Wednesday, May 9, 2012

GHOSTS OF SPAIN


We were supposed to read "Ghosts of Spain" by Giles Tremlett for our English class. It may seem dull and boring at first glance, but it has some interesting stories about corruption, prostitution and Spaniards way of living.

In my opinion, the author describes the Spaniards so close to the stereotypes. Although I don't like to admit it, maybe he's not wrong because Spaniards themselves reflect them in TV serials and films as gossip, rowdy and busybody.
What surprised me the most is the huge amount of brothels which exist in Spain and the how much men go there. I didn't know it was so widespread.
Although their providing services for the disabled sounds funny, it really disappointed me the existence of so much prostitution and the fact that some prostitutes think that they are providing a social service and accept to be there instead of fighting for something better.

On the other hand, I found interesting the GAL group story and its methods to capture ETA terrorists. It sounds so unbelievable, like a detective story.

The chapter I liked the most was "Moderns and Ruins" because describes Spaniard as full of complexes, but trying to hide them behind a mask of fun-loving who don't care about nothing serious.

We had to read just five chapters, but maybe when I finish my exams and have some free time I'll read the others.

For the time being, I'm focused on passing my exams.

Keep your fingers crossed! :)

Mónica

Sunday, May 6, 2012

HAIRSTYLES


Don't you ever get bored of your hairstyle? I do. I like changing it from time to time. 
When I was little I wanted my hair to be the longest possible, as every little girl does. But at the age of 14 or 15, I stated to like Rihanna's style (especially hairstyle) so I decided to get my hair cut like hers. 
This was the first short haircut I wanted:


But unfortunately, my hairdresser did not understood me very well, so it didn't even looked similar on me.
Sometime later it grew shoulder-length and it looked a bit slovenly, so for my graduation ceremony I decided to cut it again. This was my idea more or less:




It was a little bit shorter than in the photo, so it was a very big surprise to all my friends and teachers my changing of hairstyle. I felt very scared at the beginning because it was a big change in an important day.
Despite the fact that it worked then, I don't recommend changing your haircut  the day of your Graduation!

Since then I've been getting my hair cut more and more short. Here are some photos of the different hairstyles I have had:






The latest hairstyle, Emma Watson's one, was the shortest I've ever had. I liked it very much, but I think it didn't suit me because my hair is thicker and my fringe stayed upright. So I let it grow and now I'm looking for new haircuts. Here are some ones I like:


I'm not sure about this one because fringes don't usually suit me. 


This one is similar to the first Rihanna's hair cut I show you, but a bit shorter. I prefer this one. 


This one is the most probably I end with. I just love it!

I finish this post with a song I like and whose video is where I found the girl with a beer's haircut above (minute 0:14).
Stop for a minute, Keane




Hope you like it!

Mónica

Sunday, April 29, 2012

WORK WORK WORK


Hello there!

I have been a bit busy recently, so I have not posted as much as I wanted. May exams are coming and I am starting to feel very overwhelmed: I'm  snowed under with work!
There is approximately one month left to finish the school year and now it's time to stick my neck out, but it is very contradictory because the closer the exams are, the lazier I feel.

But it is not everything so negative, I've been saving money since February  and yesterday I realized I have enough money to visit a friend of mine who lives in Madrid! I am so happy because I haven't seen her since I met her in Brighton two years ago. I have been in Madrid twice since I know her, but we have never coincided because she travels a lot.
We started sending handwritten letters to each other when we said farewell in Brighton because we thought it was exciting and more personal than the e-mail. Her latest letter was in Christmas and I have not replied yet, I feel ashamed. But time goes so fast! I promise I will write her this week.

Well, I have to go to bed now so I just leave here the trailer of a movie called "The Hunger Games". I have been told it is a fantastic film and I want to read the book it is based on.  


  
It's going to be a hard week. Wish me good luck!

Mónica

Thursday, April 19, 2012

LOVELY STUFF

Hello!
Today I don't have a lot of time to write very much, but I want to share with you some things I like:

The first one is a present my sister gave to me last year. It's a picture of Twiggy, a famous model from the 60's, painted with oil on canvas following the POP ART style.
I'm waiting to have my own house so I can hang it up on my bedroom's wall.



The next one it's a list of things I want to do. It's inspired by the text by Anna Gavalda from my latest post. It should be so much longer, but these are the ones I want the most to become true!

THINGS I WANT TO DO
Learn how to play the piano.
Save money to visit my friend Bea in Madrid.
Learn how to cut hair.
Learn how to dance Latin dances.
Travel to Granada with my mum and sister.
Go to a Maroon 5's concert.
Watch "Intouchable" in original version (French). 
Travel to Paris, NYC, Berlin and Santa Monica in California.


And finally, I leave you here a song I've discovered recently and I'm in love with:



I must go to my French class now. Enjoy it!

Mónica

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

AFTER EASTER HOLIDAY...

Oh My! I've been so "disconnected" this latest week. Easter holidays have been very relaxing and I really needed them!
I've been able to spend time with my family (my parents have celebrated 21 years of being marred, wow!) and with my friends, especially with one very friend of mine who lives in Barcelona because she's studying "Publicity and Public Relationships" in the Barcelona's University. She used to live 300 meters far from my home and I usually did flying visits to her place so now I really feel her "not living here". I could see her just one hour because her Easter holiday week was one week before mines, so we didn't coincide very much, but I was so happy to squeeze her! If only I had money for a train ticket to Barcelona!
Another friend, and cousin, of mine came last week. He lives in Pamplona because of his studies as well. His latest visit was in Christmas Holidays, quite long ago. It was so nice to see him again! What I miss the most from him is his sense of humor, it was so funny fooling around with him, we loved pulling everybody's leg!
I remember once he pretended to crash into a street lamp, an elder lady who was passing by in that moment stood in front of him very worried and offering assistance!

Summarizing, it has been a great time. But unfortunately I was supposed to study too. I didn't study, but I did read a French book for my French classes in the EOI and I really enjoyed it. It's Anna Gavalda's novel "Je l'aimais" (it's translated in English "Someone that I loved") and I have extracted one part that I liked a lot, but it's in French because I couldn't find that part in English or Spanish. Never mind, French is beautiful so here it is!

(in case you don't understand French I'll explain what's going on there: it's a conversation between two lovers, she's writing all the things she want to do with him)

— Pourquoi tu m’écris ?
— Oh, en fait je ne t’écris pas vraiment, j’écris ce
que j’ai envie de faire avec toi..."
« Il y avait des feuilles partout. Autour d’elle, à ses pieds, sur le lit. J’en ai pris une au hasard :
...pique-niquer, faire la sieste au bord d’une rivière, manger des pêches, des crevettes, des croissants, du riz gluant, nager, danser, m’acheter des chaussures, de la lingerie, du parfum, lire le journal, lécher les vitrines, prendre le métro, surveiller l’heure, te
pousser quand tu prends toute la place, étendre le linge, aller à l’opéra, à Bayreuth, à Vienne, aux courses, au supermarché, faire des barbecues, râler parce que tu as oublié le charbon, me laver les dents en même temps que toi, t’acheter des caleçons, tondre la
pelouse, lire le journal par-dessus ton épaule, t’empêcher de manger trop de cacahouètes, visiter les caves de la Loire, et celles de la Hunter Valley, faire l’idiote, jacasser, te présenter Martha et Tino, cueillir des mûres, cuisiner, retourner au Vietnam, porter un
sari, jardiner, te réveiller encore parce que tu ronfles, aller au zoo, aux puces, à Paris, à Londres, à Melrose, à Piccadilly, te chanter des chansons, arrêter de fumer, te demander de me couper les ongles, acheter de la vaisselle, des bêtises, des choses qui ne servent à
rien, manger des glaces, regarder les gens, te battre aux échecs, écouter du jazz, du reggae, danser le mambo et le cha-cha-cha, m’ennuyer, faire des caprices, bouder, rire, t’entortiller autour de mon petit doigt, chercher une maison avec vue sur les vaches, remplir d’indécents Caddie, repeindre un plafond, coudre des rideaux, rester des heures à table à discuter avec des gens intéressants, te tenir par la barbichette, te couper les cheveux, enlever les auvaises herbes, laver la voiture, voir la mer, revoir de vieux nanars, t’appeler encore, te dire des mots crus, apprendre à tricoter, te tricoter une écharpe, défaire cette horreur, recueillir des chats, des chiens, des perroquets, des éléphants, louer des bicyclettes, ne pas s’en servir, rester dans un hamac, relire les Bicot de ma grand-mère, revoir les robes de Suzy, boire des margaritas à l’ombre, tricher, apprendre à me servir d’un fer à repasser, jeter le fer à repasser par la fenêtre, chanter sous la pluie, fuir les touristes, m’enivrer, te dire toute la vérité, me souvenir que toute vérité n’est pas bonne à dire, t’écouter, te donner la main,
récupérer mon fer à repasser, écouter les paroles des chansons, mettre le réveil, oublier nos valises, m’arrêter de courir, descendre les poubelles, te demander si tu m’aimes toujours, discuter avec la voisine, te raconter mon enfance à Bahreïn, les bagues de ma nounou, l’odeur du henné et les boulettes d’ambre, faire des mouillettes, des étiquettes pour les pots de confiture...


Je l'aimais.
Anna Gavalda



Hope you like it!
Mónica 

Thursday, April 5, 2012

WAR AND PEACE


Last Monday afternoon I was feeling so lazy after lunch that I started channel-hopping until I found "War and Peace", a film based on the novel by Tolstoy that relates the French invasion of Russia by the Napoleonic army.
It was beginning in that moment and I stopped because I wanted to watch it since I watched the movie "The Last Station" some days before, which tells the story of this famous author. I liked the film and I wanted to watch "Ana Karenina" and "War and Peace" because they were his best novels.

To my surprise, there it was "War and Peace"!
The story is seen through the eyes of five Russian aristocratic families. The film is very long and there happen different love stories, but the principal is Natasha and Andréi's one.
They fall in love with each other but he wants to respect his father's will: not to marry her yet, leave for war and stay there for a year (his father real intention is make him forget her because he doesn't like her). The couple know that it will be hard but both accept.
A year is such a long time and the History continues with its troubles...
I will tell no more so I don't spoil the story, but let me say it's a good film (although I would say it's not a film, but a mini-serial...what a extremely long film it is!) and there are fantastic actors. It's very moving too, I couldn't stop crying at the end of the film! I like how the characters evolve along the story too. They change so much!

In closing, I leave you a quote I liked from the movie:

"Life can bring you where you would never dare to go with your imagination"

And here's the trailer: (it's 9 minutes long,  but bear in mind that the film has four parts of 100 minutes each one)






Monica

Saturday, March 31, 2012

What happen when writing German essays...


I've been the hole morning trying to write a German essay. I still feel very insecure with it!
Writing in German is harder than in English because you have to pay attention to the genres of every substantive, the order of the complements in the sentence, the verbs conjugation, the nominative, accusative and dative forms (we haven't learnt the genitive form yet)...
When I've finished the essay I was a bit tired so I've started surfing among different fashion websites and I've found some great stuff I wouldn't mind to buy! ;)


Sweater by Nasty Gal


Sleeveless shirt by Zara

Sandals by Zara

Large necklace by Mango
Lovely dress by Zara

Sunglasses by Zara

I really feel like going shopping. Easter holidays come soon!
Have a nice day everybody :)


Mónica