List of Practicas and Articles
Practicas:
6- Analysis of a Multimedia Special
7- RSS Feeds
Blog Posts:
3- Where Are the Real Sports? The Downside of Erasmus in Spain
4- Related Podcasts and Videoblogs
10 Things I Learned With This Blog
1- RSS Feeds - I kept seeing the symbol and the name around the net, but I never took the time to figure out what it was on my own. Finally I know.
2- Widgets - Another name I kept seeing around without ever figuring what it meant. Another good thing to finally know.
3- Blogging - It goes without saying, I learned a lot about blogging. I learned how to elaborate my own and how to surf for others; I can’t say I’m now hooked to blogging, but if I ever need to navigate through them again, I’ll know how.
4- Links - I’d seen links everywhere already. But before I hadn’t ever realized the importance of links in an online article; they are fundamental.
5- Blogging can be influential and interesting just as it can be useless and boring - For every blog worth reading, there are probably two worth being deleted. But that’s the beauty of blogs; the author can write about whatever he wants, and no one can force him to delete it. And the worst part? Somebody will always read it anyway.
6- Delicious, Google Docs, Bubble – All three are useful sites I had never even heard of beforehand. Now I know about them. And I even know how to use them. That could come in handy.
7- How to hit a deadline - I posted the majority of my work after 11pm on the day of the deadline. You could argue it’s either good or bad time management. I say it’s both. Either way, I learned to hit a deadline, and do it just barely as well.
8- The value of written expression and not losing my English – It’s one thing to think or speak, but putting those thoughts into writing is always more difficult. I owe our teacher Rubén one for allowing us to write in English; it’s helped me practice my written English so that I don’t completely lose it.
9- The Web 2.0 – All those websites we’ve all been using turn out to have a name. I know it now, and I’ve had first-hand experience with it. Now I can see features of the Web 2.0 everywhere, and I know – or at least have an understanding of – the use of them.
10- It’s useful to know all these things – In the world we live in today, where the internet is the go-to medium of communication, it is important to learn what we have in this class.
Outline of work and 10 things learned
The following are the links for the 7 ‘practicas’ we have done so far:
4. Hypertext Diagram – emailed to Profesor Ruben Gonzalez
6. Analysis of Multimedia Special
7. Feed Reader
The following are the links for the 5 weekly articles we have done so far:
2. Comparing our blog to others
3. Erasmus in Spain – parties at another level
5. Interview with Michael Douglas
10 things I have learned from this blog:
1. The Blog world is huge. Just today there were 251,292 people accessing wordpress. 153,877 new posts. 207,245 new comments. 39,858,794 words written today on wordpress. And I remind you that WordPress is not the only blogging site..
2. Not only is the blog world huge but it is extremely broad as well. You can write about anything you want and someone in the world will read it. (Our group blog had over 200 hits) You can also search for any type of blog and I’m sure you’ll find something along those lines. (google’s blog search)
3. I learned that news today is a lot different than what it was before. Now anyone can write whatever they want and it can be read by absolutely anyone in the world. We are now in an age of ’social media’.
4. I have learned how to successfully use and place different types of links. (permalinks, hyperlinks etc.)
5. I have learned to take screen shots with a normal PC. Before I didn’t know you could. I could only do it with my Mac and its cool keyboard functions.
6. I have learned how to make a blog post interesting and appealing by the use of images, videos and other types of multimedia.
7. I had already heard of Podcasts but I learned what Vlogs are with the 4th weekly article. I had never heard of them before.
8. I learned how to place widgets use blogrolls and how usefull they are.
9. I learned what an RSS feed is and how to subscribe to one.
10. I learned how to use Google Docs, Google Reader, Bubble, WordPress and Delicious. All websites and programs which are extremely useful.
Erasmus in Spain, Parties at another level..
There are a lot of things I could write about in this blog to complain
about Spain. There are many cultural differences that I find quite
annoying or different here. But instead of writing about that I am
going to write about something which has impressed me. Spanish people
really know how to party…
It all starts off in the early evening when they tend to get together
in parks and public places to do what they call “botellon“. This
consists of buying bottles of alcohol and publicly consuming them
before going out. The idea is you spend less money in the bars or
nightclubs which you will later go to. After that you might go to a
bar or two or three throughout the ‘early’ evening. Be prepared to
inhale a lot of smoke because it is still legal to smoke inside bars
in Spain. Before or after 4am you move on to a nightclub. Most bars
close at 4 so after that time you usually have to pay to be inside
somewhere. The nightclubs entrance fees usually come with a mixed
drink included. Nightclubs in Spain close at 7 am on a Saturday night
so get ready for a long and loud night. To put things in perspective,
night clubs in France have to close at 5 and nightclubs in Britain
close around 3. This means that when most people in Britain are
heading home to sleep, the people in Spain are just about getting
ready to get into the nightclub for another 3 or 4 hours of partying.
Another thing I have to share about the Spanish party animals are
their ‘fiestas’. From the smallest little town that is celebrating its
annual festival, to parties like San Fermin, Pamplona (the running of
the bulls) and Las Fiestas del Pilar, Zaragoza where over 1 million
people attend. I had the pleasure of attending San Fermin (official website)
this year and have to say it was pretty amazing. The complete change in the
city is shocking. Almost from one day to the next the city is infiltrated
by people from all over the world. People come to run with the bulls,
or just to party, and the party doesn’t stop. The party lasts a total
of 9 days and during those 9 days the bars in the center of the city,
or casco viejo, close for only one or two hours a day to kick people
out, clean up, and open again. Forget about nightclubs during this
week. They don’t even open. All bars are packed to capacity all day
and all night long. In the morning, those daring enough have the
“pleasure” to run with the bulls. If they make it inside the arena
they can stay and run with the ‘vaquillas’ (cows). Pamplona during San
Fermin is a whole different city. Even the people change. Usually the
people from northern Spain tend to be closed and grumpy but during
this week there is no sign of that. Everybody is open, happy and
dressed in white and red. Throughout the city there are several stages
and open areas where there are concerts and even daily firework
displays. The actual bullfights happen during the afternoon and are
always filled to capacity. Although sometimes it is too crowded and
dirty the festival is an amazing experience and I recommend it to
everyone. To make a long story short, I am very impressed with the
Spaniards and their partying.
Related Podcasts and Vlogs
A Podcast is, as defined by wikipedia as “a series of digital media files
(either digital or audio) that are released episodically and
downloaded through web syndication.” And a Vlog is “a form of blogging
for which the medium is video, and is a form of internet television.”
This week I will discuss 2 of each with have some type of relevance to
our group blog.
Notes in Spanish is a website with 3 different podcasts for Spanish
learners. It comes in 3 different levels, one for Inspired Beginners,
one for Intermediates, and one for Advanced. The podcasts are by an
englishman and his Spanish wife who live in Madrid. The podcasts come
with complimentary worksheets which are designed to help you learn or
improve your Spanish without a textbook or a classroom. The second
podcast I found is called Programa Erasmus. Here a professional
informed on the subject is interviewed about Erasmus in Spain and all
over Europe. The interview is in Spanish.
Onto vlogs. I found a website called Notes from Spain which had
several vlogs of people speaking in Spanish. It is used so that
students and those interested can practice their listening and
comprehensive skills. The other vlog I came across which has relevance
to our group blog was one on YouTube. This vlog is about a student who is
planning on going to study erasmus in Barcelona. The video is taken
before her departure and is about her expectations on Erasmus.
Comparing our blog to others..
If you google ¨erasmus in spain¨ or ¨blogs about Erasmus in spain you will quickly find that there are many many people writing about this topic other than ourselves. Most people tend to remember it as a very good time in their life. Let’s face it, Spaniards know how to enjoy life. We are the lucky ones who get to have a chance to see and live here firsthand.
As I searched for similar blogs I found one called BlankInkProject. This blog is about a girl who is doing an internship in Madrid. She includes pictures and tells anecdotes of her time in Madrid and her trips outside of Madrid to places like Segovia, El Escorial, Toledo, and even Buitrago de Lozoya, a small town in Sierra Norte about 2 hours north of Madrid. Also she goes pretty in-depth with a post about a trip to Valencia after she finished working and before she left for England. The second blog I found that was like ours is actually in French but an excellent example of a good blog. This blog is called Grenade La Jolie and is written by a french girl who is living in Granada, southern Spain. I don’t really understand French, but the blog is very extensive and includes an enormous amount of interesting pictures of her and things she saw while she was there. She also includes a large number of videos, a recipe for how to make gazpacho, and even a list of translated phrases from french to spanish. You can tell this girl really liked Granada.
Moving on to websites I came across one called Erasmus World. This website has a different page for each country involved and has a forum for Spain where people can write and offer just about anything from rooms/apartments for rent to party promotions. I would say that the site has decent traffic and almost daily usage and new things. The second site I found was Spain Erasmus. This website can give you information about over 52 cities in Spain. They post all sorts of events, interesting locations, top 10 places judged by its own users and members, and even help you find accommodations. In the end, these are just a few of the endless amount of blogs and websites you can find online that can help you on this topic, there are many more.
First Thoughts
Well as I arrived a few weeks late to this class I was not involved in the decision-making of the blog´s topic. Luckily I’m a good friend of Gabe and Andrea and I know exactly what they were thinking. I am also an american citizen studying my career abroad and it is a big change. Let’s face it, life in Spain is quite unlike life in the States.
First of all we have the ´siesta´ from 2 to 4. Which sometimes can mean 1.30 to 5. Oh yeah, and don´t forget that government offices and banks dont open at all after 2. This basically means that everything closes and you cant do anything other than eat, sleep, or watch TV. Then we have the amazing customer service which I dare not critisize.
Football is probably one of the most popular things in Spain, but watch out what jersey you have on because depending on what city you’re in, you might get killed. There’s no such thing as the late-night menu so you can forget about taco bell or any fastfood after midnight because its all closed. Get used to kebabs.
The one thing the spaniards are good at is partying. Clubs here close at 7 in the morning on a saturday night, sunday morning. They say that we americans drink more but sometimes between botellon and the all-night parties, I must beg to differ.
Interactivity
1. Control – Gmail
Gmail allows its users to change (control) the language and background and settings of their page.
2. Feedback – YouTube
YouTube is a video sharing website on which users can upload and share video. It lets you post videos which can be seen by anyone and because of the high traffic on the site you get all sorts of responses and reactions (feedback) to things that you post.
3. Productivity – Google Calendar
Google Calendar helps you keep track of life’s important events, (productively) all in one place. You can share your calendar with family and friends, you can access it from your mobile phone, and you can set up reminders so you never miss another appointment.
4. Creativity – Nike ID
Nike ID is a website which allows people to choose colors, customize designs and use their creativity to design their own shoes and clothing and delivers them directly to the consumer.
5. Adaptivity – MySpace
MySpace is a social networking site which lets you almost completely customize your homepage, unlike Facebook.
6. Communication – Facebook
Facebook is also a global social networking site. It allows you to keep in touch with family and friends all over the world, as well as post unlimited pictures and videos.
Is there such a thing as a professional ex-pat?
Robin Pascoe professional expatriot
Meet Robin Pascoe, a journalist and self-proclaimed professional ex patriot who has been traveling globally for over ten years as the wife of a diplomat.
Along with her husband and two children she has lived in Bangkok, Taipei, Beijing and Seoul. Robin has been asked by corporate groups to give speeches and presentations in over twenty-five countries about the needs of ex patriots and their families. Some of her popular presentation topics include:
- Family Matters! Attract and Retain Top Talent by Understanding the Family’s Challenges in International Assignments.
- Work-Life balance in the Global Economy
- Who Are You Anyway?
- Understanding Third-Culture Kids in the Classroom
Besides her countless speeches, Robin is well known for authoring four books including: A Broad Abroad, Raising Global Nomads, A Movable Marriage, Homeward Bound, as well as coauthoring Living and Working Abroad . She also writes regularly for expatriate newspapers, magazines and web sites and has been interviewed by many publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The International Herald Tribune, Working Mother Magazine, Utne Reader, CNN, and others.
Robin Pascoe’s book trailer:
If I were to intervie Robin Pascoe I would like to ask her:
“What definition do you use to define an ex-patriot?”
“Is there a time period one must live outside his/her home country before he/she is considered an ex-patriot?”
“Have you noticed several personality traits that ex-patriots have in common after having lived for many years outside their home country?”
“Do you feel that you lose a sense of home and old friendships having lived for so long and so far from where you grew up? And will your kids lose that sense of home having lived in so many different places during these formative years?”
Arthur Frommer
Arthur Frommer’s name is easily recognizable from the hundreds of travel books he has written, and mllions trust his name when planning trips on a budget.
Frommer
Frommer was born in 1929 and grew up in the height of the Great Depression. He was drafted into the American army during the Korean War and was posted in Europe. Drawing from his experiences in the armed forces, Frommer published in 1955 The GI’s Guide to Europe. It was the first of many travel books he would publish; two years later he would publish a civilian version of the book, titled Europe on 5 Dollars a Day. Though no easy feat, he managed to duplicate the success of his first publication; he would continue to travel and write travel guides, over the years publishing over 350 titles.
Each of his publications covers a distinct country or city; different countries call for a book oriented towards different goals, just as changing social and economic situations call for an adaptation of the themes the book deals with. In this interview, Frommer admits to adapting to the distinct economic landscape we have seen during the crisis, and this attitude has been a large part of his success. In keeping with that attitude, the author offers advice for traveling during the crisis in the following video:
Frommer’s books remain great ressources for the traveler for their portability. For those not willing to buy them, however, the author’s website is a legitimate, if not more comprehensive, alternative.
Guide to Spain
It includes everything from trip ideas, to hotel suggestions, to deals, and even to Frommer’s blog.
1. Of all the places you’ve visited, which one would you most recommend for a student on a budget?
2. Part of studying abroad is always traveling; how and to where would you suggest an exchange student in Spain travel?
3. What places do you recommend avoiding?
4. Your opinion on an issue many students ponder over: Is it better to spend your entire vacation in one place to soak in everything there is to see or to go as quickly as possible from one place to the next to see as many sights as possible?
5. How much do you believe traveling has changed because of the trend of globalization seen in recent times?
