This morning, The Beans have visited two old friends, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, the two FBI Special Agents who are specialized in The X Files events of paranormal activity. Both of them work in Washington, D.C. and have invited The Beans to their office to talk about the mysterious sinking of their boat in Liberty Island.
Mulder and Scully have exposed their different future theories and they have talked about certainly things (will) and uncertainly (may).
After visiting them, the family has been talking about ghosts, legends, equality of genre and poetry and The Grandma has remembered an old legend from Majorca located in the Serra de Tramuntana and its influences in tv series, literature and cinema.
The family has created a good reputation to the worst and most terrible characters and they have been talking about kind experiences in a try to create a standard story for their future exam.
Finally, The Grandma has talked about the importance of creating connections between different things and she has remembered one of her heroes of her childhood: Charlie Rivel.
Legends are all to do with the past and nothing to do with the present.
Lauren Bacall
This afternoon, The Beans have visited Foggy Bottoms, one of the most beautiful neighbourhoods in Washington, D.C.
Foggy Bottom is one of the oldest late 18th- and 19th-century neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. Foggy Bottom is west of the White House and downtown Washington, in the Northwest quadrant, bounded roughly by 17th Street to the east, Rock Creek Parkway to the west, Constitution Avenue to the south, and Pennsylvania Avenue to the north.
The Beans are visiting Foggy Bottom
Much of Foggy Bottom is occupied by the main campus of the George Washington University. Foggy Bottom is thought to have received its name due to its riverside location, which made it susceptible to concentrations of fog and industrial smoke, an atmospheric quirk.
The Foggy Bottom area was the site of one of the earliest settlements in what is now the District of Columbia, when German settler Jacob Funk subdivided 0.53 km2 near the meeting place of the Potomac River and Rock Creek in 1763. The settlement officially was named Hamburgh, but colloquially was called Funkstown where a German community was founded by many German immigrants.
By the 19th century, Foggy Bottom became a community of white and black laborers employed at the nearby breweries, glass plants, and city gas works. These industrial facilities are also cited as a possible reason for the neighborhood's name, the "fog" being the smoke given off by the industries.
Finally, The Beans have stayed in the neighbourhood having dinner and playing some word games that Natalia Bean has offered to her family while they have been talking about heroes and superheroes.
Anton Bean is a great fan of History. He loves reading books and reports about culture, traditions and anthropology. He stores lots and lots of information in his tablet and he likes knowing new things every day and checking them with old ones.
Anton is excited today because The Beans have decided to visit Rachel Lapp and her family, members of the Amish Community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It’s near Philadelphia and in the way to Washington, DC and it is a good chance to visit them and discover how their life-style closer to 19 century full of old traditions and an ancient religion afect the new Amish generations.
The Amish are a group of traditionalist Christian church fellowships with Swiss Anabaptist origins. They are closely related to, but distinct from, Mennonite churches. The Amish are known for simple living, plain dress, and reluctance to adopt many conveniences of modern technology. The history of the Amish church began with a schism in Switzerland within a group of Swiss and Alsatian Anabaptists in 1693 led by Jakob Ammann. Those who followed Ammann became known as Amish.
Rachel Lapp and John Book in 1985
In the early 18th century, many Amish and Mennonites immigrated to Pennsylvania for a variety of reasons. Today, the most traditional descendants of the Amish continue to speak Pennsylvania German, also known as Pennsylvania Dutch, although a dialect of Swiss German is used by Old Order Amish in the Adams County, Indiana area.
Amish church membership begins with baptism, usually between the ages of 16 and 25. It is a requirement for marriage within the Amish church. Once a person is baptized with the church, he or she may marry only within the faith. Church districts average between 20 and 40 families, and worship services are held every other Sunday in a member's home. The district is led by a bishop and several ministers and deacons.
The rules of the church, the Ordnung, must be observed by every member and cover most aspects of day-to-day living, including prohibitions or limitations on the use of power-line electricity, telephones, and automobiles, as well as regulations on clothing.
Anton Bean travelling in an Amish transport
Most Amish do not buy commercial insurance or participate in Social Security. As present-day Anabaptists, Amish church members practice nonresistance and will not perform any type of military service. The Amish value rural life, manual labor and humility, all under the auspices of living what they interpret to be God's word.
Members who do not conform to these community expectations and who cannot be convinced to repent are excommunicated. In addition to excommunication, members may be shunned, a practice that limits social contacts to shame the wayward member into returning to the church. Almost 90 percent of Amish teenagers choose to be baptized and join the church.
During an adolescent period of rumspringa or running around in some communities, nonconforming behavior that would result in the shunning of an adult who had made the permanent commitment of baptism, may meet with a degree of forbearance. Amish church groups seek to maintain a degree of separation from the non-Amish world. Non-Amish people are generally referred to as 'English'.
The Beans entering in an Amish shop
There is generally a heavy emphasis on church and family relationships. They typically operate their own one-room schools and discontinue formal education after grade eight, at age 13/14. Until the children turn 16, they have vocational training under the tutelage of their parents, community, and the school teacher. Higher education is generally discouraged as it can lead to social segregation and the unraveling of the community.
Amish lifestyle is regulated by the Ordnung or order, which differs slightly from community to community, and, within a community, from district to district. What is acceptable in one community may not be acceptable in another.
It is agreed upon within the community by the elders prior to the annual Communion. These include matters such as dress, permissible uses of technology, religious duties, and rules regarding interaction with outsiders. These elders are generally men.
The Beans arriving to an Amish farm
Bearing children, raising them, and socializing with neighbors and relatives are the greatest functions of the Amish family. Amish typically believe large families are a blessing from God. Community is central to the Amish way of life.
Working hard is considered godly, and some technological advancements have been considered undesirable because they reduce the need for hard work. Machines such as automatic floor cleaners in barns have historically been rejected as this provides young farmhands with too much free time.
The Beans are very interested in knowing how this community can work together building great structures without any kind of occupational hazards rules.
There can be no assumption that today's majority is 'right' and the Amish and others like them are 'wrong.' A way of life that is odd or even erratic but interferes with no rights or interests of others is not to be condemned because it is different.
I would like to introduce myself. I'm Paqui Bean a member of The Beans family. I was born in Poland and I'm a horse rider. I like my job but I needed to do something different and I joined to my family and we started to travel. We arrived to New York City last year and we are enjoying our last days in this incredible place symbol of migrations, effort and survival. We're also survivors because we had a terrible experience when a boat sank and we had to be rescued from the Hudson River. Now, we're preparing to visit Atlantic City and New Jersey before staying some days in Washington, DC.
The family is learning English and we're working very hard to arrive to our objectives with the help of The Grandma, a bored rich old woman who one day decided to buy a family because she felt alone.
Everyday, The Grandma explains some grammar and some stories to help us to create compositions and practise listenings. It's not easy for us but we're doing a good job and we have a motto: We shall never surrender.
Today, we have done some exercises about Present Continuous, Air Travel Vocabulary and Connectors before receiving the visit of MJ who has been talking to us about our future exam. We're very excited with it.
The Grandma has explained us how history has shown us the importance of civil resistance in wars. From the War of the Austrian, the Civil War or the WWII, the cities have been the objectives os¡f the bombs, so the people could only survive with refuges.
Now, there are movements of neighbours who want to protect the refuges in Barcelona city.
She has been talking about the same spirit of resistance in different ages in different places but with the same motto: We shall never surrender.
This is also our motto in this travel, because as Leonard Da Vinci said "the noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding".
Welcome to my family and enjoy with us the rest of our travel across The USA.
Today, The Bonds have practised some English Telephoning and Past Simple.The family is enjoying its last day in Washington, DC before returning to NewYork City where they're preparing their intervention in the UNO, tomorrow afternoon.
Maya Bond has talked about MayaCivilization in Guatemala. It has been an incredible presentation and the rest of the family has discovered some wonderful places in a magic place.
After that, The Grandma has explained some stories about the importance of February, 2 in our culture, especially in Mallorca and about the influence of Masonry in the architecture and design of cities like Washington DC, New York, Barcelona, Paris or Buenos Aires.
Today, The Bonds are reviewing some Social English, connectors and grammar (superlative and present tenses). It's important to pay attention to the clues in grammar because they can save us in an exam.
The family is still in Washington, DC and they are remembering one of the most important and historical figures of American History: Martin Luther King and his incredible speech I have a dream. The effort of the black people to improve their lives in The USA has been a strong struggle since the slavery age until nowadays.
Music is a great instrument to reclaim rights and The Bonds are preparing some songs to participate in the next Eurovision Song Contest.
Finally, after remembering more examples of people who created wonderful works and didn't obtain fame or recognition, people who worked for others and saw how their creations were copied, The Bonds have talked about their preferences in pop stars and black music.
If The Grandma can dream, she will return to Betlem in year zero...
We are not makers of history. We are made by history.
Today, The Bonds are visiting Washington DC. They're interested in the historical buildings and they're comparing them with Comparative. They are also learning how to use the modal verb May and practising some Social English.
After that, the family is practising some vocabulary about Hotels and Tourism and they're meeting with Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who are helping The Bonds to know more things about voodoo.
The Grandma is remembering some of her favourite singers and Irene Bond is explaining some experiences with one of them. Suddenly, they have received an unexpected visit, M, the partner of MJ, has appeared with some presents for the family. Thanks a lot MJ! We admire you and you know it!
In addition, The Bonds are discovering Ordesa, a beautiful natural reserve in the north of Aragon and they're connecting different stories.
Finally, the family are listening to The Grandma who is explaining some stories about blood and monarchies talking about Jack the Ripper, Vlad Tepes and Enriqueta Martí meanwhile Jaume Bond is adding a new name to this serial killers list: Elizabeth Báthory.
Tomorrow, the family has a meeting in The White Housewith the new president of the USA, a Juanjo Bond's old friend, and with the Queen Elizabeth II. They're going to talk about Middle Age and literature.
Be polite and dress elegantly!
My grandfather was a voodoo priest. A lot of my life dealt with spirituality. I can close my eyes and remember where I come from.
Raquel Bond is leaving the family. She's going to stay in Washington DC where she has found what she was looking for. The family is going to miss her a lot because she's like an amazing grace, always with a beautiful smile and some kind words to share.
Aftertalking about the importance of Sant Boi along the history and they are reading White Rabbit, a beautiful song of Jefferson Airplane which is a big criticism of Vietnam's War.
Finally, they are sharing sad and happy stories before going to assist to The US Presidential Inauguration where a Juanjo Bond's friend is going to become in a powerful man.
I thought the Vietnam war was an utter, unmitigated disaster,
so it was very hard for me to say anything good about it.
Yesterday, The Poppins continued their studies in Labour Integration. While the family
was learning new skills to find a job, The
Grandma put her business in order. The course is arriving to the end and The Grandma is closing affairs and
preparing new objectives for her family, one of them, how to pass a speaking
with success.
A PET Exam isn’t an easy thing,
especially when the student has been a lot of years without revising the subject.
The Grandma is going to explain how
to create a microtale, a good tool to
practise in the speaking.
A microtale is a short story where the
most important is answering the elemental questions: Who? Where? When? What? with a few words and using an easy
vocabulary to feel comfortable during the speaking and avoid nerves and hysterias.
It’s usually
a first person and real story where the main character is the narrator. This microtale is often plenty of hilarious
situations and lots of sense of humour. The objective of this story is to
explain something that can be controlled by the narrator and creates a point of
empathy between the student and the examiner. The Grandma has practised this technique during all her travels
with The Poppins. She has explained
lots of short stories to her family and she has always tried to connect every
story with a present fact.
Finally, The Grandma has prepared some new
material for The Poppins. For one hand, attending to Susana Poppins, she
has written a small dictionary about Commercial
Vocabulary and for other hand, attending to Isa Poppins, she has created a resume of some Verb Tenses.
There were
people who said the Society of Cincinnati in the American revolution, of which
George Washington was one of the shining lights, was a branch of the
Illuminati.
Today, The Grandma has received some fantastic
news from Cambridge.
While The Poppins were still visiting WashingtonDC in their American trip, TheGrandma came back to Barcelona
last Saturday to stay in the last concert of Amaral in the Catalan capital. Although, TheGrandma is a great fan of this group, the real reason of her
return was being in the city to wait news about the Holmes' Cambridge exam.
The day has
arrived and The Holmes and The Grandma are excited after the
fantastic results and marks of this unforgettable family. For one hand, all
members of the family have reached a Cambridge
Certificate and for other hand, Manoli
and Núria Holmes have reached another
Catalan Certificate.
The Holmes are plenty of happiness and they want to share it with
the rest of the families, especially with The
Poppins, the next family who is going to certificate in Cambridge next month.
Finally, The Holmes are celebrating Rosa's wedding anniversary in a private party in this moment.
Congratulations Holmes! You're fantastic, unforgettable and eternal!
Yesterday, The Poppins practised a part of a PET Official Exam. It was a hard day
because the family was exhausted after an intensive weekend in WashingtonDC visiting a lot of places.
After, the
family studied Reported Speech and
talked a little about effort, hope and work and the importance of being
flexible.
The course
is arriving to the end and the family is going to take different paths very
soon but they always must remember that they’re Poppins and this surname is plenty of energy, magic and power.
Today and
tomorrow, the family is assisting to Occupational
Health Hazards and Safe classes and they’re learning about these dangerous risks in their
works.
Yesterday, The Poppins studied the order of
complements in English syntax and the difference between Because and Because of.
They also did some exercises about Past
Simple and Past Perfect and read
a new chapter of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray.
After this
work, they listened the beautiful Isa
Poppins’ speaking about Love Birds
and they talked about different themes with the idea of preparing the next
exam.
The family is inWashington where
The Grandma wants to visit The Lincoln Memorial and evocate Martin Luther King Jr., a person who she
admires with all her heart.
Today, they’re
going to visit the Potomac Park and Georgetown University in the morning;The Tomas Jefferson Memorial in the afternoon and
The SmithsonianInstitution (aka Jeffersonian
Institution) where they’re going to visit Temperance Brennan (aka Bones) and her scientific teamin the evening.
The function
of education is to teach one
to think intensively and to think critically.
Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.
Yesterday, The Poppins took a look over pronouns
and Some/Any/No compounds and read a new chapter of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.
The
family is learning some new grammar without having the pressure of studying it.
They have been working very hard during two months to arrive to this point and
they’re obtaining the results.
Eli Poppins offered a conference about her own web. She’s a
clever and curious person who wants to get answers when she has questions. This
aptitude is very important in life because you don’t accept the reality in the
way that is offered but in the way that you discover and check.
The family
wants to stay this weekend in Washington
DC because they have interesting things to do and The Grandma desires to visit Abraham,
an old friend.
Today, they’re
going to meet some superheroes and discover that they only exist in the paper
format and in our dreams because we’re the real heroes.
