Spanish Lunchtime

The average Spanish person eats more than an American person in one day. Spanish people walk off their lunches, though. The lunch in spanish cultures is the biggest meal of the day. It consists of multiple courses. People take two to three hour breaks to stop and each lunch. The children leave school to go eat lunch with their family and adults shut down stores for a couple hours, too.

            It would be cool to go to Spain or Mexico and expierence their lunchtime meals. I would probably gain a lot of weight if I ate that much, though. I think it is nice that the children and adults take time out of their day to go and eat and spend time with their family. They are probably pretty close, since they spend a lot of time with each other. The kids and adults probably like taking a break from the work they are doing to have lunch and catch up with their family. It is a lot different than American culture, but I would definetly want to try it. I hope that they keep this tradition going for many generations, because it makes their countries different and unique.

http://spanishfood.about.com/od/discoverspanishfood/a/spain_meals.htm

Bike Riding in Mexico City

         Many people in Mexico City have started to ride bicycles for their only transportation. The mayor of Mexico City introduced a plan to advertise biking and its benefits it can have on the people and also the environment. This plan reduces the amount of cars driving in Mexico City and helps keep the pollution levels down. It seems that the richer own cars in Mexico, but now more and more people are biking, now.

            I think that this is great. Mexico City is taking responsibility of reducing pollution in Mexico. It seems that if the idea was advertised more around Mexico people would start to listen about saving the environment. Mexico City now has bike lanes and organizes Sunday rides, to promote the new trend. Mexico City is setting a good example to other cities in Mexico. To reduce pollution in Mexico I think that other cities should incorporate something like this in their transportation system.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2011-10-24/biking-surges-mexico-city/50897802/1

Salí Basin

The organization Wild 9 is trying to help save the Salí Basin in Argentina. This basin is an essential source of water to five important ecoregions, including one of the most diverse forests in Argentina. Pollution by industries and cities in this watershed has risen at an alarming rate. Most of the pollution in this basin comes from industrial runoff. Wild 9 considers it necessary to conserve these watersheds with water quality that can maintain water diversity while still providing for humans.

I think that Wild 9 is doing a great job in trying to clean out the Salí Basin. They are proposing ideas to the Argentinean government that will help clean and preserve the watersheds around the area. They are trying to save the aquatic wildlife in and around this basin. They are asking industries to reduce the chemical impact there company is having on the river. I hope that the big industries decide to pay attention to Wild 9 otherwise the Salí Basin will not be able to support any wildlife. They have also requested that schools be required to teach about the importance of water quality of rivers in the Salí Basin. It is important to inform people of the danger they could be putting on the environment.

http://www.wild.org/blog/resolution-20-reduction-of-water-pollution-for-the-recovery-of-the-sali-basin-tucuman-argentina/

Fatima

The legend of Fatima says that the Virgin Mary visited three shepherd girls on in fields outside of the village Fatima, Portugal. She appeared to them on the 13^th day of each month, for six months. The young girls said that Mary told them secrets that they should tell every man, woman, and child in that century. She promised that heaven would grant peace if her requests for prayer, respiration, and consecration were heard and obeyed.

I think that the story about the town of Fatima is very interesting. I don’t know if I believe it, but it sounds like an amazing story and would definitely be easy to agree with. The secrets she shared with those children may have been world changing. I think that Mary must have offered some great advice about what would happen in the future, although I am not sure that people paid close enough attention to the words she was saying. Fatima sounds like a very cool place to visit, I would like to go there someday. You can go and visit the legendary field that Mary visited the children in. There is also a church that people believed Mary visited the children in. Celebrating this awesome experience in Fatima would be a once in a lifetime chance.

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http://www.portugal.com/fatima/

Day of the Dead

The Day of the Dead or All Soul’s Day is celebrated in Mexico on November 2^nd. This holiday is not a sad, mournful one, but it is to celebrate life and is a happy and lively day. The Hispanic people celebrate this holiday by creating altars and preparing food and candy to give to their ancestors, whose souls will come to visit the altar that commemorate their life. The altars are beautiful; they are made with an assortment of different things.

I wanted to learn more about some Spanish traditions and holidays. The Day of the Dead sounded like our Halloween, but it turns out it is a lot different. The Day of the Dead looks sounds like it would be a very sad holiday, but it is a joyful and cheerful one. I like how they prepare for their ancestors to come and visit them. They leave water and candy out so the souls have something to eat and drink when they arrive.  There preparations for these events are very interesting.  I would like to learn more about everything they do to prepare and what it is like when the souls arrive. I think it would be interesting to visit Mexico during this celebration of life. It sounds like a fun and festive event that celebrates something serious.

http://www.dayofthedead.com/

Air Pollution in Mexico City

Air pollution in Mexico’s largest cities has become a serious concern for local and national governments. The exhaust fumes from the 3 million cars in Mexico City are causing most of the air pollutants. Although now private car drivers are required to put catalytic converters on their cars or refrain from driving, except for once a week. The other problem is that Mexico City is situated in a basin, so the pollutants are all trapped in the basin. Industrial growth is another leading problem in Mexico City.

                I think that this will become an even bigger problem in the coming years, unless they decide to take more action. It is sad that the sky there looks grey and brown, instead of the blue sky that we have here.  I don’t understand why the cars they have they create so much more pollution than cars in the U.S. New York City has just as many cars but there sky isn’t brown like Mexico’s. I think that the government should take more steps to cleaner air. Although they have taken steps to cleaner air, they are going to need to do much more in order to get this problem resolved. They should start by informing the public about what damage this pollution can have on them and their children.

http://corrosion-doctors.org/AtmCorros/mapMexico.htm

Netflix in Mexico

                 I have been researching facts about Netflix coming to Mexico, since September. Many things have happened since then. Netflix opened in Mexico and some other Central American countries, on September 12, 2011. The people in Mexico can only watch the movies on the internet. Netflix expected that it would be profitable in two years, but right now it is going to cost money. It costs about $7.99 a month for users in Mexico, but the price is going up.

                I think that this was a great idea. We have access to many movies and television shows, here in the U.S.A. It is great because now people in Mexico have access to it too. The article said that they wouldn’t have as many choices as we do, but they would eventually. Having Netflix in Mexico also connects us to them. We are now able to watch the same things and to share our cultures easier. I can watch a TV show in Spanish and someone from Mexico could watch a TV show in English to learn about our culture and I could learn about theirs. I hope that this idea was worth the investment from Netflix otherwise it may backfire on them.  I think that it will all work out in the end.

 Los Angeles Times- http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/09/netflix-sees-mexico-profitability-in-two-years-as-latin-america-launches.html
PR Newswire- http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/netflix-arrives-in-mexico-central-america-and-the-caribbean-129664183.html