Petra: I don't have time for this young man, I'm working! Everithing you want to know about this island can be found on the wise letters. If you have the time go and read them. Go there and do not make me loose time. Oh! you want to know about my hotel… Well, this hotel is in here since this place was just a muddy waterhole, many years ago. It was founded for my granddad when the fish invasion arrives. He though that fishes were be here for ever and named the hotel as "The Barrier" Poor ingenious was my grandpa… I remember when I was a child, the whole building looked fresh, the walls were strong and the wooden floor looked clean and well made. It's a shame to see in what has become. I've tried so hard to keep this building on feet but I'm so tired right now. As you can see, we are the last generation in the whole sea. We are all old, people is dying one by one. The island is not giving us any option to be redeemed. It will never forgive us for what we did. We have a dark and shameful past. We can't talk about it but if you had seem that strange girl… We did what we though was right. We were scared of her, with her green skin and growing from the earth like one tree. She was the daughter of the island or the island itself I thing, but how could we know it that day? You know what? If you want a room take the number three. It has the better sunlight entry in the hotel, enjoy it. Don't worry about the hanging in the hall, has never been used -for killing people I mean- lets say that it's there only for looks. Now I have to go. Ah, the doors will be close at 7:30 pm. There will be no exceptions.

What are you doing for practice? Today I was thinking about what is the correct way to learn English by myself and what do I need to learn faster than now. I practice with all that I can, when I can, wherever I can. For example: I wake up at 5 am every day and do my morning routine listening podcasts about different topics. After that, I start to work at 10 am. I have to go from one place to another many times during the day because of my work and in that time I play podcast about variety of themes while I'm driving, in English of course. In the night when I come home I see one chapter of House of Cards with voices and subtitles in English, just for practice. By the way, I'm thinking that the subtitles are distracting me. Today I heard in one podcast that the better way to learn is trying to learn while you are learning. For example, you want to make some cinnamon rolls, then you watch related tutorials but in your target language. That's a great idea and I'll start to practicing it tomorrow morning.

Federico: From where do I know you boy? I remember having seeing you before. Were you the man that was talking with Atanacio the last Friday? Don't be surprised, in this side of the island everything is known by everyone. There is no secrets here. Does he gives you some drink? We have the best rum of the island. Come, I'll give you some. I suppose that you are here to know about this side of the island, I don't want to ask from were you came, but I'm going to tell you as advice, that if you are coming from the south maybe you should leave. That people are not welcome here. You know my name, I'm Federico. I'm not from here, I came from the east after the eruption of the volcano. I'm a survivor. I have lost all, the fire had burned everything I had. It had comsumed my twon, my ship, my house and also my family... It's ok, I can speak about it, don't worry. I miss the freshwater and the lake of the east, the bigger one of the island or is what the travelers say. In spring the trees of there was more green than those that you can see around here. The weather is so cold. Do you know the snow? It's like a white rain falling down in slow motion. Nobody though possible that under that snow was a murder river of fire. But well, now I'm here. Having living too many years to remember in this warming beach I have forgotten the mountains and the snow of the east. This people are happier than the people from the east, maybe it's because the sun, the beach or the beautiful women. Oh boy, if I could tell you Jeje!. I know a secret place I you want to...- Ok ok, it was just a suggestion, forget about it. I can't remember since when I'm having this tavern, but I know that we sell the best rum since ever!. How it was? Of course that awesome, I told that is the best. Are you hungry? We don't sell any type of food here but right in the corner you will find a big table, once there, just have a sit and wait for Romelia, she prepares the better food of the sea! We also sells beers here, and two types wine but our speciality is the rum. If one day you are looking for a job don't come here boy, you looks like a good one and this place would destroys you. You know? I have some rum to distill, so if you don't care I have to go. Have a good day!

Atanacio: Let me introduce myself; Atanacio is my name, no last name needed, that's the way the people is named here. I was born 83 years before just in this wooden shack. As you can see, my humble home looks better than me. The sun, the salt and the burning sand has deteriorated my skin over the years and my feet are barely useful right know. Some days ago I realized that I've never left this island. I heard that one man says that if you sail far to south trough the mighty sea, you will find an another island, a bigger one he said, but it can't be truth I think. It's known for everyone here that we are alone in the middle of the infinite sea. There is no place to go. Another people say they have seen faster boats that suddenly disappear, getting lost in the horizon. I don't know how that can be possible, I mean, if that were true, why I being the older man in this island still haven't saw anything? Liars! Perhaps they are just a crazy and should be asking to Jenjerito for help. He is a medicine man who knows how deal with that kind of people. I was a fisherman, a good one, as my father was. This shack was my depot for 30 years, that's the reason of the unpleasant smell. I have a house near the hills, but I enjoy this place. I'm living here since the last 19 years. As you can see I can't do fishing now, but being here I feel that I'm still living the days when I came here early and start my dayly task at the 3 am. In all of those days my boat was the first in the line. I was so strong... now at look me and see how the old age comes to us, even knowing that we don't want it. Now listen to me, it's better if you have your own shack, like the mine. Not with this ugly smell but with the privacy, not with this ugly smell but with a chair where you can have a sit and start to remember. No with the the unpleasant smell but the connection to the things that you love. What are you seeing here? Yes, the sea, because I love it. You know what? You should start to build your own shack young man, no matter in which kind of sand you will make it, just start it, because if you live the enough to need it, you will want to have one. That's for sure. Now I'm getting tired. I'm done here. Try to meet another person, try to find them near the beach, we are the kinder people of this island, tell them that I send you if you want. Have a good day.

Aprendamos a aprender.

Aprendamos a aprender. Se dice que aprendiendo, la gente aprende a aprender, y que mientras mas haces algo más fácil te resultará hacerlo con el tiempo. No hay duda de que la práctica hace al maestro, pero también es cierto que hay que trabajar duro para lograr esa maestría. Estoy de acuerdo en que los frutos del trabajo duro se aprecian el doble, pero también en que trabajar en algo ocupa tiempo y el tiempo es la arena en el reloj de la vida, así que por ende debemos valorarlo y utilizarlo de la mejor manera posible. En este punto, creo que lo que quiero decir ya está claro: se debe trabajar duro pero de manera inteligente. Usted puede trabajar muy duro de la forma equivocada y no avanzar, es más, si usted le pone un poco mas de esfuerzo no solo no va a avanzar, sino que va a retroceder o hasta a darse por vencido y a hacerle un espacio a su proyecto en el derrotero de las causas perdidas. Hay personas que trabajan muy duro durante toda su vida y terminan siendo pobres, pero hay otras que trabajan duro y de manera inteligente, con las estrategias correctas y llegan a ser ricas a la mitad de su vida, incluso antes si son lo bastante listas. Cuando comencé a leer duraba mucho tiempo con el mismo libro, semanas e incluso meses. No tenía ninguna disciplina, aplicaba la ley del "cuando tenga tiempo" procrastinaba y procrastinaba al punto de que un día sentía tanta presión por parte de esa tarea no terminada que llegaba al punto de tener que sentarme horas y horas a leer el libro pendiente hasta terminarno, pero no por gusto sino por una obligación autoimpuesta y así no lograba captar la esencia de ninguna de las historias que leí utilizando ese método. Un día me topé con un librito llamado "Como leer un libro" y entonces note muchos de mis errores. Teniendo esas técnicas busque otras y ahora sin ningún esfuerzo, utilizando apenas 15 minutos de mi tiempo al día soy capaz de leer un libro promedio por semana. Aprender un idioma debe ser lo mismo, de nada sirve esforzarse si no se buscan las estrategias correctas, si no se trabaja inteligente, si no se tiene disciplina. Es fácil confundir al movimiento con el rendimiento pero no debe exponerse uno a tal desilusión. Es fácil pasar horas y horas de estudio con propósito pero sin fundamentos. Es fácil! Es fácil querer esforzarse y está bien hacerlo, hay merito en ello. Pero hay que esforzarse en trabajar de manera inteligente con las tecnicas y estrategias correctas, porque de lo contrario el esfuerzo se vencerá a si mismo

Two hundred words or less. Since now, I'll try to write post of only 200 words or less. This is because I want to put more effort in order to resume the stories and learn to do more with less. 35 I've never been a TV shows fanatic. In fact, I can say that I see 0 hours of TV at the week. I don't have a television in my room because I always had thought that it's a waste of time. 76 Tomorrow I'll start to watch a TV series called House of Cards. I know that it's an old one but it seems to be interesting. 101 And, why I want to spend my time seeing TV now? Because I want to train my mind to listen in English. I will see the episodes two times, the first one with the english subtitles and later without them. I hope it helps me in my learning process. 150 If you have any other technique to learn faster (not easier but faster) please share it, because it will be helpful. For own experience I know that working smarter its better than working harder. 184

To be grateful. I'm new in this, and I'm trying to write a shorter stories that the last ones. I think that we write and write because frequenly we STILL don't know what's the easy way to say the things. Today, I want to write a letter for me and want to share it with you. This letter is about to be grateful with my own existence and the things that I'm doing with it. Maybe I don't know or maybe I just don't want to see it, but I'm a lucky man! It don't matters in which country I was born or in which one I'm living right now. Here, the important thing is that I'm a person who knows that have set goals for the life and that's smart, I have to be grateful for that. If I'm writing this right know, it means that I have a computer or a cellphone. Maybe to have the tools it's not an important thing for me, but I've to remember that I'am also interested in to get this new skill, I'm learning this new lenaguage by myself -with your help- so, I'm doing my part. I'm doing it because I have the time to do it, what a great thing is to can say "I have the time" that's a blessing! and I have to be grateful for that too. Now, I have the tools to do it being from Venezuela, a country which has been under a dictatorial regime since the last 20 years, to have a computer there it's not imposible, but it's hard. Today I'm living in a free country, what means that I left there, also I've the tools to learn a this lenguage and the time to do it! I'm so lucky! Well, I did it alone, that's the sad part, to miss your family that is scattered around the world it's terrible. But the good part of this is that I proved myself that I can do everything I need and this was discovered by me just a few years ago, again, I have to be grateful. "I can" is my new favorite word. I can know things, I can try things so, I can do things. To do, is the most important thing and I'm doing it. I'm grateful for that. I started to learn different kind of things about six years ago, now I can do things that I couln't do at that time, that's exiting, I'm grateful for that! Neither to know that you have to do, nor to want to do it are the most important part, but to start to do it is the key of a completely different life. Well, I'm going to stop here! At the end, this was not the short story that I said, but I tried! The next one! =)

Meditation box Since I remember, is said that every person has a particular method to do the things, my grandmother also says that for each person there is a different way to get a solution for the same problem, and I believe her. For example I can say that when I get angry for something and I also know that is not a relevant thing, I start to play some music, or get my cuatro and start to make some noise with it. After that, I get relaxed and everything is forgot. Today I went to the house of my friend Julio. Julio is a good man, he has a beautiful wife that is a close friend of mine too, and a adorable two years old girl called Sara who is always laughing. They have an annoying cat that I don't know how it's named and I'm not going to know it because I don't care. In the Julio's house there are three bedrooms, but one of them it's empty. I know about that empty room because I saw it through the open door. In the middle of that room I saw a small thing that seems to be a kind of deformed box. It was a box. That box has a broken side and I remember that I was guessing why somebody could put a box right in the middle of an empty room? it was weird! Julio wasn't close, so I asked to her wife what that box was. She laughed while was saying that it was the meditation box of Julio. Now I was laughing but I dind't understand anything. She told me that when Julio went to the house after a stressing day of work, he locked himself in the room and started to meditate with that box. A meditation with a box? -I asked- Yes, and is very efficient! -she said- What's inside the box? Tell me, I need to know that before I leave here! I mean, maybe I need one of those boxes and I still don't know it! -I argued- The truth of this real history is that after I asked the last question to her, Julio called me from the yard, we start to eat and speak about work and other things and I forgot the empty room with the mysterious meditation box. Tomorrow I will call him and I will ask what was that. I will keep you updated.