Hobbies

Usually in my free time I read fan-fiction, knit, watch TV-series and listen to music. The last two can accompany other activities, for example I like listening to music while studying and doing the house chores. I usually watch television while eating or knitting, I also do it before going to bed. Some of my favorite shows are Grey’s anatomy, Lost, Supernatural and One Tree Hill. As for music I will name some of the singers and bands that are on my mp3 player currently: morcheeba, Coldplay, Jump Little Children, Josh Groban, Kate Voegele, Bethany joy Lenz, Keane and snow patrol.

Now knitting and reading fan-fiction are different because first of all they are very time consuming, but I like them both very much. Knitting is also expensive, but the good thing is that I get to wear or give as a gift the things I make.

Last but not least, fan-fiction. I have to say that reading it is what first introduced me to really wanting to learn English because I couldn’t find any good ones in Spanish. At first I tried using online translators, but they made them sound funny and stupid (kind of Tarzan) so I learned English to be able to read those stories. At the beginning I had to look up a lot of the words, but after a while it became easier and easier to do it. It is a very good method to learn English I recommended to my friend Abigail, who didn’t know any English at all after school and now she can read really well because of all the practice that fan-fiction gives her. She has also improved her vocabulary. She can also listen to music and movies and understand what they are saying now.

Wikipedia defines Fan fiction (alternately referred to as fanfiction, fanfic, FF, or fic) is a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator. Works of fan fiction are rarely commissioned or authorized by the original work's owner, creator, or publisher; also, they are almost never professionally published. Fan fiction, therefore, is defined by being both related to its subject's canonical fictional universe and simultaneously existing outside the canon of that universe. Most fan fiction writers assume that their work is read primarily by other fans, and therefore tend to presume that their readers have knowledge of the canon universe (created by a professional writer) in which their works are based.

While looking for pictures for this blog I found this article that is really interesting Fan fiction sites take beloved movies, books and TV shows in new directions

Transantiago

I think this system is better for the students in first place because in the old system a lot of the time the “micro” (bus) wouldn’t stop for us since we pay less for the service. Now there are no differences between the people who pay the whole fee or just a fraction of it like students.

I also like the idea of using a card to get on the bus; it is quicker and better for the driver because now he doesn’t have to collect the money. This way the drivers don’t get robbed. This system forces us to be more organized, because we have to keep the card charged since it can’t be charged anywhere at anytime, so people should tried to remember to keep the card with a little credit on it all the time. But if you don’t have enough and it’s late at night or too early the system lend you money on your card.

One think that I hate about the new system is that it overload the subway system, because it had such a bad start and even still have a lot of problems, so now take the subway is an awful experience in opposite at how it was before when the old system still worked.

Another thing that I think is really bad is the design of the new buses, they have really narrow hallways at the beginning and end of the bus, and because there aren’t many of them at rush hour if someone is standing there, it is really difficult to get on the bus and even harder for people with overweight problems. Also the seats are too far away, especially those for people with problems of mobility, for instance older people who can’t go so far because there is a really big part with nothing to hold on. It is also very hard to seat in the “tall seats”. And there are some seats where you have nothing to hold on. I would really change these buses.

I have heard that the buses take too much time to pass, I haven’t had that problem but I think a lot of the time people lack the patience; because this new system was suppose to take 10 to 15 minutes for the “troncal” and 15 to 20 minutes for the “alimentadores”. And in this culture people doesn’t like to wait, but this system requires it and you need to be prepare to go out of your house with enough time to wait for the bus and still be on time where you need to be.