ALL I NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED FROM THE EASTER BUNNY
I'm sure that this advice will be useful for many people. These are rules which can be applied anywhere and anytime in your life.
CULTURE
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING PUNCTUAL
Last Sunday 18th of March, there was a very interesting article in the Sunday supplement of the 'El Mercurio' of Valparaiso, about the cost of being unpunctual in Chile. According to this article, the economic cost of being late for 7 minutes every day in one whole year amounts to US $104,677,397. This sounds incredible. But it is based on a survey carried out in the year 2006 by the Libertad Institute in Santiago. The cost includes what the employer loses, the employee's cost, domestic service, armed forces, police force and that involved by labourers and workers. It ends up being a chain of events: if you're late, you'll make someone else late, and so on.
Why are Chileans like this? According to the people interviewed, there are several reasons. These include an educational problem, a lack of culture, being unconscious of the needs of those who surround us, belonging to an underdeveloped country and lack of discipline. Being unpunctual may mean you're not really interested in something, because if you have to get someone to pay you money, you'll probably be quite punctual. This problem affects all areas of society. Most people agreed that the solution lies in educating the younger generations. To be punctual is a virtue which should be cultivated and enforced everywhere. Time is precious! Let's not waste it, and make the most of the time we have. What can YOU do to improve the situation?
1. Try to plan ahead so you'll always have a few minutes to spare for emergencies.
2. Encourage others, like parents, relatives and friends to do the same.
3. Don't accept unpunctuality passively. Fight it! Rebel against it!
4. Set an example to the rest.
Do we know how much more time we will have in our future?
VOTE !
Take a few minutes to vote for Easter Island and its moais as one of the seven wonders of the modern world! According to the latest surveys, our option is NOT among the first seven any more.
See blog entry for February 26th for more details...
ST PATRICK'S DAY
St. Patrick's Day is celebrated March 17th. St. Patrick of Ireland, along with St. Nicholas and St. Valentine, is one of the world's most popular saints. He is celebrated on this day by Irish followers all round the world. He was born around the year 385 A.C. in Scotland, of Roman parents. Around the age of 14, he was captured during a raid and taken to Ireland as a slave to take care of and herd sheep. Ireland was a pagan land at this time, in the hands of the Druids so Patrick learned the customs and language of these people. During this time as a slave, he turned to God in prayer. His captivity lasted until he was twenty years old, when he was able to escape after dreaming that God told him he had to leave and go to the coast. There he found some sailors who helped him return to Britain, where he was able to join his family. After a time he had another dream, in which the people of Ireland called to him to return there and tell them about God. So he decided to study to be a priest, and was ordained by a bishop. When he himself became a bishop, he was sent to Ireland, where he soon gathered a group of followers. He taught, preached and built churches there for thirty years. Patrick used a shamrock, which is a small plant with three leaves, to explain the Holy Trinity. This shamrock became the national symbol. He was also supposed to have performed the miracle of making all snakes leave Ireland. That is why he is often shown with snakes around him, although experts believe it is a metaphor which represents the conversion of the pagans. After years of living in poor conditions and suffering, he died on March 17th. Irish people all around the world commemorate this day with different activities, such as wearing green clothes and accessories, and drinking beer.
THE NEW SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD
Remember that you can vote for the new seven wonders of the modern (the last 2,000 years) world. Just click on the following link and it will take you to the site. Complete the information required and wait for the link in an e mail which will permit you to vote for your seven favourites. There are twenty-one options to vote for. You should be patriotic and vote for Easter Island among your seven. Become a global citizen .
SQUIDGY CHOCOLATE SQUARES (aka Miss Christine's brownies)
250 gr. good quality margarine or butter
1/2 cup bitter chocolate powder
6 eggs, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
a pinch of salt
chopped nuts (about 1/2 cup)
Topping
90 gr. semi sweet baking chocolate bar(Ambrosoli Pastry choc)
2 tablespoons fresh cream (Soprole, or other)
Method
Melt the butter or margarine in a medium-sized saucepan. When it is melted, turn off the gas, and add the sugar, beating all the time . Then add the bitter chocolate powder and beat well. After this add the eggs with vanilla, the pinch of salt, the flour together with the baking powder and finally the nuts.
Bake in a rectangular metal pan, oiled bottom and sides, with a sheet of baking paper on the bottom. Bake in a moderate oven for exactly half an hour. Turn off the oven, leave the brownies there for ten minutes, then take the pan out and leave to cool.
To prepare the topping, place the baking chocolate and the cream in the top of a double boiler, or a metal bowl over a saucepan with boiling water. Let melt, stirring frequently. Then pour over the brownies, and let cool. If you wish you can sprinkle silver balls or coloured sprinkles over the chocolate. When it is cold, cut into squares with a knife dipped in boiling water.
SAND ART
Relax while you watch sand art developing before your eyes! Very relaxing.
GREAT QUOTATIONS
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work" Thomas A. Edison
"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm" Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Never, never, never, never give up" Winston Churchill
"One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar" Helen Keller
"A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds" Anonymous
"Knock the t off the can't" George Reeves
A well-spent day brings happy sleep" Leonardo Da Vinci
THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH
English is not the most widely spoken language in the world in terms of the number of native speakers-there are more Chinese speakers than native English speakers-but Chinese is spoken little outside Chinese communities, so in reality English is the most widespread language in the world. Although it isn't easy to estimate the number of English speakers in the world, experts believe that there are more than 350,000,000 native English speakers and more than 400,000,000 speakers of English as a second language, people who use English as an everyday language, although they are not native speakers and those who use it as a second language, although not for everyday purposes.
Although less than 15% of the world's population uses English, its importance really lies in what it is used for. It is the major language of news and information in the world. It is the language of business and government, even in places where English is a minority language. It is the language of maritime communication and air traffic control. It is also widely used in the area of the arts, film and music. Science, medicine, business all use English in their publications ,research and academic conferences. The media uses English in all its manifestations. The travel and tourism business uses English everywhere.
The Internet is one of the areas where English is most widely used. If you have knowledge of the English language, it should be comparatively easy to use the Web in all its applications.
In conclusion, after seeing all the uses that English has in this world, you will realise that without it your social, cultural and business opportunities will be seriously affected, whatever place in the world you live and work in.
