high credit-card balances or listing a suspiciously high salary for a given job. And these things aren’t a problem for rich people, but it’s a problem for people with a high salary. The main point is that they have a not bad salary, their mortgage brokers have problems to negotiate the deal, and if this kind of people have problems, what happens with medium salaries? Is it impossible to buy a flat without a six-figure salary? Now, in New York seems impossible, but I think we could have the same discussion here, maybe without the figure of mortgage broker, only the bank.

LOVE IN 21st CENTURY

2007-03-27T01:59:00.000-07:00

I had never asked myself how love is in these days or how it will be in the future. When I was child I listened to my family their opinion about love. My grandparents said that the relationships between people were different when they were young. And when years went by, my parents said a similar thing. Then, does love change with time? I don’t think so. The feeling is the same, because people need love. We need the contact with people, the interaction. But I think the way to achieve these things is different actually than in the past. This is logical because the way of life changes continuously. If we compare our environment with the world twenty or fifty years ago, we find differences, for instance, the kind of technology around us and the use that we give it, besides others situations and things.

The typical family has changed and many different kinds of families have appeared, single mothers or fathers, two fathers or mothers, grandparents with their grandchildren, couples with children of different father or mother, couples, a group of friends… Of course, every person expresses love in his own way and it also depends on the individual or family situation. I don’t know if it’s now easier or more difficult than before because I can’t compare but I think the feeling is the same. The distances and the society force us to look for new ways to communicate and show our feelings and it will be interesting to see how we will be able to solve it.

Anyway, someone told me if when we remember a year, we don’t cry of happiness or sadness, we haven’t lived that year. I think that sentence expresses the meaning of love without time, because when we remembered a year, we use to remember our friendships, couples, children and relationships between people. Feelings of love, passion, hate, sadness, happiness and others are very important for us because we need them to wake up every day in the morning.

The merchants of cool

2007-03-05T03:18:00.000-08:00

Being a teenager is difficult. TV and music influence teenagers and send them messages about how they should be cool. But, who decides that? Who decides how to be cool?

In one hand, companies and TV want to sell their products because teenagers are a potential and big market to buy anything. When you watch TV, advertisments tell you that you are not thin enough or not pretty enough. They tell you clothes that you have to wear for being cool or how to smell. In the other hand, a teenager has to combine his own opinion with the opinion of his friends, TV, his favourite music groups.

Nowadays, there is a symbiotic relationship between the media and teenagers. It exists the example of MTV. This channel has TV programs and music videos for young people. The true is that these videos sell them a life style. Moreover, the companies monopolizes the system and that provokes that the same thing is sold by TV, radio, newspapers, magazines…because a big company owns different places where they can advertise their products.

And, where are adults in the media? In TV series, they show adultified kids that make their own decisions. In the documentary "The merchants of cool", they talk about TV series like Dawson's Creek or Buffy, the vampire slayer, where it's true that main characters are teenagers and they make decisions like if they were adults. In that way, they will decide how and why they spend their own money. But the marketing has to be attractive for them. For that reason, companies ask teenagers what they want and what they think it is cool or not.

Then, who decides? I don't know, because it's a vicious circle.

Fairy Tale

2007-02-13T00:33:00.000-08:00

This was my favourite tale when I was a child. Do you remember it?

The Little Vain Mouse

There was once a little mouse who was very vain. On day, she found a coin on the ground and she was very happy for that. She started to think how she could spend that money. She thought and thought and finally, she decided to buy a big piece of pink silk to make herself a beautiful bow.
She was really beautiful with her pink bow, and many animals wanted to get married to her. But Little Mouse was demanding and she wanted a perfect animal. First, she met a fat pig. He was in love with Little Mouse, and promised to make her wishes true. However, she didn’t like his appearance and she turned down his offer.
After that, she met a rich dog and he asked her to get married. She thought about his petition, but she didn’t want to get married to the rich dog because he wore glasses.
At last, she met a handsome cat and she believed that he was perfect for her. The perfect cat talked to her about a perfect life in a perfect house and she believed him.
They married soon, And Little Mouse was beautiful and happy with her bride dress. When she saw the groom, she thought that she was really lucky. When the wedding finished and they were together at their home, the cat (her husband) wanted to eat Little Mouse because she was a mouse.
The cat was stronger than little Mouse and he almost killed her but at that moment, two policemen arrived at the house and they arrested the cat and Little Mouse lost an illusion.

The moral of this story is: Sometimes, appearances can deceive.

A diary entry

2007-02-03T09:28:00.000-08:00

1 February Yesterday we came back home. We should have stayed there longer. We spent a good time, several months in France. It was cold but sunny. We tried to visited many tourist places and to make a lot of photographs. We lived in an old town, near an incredible lake, in a little house with a little garden where I had planted some roses. This morning when I woke up and I was looking out the window, Martin said, "I would like to come back". It's difficult to return to your previous life when you have lived in a foreign place for a long time.

Mini Saga

2007-01-14T03:27:00.000-08:00

After Christmas holidays, we have to return our blogs. This week, I'm going to try writing a short story. I didn't know anything about mini-sagas. But, last Thursday, we read some of them at the English class and the teacher suggested us to write one. I've written a mini-saga, and I would like to know if I'm able to make me understand in English with only fifty words.

Happy Wedding Anniversary
He arrived home soon, with a bunch of roses. A surprise for his wife. They had been married for twenty years. He walked upstairs and opened the door of bedroom. One year later, he was cooking the dinner. The ring bell rang. It was a messenger. Finally, he was divorced.

When I was writing the story I noticed that it's very difficult to write with few words in a foreign language. I wish you like it.

A little bit about Christmas

2006-12-17T06:52:00.000-08:00

In these dates people start to prepare Christmas, cities and shops are illuminated with lights and decorated with special decoration. People begin thinking in presents and in family meetings. In a traditional way to celebrate these days, people decide where they are going to celebrate on Christmas Day. Basically, you have to choose in what home you will do the dinner, the menu, a present would like to your family members, friends…
But there is a new tendency, and it is to celebrate Christmas holidays in a new place, going abroad. Many people tend to travel in this date because they don't want to live the Christmas spirit at home. Sometimes full families decide to go to other place to celebrate Christmas or they don't like that day and they prefer to spend their free time in places, like the Caribbean. I don't know the reason but gradually, this tendency begins to have followers and it's a different way to survive at these days.
Anyway, I prefer to celebrate the Christmas Day in the traditional way but I think we should spend these days how we prefer, independently if we like or not Christmas.

A little complain

2006-11-28T01:18:00.000-08:00

I know there are a lot of letters to newspapers where people write their complains and in this post I want to write a little complain about trains and Renfe.
Not very often I use trains but I have friends and workmates who travel by train every day. When they told me their stories every morning I must to recognize that it's difficult to believe them. But it's true, because every day, when they go to station they don't know when they arrive at their work at their hour. It's very difficult to start working on time when your train doesn't work. Of course, every day doesn’t happen the same thing, but when that occurs you have to apologize with your boss and say: "Sorry, but the train was delayed".
I know it must be difficult to organize timetables, but I think Renfe should know how to do it. I know that in all jobs there are problems, but Renfe has a big problem now because there aren't so many problems when you travel by bus or underground.
Anyway, I think it's a disgrace that our public transport (where we have to pay taxes), doesn't work well and your choices are to take a car or to wait for the train.

American guest

2006-11-11T04:56:00.000-08:00

Last day we met an American person who told us several things about United States. I met people who lived there but nobody who was born and lives for a while but I had never met people from there. Actually we hear things about American government and citizens by newspapers, TV, internet… But I think it's very revealing because she explained us her point of view about some things.

For instance, she told us the importance of volunteers in hospitals, schools, community centers… she told us she is a nurse and where she lives there are Latin people who don't speak English. It was very difficult to help them because they couldn't communicate in a good way. For that reason, they learnt basic Spanish to help them in the hospital. Then she and more people think about these people, and they decided to teach basic English to people who don't speak any English.
I think it's a good thing to do because you can help your neighbours or stranger people. Of course, you can be a volunteer all your life, whatever your age was. Our guest and the teacher told us the way how retired people work as a volunteer in United States. This idea it's more extended in USA than in Spain. There are retired people who feel alone or bored or not useful and if they have a good health (more or less) and it's a way to relation with other people.

Anyway, I liked the experience because it was an opportunity to know United States in a different way than we watch on TV, for instance.

Henry Moore Exposition

2006-11-01T04:49:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, 4th class of EOI Esplugues went to Henry Moore Exposition at Caixa Forum. I must tell that I didn't like going to the exposition but when I were at Caixa Forum with Henry Moore's big sculptures while the guide explained us the story and the creations moments of the artist, I really loved the experience.

When the guide route finished, we watched a video which told us how nature influenced in his sculptures and other things. After that, I started to walk for the room and to look for details in the figures and shapes. I enjoyed the exposition, but there were three pieces that I really loved.

One of them was the "Family Group Figure". I really loved how Henry Moore expressed the unit between de members of the family and how arms of mother and father wrapped the child as they were a knot.

The second one was the reclining figure that was made by two different pieces. I like how the artist worked with bronze. One piece was how a stone that it was sculpted by the sea, strong and powerful sea. Second piece was like a stone that was eroded by the wind and rain. That figure is special for me because you can see all the landscape, I mean the figure, or you can see two different figures. I love the idea of several meanings in the same place.

The third piece was a picture. In that picture there were many people lied on the floor in the underground tunnel. I like the deep feeling when you see the tunnel and the sensation that you can loose yourself. I must recognize the sad feeling when you see it but it is provocative and sometimes, the Art provoke these feelings.

In conclusion, I enjoyed a lot with the experience.

Birth Order

2006-10-22T11:38:00.000-07:00

This week I read the article that our English teacher gave us in the English class. The article talked about the influence of your birth order in your life.

According to the article, the older child tries to suppress the view of himself as a child and he becomes more parental than the rest of siblings.
The middle child has more freedom than his older sibling because parents are more relaxed. In addition, he has two options when he needs help, his parents and his siblings.
The younger child is the less responsible and he tends to think he is always protected.

I know this article is a general idea about family but now, there are too many kinds of families to generalize.

These are some examples to tell you what I mean. For instance, when there is a gap in years between younger child and the rest of siblings, he becomes as an only child because he is surrounded by adults all his childhood.
Sometimes, the only child becomes an adult as if he were an older sibling, so he needs to grow up quickly to help his family or to help himself.
There are cases where the middle sibling has a big problem of jealousy or he is more parental than his older sibling.

In conclusion, our birth order is important in our lives but our charater depends on our family situations .

Hello

2006-10-15T11:39:00.000-07:00

How are you? I am Maia and I think I should make a presentation about myself. I like doing sport (especially risk sports, like climbing) and travelling around the world. I really love visiting new places and meeting people. I am an English student and this year, our class have to open a blog to improve our English. For that reason, I invite you to write me and tell me all your comments about my stories and experiences.
I'll be waiting for your comments!!!

Maia's blogs

2006-10-14T05:14:00.000-07:00

This is my first blog