10 Things You Want To Do Before You Die

Because of my age I'm limited with my choices. I can no longer play football in a Premier League football team for example or travel around Europe on a Student rail card (you need to be under 26 years old!). However, there are other options. 1. I'd like to travel to lots of places. If money was no option I think my first stop would be Japan because I've always been fascinated by Japanese culture and I'd like to experience it first-hand. 2. I'd like to direct a movie. I started making little videos last year and I think it would be amazing to do something more professional. 3. I'd like to finish writing a novel. I've started lots but never get past 2 or 3 pages. I think if I took six months off it would be a possibility. 4. I like to record some of my newer songs in a good studio. I've made lots of recordings but I haven't recorded anything in a good studio since 1996. 5. I'd like to see Janelle Monae in concert. My nephew saw her last year and said that she was brilliant. 6. I love cooking so one of my ambitions is to open a little restaurant. Maybe it’s something I’ll do when I retire from teaching. 7. Actually, I love drinking so I’d also like to open a little bar. One that plays good music and that all my friends use as a meeting place. 8. As most of you know, I come from a big family so; I’d love to be able to invite all my family for a holiday reunion in Chile. It would be great to show them all how beautiful Chile is. 9. One of my ambitions would be to take a year off and work my way around the world. My wife and I have joked about doing it so maybe next year………. 10. Finally, I’d like to find inner peace and contentment. Phew!
Write about the 10 Things You Want To Do Before You Die.

Leave a comment on your teacher's blog and the blogs of at least 3 classmates.

A Little Present for Music Lovers

Feist plays at Amanda (Vitacura) this Saturday. It's gonna be good:)

A Concert, Exhibition or Show

I guess I’ve been lucky when it comes to listening to live music. I grew up in a time when everybody I knew was either in a band, starting a band, or knew someone who was in a band or starting a band. From the age of 16 I went to gigs regularly. I watched rock bands in pubs, Jazz bands in hotel bars and punk bands in dark dingy basements. Today I’ll write about one of the concerts I enjoyed most, which was going to see Nina Simone in London in 1988. I started listening to Nina when I heard one of her songs on a cassette my brother had. The song was “My baby just cares for me” and it was love at first listen. I’d listened to other female Jazz/blues singers before like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Bessie Smith but I’d never heard a voice with the quality of Nina’s. Over time, I started to hear more and more of Nina’s recordings and the more I heard her the more I liked her. Anyway, when the concert dates were announced I went out and bought tickets straight away. I was living in London at the time and I read about the dates in the New Musical Express, a popular music paper which I used to read from cover to cover every week. Nina Simone was a very special artist. I’d had tickets to see her before but the show was cancelled at the last minute because of trouble with Nina’s mental health. She had been trained as a classical pianist but became known as a jazz singer. However, in her concerts she often used to stop mid-song and tell the audience to stop talking or insist that they pay attention. If they didn’t, she would often just get up and leave. When the day of the concert arrived I was really excited. It was held in a theatre in the centre of London and it had the atmosphere of a classical concert. I went with my girlfriend (at the time) and a couple of friends. The support act was Najma Akhtar a British/Indian singer who I really like. She played a wonderful set and got a great reception. When Nina arrived on stage the applause was thunderous. It was just Nina and her piano but the sound she created was amazing. Nina introduced some of the songs with stories about the song; how it was written or why she enjoyed singing it. She was very formal and asked people not to talk while she was playing. She played for a couple of hours and then she was gone. I think the main thing I remember about the concert was the fact that I had experienced something extremely special. Well, it’s not every day you get to see a living legend. Write about a concert, an exhibition or a show you went to. Say: What it was, Where it took place, How you found out about it, Who you went with, Why you enjoyed it. Write at least 300 words. Leave a comment on you teacher’s blog and on the blogs of at least 3 classmates.

Eating Out

One of the things my wife and I enjoy doing together is eating out. We both work so we tend to treat ourselves to a meal out once a week or once every two weeks. Often if we’re stressed or feeling run down we decide not to bother with cooking (which we both enjoy doing when we have time) and we go out. We love trying new places and eat Peruvian, Indian, Thai, Italian, Chilean (sea-food) and, of course, Japanese.

One of the things I love about Santiago is that it has good, cheap Japanese restaurants. I lived in London for 6 years and the only time I eat Japanese it cost me an arm and a leg. So, when I came to Chile I loved the fact that Japanese food was affordable.

I first went to Izakaya Yoko in 1996. At that time it was located on Merced but now it’s at Monjitas 296 because they knocked down the original building to build a tower block. I found out about the place from my wife’s sister (who I knew before I met my wife). It immediately became my favourite restaurant in Santiago and I must have gone there at least 20 times in my first year in Santiago. I often used to go at lunch time to eat the set menu but I don’t eat it so often nowadays because it often contains meat which I no longer eat (I’m a “pescatarian” – I only eat fish & sea-food, not meat).

I always have miso soup when I go because they serve the best miso soup that I’ve ever had. Another favourite is Atsuaje – Lightly fried tofu with spring onions and ginger (yummy!). The sashimi is really good because it’s finely sliced and the sushi is top quality.

The owner of the restaurant is a Japanese man who is married to a Chilean woman. They have 2 children (one of whom has just moved back to Japan). The restaurant opened in 1991 and my wife has actually been going there for 21 years. Iwouldn’t say it’s my favourite restaurant but it’s definitely top 5.

The last time I went there was last Saturday. I had to work in the centre on Saturday morning and my wife came to meet me and she invited me for a meal. Obviously, I accepted.

Write about a place where you enjoy to eat out.

Say:
Where it is,
How you found out about it,
When you went there for the first time,
How often you go,
What you like to eat there,
When you went for the last time.

Mention anything else you think is important. Write at least 300 words. Leave a comment on your teacher's blog and on the blogs of at least 3 classmates.

Phil Woods: Claire de Lune

Amazingly beautiful:)

King Curtis

Amazing:)

Something You Would Like To Learn To DO

Hi Blogheads,

One of my favourite pastimes is making music. I taught myself to play guitar when I was about 14 years old and started writing songs straight away. In fact, my first song had only 2 chords (Em7 and C). Initially, I wanted to play saxophone (just because David Bowie did) but they didn't have any at my school so I started taking clarinet lessons. Unfortunately I never made much progress. It was difficult to practice at home. I have 8 brothers and sisters and they used to tease me or complain about the awful noise I was making. So, I swapped the clarinet for the guitar. I don't think I'm a very good guitarist. I use the guitar to write songs. I'm fairly steady when it comes to rhythm but I never had the dedication needed to play like Jimi Hendrix. Later I started to play keyboard and I taught myself a couple of things on the piano. However, I'd still like to learn the sax. I think my favourite sax pieces are "Soul Serenade" by King Curtis and "Clair de Lune" played by Phil Woods. I`d don't think I'd find it difficult to learn the basics but it would be difficult to play how I`d like to play. I think I'd be able to free my soul by playing sax and that would be wonderful.

Write about something you would like to learn to do.

Say:

What it is,

Why you would like to learn it,

Whether it would be difficult or not,

How it would make you feel.

Mention anything else you thing is interesting. Write at least 250 words. Leave a comment on my blog and on the blogs of 3 classmates.