30 January 2017

LONDON IN 3 DAYS: THE LAST TRIP OF 2016

Big Ben
London is a beautiful city, and it even looks better during Christmas time. Last year (it feels so weird) I had the chance to visit it with my best friend and we both had an amazing time. I visited London three or four years ago, and I was surprised to recognise some of its streets. There's something about this city that makes me want to stay there forever (well, maybe not forever, but for a long time), so I hope to go back soon.

Planning of the trip: what did we visit?

Day 1: Big Ben and the London Eye, the London Bridge and Oxford/Regent's street (the shopping area around those streets).

Day 2: King's Cross station (we took a picture with the Platform 9 3/4, of course), Kensington neighbourhood and its gardens. Then we went to Camden Town and spend the rest of the afternoon there. Once we got back, we visited the National History Museum and the Science Museum (these were short visits, because they were both about to close once we got there).

Day 3: Buckingham palace, Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. Before going to the airport we went to Covent Garden and then back to Camden Town to buy a few things we wanted.
We went to the most popular places, I think that the first time you go somewhere, you need to tackle down those monuments that “need to be seen” and then, if you go back, you can wander around other not-so-touristic spots (does that make sense?). During our holiday, I would have my camera hanging from my neck all day long, stopping every minute to take pictures. I get very excited when there are beautiful things all over the place! So here you can admire London's beauty (just a tiny bit of it). Although the pictures I took only show the “touristic side” of the city, I can reassure you that next time I'll shoot other picturesque areas.
Buckingham palace

Hyde Park
London Bridge

King's Cross station

London Eye
Big Ben from another point of view
I always think that the journey begins when you start packing, even when you buy your ticket. And this trip was special, because I got to experience it with my closest friend. I really appreciate spending time with people I love, and what a better way to do it than being in London. It was my first trip alone (well, not with my parents), therefore, I learned a lot of things. However, what I take with me after this visit is that London isn't only about the Big Ben, the London Eye or the red payphones. London is much more than that. London is watery roads, shy sun rays sneaking trough the morning fog, quiet people, on time underground trains and streets with chalk painted pavements, crowds of tourists, nights in sushi bars, eating Nerds on our way home, buying cheap books in book warehouses... I tend to fall in love with cities, and London has stolen my heart and mind.

14 January 2017

THE BEST WAY TO (ACTUALLY) LEARN ANY LANGUAGE


As a Translation and Interpretation student I'm interested in learning languages and looking for methods that make this process easier. I do not speak many languages (yet), but I'm definitely planning on studying more and becoming fluent on those I am learning now. It has been scientifically proven that learning a language has many benefits such as improving your memory, developing your ability to multi-task... So why not give it a try?

In today's post I want to share a few tips that have worked for me when it comes to leaning a new language from scratch, or even if you already know the basics but you want to get serious about it:

1. Get used to how it sounds by looking at programs, movies, documentaries... Even if you don't understand the words. Watch youtubers whose native language is the one you are trying to learn and turn on the subtitles in English or any other language you do understand. I think it's important that you start to recognise when a word finishes and another one starts, although you may not know what it means.

2. Use apps such as Duolingo during any spare time you have. This kind of apps let you set up daily goals, therefore, you can decide how often you want to practise.

3. Put post its around your house with the translation of the furniture/ rooms... in the language you're learning, this way you will be surrounded by this words all day long and you'll end up learning them. It's true that there's no need to know long lists of vocabulary, but the more words you know, the more things you'll be able to explain (if you know how to use them properly, of course)

4. Learn structures, not single words. Many language have completely different structures that do not correspond with the ones from our mother tongue. Some people tend to translate them literally into the other language, without taking into account the possible changes of meaning. For example, in English, we say: "When is your birthday" whereas on German, the same question would be "Wann hast du Geburstag?", which literally means "When do you have your birthday?".

5. Repeating is the best way to assimilate the pronunciation. I would watch videos and pause them to repeat the sentences so you start to get used to the phonetics of the language. If you don't know a word and you look it up on an online dictionary, listen to its pronunciation, most of this pages have a place where you can click to hear how it sounds.

6. Read short texts that are related with the vocabulary you're studying. At the beginning it will be hard and you won't understand much, but don't be afraid to look up for words and write down their meaning for future reference. As you get better you'll see that it's very rewarding when you realise that you actually understand something foreign language. You can also read blogs, magazines...

7. Colour code. This technique is very useful if you are learning a language that has different genders (Ex: French, German, Spanish, Italian...). Use a different colour for the feminine, masculine and the neutral, so your brain associates it better. I think that colour coding your notes is also helpful when studying the verb tenses and other tricky aspects you need to learn by heart. 

8. Get a pen pal. When you start to feel comfortable writing in that language, get a pen pal from a country when they speak it to practise your writing skills. By doing so you can also learn a lot of things related to the culture, since they are native and they know it first hand.

9. Surround yourself with that language in every aspect. Change the language on your phone, tablet, computer... Visit a country that speaks this language. Spending some time abroad is definitely the best thing you can do, but that takes a bit of time and money.


I hope you found these tips helpful and share some other advice in the comments!! Are you learning any language at the moment/ planning on learning one?

Have a nice weekend :)