Answers to 11 Questions from the 11 Blog Challenge

Source: http://wendyloudesigns.blogspot.com.br/2012/04/april-number.html

 

So, here are my answers to the questions the people who have tagged me in the “11 Blog Challenge”. Since I was tagged by Carol Goodey, Adam Simpson, Divya Madhavan, Sophia Mavridi and Juan Alberto Lopez Uribe, I thought I’d be better off choosing 11 of the questions they asked and answered those.

1 – What would you do if you were not an educator? (by Juan)

As I thought about this question I was surprised to see the difficulty I had in considering another profession. I’ve done many different things in my life, while I was in college. But I can’t really see myself doing anything not related to education. The best I could come up with was owning a book store, restoring books (like really old books and manuscripts, which would put my love for art, books and history together) or a museum tour guide.

2 –  Do you exercise much? (by Juan)

You mean besides carrying a bag filled with books everywhere? 🙂 I am not crazy about exercising and sweating… I do love walking and I’ve been taking pilates lessons twice a week (3 times when I can) for the past 10 years. I have taken yoga off and on too. But that’s as much exercising as I can handle.

3 – What is the next language you’d like to learn? (by Divya)

When I was much younger I set as a life plan to be fluent in 5 languages by the time I turned 35. Well, 35 have come and passed and I’m afraid I’m only fluent in Portuguese and English. I can get by in Spanish and I understand the basics of French but I never really got fluent. It just feels so much more comfortable, so much easier to fall back into English when things get a bit more complicated…

So I guess the next one would be French.

4 – Do you have a preferred variety of house pet? (by Divya)

I have always been a dog person, for the interaction you can have, for being able to go out for walks or a run together and play. I was never much of a cat lover. But I’ve had a recent experience of living in a house with 3 cats and taking care of them for a while and I have to say that has changed. I’m a cat lover now too 🙂

5 – Do you prefer reading on screen or on paper? (by Sophia)

For me nothing beats the smell of a book, the feeling of the paper, the weight in your hands. I’m still crazy about paper books. I’m especially crazy about old paper books, for the stories that they bring with them. I’m also still stuck to printing texts when I am studying, for my need to highlight and write notes on things. But I’ve succumbed to digital books more than I thought I would, for their practicality and price. I have quite a few titles in their digital form now, especially books that I plan to read while traveling, to avoid the extra weight!

6 – Have you ever lived in another country other than you live now? Where was it? (by Sophia)

I lived in Kansas as a teenager. In a little town in Northwestern Kansas, USA, called Morland. It had a bit over 300 inhabitants when I lived there and the whole high school had 43 students! It was the best year of my life, and I learned a lot. People were beyond friendly, caring and supportive. Things were simpler, people were closer.

7 – What do you most enjoy about blogging? (by Carol)

There are a few things I enjoy about blogging. When I sit down to write, it’s almost as if I’m having a conversation with myself, or with a real interlocutor. And as I write and reflect I think about the issue, I consider different aspects. I also love the fact that by blogging whatever I write becomes available to anybody with an internet connection, it completely ignores borders and distance. But most of all, I love the connectedness that blogging brings me. I love the interaction in the comments, hearing how people read what I wrote, their reactions and experiences, their opinions.

8 – What do you enjoy most about the work that you do? (by Carol)

It’s going to sound super cheesy, but what I love about education is connecting to people and being able to make someone’s life better by giving them a skill they didn’t have. A skill that’s going to empower them, to give them a better job, broader perspectives, the chance to live in another country with dignity. And every once in a while I’m rewarded with the extra bonus of helping a student find (or boost) their self-confidence, overcome a difficult thing they are going through. When that happens it really makes my day – or term!

9 – What month next year are you most looking forward to? Why? (by Carol)

There are two months I am really looking forward to. The first is January and the week off from work I’m taking, which I’m spending in Rio, seeing friends and family or just spending the whole day on the beach with a good book. The second month is May, when the Braz-Tesol national conference is taking place in the neighboring state, and when I’ll be able to see friends and learn some!

10 – Go to You Tube and basically surf around until you find a song you’ve never heard before. Share that song with us here. (by Adam)

I chose this question because I loved the idea of searching for something new 🙂 Here’s what I found (and I liked it!):

11 – Would you prefer to be the guy from ‘Memento’ who wakes up and can’t remember the previous day, or the guy from ‘Groundhog Day’ who wakes up to exactly the same day over and over again? (by Adam)

I’d much rather not remember the previous day, than reliving the same day over and over. Not remembering makes it new in a way.

This has been such a fun challenge! Getting to know more about bloggers I read and respect and also letting a bit of the person I am show. Thanks for including me in this, guys! Looking forward to reading what the people I’ve tagged say. Happy Christmas to everyone!