Monsoon Wedding

I would like to recommend this film to you. An important part of what we teach you in English is knowledge of the English speaking world. In India you can see many traces of colonial times. India was, as you all know, said to be the jewel of the British empire. We have also talked a lot about India when we studied Hinduism in RLE. It is such a diverse country, and the differences between the rich and the poor are enormous. This film gives you insight into several sides of Indian culture, as an upper-middle class familly plans the wedding of their daughter. It was difficult to find a trailer that does the film justice. Although it may seem like it, this is not just a romantic comedy. Trust me: this film is beautiful.

I would love to discuss this with you! I own it, and you are more than welcome to borrow it from me, just let me know! If you do decide to watch it, I'll plan a lunch break where we can discuss it- I promise I'll bring hot chocolate. This goes for all the students who read this blog, I know several from other classes read it as well. Feel free to join!

Since we are already in the romantic corner, this marriage proposal is very cute.

Obama pretending to be interested

I would make a terrible president. I am terrible at pretending something is interesting when it really is extremely boring. Some of you are quite bad at faking as well, I have noticed....
Imagine all the incredibly boring things you will have to listen to when you are president. Everyone wants to show you what they do for a living, and let's face it: some of it is very dull.

Here is a slideshow of Obama looking at things, pretending to be interested. Or maybe he really is?

Following your dream.

This video combines two of my favorite things in the world: chocolate and films on how things are made. It is about two brothers in Brooklyn (which is one of the 5 boroughs of New York City) who decided to start a small chocolate factory making esqusite little bars of chocolate. Suitable film for a Saturday!

You have your whole lives ahead of you, with endless possibilities. What is your dream?

I am sorry I did not see this video before I went to New York, I would definately have visited these two.

Have a lovely Saturday!

Express yourselves!

Today we start presenting your group work on Human Rights. When we brainstormed this subject in the D-class, I told you how surprising it is that almost no one talks about article 29-1, that in addition to all the rights you have you also have duties. I believe, as I told you, it should be an absolute (moral) duty to use the right to vote. I do not care what you vote, as long as you go and hand in your ballot (when you are old enough of course.)

When visiting the NYC library to see the exhibition on Percey and Mary Shelly (I will tell you about them later) I came across this card with a quote by Percy Shelly on it, and I immediatley thought of you. Your voices are so important and school is a wonderful arena to share them with others. To make sure you all remember this, I took a card for each and every one of you (they were free, I did not steal). You'll get them Monday. Pin it somewhere where you'll see it all the time!

The Scream!

One of the four paintings of The Scream by Edvard Munch (painted in 1985) is up for sale. This is the only chance a private person has to own this painting, as the three others are owned by galleries in Norway. The painting is to be sold at Sotheby's, and is expected to fetch at least $80 000 000 which equals 476 000 000 NOK. As I am writing this I have no idea of the outcome, but you probably will know when you read this in the morning!

Do you think Norway should buy this painting or is it fun that people in other parts of the world can enjoy it as well? This is probably one of the most famous paintings in the world! Listen to experts talking about it here!

For the early birds: Good luck on your term test today! Remember to read through your text thoroughly on paper before handing it in, and read the text backwards if you have a tendency to make spelling mistakes.

Making your language blossom!

We have spoken many times about how to make your language blossom- or to add spice to your texts as I say. I found an amazing site at BBC, where they explain common English expressions and give examples on how they are used! I challenge you all to learn a couple of these every week, and use them in conversations with your friends. I promise you it will pay off.
Find them here!

(Ok, so the pic had absolutely nothing to do with the post, but I thought of this artist as I wote blossom. If you liked it too, you can see more here.)

Ticket- with traces of history?

I got this ticket on my way to the airport. Take a close look at the last part. This really surprised me! Why do you think they feel the need to write this on the back of their tickets?