Guía de Supervivencia
Project Reflection
This project included two different components; a survival guide and skit for a specific spanish speaking country. We began the project by researching our country and different options of transportation, shopping, accommodations, food, and activities, along with country norms. Then we began to put our guide together in a way that would inform the public and supply relatable scenarios. We provided useful vocabulary/phrases, a description and useful information of each topic, and a scenario with dialogue of possible encounters. Then we wrote a skit, based on a scenario in our survival guide and extended it to 20 lines. Our skit was about transportation and the possible consequences of taking an overnight bus in Bolivia. After finalizing our survival guide and skit performance, we exhibited them during the Junior/Senior exhibition.
Although I wish I had done more research about Bolivia, I felt I learned a lot about the culture and norms. I found it interesting that transportation was very cheap and all the options seemed to provide a cultural experience. I also learned that Santa, Cruz (the specific city we researched in Bolivia) isn't known for having many tourists, but is one of the most fascinating towns in Bolivia. It has amazing local art, restaurants and a beautiful climate. Bolivia is at the foot of the Sierra Mountains and has the Amazon River running right through it! This accessibility to out-door activities, amazing food, and cultural experiences are some of the many reasons why I was intrigued to write about Bolivia.
Not only did I learn about Bolivia, but I learned about the spanish language in general. I was able to get a better grasp on spanish speaking cultures and speaking spanish myself. The practice this project demanded was a great ending step to climb as I will be continuing on to Spanish 3 and I feel that all the skills this project required will be extremely beneficial. I was also able to learn how to write informatively with short summaries, commands and dialogue. This project has helped me see the relevance in speaking and writing in spanish, which I feel will help me stay motivated.
Although I wish I had done more research about Bolivia, I felt I learned a lot about the culture and norms. I found it interesting that transportation was very cheap and all the options seemed to provide a cultural experience. I also learned that Santa, Cruz (the specific city we researched in Bolivia) isn't known for having many tourists, but is one of the most fascinating towns in Bolivia. It has amazing local art, restaurants and a beautiful climate. Bolivia is at the foot of the Sierra Mountains and has the Amazon River running right through it! This accessibility to out-door activities, amazing food, and cultural experiences are some of the many reasons why I was intrigued to write about Bolivia.
Not only did I learn about Bolivia, but I learned about the spanish language in general. I was able to get a better grasp on spanish speaking cultures and speaking spanish myself. The practice this project demanded was a great ending step to climb as I will be continuing on to Spanish 3 and I feel that all the skills this project required will be extremely beneficial. I was also able to learn how to write informatively with short summaries, commands and dialogue. This project has helped me see the relevance in speaking and writing in spanish, which I feel will help me stay motivated.
El Periodismo Project
The Leap of Faith
¿Has pensado de correr para alcanzar sus metas? Siete bailarines del Ballet Nacional de Cuba desertaron a los EEUU (Estados Unidos) en abril de 2013. Bailarines en Cuba son muy especiales, y el país tiene mucho respeto para las tradiciones de la danza. Para impedir a los cubanos de dejar, las autoridades crear un cuento de que ellos no pudieron encontrar trabajo como bailarines en los EEUU. Requiere mucho valor de parte de los bailarines para abandonar a Cuba. Señor Justiz, de 21 años, dijo, “La cosa más difícil fue la realización de que no se puede volver; que ha creado esa ruptura en su vida.” Pero su pasión a bailar y la necesidad para libertad artística y creatividad les obligaron a tomar el riesgo. El Ballet Nacional de Cuba daba excelente entrenamiento técnico, pero ellos también creían que era rígido y congelado en el tiempo. Ellos sentían que tenían que tomar este salto de fé. Ahora todos los bailarines tienen empleo en compañías de ballet dentro de los EEUU.
La danza al Ballet Nacional de Cuba es basado en la técnica y no permite exploración de nuevas ideas. “Siente como hace la misma cosa una y otra vez,” dijo Sr. González. Mientras estaban de gira en México con el Ballet Nacional de Cuba, ellos decidieron escapar. Salieron por autobús de la Yucantán a Nuevo Laredo, en la frontera de Tejas para vivir la vida que siempre esperaban. Entonces ellos viajaron a Miami, Florida donde fueron dado apoyo, alojamiento y entrenamiento por el Ballet Classico Cubano de Miami. Fueron permitido entrar por el Acto de Ajustamiento Cubano, la qual da permiso especial a los exilios Cubanos para inmigrar. Hoy, todos los bailarines tienen trabajo con ballet compañías. Uno de estos bailarines valiente, Edward González fue invitado ser un miembro del Ballet Sarasota en Florida. Annie Ruiz Díaz y Luis Victor, una pareja, se hicieron miembros del Ballet San Juan. Finalmente, Alejandro Méndez tomó ganó trabajo en Phoenix. Esto demuestra que esto aventura valeó toda las dudas y el miedo que el gobierno Cubano puso en sus mentes. Crucigrama |
Reflection
The goal of this project was to create a newspaper about a specific country with a group of three. In the beginning of the project, we worked to complete independent pieces. Two members wrote an article about the country, while the other group member created a video. For second semester we collaborated to decide what each member's new role was. These jobs included things like weather, crossword puzzles and a unique title and layout.
I really enjoyed writing the article about dancers in Cuba who came to the U.S. for a better dance career. First off, I love dance and feel it was something interesting to write about and for the audience to read. My favorite thing I added to the newspaper was a crossword puzzle I created. I thought this and the article about Cuba really made me have to expand my spanish writing skills. This project was fairly easy but I had a difficult time communicating with with my group during the second part of the project. I was in Hawaii during the first few days of second semester and wasn't informed on what was happening, therefore it took me a little time to catch up. However, after the difficulty of not communicating with my group initially, I made sure to get started as quickly as possible and then checked in with my group to see how our plan was going and what I needed to do. Through this project, I learned that I need to advocate and initiate for myself a little more. If I had come to my group before break and told them I would be gone and started planning then, it would have been easier for me and for them. So from now on I want to plan ahead of time, to lessen my stress and the stress of my group. Spending a month just focusing on current events in Cuba allowed me to further understand the dynamics of the country. In the future, if I were to visit Cuba, I would be able to connect with the people more because I now have this knowledge of their culture and history. |
Día de los Muertos
DescriptionFor this project we chose a person close to us that had passed away and created a piece of artwork and past-tense writing. The writing showed who that person was or something that reminded us of them. The writing consisted of two paragraphs that described who they were and a memory we had of them.
Reflection
Through this project I have learned about the traditions of the Day of the Dead, about writing in past tense and how to conjugate verbs to properly fit imperfect and preterite forms.
Most importantly, I learned about my grandma and finally realized why the Day of the Dead is a beautiful celebration. I enjoyed decorating my grandma's altar even though it felt a little strange to celebrate the death of her. After I realized that it wasn't meant to be scary or sad, I felt lucky to be able to celebrate my grandmother and honor her through an altar with food, pictures, and other things that reminded me of her. At first I thought celebrating death was eerie and strange. I have realized from this project though, that it is actually something extremely special and beautiful and I am thankful that I was able to remember my grandma. I am most proud of my artwork because I worked extremely hard on it, so it could represent my grandma the way I saw her. I feel it is refined after I persevered past my struggles of finishing it and am proud that I completed it the way I envisioned. |
Ojos y Orejas Project
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DescriptionFor this project, we first discussed how we learn our first language and in what order these stages develope for our second language. Then we figured out what kind of learner we are, such as linguistic, spacialm logical-mathematical, and what techniques work with these styles of learning. From this information, we created a diagram of sorts to put all of this into a concise and understandable project.
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