Monday, May 27, 2013

Cultural exchange between Berbers and the Dominican Republic

Karina and I had a great experience by exchanging our cultures :D
I was in The Dominican Republic personality, I am Pedro from The Dominican Republic, I speak Spanish, my favorite food is Lavandira and I like la batchatta dancing,...loool

Karina was in Berber personality, she was Hakima from Algeria, exactly Vgayethe, she speaks Kabyle, her favorite food is couscous "Sekssou" and of course she likes kabyle dancing...:D

Exchanging our cultures is the greatest ideas that we had.
Now, let's see it!

To Love Somebody

In this life everybody needs someone to face the difficulty of life, for this you need someone who can help you to build your dreams and goals. But it's so hard and touching to try to be with somebody that doesn't care about your feeling.

In this performance we wanna show you how is difficult to accept this bad feeling!



"To Love Somebody"

There's a light
A certain kind of light
That never shone on me
I want my life to be lived with you
Lived with you
There's a way everybody say
To do each and every little thing
But what does it bring
If I ain't got you, ain't got? Hey babe

You don't know what it's like, baby
You don't know what it's like
To love somebody
To love somebody
The way I love you

In my brain
I see your face again
I know my frame of mind
You ain't got to be so blind
And I'm blind, so so sorrily blind
I'm a man, can't you see
What I am
I live and I breathe for you
But what good does it do
If I ain't got you, ain't got? Hey babe

You don't know what it's like, baby
You don't know what it's like
To love somebody
To love somebody
The way I love you

Oooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

You don't know what it's like, baby
You don't know what it's like
To love somebody
To love somebody
The way I love you

Noo noo no-no nooo nooooo

You don't know what it's like, baby
You don't know what it's like
To love somebody
To love somebody
The way I love you



Sunday, May 26, 2013

Algerian dance!

Hi everyone,

Some students here in New York City asked me about our dance in Algeria "for men", as you know in Algeria there is a lot of kinds of dancing, Kabyle dance, Chaabi dance, Rai dance, Sahraoui dance, ...etc.
Today, I wanna share with you the Chaabi dance that Hakim and I do like it a lot. hopping that you'll enjoy it too. :D

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Hello I am Rosalia this is my classmate Henrry, I interviewed him with the propose of practice speaking English and know a little beat about Henrry`s dreams, goals and his personality live in this country.

This is my english performance

Hello.

My name is Vasilios Gasparatos:

In the lesson of interview Manuel asked few questions about my life.







ENJOY THIS INTERESTING INTERVIEW

Hi, my name is Rosalia, today I interviewed my classmate Silvia Astudillo.  The propose of this interview is to practice English conversation using new words and lost ours fears when we are speaking English   The Silvia`s interview was very interesting because she described very well her country and we learned more about the Ecuador`s biodiversity and learned about her personal live and her family.




Topics of the life

The interview between Pablo and me, about our experiences, knowledge and hopes.In my opinion, regarding my experience, I have to confess that these questions let me to remember and back to live situations that has been influence on my life .Every day always have something to learn.
Edwin NYC

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Adolfo and Carlos's Introduction

Hi everyone,

We are Carlos and Adolfo, today we will show you our performance and how people can make interviews for instance.                                                                                                                             Enjoy it!

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Save our land

Take care Our land. Our home our Earth stop wars stop wars reforestation ,pollution,extinction ,animals. Together  we can save our land, we have a wonderful world everybody can help in our land. Hector Vazquez .

DEATH'S DUST STORMS


In conclusion the posters. Is representation  the disasters also about  American history,economics in the April 14. 1935.  Every birds squawking, the animal seemed terrified and trying to escape to the a monstrous cloud of dust , hundreds of feet high them storm mo bed faster0.








       



What We Make in Class: Level 5

In the class of level 5 we are talking about different things such as;
Natual disasters, Deforestation,stop war, Golden valley a better life, imigration, and some importent words from the song.

Terror in the great plains

The topic that we showed its based on real event that happens during the 1930s like consequence of the dust storm in the Great Plains region that suffers high temperatures reached 115 degrees besides the heat and drought in this case the people fled with few belongings to safety places

The governments know the future is the children education, instead of wasting too much money in the war with no benefit for anybody, the thirst of power is selfish.

DEFORESTATION

We are working in a deforestation poster, because is very important that the people know what happen when they cut down trees.
If we continue doing this, the earth will run out of oxyegen.
Every minute, 40 hectareas of trees are destroyed trees and forests are very important to the environment and us and they provide homes and food for millions of types of animals.
In our poster we used green color for the trees and we drew trees around the poster to invite everybody to plan trees and we wrote in red color the word "STOP" to let know that we have to stop cut down the trees

Imigration

 Many immigrants come here because this country give a lot of opportunities for all people in here we can have a better education for our family and a better life .
                                                                ROSA (level 5) . NY . USA 


Background. For your land is my land




Hi , Edwin ,Pablo and Miguel ,work in background  poster .Hear is our finish work: Looks like sandstorm everything  fly all over people try to scape to be safe.

Adolfo vega

Hello everyone,
Especially students at Level 5. I  want to introduce you my son Kian Adolfo Vega. and I want you to know that he is the reason that inspired me to study English for the future of two of us . Thanks for reading my posting.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Adolfo vega

Hello

Gifts for my Mom

A digital scan of a print I made for my mom.  This print was modeled after KCJoughDoitch's "Radial Sunset" on DeviantArt.com.

Hiba's post about Mother's Day inspired me to try some creative projects.  

I have two things to share with you: a picture and a song.  Both of these were gifts for my mom.  I had a lot of fun making them, and I think she liked them.

My Linoleum Print
My mom and dad love boating, the beach, the ocean and lighthouses.

This picture was made using a print-making technique called linocut.  To make a linocut, you start with a square of linoleum.  It's similar to the material used for floors.  It's like a hard rubber.  Using special tools, you cut away at the linoleum to make your picture.  Finally, you cover the linoleum square (called a relief) in ink, and press a sheet of paper on to it.

Audio Collage: The Lake Isle of Innisfree
A few years ago, my mom visited Ireland.  She has Irish ancestry, and celebrates St. Patrick's day every year.  She bought a book of poetry by W. B. Yeats, and gave it to me when she returned.  I decided to try and make a song using a recording of W. B. Yeats reading his most famous poem: The Lake Isle of Innisfree. You can find the transcript of the recording, and the text of the poem below.  You will also find some background information too.

I think I should warn you: this song is pretty weird.  There's guitar music I made, and there are also many sounds I recorded in nature, of water, insects, and birds.  There's also pieces of really old songs, and static and noise.  

I think it sounds like a radio, moving between stations.  This is an original recording, but I do borrow from some other people.  The borrowed sources are at the bottom.  
  
Text: The Transcript and Poem
I'm going to begin with a poem of mine called The Lake Isle of Innisfree. Because if you know anything about me, you will expect me to begin with it. It is the only poem of mine which is very widely known. When I was a young lad in the town of Sligo, I read Thoreau's essays, and wanted to live in a hut on an island in Lough Gill, called Innisfree, which means "heather island."   I wrote the poem in London, when I was about 23.

One day in the Strand, I heard a little tinkle of water, and saw in a shop's window, a little jet of water balancing a ball on top. It was an advertisement, I think, for a cooling drink. But it set me thinking of Sligo, and lake water.

I think there is only one obscurity in the poem. I speak of noon as a purple glow. I must have meant by that the reflection of heather in the water.

The Lake Isle of Innisfree


I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.
- W.B. Yeats


Background Information
W. B. Yeats, near the time of the BBC recording.  Image found at WikiMedia Commons, originally from  National Library of Ireland on The Commons @ Flickr Commons

W. B. Yeats is considered by many scholars to be one of the greatest English-language poets of the 20th century.  He was the first person from Ireland to received a Nobel Prize for literature, but was not popular during his lifetime.

He wrote the poem The Lake Isle of Innisfree in 1888.  He read his poem on BBC radio in 1932.
  

About My Recording
This song was made from many different pieces.  I used recordings I made playing the guitar.  I also used my iPhone to record nature.

I use several samples of old recordings from ExcavatedShellac.com.

I also use a field recording from Luftrum's Drone Atmosphere, found on FreeSound.org.

All of the sounds were edited and mixed using Audacity.

-Eric, NYC, USA


Thursday, May 9, 2013

A SECOND TERRIBLE NEWS!

Hi everybody,

In this evening, I spoke to our lovely friend and teacher Hakim Benachour and I heard that he lost one of his aunts!  As he said: "she was very close to us".

Hakim, we know how hard it is to lose two important person in a short period of time, but anyway, This is life and we must accept it as it is.

                 We present to all the family our sincere condolence
"INNA LI ALLAH WA INNA ILAYHI RADJIOUNE"(to God we belong and to Him we shall return)


Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Who I Am: Lets See



Who I Am   Lets See















Who I Am

Well my name is Miguel Gonzalez. I came from Mexico, and I have lived in New York city for  20 years.
I am a son, brother, uncle, husband, father, worker, student and runner.

I love my parents. I call them once a week. I still miss my brothers and sisters. I love my nephews.

When I came to New York City, after 2 years of hard work, I met my wife in a factory and we soon became a couple. After one year and three months we moved to a apartment. We then had our first child named Michael. We were so happy to be parents. 8 Years later my son Marc-Anthony was born. My wife named him after my brother-in-law. When my Michael was 12 and Anthony was 4 my beautiful daughter Hillary was born. My family is the reason I go to work to feed them and take care of them.

I am a caring husband and I love my wife always. I try to be a friend, confidant and a good husband. I hope to do well because I love my wife. I am also a father and it is not very easy because there is no book to be a great father but I try to do my best and when the time passes by we will see if I did a good job. 

I am an employee. I cook in a deli and make salads and soups but my favorite dish is the cheese platter and the vegetable platters. 

I am a student. I go to school to learn English and I always try my best to learn this language. I've been here for three months and I see progress in my English and my classmates including my teacher Eric. 

Beside my normal life I also run. I have great memories because when I was still in Mexico I was one of the best runners in my school and I made it to the newspapers and magazines in Mexico. 20 years later I am in New York and I started to run again. Last year I ran the Brooklyn Half-Marathon, the 10k in Queens, and the half-marathon of Staten Island. I like who I am and the life that I have. 

This is who I am.




Thursday, May 2, 2013

Let's Begin! This Land is Your Land Project

From the PBS "This Land is Your Land Project."

Hi everybody!  We are starting a new project in Level 5 NYC.  We are going to make a collaborative video performance of the Woody Guthrie song: This Land is Your Land

I created a short instrumental track.  It plays the melody of the chorus three times, with a short interlude in between.  

But this song could be so much better!  What's missing?  Your contribution!  Do you enjoy singing?  Or maybe you play an instrument?  Record your performance and send it to me.

Audio: This Land is Your Land (instrumental)



This second version now repeats enough times to sing all six verses.  The order goes like this:

  1. Verse 1, Break
  2. Verse 2, Chorus, Break
  3. Verse 3, Chorus, Break
  4. Verse 4, Chorus, Break
  5. Verse 5, Chorus, Break
  6. Verse 6, Chorus, Break

A Note about Recording
You can record your performance using any kind of electronic device.  Modern Smart Phones are surprisingly good for recording.  When you record, please wear headphones.  We don't want to hear the instrumental track in the background.

Also, this instrumental track is just an example.  If you don't like it, that's OK.  It will probably change.  However, please use the song, so that your performance will be in rhythm and in key.

You can hear performances from Woody Guthrie and Neil Young here.


You can hear more performances from Bruce Springsteen and more here.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Test

Hi Mr Test,

I am testing you a test to test my blog test to make sure that my test is working in a good testing.

Thank you Mr Test