A Beautiful Mind...........

Hello, everybody. Are you relieved that our midterms are finally over? I certainly am, I am getting really tired from exams, because they are taking so much energy from me, especially the tests that we experienced few days ago. I would say it wasn't easy, it was challenging.

Ok, what should I write about? Again, I couldn't find some particular topic, so I am just going to write down my recent observations. At first, the weather is still amazing! I can't forget one morning a few days ago after a snowing night when I went outside and the air was soooo fresh, this moment was just breath taking for me and reminded me winter days. I do love summer , but I love winter as well and can't wait it's coming. Actually for me the time when snowflakes are falling down from the sky - is the best time ever, so beautiful, everything is so calm,white and downy......... Second thing is that we are almost done with our presentations ( there are few left on Monday), but what I've listened till now was really cool, the topics were awesome: how to improve the physical appearance, plastic surgeries, language studying, architecture,etc. Also, we have been asked to evaluate each of the student. Doing it I felt like a teacher. I am definitely not jealous of them, apparently this is so hard ( Poor Scott, he has so much to mark ...) I am not use to it, but I tried to be objective, fair and give strong arguments for my evaluations. Anyway, I have to say, it was fun and everybody did well! The final thing that I want to mention is the new topic which we started studying this week - The mind! I find it as the most interesting and intriguing one! It is hard to understand human brain, so I am sure we will learn something new about it. After we learn more about our brains, we will understand better how it's functioning, and this knowledge, in turn, will allow us to improve our learning skills and study effortlessly!!! I just hope that my brain will be able to survive till that moment, because sometimes I feel like it is going to explode, especially on the tests....... ( and then I have headaches almost every day) Actually studying is developing our brain, it is amazing to discover what it's capable of..... You know what, I think I am going to watch a "Beautiful Mind" again, such a great movie with a very strong performance by Russel Crowe. If someone haven't seen it yet - you must watch it! ( kind of relevant to our topic too) And don't rack your brains too much, it can be very unhealthy!

Have a nice and relaxing weekend!

The Midterms!

It's hard to believe that we are already in the midterms. Time just flies , and I start questioning myself: have I made a progress in English till now?We don't have much time till the end of the semester, so I must make a big push and study hard. Hopefully, I will be able to do my best on the exams and not be nervous too much. The thing is that when I am nervous , it takes a lot of time for me to concentrate, and because of that I can miss some important things.I am really glad that we have an extra half an hour in our writing exam, it will give me the opportunity not to freak out from the time limitation. Also, we are going to have 6 choices of different topics, so it kind of enough. This week we started writing our 3-rd essay. I admit its getting harder and harder every time, as it should be I guess ... ( can't imagine what is waiting for us in the end). The thing is that we have to do some research, which is obviously takes more time. But also it is very useful, we can obtain lots of information and facts that we didn't know before. Also, today we finally picked out the topics for our presentations. I am really looking forward to hearing my classmates presentations, it should be very interesting. Pooh, if this post is too boring, sorry, just couldn't find anything to write about, hope that it won't happen to me tomorrow on the test...So I wish you all good luck and success in the mid-term exams!

Trains and animals!

We have a really big break between classes now, so I can use this time and write about something. After writing about a chicken statue, I decided that I am going to write a blog about a bear. Simply I remembered something that I can share. Not such a long time ago my sister came to visit me and I decided to take her to Banff and Lake Louise. So we were driving there and suddenly we saw many cars parked on the side of a road with dozen people on the hill looking at something. Of course we ( as curious creatures) also pulled over aside and decided to check it out. We climbed the hill and realized that everybody was looking at a middle sized bear who sat exactly on the railway tracks and was eating something not paying much attention to surroundings( you can see the picture). Honestly, I was really scared and thought that in any second a train could arrive and hit him, in front of my eyes. I've heard many stories before about these kind of accidents when even the whole bear families had been killed on the railroads of Canada. I looked around, but people snapped photos and continued staring at the bear. Really, I didn't know what to do. I wanted to make him leave somehow, just to see him out of the tracks. I even tried to yell at him, but obviously he didn't understand English or Russian. One moment I even wanted to throw a stone toward his direction , but wasn't sure that it will be considered as a proper behaviour. Unfortunately, he hadn't moved and we had to leave after spending about a half an hour trying to hypnotise him and make him go back to the woods. I hope that he had left before a train came. By the way, I know that grammatically correct to say it about an animal, but I guess I have a trouble with it, I keep saying he or she, like with people, they are not things, right...? I think that Municipality or other organisations should take some actions and built a security fence or something in order to protect animals from these kind of accidents. I feel really sad about this......

Hiking !!!

I am glad that we had a long weekend this time because I needed it so badly, I felt torn and really tired. So these holidays gave me an opportunity to rest, I must admit I didn't study hard, just a little, but it was important for me to save some energy for the next week. The most exciting thing that I did was yesterday, I went hiking with my friends to the Grotto Creek trail. I just loved it, especially when it was not too hard and not too easy trail. My previous hike was kind of tough and I couldn't move for 2 days, but this time it was exactly what I needed. We were 5 people ( if you run into a bear this is a perfect number to scare the animal), and we walked along the long narrow channel ( between canyon walls) stepping on rocks most of the time. The view around was so beautiful. At the finish of the trail there is a cave on the hill where, I guess, native people lived, and also some of the walls in this canyon are carved with different drawings. So, it is important historic place. In spite of the very windy weather it was shiny and warm enough. Anyway, hiking is a good exercise for everybody as well as a possibility to get away from the polluted city and to breathe some fresh air. Also, you are moving constantly making your muscles work and stimulate your blood circulation. I always feel great after these little trips ( ok, may be one time I felt like a dead person because of the really slanting trail). After we finished hiking we visited Canmore, which reminded me Banff, also a very charming small town. I am glad that the perfect weather of the Saturday allowed me to enjoy it.

Parasailing is almost like Parachuting!

This week I didn't have much time to write mostly because it was kind of busy week, lots of homework, especially writing an essay. Also, I didn't have inspiration to write because I felt really tired all the time and couldn't find any topic to write about. Today was the most difficult day in which we had 2 tests and a mini-presentation. Grammar quiz was quite OK, but reading was little bit challenging ( I couldn't concentrate for a few minutes), and finally the presentation.... It was short one, each of us should have spoken not more than 4 minutes about some thrill seeking adventure or daredevils. It was interesting and I got a lot of interesting information about danger, extreme sports as well as a few personal stories. At first, I thought that I am going to present about some famous daredevil or the most traumatic sport ( which is surprisingly considered to be the basketball according to US statistics), but I changed my mind and decided to share my personal experience in "extreme" sport - parasailing. This type of sport is very popular and I think many people are familiar with it. It's when you are attached ( along with the parachute) to a speeding boat with a long rope and when the boat drives off you are carried up into the air. Isn't it cool? You feel like a bird flying above the sea. So you enjoy the flight and a spectacular !!!! view around, it is so beautiful. Also, a person who is in charge of the boat is controlling the height of your flight, so you can go up and down, you may even touch the water or go up really high and almost "touch the sky". This sport made me desire to try a real parachuting, but as I wrote before I don't have courage for it. Parasailing in contrast to skydiving is not scary at all, and the fact that you are actually above the water gives you sort of protection, in other words you feel more secure, because you don't have to land as in a real parachuting. So, if you will get an opportunity to try this kind of sport, you will enjoy it for sure. As I said in the class, a few months ago 87 years-old man from India took a parasailing flight and made a world record. So, it is safe and really exciting activity! Try it and you defenitely won't regret it !

Danger and Daring !

I am glad that we had such an interesting topic today in class, which made me think and write little bit about it. So, daring and danger...I just remembered that when I was a little, about 3 or 4 years old, I liked to tease dogs, especially big size dogs until one of them bit me. Also, I liked to climb up my wardrobe and jump down from it. But than I was a child , and as we know, children are usually fearless in contrast to adults. Now, I am a different person, who is trying to avoid danger. Why is that? I have always been amazed by people who like extreme sports or do some crazy stuff ( I am talking about parachuting, climbing or Bungee jumping and other adrenaline sports) Actually, I have a couple of friends who always need to feel the adrenalin in their blood, so I will have to ask them more about this need and their motivations, just out of interest. Also,I have always wondered , why some people afraid to experience danger and some people don't. For example, I would love to know what is like to jump from an airplane with a parachute or from the bridge, but I guess I will never experience it because of my FEAR. OK, question, fear of what? I can tell- what if my parachute will turn to be with holes or will not open up at all, or I will not land properly and break my legs. So, people who are ready to take these risks are really brave! Or may be they are little bit crazy? Unfortunately or may be fortunately, my fear is above my motivation, and I let my fears to take over me. Hmm, too bad. I wish I could overcome my dread and jump in order to feel the ''high'' ( I've heard it's unbelievable feeling, specially the skydiving). Clearly that the first time is always the hardest one , like in everything we do,but then I am afraid to become addicted to it and this is another fear and another topic......Another thing, after watching these kinds of videos, I will definitely be afraid even more. People who are impressionable or have very delicate nerves ( like me) do not watch this http://www.metacafe.com/watch/256402/the_ultimate_bridge_jump/

Please don't do crazy stuff and have a nice weekend
Julia

Studying and time management !

Hi, everybody. I must admit that I have never been using blogs before, so this blog is my first one ever. I am not that kind of person who likes to write journals or keep a diary, but in order to upgrade my writing skills in English, I do agree that this is a brilliant idea! Moreover, we can write freely and be relaxed, which means I don't have to worry about my mistakes and spelling, yeeees! Also, I don't have to stick to the one main idea, I can write about anything I desire, like what I am doing right now. So , what am I getting at........ ( something that we learned today in class) .

Well, I 'm trying to learn English again after a quite long break, and I would say we have started studying in a very intensive manner ( which is good, of course). We have already got lots of homework, which hopefully I will manage to complete on time. I am very glad to have such an advanced classmates from different countries studying with me and it is a big challenge for me. So, I just rolled up my sleeves and prepared myself for the hard work. For instance, on weekend we had to do a book report, to write an essay, ect..... The thing is that it took me longer than I expected, I wish I can learn faster so that I could have more time for pleasure.

After viewing the short video about the time management the other day in the class, I realized that I must make a "TO DO" list. I have practiced it before, but not for the long term periods. Undoubtedly, this is a very valuable advise for everone who has a lot of things to take care, especially for students. After you plan your essignments, you fill more confident and sure that you didn't miss anything important. Needless to say how happy and proud everybody feels after putting a check mark in front of the accomplished mission. So, any way, I will emphasize my main point in this blog: please use this advice and do manage your time properly by making "To do" list, but also don't forget to spend some quality time resting and doing other activities.

Julia