The Da Vinci Code. FREEWRITING

A few weeks ago I read one of the major works of Dan Brown, “The Da Vinci Code”. Since the moment I started reading it, I couldn’t stop. 

It tells the story that begins with the death of Saunière, the great master of the secret Priory of Sion and one of the Louvre’s curator. Soon after, we will meet Robert Langdon, an american professor of symbology who was in France to give a speech.  Later, the french police will believe he was the murderer. He gets involved in the case because Saunière wrote his name on the floor with an invisible-ink pen minutes before his death. He also wrote some words and numbers that, with the help of Sophie Neveau —Later known as the Saunière’s grand daughter—, will guide both of them to the biggest and better kept secret of the history. That secret has the potential to destroy the pillars of our society and the way we think, the way we have been taught.

I really loved this book not only because of the awesome story, but also because every single detail fits. This book may even have the power to make people look for the mentioned works and encourage them to inquire on Da Vinci’s masterpieces. 

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Since I love pets, I have in my house two cats and a dog. They are so different from each other although my dog is their step-mother —She bred the cats when their mother died tragically. 

My dog is called Laika. She’s a big, brown-haired and brown-eyed, German Shepard.

My cats are Pocholo and Asrael. In contrast, they both are big fat cats with white fur and blue-icing eyes. Also, while Laika has an average weight for a dog, the cats are overweighted —They’re about 4 kg each one!! Besides, Laika is quite active, she loves having walks with my Granddad and taking out the trash with my dad. I once tried to take her with me one hour each day for running, but that was too much for her and her laziness. On the other hand, the cold floor is the cats’ best friend because they spend the whole day lying on it or in the couch, meowing when they want pettings and they only walk if there’s food on their plates. 

However, I know Laika loves me, but when I get home, the first one who welcomes me is Pocholo —Maybe because then he would get more pettings but I like it anyways—, but my dog often ignores me. That’s why when she was small I though she was deaf, then I realized she was just getting by.

In a nutshell, those comparisons between them are what make them the most adorable pets ever, and maybe that's why I love them that much.

-Irene.

Remembering. FREEWRITING

A few days ago I went to my former school with one of my best friends. We decided to go again to see how things have changed there and, let’s be honest, to get a little bit nostalgic. 

As we came into the teacher’s parking lot, I remembered the first day of secondary school. I was afraid and excited at the same time. That seems so far ago actually, even though it was just 6 years ago. Surprisingly, I didn’t thought about how fast high school would end and how far I saw college then.

That day I realized that I’m not the little frightened girl I used to be anymore. 

As I walked the corridors, I could only see kids I’ve never seen before. In fact, I was expecting to see some of my friends walking with me, with notes on our hands, gossiping, complaining about everything, being always hungry, laughing, crying, begging teachers for the test to be easy or even begging for mercy to increase our marks. Now it’s rather difficult to meet with them because we are so busy and each one has different timetables, but we already knew that would happen eventually.

The halls, the music classroom, the assembly hall… Every corner had a story, our story, the story of my friends and mine, a story that will be kept in the back of our minds forever. And then, we will remember not the hard times when we had to study until death for Selectividad but the good moments we had inside those four walls we call High School.

-Irene.

One of the best trips I've ever done. FREEWRITING

1. One of the best trips I’ve ever done was two years ago, when I visited Germany with my classmates. We did a Comenius Project which is a exchange of students, so I lived for 12 days with a german girl called Nadine. We were in a small city called Uelzen, near Hamburg. We learned a lot about their lifestyle and got delighted with the beautiful scenery. 
   Also, we went to Hamburg, which is a gorgeous city and there we visited some museums. I really liked this part of the journey because we were so free to do whatever we wanted, but just because we were always with our german partners, so we couldn’t get lost. 
   However, we couldn’t stay outside so long because of the stormy weather. Some days after that, we visited an old concentration camp. Yes, it sounds creepy, but it was rebuild and now is a museum where they show that part of the german history in detail, but always with the maximum respect it deserves. 
   Some days after that, we went on an overnight trip to Berlin, which was about 2 hours far from Uelzen, so we took the train and only carried hand luggage. We stayed in Berlin for two days, we took excursions to museums about the Second World War, we saw the Wall, the monuments, the Reichstag -Terrific view and stunning photographs-, the rivers, and an awesome concert called “Rock at Sage”, and the guest band was Kings os Leon!!! 
   I will always remember that trip not only because of the great things I learned about Germany but also because of the hilarious moments I had with my Spanish and German friends with whom I’m still in contact.
   I highly recommend traveling to Germany if you’re interested in History and Art, but the highlands and valleys are amazing too, so everyone can have a great time there. 
   -Irene.

Why Bullfightings shouldn’t be allowed?. COMPULSORY

As I’m a great defender of animal’s rights, bullfightings shouldn’t be allowed not even in popular festivities. I understand these are very popular, a remarkable attraction to foreign people and bulls are often related to Spain. This is maybe why some people are against banning bullfightings. But the thing is, who does really enjoy watching a bull being tortured until death?.  They do have feelings too, they do feel the sticks being nailed in their bodies, they bleed, they suffer.

Some people claims that if it wasn’t for the bullfightings, bulls would no longer exist. This might be true, but I think they can be used for other reasons such as help with the agriculture or even for food.

In fact, there are many organizations against bullfightings and other traditional parties which involve bulls and other animals like goats. And they are often arrested by the police just for demonstrate against these traditions. 

However, governments like the one in Cataluña banned the bullfightings in the whole region a few years ago, and other ones are trying to enforce that law.

I think this prohibition must be extended to the whole mainland of Spain in order to be respectful with animals and with the nature itself.

-Irene.

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Giant’s Causeway.

In this photograph I can see two uninhabited islands without any green. It is the well-known rock formation Giant’s Causeway, which is located in County Antrim, on the northeast coast of Northern Ireland.They’re rocky and it’s stones are shaped like short, circular and pentagonal columns. The photo is taken in the twilight, so the sun is being reflected in the surfaces of the rocks and in the stormy sea that is splashing all over them. However, these islands doesn’t seem to be so large, but the waves are quite big, so it gives me the feeling of isolation. There are other isles near them, but they’re smaller than the first ones. 

From my point of view, it looks like a lonely sad space, because of the darkness given by the color of the stones and the feeling of coldness because of the water. 

Nevertheless, it has an inner beauty because it can make you feel relaxed or inspired to write, draw, or even to compose a musical masterpiece. Also, staring at this rock formation, you can try to understand how the earth changed million of years ago and how the nature itself created those incredible islands.

-Irene.