Students at Embassy

Challenges for a better life

Last Friday, we had our graduation ceremony at our school in Ft. Lauderdale. It was great, because all the staff and students were there. David, the director of Embassy CES gave us a special certificate, because some of us finished the Diploma Program.

When I was in front of all them, for a moment, I started remembering all the friends we have met in the past months, some of them are still here and others left to continue their life. Well let me tell you the story, I received my certificate and I was supposed to give a short speech, like everybody else; but instead of that, suddenly, tears started falling from my eyes, and I said almost nothing, can you believe it? It was a little embarrassing.

Anyway, when I sat down something happened: my husband was in front of us, saying  some beautiful words to me, and at the end, he asked me:  “What are you going to do now, study Japanese? It was hilarious! Maybe, some people wouldn't understand that question, but what it really means is WHAT IS YOUR NEXT CHALLENGE?

He knows me very well: doing something that keeps me challenged and, also, if it’s something that requires from me a strong effort, is vital to feel alive.

That’s what I recommend to you today,  always have a challenging activity in your life, otherwise you will be consumed by  routine. Every day, we must give the best we have inside of us, but sometimes, we need some help to squeeze our potential and abilities, and a good challenge will help for sure.

A chain of challenges will help you to reach your milestones, looking for a better life, and you know, when it finally happens, you will feel really good, like an explosion of endorphins when you run a 42K marathon!!!!.

To the Embassy CES Ft. Lauderdale staff: I’m very grateful for your kindness and hospitality with all of us. Thanks a lot.

To all the friends I met: a big hug for all of you, and don’t be lazy, keep in touch. We don’t know, maybe we can see each other in the future, why not?!!!!!!!!!

Photos: click to see bigger!

L-R : Our Graduation; Farewell to Brian; Our class, having dinner;part of our class with Lucy, our teacher; Gaby and Sonia, the blogging pair.

Mother’s Day - Do we need a special day?

It’s interesting to see how your life can change when you become a mom, especially your opinion about certain things and the priorities in your life.

Actually in my case, I think of my son as the first and most important motivation for being a better person. Before I gave birth I thought my mom worried about my siblings and me, but now, I can understand her so much - being a mother is a job which never ends.

This year, my mom and I weren’t together, but we know that we have each other and we don’t need a special occasion to remind us of it.

So, Happy Mother’s Day which, for me, is every day.

[Gaby and her mum - click to see bigger]

Two Great Weekends in Fort Lauderdale

Definitely, you can do a lot of things here in Fort Lauderdale: I know it isn’t a metropolis but there are still a lot of events where you can have fun; for example, last weekend was The Air Sea Show. You could enjoy it lying on the beach. There were Thunderbirds and different kinds of planes and boats, there was an amphibious assault too, which I couldn’t see but it sounds interesting, don’t you think?

I went with my family and we spent a great time there. The only thing was I forgot to put on sunscreen so of course, I got sunburned.

The other local event - but this one is on its way - is Las Olas Food and Wine Festival. It is going to be on May 10th in Las Olas, of course. For those who don’t know what Las Olas means, it is a street which goes from the beach to Andrews Avenue, and there is a boulevard where you can find very good restaurants, fancy stores and some art galleries. The place is great by itself but can you imagine wonderful food, fine wine and musical entertainment in the same evening? I think it will be fun - if you would like more information you can go to this web site.

So, you still have a chance to go, and if it isn’t this year, maybe the next one.

Let´s talk KIDS!

Some friend asked me to show my photos, but I think my best ones are back home in Venezuela. However these are a few of them.

Click to see them bigger:

Are you bored? Start a hobby! Take Pictures!

Many studies say that it’s helpful to have a hobby, not just to have something to do in your spare time, but also to keep you thinking in your mature age. Some add that having a hobby could prevent degenerative illnesses such as Alzheimer's, and if we want to make it easy we could start it just for fun.

According to the Longman Dictionary of American Language, a hobby means “an activity that you enjoy doing in your free time”, so, it’s something that you like to do, but how many times have we begun doing something and after a time we failed to continue? So a hobby has to be an activity which captivates you in order that you'll spend time and money on it and still enjoy it.

What do I like? What am I good at? Those are some of the question that you should ask  yourselves. I’m going to tell you my story. Once, I decided that I needed my “me time”. I wanted to do something completely different and seperate from my work, house and family; something that I could do whenever and wherever I have time, without a very great amount of equipment. So, I started taking pictures as a serious hobby three years ago.

Another thing that I considered was my tastes, it sounds obvious, but sometimes, we are  so absorbed in our daily life that we don’t even take the time to think about what we like to do. So, if you are intending to start a hobby take your time and think about it.

Photography as a hobby. I used to take a lot of pictures in my teens; actually I was called “the photographer” by my friends. I love to keep photos and even now, my friends ask me for copies from those days. So, if you are someone who loves to take your camera wherever you go, keep the photos of your entire life and enjoy watching and sharing them, maybe you will have a good time with photography. It’s a hobby which you can do with or without company, it could be done indoors or outside, even underneath the sea. It’s an activity that you don’t need a huge amount of equipment for, but if you want it you can find it (actually that could be a drawback, there are a lot of things in the market that it make you feel lost or even worse, make you broke; so don’t be impulsive and go for help. Go to a serious store, a photography school or a friend who knows of photography and ask about it; there are some schools which offer short courses, enroll there).

For sure a real photographer is going to recommend you to use the camera that you already have, work a little more with it, using all the advantages that it has, and take your time if you want to improve your equipment. Which equipment you have in the end depends on your taste: digital, compact, Polaroid, SLR camera, even disposable ones; lights, lenses, etc.

In general, if you already have the disposition to start off by taking pictures, the only equipment you need is your camera and a film - that is, if you still have not succumbed to the enchantments of the digital world.

More About New York

Ok. Let me tell you what I did in NY and why I chose the pictures which you could see in my last post. My mom and I used to visit NY many times for different reasons; you know there are a lot of good excuses for traveling. So anyway, we already had favorite places in Manhattan, and even though we could not visit them all we were able to go to most of them.

For example, we went to The Rockefeller Center, where you can skate in the wonderful ice-skating rink, at least until May and skates are available for rental; the monumental St. Patrick’s Cathedral which I could see from my room; the busy Times Square, an interesting Museum of Modern Art, we also enjoyed the bohemian atmosphere of Soho; and of course, we had to go to the world’s largest store, Macy’s.

[Click to see larger. Left to right: Rockefeller Centre and St Patrick's Cathedral]

If you go to NY you should see a Broadway show, this time we saw Hairspray and it was hilarious, we wanted to see BE which is off-Broadway and has had wonderful reviews, but we didn’t have enough time, well, now we have another excuse to come back.

I took the pictures that you can see in my last post because they portrayed something for me; let me explain it to you. The first one is a view of a Toys R Us store, which is gigantic, but the cutest thing is the giraffe that is projected outside the store with its funny faces; the second is in front of Central Park and Fifth Avenue where many horse carriages are waiting to give you a ride; number three is a view of the colorful Times Square; the fourth is in Soho, the statues just caught my attention; in the following one are NY Police; ohhh, the next one, a Hershey chocolate store, and just across the street, if you want more you have an M&Ms store (can you imagine how I could keep to my diet?); and finally the Apple Store, the interesting thing here is on the street you just see this crystal cube with an apple inside, then if you stay longer you will realize there's an elevator coming out the ground; it’s terrific.

So, my friends that is all for now. I hope these lines are useful.

Read about the lives of current students here in their blogs. Share their thoughts and experiences as they study English in a foreign country. Leave a comment, start a conversation.
Are you an Embassy CES student? Would you like to keep a blog? Contact us now for details.

Our current blogger is:

Sonia from Spain I decided to come to USA to improve my English. I think it's the fastest way to learn. I chose Fort Lauderdale because of the nice weather. If you live abroad, you will learn much more than a language, you will learn a lot about yourself.

We have sadly said goodbye to Gaby now that she has finished her course with Embassy CES. We wish her all the very best in the future. Keep in touch, Gaby! Come back and tell us how you are getting on in the future!

We are always looking for other Embassy CES students to contribute to this blog. If you are interested, please contact the editor.

The opportunity of the moment

In the last few months, I have had the opportunity to travel with my family to Orlando, Indianapolis, and Boston; we have been living by the beach, and I go for long walks just contemplating the dusk.

I'm enjoying living here so much that I can honestly say that I feel happy. I don't want to sound pretentious and yes, sometimes I feel a little guilty because I know that not many people can do what I'm doing now, but at the same time I reflect on how hard we have worked to get this. Thus, at least for a while I have this opportunity and I'm going to continue enjoying it as much I can.

I think all of us, in different points of our lives, have great opportunities that we must take advantage of. I see my friends from Embassy CES, and they are doing that in different ways. Some go to nightclubs, organize parties, drive around Florida, travel around the United States, and there are even some who, looking at our proximity here to Mexico and the Bahamas, plan to go there. So the thing we all have in common is, we are living the opportunity.

So, the thought that I want to share with you is: pay attention to the opportunities that always appear, and take advantage of them in the best way.  For the moment I’m going to New York this weekend, I will keep you informed.

When a friend goes away something is lost in the soul.

Cuando un amigo se va algo se pierde en el alma - those are the words of the chorus of a flamenco song that I used to dance to when I was younger; I used to do it without enough attention to the lyrics. I just danced to it because I liked the rhythm; but these days I remember the song again.

It's so sad when a good friend has to leave the place where we met, shared experiences or simply where we spent time together. We have just finished a term of our Diploma Course at Embassy CES and some of my friends have left; I will continue with others, but I feel sad. I don't like goodbyes.

In our lives we meet a lot of people, but not all of them leave a mark. So many things could influence the process of getting to know people: your mood, the time in your life, how open you feel to making friends - these are just some of them. But even at the perfect time, when you're in a good mood, the click doesn't always happen; I think the most important people are those who leave you a part of them with you and those who allowed you to leave them a part of you.

Well, these days I am remembering the song and some of my friends who have gone away, especially Carmen who was one of the first friends I made here; Andreína, always happy, always pragmatic; Endo and Kei, my favorite Japanese friends in the world; Roger, Ben, Ralph, all of you fellows have a place in my heart and I hope I can see you soon. Definitely when you left something was lost in my soul. Keep in touch.

Cuando un amigo se va algo se pierde en el alma - those are the words of the chorus of a flamenco song that I used to dance to when I was younger; I used to do it without enough attention to the lyrics. I just danced to it because I liked the rhythm; but these days I remember the song again.

It's so sad when a good friend has to leave the place where we met, shared experiences or simply where we spent time together. We have just finished a term of our Diploma Course at Embassy CES and some of my friends have left; I will continue with others, but I feel sad. I don't like goodbyes.

In our lives we meet a lot of people, but not all of them leave a mark. So many things could influence the process of getting to know people: your mood, the time in your life, how open you feel to making friends - these are just some of them. But even at the perfect time, when you're in a good mood, the click doesn't always happen; I think the most important people are those who leave you a part of them with you and those who allowed you to leave them a part of you.

Well, these days I am remembering the song and some of my friends who have gone away, especially Carmen who was one of the first friends I made here; Andreína, always happy, always pragmatic; Endo and Kei, my favorite Japanese friends in the world; Roger, Ben, Ralph, all of you fellows have a place in my heart and I hope I can see you soon. Definitely when you left something was lost in my soul. Keep in touch.

The most effective way to protest is to be naked!

Hi everyone. I was thinking about what to write on the blog, but nothing came out of my head - really I have to confess that - so I thought it would be a good idea to write something about the news.

Well, to make it short like they do on TV, during a web search I saw something that caught my attention. On the same day, there were three protests around the world about different issues, but they had something in common: THE PROTESTERS WERE NAKED.

Have you ever noticed that it doesn't matter how important or laudable the motive of the protest is: for some people, the only way to get attention is to do it naked? These people and their requests had been ignored by the people they supposed should take care of it, so the protesters decided to get naked. At least the media would take notice, and other people would pay attention to the issue.

On the one hand we have a Brazilian young woman protesting against Bush by exhibiting her painted chest in Sao Paulo; on the other, a group of naked cyclists in the exclusive district of Miraflores in Lima protesting against car drivers, and requesting that the authorities give severe sanctions to those who run over cyclists.

I wondered why people have to show something that all of us have - and know about - in order to make people take notice of a relevant issue. I don't know if it works or not, but it's certainly a way, often an amusing one for the observer, to obtain the desired attention.

Hi everyone. I was thinking about what to write on the blog, but nothing came out of my head - really I have to confess that - so I thought it would be a good idea to write something about the news.

Well, to make it short like they do on TV, during a web search I saw something that caught my attention. On the same day, there were three protests around the world about different issues, but they had something in common: THE PROTESTERS WERE NAKED.

Have you ever noticed that it doesn't matter how important or laudable the motive of the protest is: for some people, the only way to get attention is to do it naked? These people and their requests had been ignored by the people they supposed should take care of it, so the protesters decided to get naked. At least the media would take notice, and other people would pay attention to the issue.

On the one hand we have a Brazilian young woman protesting against Bush by exhibiting her painted chest in Sao Paulo; on the other, a group of naked cyclists in the exclusive district of Miraflores in Lima protesting against car drivers, and requesting that the authorities give severe sanctions to those who run over cyclists.

I wondered why people have to show something that all of us have - and know about - in order to make people take notice of a relevant issue. I don't know if it works or not, but it's certainly a way, often an amusing one for the observer, to obtain the desired attention.