KOREAN WAVE AND KPOP

We all know the importance that Asian culture has had through history and still has nowadays. Usually, when someone talks about any Asian influence we think about Japan or China, but I want to focus on a recently popular movement called the Korean Wave. It doesn’t have a “starting point”, but we could say that it started being recognised in the 90’s.

The main source of its fame is music. I first started to become interested in Korean music after I heard the famous musical success “Gangnam Style” by Psy, because I didn’t know which the language of the song was.

Today they have their own musical category called KPOP and some groups are even more famous in foreign countries than in their native one. Some bands like EXO, BTS, Super Junior or Topp-Dogg are widely known around the world because of their amazing videos and performances.

When I first watched one of their videos I was impressed by the coordination of their movements despite the large number of members, because most of the bands have at least eight members. Probably you’re wondering why they have so many members; well, it might be just to draw our attention, because you have a more complete range of voices to work with or because you don’t need to hire dancers, but none of them are the real reasons. They have so many members because their objective at first was to please everyone’s preferences. These bands were mainly intended to have girl followers and as everyone has different tastes, each member of the band was to represent a type of personality (there’s a cute one, a cool one, a rich one... and usually there’s a rapper too).

But then... what happens with the boys who like this kind of music? Seeing that it was so well accepted by men too, there appeared a lot of female bands such as AOA, KARA, Cosmic Girls or Sistar. These bands work exactly the same but all their members are girls.

Sometimes two bands perform a song together, but it’s not very common because they never hit so many views as they usually have individually. I really recommend you to watch some KPOP videos even though you don’t like the song just to see the dances, and who knows, maybe you can find a song you like (some videos are just nonsense and that’s why they are so funny). Although it’s called KPOP there are some groups that have tried to write songs from other genres.

Last but not least just in case you search for the lyrics online let me give you some advice; unless you know Korean or have a really good pronunciation with foreign languages, don’t try to sing in front of other people because they may think you are either cursing someone or calling them stupid (personal experience).

And that’s it! I hope you’ve enjoyed and learned something new. Feel free to let me know if you’ve heard KPOP before or if you intend to do it. SEE YA!

Parkour

Probably, the word parkour is a weird word for you, but I am sure that you have ever seen someone practicing it. 

It is normal seeing people jumping without any fears from one place to another in the streets, parks and abandoned buildings of our cities. 

And that is what parkour is about. This urban sport is about jumping through obstacles doing amazing tricks running as fast as possible on the street. The most positive aspect of this incredible sport is its simplicity, you don´t need spending a huge amount of money to practice it because you don´t need anything at all.

But what is more interesting about it is that you can practice it wherever you want, because you only need a fence or a bench to start running and bouncing.

There are many competitions each year to decide who the best traceur in the world is. Traceur is the term used for people who practice this amazing sport. Last year's world's competition was held in the beautiful white houses of Oia in Santorini (Greece). It was a massive meeting with lots of runners fighting for be the best.

This sport requires a lot of practice, because a bad fall can provoke very serious injuries. This sport is getting more and more famous every year, and more people are starting to practice it, so, without doubts in some years this sport is going to be one of the most famous sports in the world. 

Maggie Dickson

Edinburgh is a city full of mysteries. There are magical stories on all sides. One of the most interesting legends supposedly happened in the year 1720 and its protagonist, called Maggie Dickson, is known for the many misfortunes that happened to her.

Maggie Dickson was a middle class girl who lived in the south of Edinburgh. She married at an early age with a fisherman, but he didn’t love Maggie and abandoned her. At that time it was frowned upon when a man abandoned his wife and divorce did not exist, so she decided to go to Kelso, a place where no one knew her. There she got a job at an inn. Maggie had a romance with the innkeeper’s son, in secret because she might lose her job, but she was very unlucky and got pregnant.

The weeks passed and Maggie had to hide her pregnancy. She was able to, although unfortunately her baby was born dead. Maggie decided to get rid of the baby by throwing him to the river Tweed, but once there she could not do it and burst into tears. Suddenly a man appeared and captured her.

At that time, anything could be considered a crime, and people condemned Maggie to be hanged for hiding the pregnancy. The 2nd of September of 1724 in Grassmarket (Edinburgh) Maggie was hanged. The body was moved to a cemetery, but along the way, people began to hear noises inside the coffin, Maggie Dickson was alive.

Everyone returned to Grassmarket, they were happy because they were going to see two executions on the same day. However when Maggie had the rope around her neck, a man said: “This woman has not died by divine will, Maggie has already paid for her conviction, and it would not be fair for her to pay back for something she had already paid for”. Maggie had been condemned to hanging and not to death (because it was taken for granted), so she had already paid for the crime.

Now Maggie was innocent and free, because she had died and returned to life, so the sentence of the wedding with the fisherman “'till death do us part” had been canceled. Maggie married the man who saved her life and bought a house in Grassmarket, where she lived 40 years. Nowadays that place is a pub called Maggie Dickson’s pub.

A week with another family

Last 25th of March I packed my suitcase, full of illusion, curiosity and wishes to learn about the English culture.

When the teacher asked us in October if we wanted to spend a week abroad with another family in Totnes, I didn’t think it twice! My friends also agreed so, since that moment, we didn’t stop talking about it and we shared our common feelings. From that month to March I was so anxious that I counted the days crossing them on my calendar. When the date was coming I felt a mixture of feelings between fear and joy.

Are you intrigued about what I did that week? Well, I’m going to tell you what my days were like. We spent the day we arrived with our host families visiting a village called Dartmouth, where I had the opportunity to travel by ferry. The rest of the week we followed a timetable.

In the mornings, we went to Gate House, our school, to improve our English. Maybe you are thinking this is the same that we do in Spain but you are wrong! Lessons were dynamic and funny because we did oral activities and we talked about different topics each day. During the break we joined students from different countries. The family prepared my lunch which I ate at Gate House.

In the afternoons we went on some trips; the first we made was a tour through Totnes to show us the town. If you have a sweet tooth you would have enjoyed it because we cooked the typical scones with butter and jam and we ate them. Another day we went to Torquay where we could see the seafront and then we had fun shopping and bowling. The following day we visited a National Park named Dartmoor where there is a huge rock (a tor) that we could climb, but don’t worry we didn't have to make a great effort! In our last excursion we went to Plymouth. There, we saw one of the biggest aquariums in Europe. We were surrounded by water! Apart from the tours, we also played team games and organised workshops of different things.

In the evenings, most days we stayed with our host families. Those evenings weren’t different to ordinary evenings here in Spain. We talked with each other to practise our English. Two of the evenings we spent in Totnes, we met all together to watch a funny film and, since all's well that ends well, we enjoyed a final party playing bingo and listening to music. As losers say, the important thing is to take part! We were cheerful and excited but gloomy at the same time because in two days we had to return home.

When I was there I didn’t realize how much I was learning. In the first place what I have improved the most is my fluency because staying with another family teaches you a lot of vocabulary, idioms and pronunciation. Moreover, I have learned a lot about British culture, its customs, its gastronomy and its schedules. In the third place, I got used to living with a foreign family very quickly. They made me feel as if I was at home!

To conclude this breathtaking experience, I suggest that if you have an opportunity like this, don’t waste it, because you will regret it for the rest of your life. I hope that this post has helped you travel to Totnes and you have felt, a little bit, what I felt when I was there.