Homework: A description of my bedroom Although I am a fairly organized person, my bedroom can be a very messy place where lots of useless things seem to have been carelessly stored. You may wonder why. It's because I share the room with my two sisters, Florencia and Valeria, who make it imposible to keep the room tidy. First of all, the three of us are students, so there are plenty of boxes overflowing with books of all kinds, sheets of paper and half-empty notebooks everywhere. We don't have a desk, so everything is just left there on whatever available surface we may find. Since Valeria is an aspiring fashion designer, her things are the most space-cosuming. She owns two tailor busts and two sewing machines which weigh a ton, and she also has an ever-growing collection of fabric rolls and clothes patterns. Valeria has quite a voluminous assortment of clothes of her own, too, as you can imagine of someone who is so into fashion design. However, the three of us are equally guilty in that respect. We all have so many clothes that we no longer have space available in our wardrobes, and so there are clothes scattered in every corner. The bunk beds are permanently covered with a layer of clothes both clean and dirty, and dozens of bags hang from the headboards' edges. Shoes are a community of their own: there are flip-flops, slippers, sneakers, high heels, sandals, flats and boots spread as far as the eye can see. And let's not forget about our impressive collection of scarves and belts. Fortunately, make-up and skin care products are safely stored in another room, or at least most of them are, so they don't take precious space from our bedroom. If all these things weren't enough to make a room look like a bomb has just been dropped, my sisters and I have a thing for stuffed animals, so we have a lot of them. And I mean a lot. Needless to say, we actually make use of less than 3% of all the things I've mentioned so far (including our university textbooks, probably). I wish we had the willingness to throw away all the stuff we don't need!

Review: "Face" by Benjamin Zephaniah Hi! Next Wednesday I have an oral test in which I'll be asked to talk about some novels which we were supposed to have read through last year. As I hadn't read them, I've been trying to read them all last week (shame on me), and here I am to make a review of one of them to make sure I can remember some of the things I've read. The novel was 'Face', by Benjamin Zephaniah. The novel is about a good-looking, 16-year-old guy who gets involved in a car crash along with some other friends. He survives the crash, but as he is still unconscious, trapped inside the car, it catches fire and Martin (that's the guy), gets burnt. Fortunately, his body in general gets no more than a few scratches, but his face gets severely burnt to an irreversible point. He is taken to the hospital, where his injuries are taken care of, and after some time he even undergoes plastic surgery to improve the aspect of his face, but it never goes back to what it used to be. The novel then goes about how the relationship between Martin and his friends, girlfriend and family changes after the accident. I liked the novel, although I think it could've been better. The descrption of the burnts was really well-written, I could almost see myself touching Martin's face. I give it some points for that. However, most characters lacked depth. I know they were teenagers, but still. No need to make them so stereotyped. I didn't conect with them. I hope this wasn't boring!

A formal letter Hi, there! My sister works for a company that is welcoming an executive staff member from the US next month, and she is in charge of writing a note that he is supposed to find attached to a bag at his hotel room. She asked me if I could correct her work, and I did my best but I'm still not sure if I should change anything else: "Dear [name], The [company name] welcomes you to our country. It is a pleasure to have you as an evaluator for the [company name] team. Inside this bag, you will find some gifts that we hope prove useful to you: a notebook, a pen, a USB flash drive, a Buenos Aires City map, a map with walking directions from the hotel to our offices, and finally a card with the [company name] and [hotel name] contact details. If necessary, please do not hesitate to contact us. The hall 50 has been booked for conducting the evaluation team meetings. You will be given the per diem for your daily living expenses on Tuesday at our offices. We wish you a pleasant stay at Buenos Aires. Best regards" It's meant to be a formal letter. Is it alright? Thanks a lot!

Un petit texte sur ma mère Ma mère aime beaucoup des oiseaux. Elle a une paire de jumelles, et la porte toujours pour voir mieux des oiseaux. Pour apprendre tous les espèces d'oiseaux de l'Argentine, elle s'a inscrit à un cours dans le Centre d'Oiseaux Argentins. Quelquefois, ma mére et ses camarades vont à la Réserve Écologique pour voir et photographier des oiseaux. L'hirondelle est l'oiseau qu'elle préfère. J'ai le demandè pour quoi elle aime l'hirondelle, et elle a dit: "parce que j'aime sa façon de voler". Je ne comprends pas son amour pour des oiseaux, et je ne comprends pas pour quoi elle aime spécialement l'hirondelle. Pour moi, tous les oiseaux volent plus ou moins également. Mais j'aime que les personnes aient une grande passion, et je trouve interéssant que tout le monde aime choses différentes. Grâce à ma mère, j'ai appris à distinguer les chants des oiseaux dans mon quartier! J'aime le chant du zorzal.

Is there such a thing as "good literature"? I'm currently studying to become a professor who will teach young students Spanish grammar and literature. The big majority of my classmates are really into literature, and they all have strong positions on how and what one should teach to the students. I had an argument the other day because of this. I told a classmate that I didn't think literature could be studied. Looking at a book through the eyes of a scientist just kills the reason the book was made for. She replied that she thought that was the best part of reading a book, trying to figure out what the author tried to say. I said it was meaningless. A book reflects the reader, not the author. One should figure out the meaning of a book for oneself, in a way that serves the understanding of oneself and nothing else. I'm against placing a book into structures and schools that obviously can't explain the book as a whole. I have two categories when it comes to books: I liked it / I didn't like it. That is all. I just can't say if it was good or bad. My classmate didn't agree with this either. She said that, for example, Harry Potter or the likes of it don't teach you anything, so they can't be considered "good literature" and shouldn't be taught at school. What is "good literature"? What do you mean with "it doesn't teach you anything"? Does any book do that? We need to make something clear: literature, like every artistic practice, IS COMPLETELY USELESS. I can perfectly make it through life without ever reading Shakespeare, and even without knowing who he was. Reading Shakespeare or reading J.K. Rowling will give me the same completely useless wisdom. So, just let the kids read what they like and what is significant to them, and let them decide which books are essential, or else they might end saying Shakespeare is "good literature" just because a professor told them so, and not because they truly believe it. The real job of a literature professor is not creating a fake literature sensitivity in kids, but making sure the kid won't think "literature is not for me". There are all kinds of books, and you don't have to like the one your professor told you to. There's one book waiting for you, go and find it! Your professor should give you plenty of options. What do you guys think?

Hallo! Ich heiße Natalia. Ich komme aus Argentinien und ich wohne in Buenos Aires. Ich spreche Spanisch, Englisch, Italienisch und Japanisch. Mein Geburtstag ist am einunddreißigten (31) März. Ich bin zweiundzwanzig (22) Jahre alt. Angenehm! Ich spiele das Klavier. Ich höre gern Japanisch Rock. Und Sie? Deutsch macht einfach so Spaß! (^_^) Na ja, vielen Danke! Natalia <3

毛皮が持っている天使 (本当の話) 子供の時に、ある日家族の皆と一緒に遠いメンドーサの静かな村に旅行しました。いっけんの家を借りて過ごしました。家の周囲には、家族の無い犬達が多かったです。毎日毎日、犬が近くに来て、「食べ物を下さい」と目に書いて有りました。私達三人姉妹は犬に食べ物をやりました。でもその中に、足に怪我をした犬が一匹いました。私達は子供だったので、「その犬は可愛くない」と思い、その犬だけには食べ物をやりませんでした（可哀そうですね）。 ある日、私達三人姉妹は森に遊びに行きました。遠くまで行ったので、村はもう見えなくなりました。怖くなり、帰ろうと思ったのですが、帰り道が分からなくなりました。 その時、あの足の悪い犬があらばれました。犬は私達の目を見て、ゆっくり歩き出しました。それで犬の後を追って、私達も歩き出しました。 おそらく、あの犬は私達の目に映る絶望をよく理解できました。その純情な犬は村まで歩きました。犬のおかげで、私達は家に帰ることが出来ました。私達を助けました。その日から、あの犬だけに食べ物をやりました。 これは寓話みたいですけれど、本当の話です。助けることなど、どこでもから来ることができます。 足の悪い犬さん、ありがとうございました。 ----------------------------- これは日本語のクラスのために宿題です！しかし、この話は本当です！ どう思いますか？面白かったですね。 Lis

私の犬 従兄からもらってくれた犬がいます。犬の名前はLomuです。その名前はも従兄からもらいました。 ~ 私の犬のライフストーリ <3 ~ ある日、従兄は可愛くてイタズラな犬を買いました。数日後に、従兄は忙しすぎて、犬を気をつける時間がなかったと気づきました。 「どうすればいい？もう犬は飼わないぞ」従兄は父に言いました。 「僕はずっと犬が欲しかったんだけど．．．」父は答えました。 其れ故、従兄は父に犬をあげました。その時に、Lomuは名前がもう有ったし、一歳でした。 Lomuは今年十三歳になります。犬としておじいさんですが、とてもビチビチです！ 迷わずLomuは世界で一番好きな犬です。(^__^) いまのところはこれで全部です! Lisでした。 (^_^)v 可愛くない？

始めまして！ 始めまして <3 これは私のファーストエントリー! 皆さん、日本語が習っている私に手伝っていただけませんか? (^_^)~ 日本語の勉強は難しいけど、私は日本語が大好き！これからお世話になります。 m(_ _)m 私はアルゼンチン人。私の母語はスペイン語。現在ブエノスアイレスに住んでいる。ところで、ブエノスアイレスはアルゼンチンの首都。とても賑やかな町。 それに私は二十二歳だから、羊。（笑） プロモーターとして働いている。文学を勉強している。イタリア料理や日本料理が好き。一番好きな動物はパンダベアーとカバ。一番好きなバンドはラルクアンシエル。(>//<) じゃ、これが今のところ充分。ここまで私が書いたエントリーを読んでくれてありがとうございます。m(_ _)m Lisでした。 (^_^)v