Our lives are rivers

Cooperative writing by Class 3C

Veronica was our assistant teacher this year. She is leaving us next June, so our class decided to make her an interview.

Hometow (Irene) She was born in Toronto, the same city where she lives now. When I asked her what it was like, she said that it was a nice, beautiful and big city but that it had changed a lot over the years. She had lived there all her life, except for a few years. She told me that she had lived 4 years in Waterloo, 2 years in France and 1 year in Spain. She explained to me that she hasn’t got family in Toronto anymore, but that she still has a lot of friends there. When I asked her about her best memory of Toronto, she answered that it was when she was 12 years old and she had been able to go from the outskirts to the center of Toronto with total freedom.

Childhood (Gabriel) First I asked what Veronica did when she was a child and she had told me that she liked to spend time with animals and she liked to read a lot. Then I asked her if she went out with her friends a lot and she told me that she hadn't had too many friends. She had lived in a neighborhood where almost all the children were older than her so she spent time playing with her imaginary friends.

Finally I asked if Veronica had any idols and she told me that she hadn't.

Primary School (Alejandro) I started by asking Veronica if she enjoyed primary school. She answered that she hadn’t liked it. She told me that it was a small school, in that school they didn’t have a lunchroom .Also they didn’t have many extracurricular activities. She said that she had to ride a bus to go there, also that she had few friends. Later I asked her what was her favourite subject and she replied that her favourite was English because she liked to speak it. She told me that she got along well with her teachers. Finally she said that she had good marks in school.

Secondary School (Victor Hugo) I started the interview with Veronica by asking what her high school was called. She said that it was called Runnymede Collegiate Institute. , I asked her where it was located and she answered that it was located 20 minutes away from her house in Toronto (walking). In addition we talk about her favourite subject. , She said that it was English and finally I asked her “what was your high school like ?”. , “It was fun,big but not to big, with a pool and tennis court “ she said.

Further education (Sofía) When it was my turn, I first asked her what she had done after she finished secondary school. She answered that first she had started working at a summer camp for kids of all ages (from little kids to teenagers), as a swimming instructor. She also told me that after that summer, she had attended the University of Waterloo for 5 years. Finally, I ask her how she had felt at university , and she said that it was exciting because she had freedom, but she had been very far from home and she had also been a bit disappointed because it hadn’t been like in the movies, it had been all very normal.

Travels (Isaac) First, I asked what countries Verónica had traveled to, and she answered that she had traveled to countries like Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Cuba, Mexico, US, England, France, Belgium, Lithuania, Holland.

Later, I wanted to know what country she had liked the least and the most, so, Verónica said that the one she liked the most was France, for the food and the architecture, and the one that she liked the least was none.

In the end I asked her which country she would like to travel to in the future and she exclaimed that she would like to visit Italy.

Hobbies (Ioel) First, I asked about her hobbies and she answered that her hobbies were reading and cooking. After that I ask when her hobbies had started and she answered that when she was young her classmates lived far from her home and she entertained herself by reading books. She had started cooking when she moved away from home. Lastly I asked Verónica If she still reads or cooks nowadays and she told me that she reads books and she cooks in her house whenever she has free time.

Finally she told me that children nowadays do not read books and prefer watching TV or playing video games and these things are less healthy than reading books. I agreed with that idea.

Interests (Enrique) First, I asked about her interests and she answered that she liked watching films, reading books and cooking. After that I asked her about what kind of films she liked and she said that she liked all kinds of films except she didn't like horror films. She also said that she would see more documentaries but she found them very boring and when she watched TV is for entertainment . Then, I asked her what books she liked and she said that she liked fantasy books and fiction. .

Finally, I asked her if she liked art and she told me that she was not very interested in art but that she liked photography a lot because in the past she had studied photography.

Previous jobs (Sara) I started by asking what she had done before becoming a teacher. She answered that she had been working as a government worker.I also asked her if she had liked that job and she said that she did, at first, but that she had gotten bored and she had wanted to leave it.Then I asked her why had she decided to become a teacher and she answered that she had answered an advert to come to Spain and teach English. It was risky but she had done it. Finally, I asked her if she liked working as a teacher and she told me that she liked it sometimes.She didn't like it when the students didn't listen to her.

Spain (Pablo) First, I asked Veronica what she thought of Spain and she answered that Spain is a very calm country. Next, I asked what she thought about the people in Spain, and she said to me that the people in Spain are very pleasant, happy and friendly. Then , I asked which she prefers Spanish mountains or beaches, and she answered that she prefers the mountains.

And finally, I asked Veronica what she likes best about Palencia, and she told me that the best thing about Palencia is that she can ride her bicycle everywhere.

Plans (Sergio) First, I asked Veronica what were her plans for the following year, and she answered that she would be spending the summer in Ontario. Then, I asked her if she was planning to stay at Jorge Manrique and she answered that she would come back in September as a language assistant for another year. Finally, I asked her what were her plans for the future and she answered me that she didn’t know exactly but she wanted to return to Europe and she wanted to visit some countries like France.

Teaching Experience (Manuel) First, I asked Veronica what she thought of the students at Jorge Manrique High school. She told me that we were very noisy and we spoke a lot during class. Later I asked her if she was happy here, teaching us. She said that some days she was happy and others not so happy. Finally, I asked her if she had taught before. I was shocked. She told me that she had never taught before. Our whole class thought she was a teacher!

A Film Review by Gabriel, Pablo and Victor Hugo (Class 3C)

THE GREEN BOOK

During the 60’s most of the people in the USA where racist so many black people (called negroes or colored people) were discriminated against. Black people weren’t admitted in some neighborhoods and there were also motels with the name of colored people on them where only black people could sleep.

Characters: Tony Vallelonga, Dr Shirley, Dolores Vallelonga. The name of the band is Don Shirley band. In the film the protagonist (Tony Vallelonga, also called Tony Lip ) needs a job so he works for a very famous pianist. All was going well but, when he saw that the pianist was black, he instantly changed his mind. Finally he accepted the job and saw that black people were also humans like them so finally, after all the concerts, Tony invited him to share Christmas dinner with him and his family.

Our opinion is that the film was very cool because you can see the 60^s from a different point of view. And another reason why the film is so interesting is because of the excellent acting.