Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Sweet Childhood

Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to 2 year-old Marta B., 
the biggest fan of her mom's tomato soup and Ninja Turtles. :)




Although I can't remember taking this picture, it makes me smile every time I see it. :) I am crazy about old photographs and I often reach for my old photo albums with about 1,500 pictures (computer files do not count, and each family member has their own collection..) and recall my fantastic childhood. I have only started to appreciate being a kid when I grew up. 

9gag is indispensable in making me realize that it was not only me who believed in old, kindergarten legends.:) Watermelon's seeds growing in stomach was one of them:



Time travel

What would I change if I could travel in time...
I've seen that some of my friends have written about killing Hitler or preventing the outbreak of WW II.  All these ideas sound very noble-minded, concerning the wefare of the humankind.

But since there is someone who would stop nazis from conquering the world 70 years ago, I would teleport myself back to 2003. This is the year before Facebook, one of the most popular and lucrative websites, was launched.

I'd find a good computer scienticst, ask him to create Facebook for me and after a year or two, I'd wallow in luxury. :) Not to sound too selfish, I'd share some of my billions with you, guys. :)


P.S.

 Zuckerberg, u mad?  

Rocking out!

The task is to describe an artist who has impressed me lately. I must say I was of two minds about choosing two great, yet completely different groups: Florence and the Machine (with absolutely stunning Florence Welch!) and Red Hot Chili Peppers, a rock band that I hopefully don't have to introduce to anyone. I have chosen the latter since I'm going to Warsaw for the group's concert in July and I'm so excited that I just had to express it. :))

I always liked the Peppers' tracks, but even a few years ago I knew only several of their greatest hits. I don't know why, but 2-3 years ago I started to dig deeper into their discography and simply begun fascinated with their work.

Although 3/4 of the band is my dad's age, they make music that is loved by different generations. Watching the Peppers' live concerts on YouTube, I am always astonished by the fact that they have so much energy that seems to never end. Besides, I am completely into their universal music and lyrics, as are millions of fans around the world.

The band is performing in Warsaw July, 27 and the tickets are impatiently waiting for their time in one of my drawers:) I'm pretty sure they will rock!


Check out how the band rocked the hell of the Polish scene back in 2007. Enjoy!

RHCP - Can't stop (live)


Wednesday, February 29, 2012

On foreign language learning.


Michael Hofmann in his latest article for “The Observer” raised quite an interesting issue of language learning. He describes the situation in the UK where 14-year-olds can decide whether they want to take modern language classes and later presents the results – a dramatic decrease in foreign language competence among the British teenagers.

To tell the truth, what is amazing is not students’ choice, but the government’s decision to give them an option to quit modern language classes. As young people are usually not keen on studying at all, no wonder they don’t crave for memorizing new grammar rules, practicing pronunciation or translating boring sentences, as they see language learning. They are not mature enough to realize that a foreign language is of great benefit for them as it enables them to communicate with foreigners, facilitates discovering different cultures and finally, it opens doors in their future careers. Therefore, this is where the British government has made a mistake. They have given the youngsters a free hand, at the same time theoretically depriving them of the fantastic experience which surely foreign language learning is.

I, personally, cannot imagine myself knowing only Polish language. Although I have taken many language classes in my life: English, German, Spanish and French, only the first of them was the one that I fell in love with. :-) Certainly, I  have always had an aptitude for English, but also I had a good motivation from my parents and teachers, which pushed me going. And now, on the finish of my English Philology studies, what I can say about all the effort I have put into developing my language skills: it was worth it!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012