Interview about Miriam

Posted on by efsbnews

 

Miriam

by Catherine Sodar – Belgium

Miriam is 25 years old and she comes from Barcelona, Spain. She is a tourism agent but she is also studying communication to become a travel journalist. She wants to travel a lot and to see different countries and cultures. She is an open minded person and for her, English is an important skill to communicate with other people, to travel and to work because it’s a good opportunity to meet new people and cultures.

She will stay here for 3 weeks only, because she has to return to work in Spain. First, she worried about the safety in America because everyone can have a gun, but now she isn’t afraid anymore because Santa Barbara is a really safe and it doesn’t seem very dangerous. She is very happy to be here because the American people are very friendly and helpful.

While she is here, her aims are to improve her English for her job, but her life goals are to become a travel  journalist for a magazine. Money isn’t that important because she just want to do something what she loves and that is traveling. She would like to go to Japan and Thailand because they have completely different types of cultures. Her dream is to swim with dolphins but she doesn’t really want to do it if it would contribute to the imprisonment of them.

Before she came to America she went to a few different countries in Europe :

  • France; She lived there for 7 months.
  • Italy : Miriam really like this country.
  • England
  • Tunis
  • United States : for holidays.
  • Brazil
  • Belgium ; to study at the English Academy in Spa for 3 months.

She told me that when I come to her country and especially to her city, Barcelona, I have to visit absolutely the Gaudi Park and also see all the Gaudi architecture. She appreciates  walking in the little streets of Barcelona where are many bars, cafes and little shops. I think it could be wonderful to get lost in her city. I have heard a lot of great things about Barcelona.

She went to Liege six years ago to go to the English Academy and it’s the city where I live in Belgium. There she also learnt a lot of English. She’s now an independent tourist guide but she is studying communication : marketing, languages and journalism.

Four Seasons of Finland

Posted on by efsbnews

By Julia Konttila, Finland

One of my favorite things about living in Finland is the fact that we have four totally different seasons. All year –around-summer sounds amazing but I couldn’t live my whole life without snow, fall colors or rain and actually, living moths in coldness makes summer feel ten times better. When summer finally comes you feel like you have deserved it.

syksy

Here in California, I have learned to appreciate the Finnish summer even more, the stunning views, midnight sun and clean nature. In the north the  sun doesn’t set below the horizon in over 70 days. I can’t imagine anything better than long summer nights with friends and family. Winter, on the other hand, is a very cold and dark season in Finland. In the same way as in the summer, the sun doesn’t set for a very long time. Now the sun doesn’t rise above the horizon in the north, and in the south the days are quite short. Luckily we have something to replace the sun, the northern lights.  A white natural landscape with a dark sky full of northern lights is truly a breathtaking view.

talvi

You can see clearly when a season turns to another. When summer is over, the leaves start changing colors and it begins to get windy. People start to spend more time inside, having cozy nights burning candles and drinking tea or hot chocolate. Before you even notice, it is December and the weather gets a lot colder. Everyone is wishing for a white Christmas. When the snow finally comes, the whole country wakes up again. Everyone wants to enjoy the first snow, kids are playing outside, families are making snowmen  together and a lot of people are ice skating or skiing. After a long and cold winter, it is time for nature to wake up again. The snow starts to melt and nature turns green. Flowers blossom, rivers start to flow and everyone is ready for the summer.