JOAN BAEZ: DIAMONDS & RUST

Pete Seeger & Joan Baez

After some days with the Amish Community in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, The Grandma decided to return to Barcelona to celebrate her birthday with her family and with a special guest star: Joan Baez, who sang (19-20 March) in the Palau de la Música Catalana.

The Grandma enjoyed a lot of the great performances of her friend, Joan, who played some special songs (Viatge a Ítaca, No serem moguts or Rossinyol) and another special song for all The Collins Family: There but for fortune.

Joan sang in English, Catalan, Spanish, Arabian and Jewish showing a great knowledge of all of these languages.

It was impossible to choose one song in the middle of all of them but, Diamonds and Rust continues being the most beautiful one for The Grandma, who still believes in the idea of improving our real world and full it of respect, tolerance, diversity and friendship. 

Pete Seeger & Joan Baez

The Grandma is a great fan of American Country Folk and Joan Baez is one of her myths.

Pete Seeger, who died last year, is the other. She likes their letters and poetry and their soft and beautiful voices which have been the social movements’ voices since the 1960’s, great lights between grey clouds and dark skies.

For other hand, The Collins Family continues its preparation of the Cambridge Exams. The Grandma offers them a new interesting webpage for practising readings: British Council Webpage.

I went to jail for 11 days for disturbing the peace; 

I was trying to disturb the war.

Joan Baez

THE COLLINS FAMILY IN THE STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA

Seeley Booth

The Collins Family is visiting Pennsylvania invited by The Grandma. They’re spending some days in Lancaster with the Amish Community.

After sharing some unforgettable moments with this community, The Collins Family went to visit Philadelphia, one of the most beautiful cities, in The United States and the cultural and artistic center of the American country. The city has an important harbor in the River Delaware.

Philadelphia was founded in 1662 and its name means fraternal love city because it wanted to be a respectful religious city. The city was the capital of the USA during the Revolution War meanwhile Washington was under construction.

In this city were signed Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the Constitution in 1787 and stands Liberty Bell an iconic symbol of American independence.

People like Noam Chomsky (linguistic); Will Smith, David Boreanaz and Kevin Bacon (actors); Louisa May Alcott and Isaac Asimov (writers); Solomon Burke and Taylor Swift (singers) or Kobe Bryant (basketball player) were born in this incredible city.

More information: City of Philadelphia

Good books, like good friends,

are few and chosen;

the more select,

the more enjoyable.

Louisa May Alcott

THEY DID IT, 'CAUSE DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE

Keep Calm

The Collins Family has finished its 220 hours English course. It has been a great effort and 29 December seems too far away. They’ve worked a lot and every one of its members has reached a personal objective. We want to homage all the whole family for their effort, their constancy and their sense of responsibility.Last days, they worked occupational hazards with MJ and prepared and updated their CV’s. Thanks to MJ, The Collins Family could learn the last innovation in the job’s searching.

Although the course has been a collectivist success, we must pay attention to the special cases of Adriana, Eva and M. Carmen who have reached new employments.

The Collins Family will continue its adventures in the 2.0 world because they have another objective to pass: The Cambridge Exams. The Grandma will continue supporting them in this difficult work and won’t forget her family.

Come on Collins! We have already entered in the History like the great athletes. Now, we must keep us there.

The Grandma’s friends continue trying to recodify an Elementary’s CD. They don’t forget this mission, difficult but not impossible.

 Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
Then in that one moment of time
I will feel
I will feel eternity.

Whitney Houston

THE AMISH & OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH

After discovering The Grandma has gone to Lancaster County in Philadelphia (PA) to join to the Amish Community, The Collins Family has continued the classes. Today, they have studied occupational safety and health.

More information:  Occupational Safety and Health

Meanwhile, The Grandma continues her searching of new material for helping her family to success the KET, PET and FCE Cambridge Exams. Today, she offers them some information about Speaking:

More information: Speaking-KET

More information: Speaking-PET

More information: Speaking-FCE

Don't know much about history
Don't know much biology
Don't know much about a science book
Don't know much about the French I took...

Sam Cooke

THE FRIENDSHIP'S VALUES: MONTSE'S & MIRIAM

Last Friday, some members of The Collins Family played a tale called The Love’s Values. It’s an interesting story about a king, a queen, a prince and a princess with love as the main theme.

The Grandma knows how effort has had this tale’s creation and how many difficulties they had to spend to finish their work. This is the reason because of The Grandma has decided to punctuate this work with two marks: individual and collective. 

Congratulations girls and thanks for your patience!

Well your faith was strong but you needed proof
you saw her bathing on the roof
her beauty and the moonlight overthrough ya.

Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah...

Leonard Cohen

LA SAGRADA FAMÍLIA: WHAT'S THE TRUTH?

The Sagrada Família

Today has been a very special day.

The Collins Family has arrived to Barcelona to visit the Sagrada Família, the most famous Antoni Gaudi’s work, although it’s not the most interesting: La Colònia Güell is the most enigmatic one. 

This visit has been a personal gift of MJ, N and M for the family.

Download Barcelona's Natural Wonder by Antoni Gaudí

The Sagrada Família

After taking the public transport for avoiding the World Mobile Congress crowd, they have reached their objective: staying at 10:15 in the main entrance called Façana del Naixement. They’ve obtained their audio guides and they’ve entered into the Temple for discovering the power of the nature in Gaudí’s architecture. 

The weather has been fantastic: sunny and warm day and this has helped the visitors to experiment the mystery of the colours inside. 

The Collins Family has taken lots of photos and has talked about the symbolism of Gaudí and the Sagrada Família parallelisms with Majorca’s Cathedral.

Animals like turtles, tortoises, snakes, snails, salamanders and lizards have appeared from different and hidden places of the building and different Sant Jordi (Saint George) have protected us during the visit.

The Sagrada Família

Once the ground plant has been visited, The Collins Family has gone to contemplate the essence of life’s mysteries in the other side of the Temple: La façana de la Passió created by Josep Maria Subirachs an incredible and magic hieroglyph about life and existence.

Symbols of Alfa and Omega have reminded us that all things, even life, have a beginning and an end; an enigmatic magic square has showed us how important are mathematics in our existence; the maze has explained us how difficult sometimes can be choosing the correct way and the Salvador Espriu’s words has evocated the importance of respect and tolerance between different cultures and races. 

Two hours and a half later, exhausted, The Collins Family has returned to the hotel in Sant Boi de Llobregat, a beautiful town near Barcelona, next to one of the most important places around the planet: La Colònia Güell.

Download The calculations of La Sagrada Família by Antoni Gaudí

Who knows where the world may
turn us, only a fool would say
Who knows what the fate may
have in store
Follow the light of truth as far
as our eyes can see
How should we knows where that
may be? How should we know?

Alan Parsons Project

CAMBRIDGE EXAMS: FIGHT THE FUTURE

The Collins Family is working very hard in the preparation of their Cambridge Exams. They’re exhausted and their brains almost explode but they are very persistent people and they don’t surrender.

Meanwhile, The Grandma is trying to help them in the last details. Today, she has been looking some information about Cambridge Exams Listening for helping her family in this hard adventure. The Grandma is going to recommend them reading The last Sherlock Holmes story and listening the audio story at the same time.

For other hand, we have been talking about people who admire and we have been analysing some examples of non-verbal communication taking a relaxing cup of Café con leche in Plaza Mayor. We have also received news from Eva and Corto. We miss you a lot and we hope to see you very soon.

Finally, MJ has visited us with good news about our trip to Barcelona for visiting The Sagrada Família. 

More information: KET Exam Listening

More information: PET Exam Listening

More information: FCE Exam Listening

IN MEMORIAM: LIVE LONG & PROSPER

The Collins Family has continued its hard work preparing the Cambridge Exams. For relaxing and seeing another point of view, The Grandma invited all of them to travel into space. They went to French Guiana and there, they got on the shuttle: 3, 2, 1… lift-off!

The trip was exciting and thanks to Vanesa, who had explained them all the astronauts have’s and don’t have’s, they could enjoy the moment without any kind of danger.

More information: Modal Verbs (Must/Have to/Can)

The most incredible moment was when another spaceship drove in front of them and its member, who had long ears, wore blue clothes and had short and black hair greeted them with only one hand, in vulcan salute style, wishing them: LIVE LONG & PROSPER. The Colllins Family wished him the best, and promised to remember him forever, eternally.

 When we've been there ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.

John Newton

THE COLLINS FAMILY: 'CAUSE NOTHING ELSE MATTERS

The Collins

The surname Collins has a variety of likely origins in Britain and Ireland:

Anglo-Saxon: A patronymic surname based on the name Colin, an English diminutive form of Nicholas. In England, Collins usually signified son of Colin.

Welsh: Collen = hazel, hazel grove.

Irish: cuilein = darling, a term of endearment applied to a whelp or young animal. The medieval surname was Ua Cuiléin, which has usually become Ó Coileáin today.

The Collins Family are 17 members: Adriana, Belén, Dámaris, David, Eva Cyprus, Eva Maltese, Gemma, Karen, Laura, M.Carmen, M.Ángeles, Miriam, Montse Paris, Montse Pottery, Montse The Second, Vanesa and The Grandma.

Every member of the family comes from a different country and English is the common language. The Collins Family works together for reaching its objectives and, even seeing the world from a seventeen different points of view, they always arrive to find a point in common: The greater good.

So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are

I never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we do it our way
All these words I just don't say

Trust I seek but I find in you
Every day for us, something new
Open mind for a different view

Metallica

THE COLLINS FAMILY & DOWNTON ABBEY

During two days, The Collins Family has been reviewing some grammar about KET, PET and FCE levels. The family has moving to Downton Abbey and they have been decorating its new home and they’ve replied some letters of the service’s ex members. They're working like Little Hercules.

More information: Vocabulary in English

They have been working during two months for arriving to the exam tests in the best conditions. They know that they must work very hard, as they’ve done it until now and The Grandma is finishing her last manuals for helping them.

Before staying in Downton Abbey, they have gone to French Guiana to get on a shuttle. This has been the last Grandma’s present: sailing into the space.

And if you feel the weight of the world
Put your mind at ease
Little Hercules
'Cause there's so much on your shoulders
But you know it's a breeze

Trisha Yearwood

DOWNTON'S PARTY: ALF, HOBBIT & ETERNAL HEROES

The Hobbit

Last Friday, we finished our pre-intermediate book and we started with our intermediate one. We reviewed Present Perfect vs. Past Simple and Present Simple vs. Present Continuous and we read about restaurants. We ordered some reports and we talked about adjectives that define us. Finally, we created stories with The Smurfs Cards.

The Collins Family went to a party in the afternoon. They invited lots of people to participate in it and Downton Abbey filled with people arrived from all places, including non-terrestrial ones. It was a great party, plenty of music, happiness, food and drink. The Family has rested during all the weekend but they know, they must continue tomorrow because the show never ends, the show must go on.

More information: Present Perfect vs. Past Simple 

Ooh, inside my heart is breaking
My make-up may be flaking
But my smile still stays on

My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies
Fairy tales of yesterday will grow but never die
I can fly, my friends
The show must go on

Queen

BLOOD & PARTY

Vlad the Impaler

For two days, we’ve reviewed the present perfect with its important words: already, just, yet, since and for. We’ve talked about determined and undetermined time and we’ve worked more aspects about social English. 

Moreover, we’ve continued creating compositions and we’ve talked about Jack the Ripper, Vlad the Impaler and Enriqueta Martí.

Tomorrow, The Collins Family is going to enjoy a fantastic party in Downton Abbey for celebrating its arrival. Today, the guests' list has continued increasing and we can be sure that it will be an unforgettable party.

I find inspiration in the movies I've loved,
especially all films ever made about Dracula.

Sasha Velour

VENETIAN CARNIVAL, W. CHURCHILL & LONDON TUBE

Mind the Gap

I believe our countrymen will show themselves capable of standing up to it, like the brave men of Barcelona, and will be able to stand up to it, and carry on in spite of it, at least as well as any other people in the world.

He nothing common did or mean, upon that memorable scene.

Winston Churchill - June 18th 1940

The Collins Family was exhausted after an intensive weekend enjoying the Venetian Carnival, sailing in gondola, singing Venetian songs and drinking and eating local products with the great company of Eva and Corto. It was fantastic. We took lots of photos which, one day, perhaps we can publish.

Yesterday, three of our members, Laura, Miriam and M. Carmen worked very hard for passing some tests while the rest of the family was writing about sharks, preparing an informal invitation and reviewing English grammar: connectors, countable & uncountable, question tags…

More information: Write Express

Today, we’ve reviewed the Perfect Tenses (Present & Past); we’ve written a formal letter addressing to Nestlé Company and we’ve talked about the relation between Winston Churchill, Barcelona’s citizens and London Tube. In fact, it could seem a sad story but it’s a great demonstration of courage, strength, survival, resistance and resilience of our ancestors and how the common work can help to save lives.

Finally, we’ve prepared a journey for visiting the most important places in London City by underground and we’ve talked about bitly.com an interesting tool for Twitter and we’ve seen other material.

More information: Bitly.com

We’re expecting because Montse Paris and Montse Pottery have work interviews and we’re hoping the best news.

 We shall never surrender - Winston Churchill 

EVA & THE PET PROJECT 01/2015

The Pet Project 01/2015

Last Friday, we decided to go to Venice to spend the weekend and joy the Venetian Carnival. Before this, we talked about social movements and its affection in cities like Barcelona and we created tales inspired in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince.

Eva explained us the future accommodation of our pets in Downton Abbey and all The Collins Family was exciting with the proposal.

During this weekend, The Collins Family is enjoying Venetian culture and tomorrow this evening they’re flying to London where they will stay some days in a hotel meanwhile the workers refurbish Downton Abbey and finish the last works.

Who would have thought from the top of the Coliseum,
that the Roman Empire was not eternal.

Urban proverb

KAREN & EUROVISION SONG CONTEST IN VIENNA

Ukraine

The family could reach one of the most important dreams for Karen: sing in the Eurovision Song Contest. This year, Vienna was the city which organizes it and The Collins Family moved from Salzburg to the capital of Austria.

The Song Contest was amazing and after a hard fight between the local artist, Conchita, and Karen, who represented Ukraine, our heroine won playing a beautiful song called “Hou, hou”, a song which talked about peace and love, obviously.

The Collins Family continued its English preparation and during this intensive week, they revised grammar: Must/Mustn’t, Can/Can’t, Could/Couldn’t, Should/Shouldn’t, the Conditional Tense or the Second Conditional and advanced in its reading about Robinson Crusoe’s novel.

 

More information: Must/Should Exercises

NAVAJO NATION: ÉÍ 'AANÍÍGÓÓ 'ÁHOOT'É

Navajo Nation

Yesterday, we continued the Robinson’s story and we talked about Navajo Nation, its language, and its importance in the Second World War. We reviewed Must (modal verb) and we recycled being as eco-friendly as we could.

We gave our best wishes to Mari Carmen, who had an important exam and we stayed the last hours in Paris. 

More information: Indians.org

Today, The Collins Family is packing their suitcases again. They’re going to Salzburg to spend some days and visit some places guided by M. Ángeles. 

Navajo Indians live in the Four Corners area of northern Arizona, north-western New Mexico, and south-eastern Utah. As members of the largest Indian nation in both population and land area (160,000 people by Bureau of Indian Affairs estimates, and 25,000 square miles of reservation land, roughly the size of West Virginia), many Navajos still speak only their native language, and most others, although they may be bilingual and bicultural, still cherish their songs, dances, and rituals. Woven into the fabric of everyday life, Navajo songs not only reinforce ancient beliefs but also serve as entertainment. 

Nizhónígo jooba' diits'a'
Yisdáshíínígíí
Yóó'ííyáá nít'éé,' k'ad shénáhoosdzin
Doo eesh'íi da nít'éé.' 

Jooba' shijéí shá neineeztáá'
T'áá bí shá ak'eh deesdlíí'
Ílíigo bijooba' yiitsá
T'óó yisisdlaad yéedáá'

T'óó ahayóí atí'é'í
Bitahdéé' shééhozin
Bijooba'ii éí shilááh neel'á
Éí bee baa nídeeshdáá

Neeznáadi mííl nááhai nidi
Bits'ádi'nílíid doo
Yookáa éí doo bee bi'oh da,
Bee hahoolzhiizh yéedóó 

  Jooba' T'óó Nizhóní (Amazing Grace) - Navajo Version 

More information: Navajo music

BONJOUR PARIS! NOUS SOMMES ICI!

Today, we’re going to do another exam for testing our English level and we’re going to visit The Louvre Museum guided by Belén. The Collins Family is in Paris enjoying about this beautiful city and recovering about Gemma’s tragic experience. The Grandma is excited about the idea of meeting with one old friend: Mona.

Oh happy day!!!

Dancing and smiling.

Oh happy day!!!

Enjoying and living.

The love is here

looking for her.

The sadness is missing

Oh happy day!!!

Eva M. & Laura (Malta & Portugal)

GEMMA & CAMBRIDGE EXAMS

Last Thursday, we reviewed Future Continuous, some connectors and Zero Conditional. We created a new composition about Occitan Poetry and Gipsy’s tarot and we worked with the W- questions. MJ visited us and talked about the next Cambridge Exams (KET and PET) and their date: 16 May. We talked about online education and some methods of knowledge.

The Collins Family has continued Gemma’s searching. She’s missing since the boat, where all the family was sailing, sunk in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. It seems that Gemma is fine because the family has received some tweets located in an unknown spot. 

More information: Cambridge English Language Assessment

In the middle of the river
I found your heart.

If you want to give me your life

Give me it, give me it, baby!

Give me it, give me it, baby!
 

Eva C., Karen & Montse Pottery (Cyprus, Ukraine and Germany)