Travvel tips

   Last week, I was looking for information on a website.I found a headline like this "travel where you want and pay less".When I saw that headline I stop to think for a few seconds and I made a click over the information because I have thought to travel one day.I want to travel to an English speaker country not for living there,but just for to know more about English culture because I am  an English student and English student are suppoused to  keep in contact with English culture.For make a long story short I opened the chart.I was surprised with the variety of information about things you have to know when traveling to a foreign country and  also the price of the different travels. I disagree with the prices becsuse you can not pay $ 500 dollars to travel to the U.S. One of the things thst Iliked the most about that information was that it offers tips people are supposed to know when traveling.Such tips are the weather , places to visit ,and the kind of people of those countries.In my personal opinion it is agood way to show people information about different countries . SO ,here is my question,Are you being interested in traveling to another country one day ,especially if you are an English student ?

 

TO my IDI/224 (Level 6) STUDENTS IN SEMESTER 2012/2

Dear future students,

I hope you are enjoying your summer vacation. By this message, I would like to inform you that we will be working with a new book.  The name of that book is Passages, Second Edition. It was written by Jack Richards and Chuck Sandy. Passages includes a textbook, a workbook, and audio material. It will be sold at Libería Mora in San Francisco de Macorís, Dominican Republic. The director of the Languages School at UASD told me that arrangements are being made so that students can go to the said book store and buy their books.  If you are registering in IDI-224 for next semester (2012-2), I highly recommend you to buy your book before classes start due to I will start teaching the first day of class.

Take care

Máximo

TO 2012/1 ENGLISH COMPOSITION STUDENTS

Dear students,

I feel very proud of you for you did a great job during the writing process of your essays.  Now, I am inviting you and all the followers to a reading-and-feedback stage.  Let´s read all the essays and  choose at least one of them.  Then, the comment section, let´s write what we liked about that or those particular essay or essays in one paragraph.  Please, make sure that everyone receive at least one comment. What do you think about this suggestion?

Enjoy your summer

Maximo

Agricultura in Magüey.

              

Agriculture in Magüey

         By Heidy Jose Ferreira

 Everybody knows that agriculture is a vital activity in our country. As a result of this activity, we can purchase different kinds of food that are necessary in our daily diet.  All of them, for one reason or another, come from products cultivated in farms. Taking into consideration the importance of this activity in our economy and also the importance that this activity has in the life of farmers and workers, Farmers can change their conditions as a result of the benefits from agriculture. Workers could find a way to help their families. They can help people that do not work with them. Products are known in other countries. They are exported to United States, Haiti, and other places. In agriculture, there are three different aspects that are time for crops, crops, and business.

         First of all, the time for crops in agriculture is one of the most important elements in agriculture in Magüey. When we say time for crops, we are referring to the time that products need to start to produce. Like everybody knows, everything in the world needs time to start a productive life. Agriculture like other activities, needs to be planned and prepared. When we do an activity following instructions, it is better than when we do an activity without thinking about that. Agriculture seems to be an easy activity, but it is not because it has secrets that only farmers know. One of them is plantation. You cannot sew without preparing the ground. In some occasions, when the ground is not ready for sewing, it is a risk.  

We can say that the ground preparation is a very important element in agriculture in Magüey. In this aspect we can include a very important activity. That is to say “Cleaning the ground.” Cutting the grass is part of this activity because you cannot sew with the ground covered with grass. Also, in some farms, there are things that are not necessary in the middle of the farm. It is recommendable to put these things away in other to have a clean farm. Doing this activity implies that we need to use different kinds of tools, such as shovels, wheel barrow, and others, that are necessary for each activity that we have mentioned previously. Agriculture needs to follow a guide for its development. Things in agriculture like in other activities need to be planned following the corresponding guidelines. If you plan every aspect for each activity, everything is better. Also, agriculture needs people that know the field where they work because there are situations that not everybody can solve, just the ones who know this activity.

Technology is present in agriculture.  We use equipments that help us with the work. Such as tractors. After you prepare the ground and do all the necessary things, comes the plantation. This is one of the most important moments in agriculture. Plantain, for example, needs 9 or 10 months to start to produce. During this time, the owner of the farm has to invest money, time, and other things, to keep the plantation in good conditions. Yuka roots, needs approximately one year for its harvest. During this time, we have to apply different kinds of fertilizers. In the case of vegetables, we work in a different way because there are vegetables that start to produce in a short term and others take a longer time.

         A second aspect is the crop, which is one of the most important moments in agriculture. Farmers have different points of view about crops. For example, some say that this is the most important and the most beautiful moment in agriculture because you can touch, see, and taste the fruit. That is to say, you are in direct contact with agriculture. Others say that, this is the best part in agriculture because you can see the results of you work. Others think that agriculture not always benefits the farmers in the same way. In some cases, you can lose money. In agriculture we have different types of fruits that have different kinds of crops. Plantain is the most cultivated vegetable in Magüey. We need do a lot of things before we start to crop. After you start to produce plantain, you can last from 10 to 15 years. If the ground and the plantations are in good conditions, you can collect plantains every fifteen days. Yuka roots is different because after you seed it, you have to wait for one year approximately. You collect it every year. Vegetables also help workers’ economy because they collect it twice a week. The moment for receiving benefits is the crops because farmers do business with their products.

         The third aspect is business which is the most complicate activity in agriculture in Magüey. When we talk about business in agriculture, we have to say that this activity has different kinds of implications, but is necessary to go through a series of activities before we do business with the products that we cultivate in our farms. Also, to do business, with these products, it is necessary to know the problems that can come up. Collectors have to know the job they do because in a plantation, we select the products. We do not collect everything. Another activity is to put the fruits in a place where we can count, weigh, and organize them. Also, they have to be put in the vehicle where they going to be transported to different markets. Here in our country, and also in other countries, the most important worry for the farmers is the price of the products because there are buyers that want to buy the products the cheapest in the market. If you sell the products at a cheap price, you can have economic problems. After, the price is ready, buyers come to our farms by truck or by van and carry the products to the different national markets such as La Vega, Santiago, San Francisco de Macorís, and Santo Domingo. Also, our products are carried to international markets like the United States and Haiti.

         To summarize, agriculture is a beautiful and wonderful activity that permits us be in contact with the land, the products, the people, and also it helps us with our economy. Also, it is the most common activity in Magüey. It is important to have information about an activity that develops our own community, our community’s economy, and also our country’s economy. It is important to say that the three said aspects in agriculture are necessary, but the most beautiful is crops because you enjoy your work.                                                                                                                          

San Francisco de Macorís 2012

LA COLINA                              

 By  Evaristo De León

La Colina is a neighborhood to the north of San Francisco de Macorís. It is very important due to it has the oldest and the biggest aqueduct in the city. Many people in La Colina work on construction. The people are kind and honest there. La colina is the third biggest neighborhood in San Francisco de Macorís. To the ironic act of the people, you can find a city district with more than one thousand houses and more than thirty streets in La Colina.

         First of all, July Rivas was the land owner in La Colina. He lived there from 1950 to 1983. July Rivas’s wife was Mrs. Luz Cordova and they had three sons and one daughter. July Rivas had a cattle ranch with coconut trees, orange trees, palm trees, and mahogany in La Colina. In those times, July Rivas had a law paper deed with just 14 duties because nobody could declare more than 14 duties by law. One day, a robber got into the land and went up a coconut tree. Bobolo found him. He had a gun. They fought and Bobolo shot him and to death. July Rivas had to go away. July Rivas permitted a company to build a neighborhood in one part of the land. Later, the people who worked in the company began to see the trees that could be useful to build houses such as palm trees, and mahogany. Several months later, July Rivas sold all the property to Rafael de la Cruz at the end of 1983.

                After that, in 1984, some people bought different pieces of land and other people invaded the greatest part of the land in La Colina. When Rafael de la Cruz became the land owner, the people began to get into the land. In that time, Arelis Lora was one of the first founders. She said that just two houses were built with zinc and carton. Later, a company wanted to urbanize the land with Rafael de la Cruz permission. They had to go away because of the invasion. The company excavated the part where they planned to make the streets and put water pipes. The invaders began to steal the pipes and sell them. Rafael de la Cruz had no idea what to do and let the invaders build houses. He didn’t have papers for all the land. Later, Rafael de la Cruz tried to go there with some police officers and some people who had guns. But it was not enough to get the land back. The invaders began to cut coconut trees, palm trees, orange trees, and mahogany to build their houses. Many of them argued for the pieces of land with one another. Later, everything calmed down. After that, many people sold their pieces of land and others bought them with no problem although they didn’t have title deeds. Later, there were tension days. One day, people heard that the police was going there and they were alert. Many people agreed and said that they would not give the land back. After that, the land owner tried to negotiate with the invaders, but they didn’t want to. Fifteen years later, the City Hall in San Francisco de Macorís gave them papers which said that each person was the land owner of their pieces of land. Sometimes, it is heard that the land owner and his sons want their land back. The invaders agree to fight or die for their pieces of land. Not many founders are alive. Just three of them live there. Nowadays, family’s founders say that they going to do whatever to keep the land. Many people that live in La Colina bought their pieces of land and they don’t want to give them back.

Thirdly, the people built their first houses with zinc and carton. Just two houses were finished. Then, the people fenced their pieces of land and cut the coconut trees, palm trees, orange trees and mahogany. They hurriedly built the houses by using whatever they had. They just wanted to keep the land. Later, they finished their houses and moved there. Some people took off the pipes and sold them to build their houses because the company had gone. Some of them built houses that were blown down by the wind. They only wanted to be there and keep their territory. They built houses and fought for that. Later, they finished the houses and some of them sold them. Some people went over there to buy the pieces of land. After that, almost everything calmed down and the land owners stopped to push them. Later, many of them tried to build their houses with concrete.

         The fourth and last aspect to mention is that the people didn’t make streets before building their houses in La Colina. They began to build their houses and they didn’t care about building streets. Later, they thought of what would Las Colinas be without streets. First of all, they began with one street and they named it Calle 1. Later, the street had holes and trenches because of the pipes that they had taken off. After that, the major Felix Rodriguez sent a bulldozer to fix it. When the bulldozer finished, the people were happy. At the beginning, there were some problems. The rain caused trenches. They tried to throw crushed stones to fix it, and that worked only for two weeks. That made inhabitants to build other street in the back of La Colina. They named it Calle Principal. That street was connected with the Calle 1.

Most of the people in La Colina lost their land and others did not. Nothing happened because they needed it. La Colina had two streets named calle 1 and calle principal. Those who didn’t have their houses near those streets, used many different paths. During 15 years, those were their ways. Later, the City Hall gave the people papers and sent equipments to work on all streets La Colina needed. When they finished making the streets, there were many. Only two had names and the others did not. In 2010, the government together with the City Hall of San Francisco de Macorís asphalted all the streets in La Colina. They gave names to all the streets, too. The streets are named by letters and numbers. Around 12 streets are named by numbers and others are by the letters.

In conclusion, July Rivas was the land owner and lived in La Colina since 1950. This had a great forest with coconut trees, palm trees, orange trees, and mahogany. July Rivas wanted to urbanize the place while he lived there. He had to go away. Later, July Rivas sold the land to Rafael de la Cruz, who continued with the plan of urbanizing it. In 1984, some people bought some pieces of land to urbanize them and others invaded it. The invaders built their first houses with zinc and carton. Later, they cut the trees to continue building their houses. Some of them fought to keep their pieces of land. After that, everybody calmed down and they began to make the first street in the land. Later, they continue with the rest of the streets. Fifteen years later, the City Hall sent equipments to make the all streets that La Colina needed and they gave names to all of the. Many of our city districts in the Dominican Republic began the same as La Colina.

        

San Francisco de Macorís 2012

NOISE IN SAN VICENTE DE PAUL  Neighborhood

By Belarminio A. Zorrilla

            Noise is one of the main sources of neighbors’ complaints in San Vicente de Paul. The situation is created by evangelical churches which are indifferent to the rights of others, as a form of aggressive behavior to preach the gospel. Besides, Businesses that serve to the interests of costumers and patrons are causing a negative environmental impact on residents. They are suffering and feel helpless and are trapped in their own homes.

            The first aspect to mention is noise generated by big grocery stores that are affecting residents in San Vicente de Paul neighborhood. With the purpose to augment the sales, owners of big grocery stores have adapted the place with modern television sets, powerful radios, chairs, and tables on the side walk so that clients can dance, listen to their favorite music, watch sport games, and drink alcoholic beverages in a comfortable atmosphere.  As a consequence, a noisy crowd of people and cars with loud music come to increase the scandal, especially on weekends. The noise lasts until 12:00 a.m., interfering with the peace and quiet in the neighborhood at night. The Most affected are neighbors, who live near by. They complain because they can not sleep and be tranquil. As a result, neighbors are determined to attend to the neighborhood community meetings to discuss the problem with residents who are experiencing the same problem and identify possible solutions.  Consequently, affected residents form groups to talk with the owners of the big grocery stores. They just agree to close their businesses early Monday through Friday. For this reason, residents decided to complain to the authorities, but they do not seem to have control over the situation because on weekends, the noise produced by these businesses is still considerable.

The second aspect to mention is noise form liqueur stores which is one of the main causes of sonic contamination and in San Vicente de Paul neighborhood. Outdoor liqueur stores have increased in San Vicente, especially on Libertad Avenue. These kinds of businesses install tables and chairs within a designated area on the sidewalk to serve alcoholic drinks and play music until late at night.  On weekends, the situation is unbearable. Visitors with powerful music equipments park their vehicles and in addition to the crowd that visit the place, they impede the free transit. They also produce all kinds of disturbances and contaminate the area. For example, people urinate around the houses.  There have been some shooting among people who start quarrel after they are drunk. Also, this type of businesses promote vices. Some young people are permitted to smoke hookah there, which is a kind of drug. Loud music can be heard from a long distance. Liqueur stores have become a big trouble for the people who live around. They complain not only for the loud noise but also for the mess created by this type of businesses. As a result, some neighbors have moved to other places and others have decided to talk about the situation to the neighbors’ council who made a committee and complained to the police. The only thing that they do is visit the area more frequently. As a consequence, the problem has been reduced just a little bit.

            The third aspect to mention is noise from churches in my community which is one of the main focuses of sonic contamination. Congregations of evangelical churches are taking over the streets by using loud speakers, amplifiers, drums, and electronic guitars.  In addition, the loud voice of the pastors during their preaching is excessive and also the participation of the parishioners. They dance, shout, and celebrate the manifestation of the holy ghost without any control. These religious activities produce a lot of noise that cause serious problems among the neighbors who live around and it is worse for the people who live the near by. They say that the noise comes in through the windows. Due to this, they can not even talk and the children can not study. This way, their preaching is imposed to people who do not want to hear or belong to other kinds of churches. As a result, the neighbors decided to talk with the preachers about the situation, but they say that the Devil does not want the gospel of God to be spread. On the contrary, the neighbors say that pastors confuse the word of God with a mess because they do not come to an agreement. The problem was brought to the neighbors’ council who mediated between both parties. Consequently, affected residents and preachers expressed their point of view in the meeting of the neighbors’ council. At last, pastors agreed to slow the noise down.

To sum up, Churches, outdoor Liqueur Stores, and big grocery stores are violating the right of the neighbors when they do not respect the public area and the space of others. As a result, residents demand a better protection from people who respond to their own interest. They need support from government agencies and the police, which some times are driven by economic ambition. Some times, they prefer to protect local businesses owners instead of residents. Also, political influence typically diminishes the initiatives to reduce noise, so the achievements in this matter have been brought to the neighbors’ council, which now represents the best interests of the community.

San Francisco de Macorís 2012

Pollution in La Yuca

By Melvin Manuel Mota Morfe

¨It does not matter how old the clothes you wear are. Whenever they are clean, they will look different¨, my mother says. There are many issues that affect the community of La Yuca nowadays. As an illustration, we can mention assaults, blackouts, robberies and so on. But pollution is the most difficult problem the inhabitants of La Yuca are undergoing. It needs different strategies to be solved. Indeed, the more chances garbage, black waters and their resulting diseases take to spread all over the community, the more difficult the situation becomes for the member of this community. This issue is drawing the members of the neighborhood toward a life of misery and poverty.

 No doubt, garbage is one of the main problems in La Yuca. That is why more diseases appear in the neighborhood everyday. This occurs because the members of the community throw garbage out without thinking how this can impact their own health and their quality of life. Also, this occurs because people are not aware of the damage they cause to the environment. Another reason is the lack of garbage cans that are necessary in the streets of the community. In addition, the absence of garbage trucks to pick it up can be added. If they do not solve this issue before it reaches its top, they will suffer serious consequences that will affect their everyday lives.

 Similarly, black waters are also affecting the community.  The streets of the community are full of them. Thus, when kids play, they get sick. Moreover, black waters damage the environment. For example, they are taking territory in the neighborhood. They are getting in the houses of the community. Likewise, black waters are affecting the economy of the community because the inhabitants of the neighborhood do not want to walk on the streets. Furthermore, black waters affect health. In Fact, many families cannot eat at noon in their houses because of the bad smell. They are afraid of going out. This obliges them to stay in and stand the pollution. Black waters affect in other ways. People cannot walk on the streets because there is water spread all over and when a car passes by, it splashes them. In other Words, the community is becoming a nest of rats. Black waters are dangerous because kids might fall into them and drown. Also, pregnant women could have accidents and lose their babies. Hence, that would be a tragedy. Beyond that, the inhabitants of the neighborhood say that they are sick of the situation. What is more, they say that the authorities of the town hall do not do anything. However, the authorities say that they are working on the city. No doubt, black waters come from ravings due to they do not have a way to go straight to the river.  Black waters in the community are present all the time, but when it rains, this gets worse.

In the same way, resulting diseases that appear from garbage and black waters are dangerous for the health of the inhabitants of La Yuca. For instance, they have instep which causes itch in the body of people. They have an allergy that causes itch in the skin, too. It also affects the blood and if it is not controlled on time, this can cause several damages in people´s health. Garbage produces maggots that move from one place to another. Also, it draws flies and mosquitoes. Consequently, flies go to the garbage. They pick up the maggots and take them to the houses in the community. Beyond that, mosquitoes reproduce in the black waters. In the same way, mosquitoes transmit many diseases. They use their bodies to transmit them from one person to another. Another disease that is good to mention is cholera. It comes from garbage and black waters. Cholera is the most dangerous disease that results from garbage and black waters. Because of this, a person can die in twenty-four hours. These resulting diseases can be eliminated. Besides, these resulting diseases reduce the quality of life of the people because they do not allow children to develop as needed.

To sum up, garbage, black waters, and their resulting diseases are the matters that threat the quietness of La Yuca. They represent a dare that will draw them apart from pollution. The will continue increasing as much as they can. Garbage will continue drawing more insects toward the community. Black waters will end up covering the entire community. In addition, the resulting diseases will take more advantage over the health of the inhabitants. Therefore, they will bring serious consequences and will affect the community in all the possible ways. As a case in point, a person could die if he or she does not resist those diseases. Poverty of the neighborhood will increase and the development of the community will be totally stuck. Certainly, they cannot be eliminated totally. However, they can be controlled in a way that does not affect the community.

San Francisco de Macorís 2012