Salamanca, Spain

Salamanca is a gorgeous little city in Spain. It seems to simply appear out of thin air. The trip there is through rural, plain, country side. Then, miraculously, the breath taking sight of the two cathedrals appear, and you are in heaven. Salamanca is one of the most amazing places in the world because it encompasses all that you would expect from Spain. For example, old architecture, modern art, and an amazing night life.

Waking up in the morning and walking to class in Salamanca was as if the city existed solely for you. Not many people were yet walking the streets, the plaza was a vast and empty square filled with only your tiny self, and the towering buildings dating back to the 1700s staring down at you as you walked. The feeling was both uplifting, as if I could float away, but yet grounding, as I felt so small with such history surrounding me.

As I sift through the slide show of memories of my time spent in Salamanca, it is as if it were the best dream I have ever had. However, there are little remnants that prove my time there was real. I still have the taste of tapas and red wine on my lips. I still have the sound of my host mother's voice yelling, "¡A comer!" I still have the heat on my skin of the sun radiating off the stone floor of the Plaza.

If you desire to see such an eloquent balance of the modern and the historical, you should book your next travel destination to Salamanca, Spain. If you desire to taste the most invigorating foods and wines, you should be in Salamanca. I know the next chance I get at traveling, I will be heading back to that beautiful city where the streets come alive.

Grammar Point

Types of Sentences-simple, compound, complex, compound-complex

1) Simple-includes a subject and a verb and expresses complete thought

Example from text: "I still have the taste of tapas and red wine on my lips."

2) Compound- includes two independent clauses followed by a coordinator (preceded by a comma). Coordinators are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. You can use FANBOYS to remember them.

Example from text: "Then, miraculously, the breath taking sight of the cathedrals appear, and you are in heaven."

3) Complex- includes an independent clause joined by one or more dependent clauses. A complex sentence always has a subordinator such as; because, since, after, although, or when. Or, a relative pronoun such as; that, who, or which.

Example from text: "Salamanca is one of the most amazing places in the world because it encompasses all that you would expect from Spain."

4) Compound-Complex- include at least two independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses.

Example from text: "Not many people were yet walking the streets, the plaza was a vast empty square filled with only our tiny self, and the towering buildings dating back to the 1700s staring down at you as you walked."

It is important to recognize and make use of all of these types of sentences in your writing. When writing a persuasive piece, it is also important to include evaluative language (inclusion of adjectives to describe things in detail), modals (should or must), and reasons as to why the reader or listener should agree. I hope I have persuaded you to visit or at least ponder visiting Spain. Here is a link with information about visiting Salamanca. ¡Disfruta!

http://www.enforex.com/visit-salamanca.html

Memphis

A few weeks ago, I attended a phenomenal musical called Memphis. Every year, all the women on my mother's side of the family plan a girls day out. Each year we attend some type of show on Broadway. This year, we decided on a musical. I was a bit apprehensive of seeing a musical, because they are generally not my cup of tea. However, upon seeing this musical, my opinion drastically changed.

This musical is playing at The Shubert Theatre on West 44th Street in New York City. Memphis is a musical about an aspiring black singer and a white DJ who come together in the segregated South during the early days of Rock 'n' Roll in the early 1950's. It is a compelling story of two talented young people, their forbidden love, and the problems that come with success. It is actually a story based on true events.

What surprised me about this musical is that it truly moved me. I was able to connect to the characters in ways I usually cannot when viewing a musical. There a few moments that actually brought me to tears. If you want to see great story, hear great music, and watch talented actors perform on Broadway, there is no better show than Memphis!

Vocabulary

1. phenomenal- very great or impressive

2. apprehensive- worried or nervous about something that you going to do; or about the future

3. 'not my cup of tea'- describing some thing you do not like or prefer

4. aspiring- hoping to be successful in a particular job, activity, or way of life
5. segregated- (in this case) an area where an institution(s) can only be attended by members of one race.

6. compelling- very interesting or exciting, so that you have to pay attention

7. 'moved me'- made you feel strong emotions, especially sadness or sympathy

Cloze Exercise:

1. In the mid 1900's, many areas of the United States of America were ______________ based on race.

2. Football games are usually not ________________.

3. Kaitlyn, I saw a _____________ musical last night!

4. The characters' acting and the plot of the show truly ________________.

5. I am a bit _______________ about going watching this scary movie.

6. Joey is an ______________ young actor.

7. The convention we attended today about positive thinking was very ________________.

Grammar Point: Articles

Articles are words that combine with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made to the noun. There are two types major of articles; definite and indefinite articles. Definite articles refer to a specific and distinct noun. In English that article is the. Indefinite articles refer to any non specific noun. In English that article is a, or an. You can see examples of these articles within my text. For example; "Memphis is a musical", ..."and the problems that come with success."

Below, write 4 sentences. Two sentences using the definite articles the, and two sentences with the indefinite articles a, or an.

Link:

Here is a link to the Memphis website. Here you can check out the story line, characters, actors' names and biographies, ticket cost and purchasing, and much more. I hope you all get the chance to see this musical!

http://memphisthemusical.com/index.html

Cereal!

There is nothing better than a bowl of cereal! I was thinking the other day, while enjoying a fabulous bowl of fruity pebbles, just how much I love cereal. What better to do than blog about it! Although cereal is meant to be a breakfast food, it is more like an anytime of the day meal for me. In fact, I rarely eat cereal in the morning. This is due to the fact that I am almost always running late, which means I always eat on the go in the morning. I enjoy a bowl of cereal as a mid day snack, and as a night time snack. When I was a poor college student at SUNY Cortland, cereal often took the place of main meals.

Most of the cereals we all know and love are produced by a corporation called General Mills. Such cereals include; Cheerios, Kix, Chex, Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs, Cookie Crisp, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Total, Wheaties, and many more. There is a plethora of cereals within one aisle of every super market! Some of my favorite cereals include Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Pebbles, Lucky Charms, Pops, Trix, and the list goes on. There are very healthy cereals out there as well that contain less sugar and more fiber. However, my heart lies with the sugary cereals.

Vocabulary
1. rarely- infrequent, seldom, almost never
2. 'running late'- describing a person that is tardy and not be on time
3. 'eat on the go'- someone who eats while performing another activity due to lack of time
4. SUNY Cortland- A 4 year college located in upstate New York (about 41/2 hours away). Considered a state school.
5. General Mills- An American corporation that markets many well known food brand names.
6. plethora- an overabundance, excess.
7. fiber- food containing a high amount of such carbohydrates, as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
8.'my heart lies with'- describing what you like or love a lot.

Cloze Exercise
1. I attend a great state school about 41/2 hours upstate called ___________________.
2. According to the labels, this cereal is high in _____________.
3. Can you let my boss know I am ___________________. I got flat tire on the way to work.
4. Many people prefer Cheerios, but __________________ lies with Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
5. Matt _______________ goes shopping at the Mall.
6. I never seem to have time to eat before work, so I always ________________.
7. There is a _______________ of toys in Toys "R"Us.
8. Most cereals and other popular food brand names are marketed by ______________, an American corporation.

Grammar Point-Plurals
Plurals are used with nouns to describe more than on of something. There are several rules to making nouns plural. Most nouns are made plural by adding an -s to the end like in kids. Sometime there is a need for an -es at the end of the noun like in buses. There are also irregular plurals that change in the middle like in feet. These must simply be memorized. Many plurals can be seen in my text. For example, pebbles, meals, Charms, Puffs, etc. Now, choose the correct plural from the questions below and write which plural rule it is.

1. Look at all the yellow ___________.
a) buss b) buses

2. Everyone has two _____________.
a) foots b) feet

3) I try to eat 3 solid _____________ every day.
a) meals b) meales

Link
http://www.generalmills.com/corporate/brands/category.aspx?catID=19412&groupID=19412

Here is the link to all the cereals that General Mills produces. Hopefully you can find a new great cereal to try!