B2.2 - Writing: A Story

COULD    YOU    BELIEVE    THIS?

That warm summer night, everything  seemed to be calm. It was two in the morning after having dinner with Jane´s parents  and decided to return home. The sky was starlit and they wanted to drive breathing the fresh and pure mountain air.  John was driving as slow as a tortoise and  listening to romantic music in order to enjoy the trip.

Suddenly, a bright, blinding light appeared in the sky, illuminating the closed night. A gigantic unidentified object descended from the sky as quick as a flash and stopped right in front of them. A green, alien creature no taller than 80 cm came out of it. They had never seen anything like this.

John and Jane were terrified.  Jane grabbed her husband and shrieked:

- "What is this? We are going to die!"

 The strange creature approached them slowly and yelled:

- "Calm down! I just want to study life on this planet. If you quieten down, I'll return you without anyone ever realising that you have disappeared. Time will stand still for everyone, but you must cooperate. If you do not, I will destroy you now. You decide!"

John and Jane who were embracing and crying agreed to the demands of this mysterious being. They had to trust that it would keep its word and that it would not betray them.

They followed it towards the spaceship and... that is the only thing which they remembered until the moment they  found themselves in their car.

"It had been the most surprising thing that had ever happened to them, and probably ever would"

María José Arroyo B2.2

B2.2 Writing - A story

Curiosity kills the cat!

As far I can remember, I've been interested in all kind of insects and I've always been a great animal lover as well. If I had finished all my studies properly, I'd have been good at both, Entomology and Zoology. Nevertheless, I have to recognize that sometimes my curiosity has got me into troubles for not being too careful with nature.

When I was a child, my family used to spend some days at Easter in a cozy cottage that a friend of them had hired out to us for the duration of the holiday. At that time, spring was really breathtaking: fresh and multicolor flowers on the ground, amazing butterflies everywhere and a calm river whose water reflected like a mirror the sky during the day and the stars at night. Standing in the countryside was like a dream for me.

One day, I was killing time looking for and picking up each strange bug I saw.

'Don't touch it!, it may be poisonous!' my father yelled.

'Don't worry. They're harmless anyway,' I muttered. 

Later, I went for a walk around alone. While I was sauntering, I spotted an old pool behind the yard of a nearly collapsed house. It seemed that the owners had abandoned it. I thought there would probably be tadpoles in it. The pool was surrounded by a rusty fence so that no one could enter...

As nobody was there, I started to open the hardy fence, but due to the abundant vegetation I didn't realise something. An asleep snake, which was the same colour as the vegetation, was curled up on the fence. Thus, it was camouflaged! So, just as I was about to open completely the fence, suddenly the snake woke up and bit my hand. I felt such a painful bite that my screams reached my parents.

'Mum! Dad! Help me, please!' I shrieked.

Fortunately, they were able to came as quick as a flash.

'What the hell's happened to you!' They gasped.

They sucked the bite in order to get the poison out and tied a scarf around my arm before taking me to the hospital. Luckily, the snake wasn't poisonous, but I had its bite as a memory of my adventurous spirit for a few weeks.

'Thank God we all arrived home safely and soundly! my parents sighed.

It had been the most surprising thing that had ever happened to them, and probably ever would.

María José Rodríguez  B2.2 

Les encensoirs

Je vais parler des encensoirs qui sont une tradition célébrée à Pâques à Loja depuis longtemps.

L'idée de commencer à faire cette fête apparaît quand les présidents de chaque fraternité ont décidé d'accompagner les images saintes avec un groupe de huit personnes qui chantent déguisés d'une manière unique. C'est comme cela que les encensoirs sont nés.

La plupart des jours de Pâques, on peut s'amuser avec les " sátiras " qu'ils chantent, ainsi qu’avec les différents vêtements que les huit personnes portent. Il y a de nombreuses couleurs pour leurs tuniques. Ça dépend du jour et de la confrérie. Ils portent un " cacharro" et une "naveta" pour encenser l'image et des chaussures qui finissent en pointe avec des boucles. Sur la tête ils ont un chapeau qui s'appelle " morrión" constitué par des breloques.

Ce jour-là le groupe d'encensoirs attendent l'image dans des endroits concrets qui sont les mêmes tous les ans. Beaucoup de gens sont impatients de les écouter chanter et de voir les mouvements en forme de carré ou de croix qu'ils font.

Cette fête n'a pas eu une évolution très grande. La seule chose qui a changé ce sont les " cacharros " et les " navetas" car ils étaient très anciens. Ils ont ajouté des bannières qui représentent chaque confrérie.

Les encensoirs sont aussi importants maintenant qu'avant parce que cette tradition se célèbre uniquement à Loja et nous ne voulons jamais qu'elle disparaisse.

Ángela María Calvo Delgado                  3°A

La Chandeleur

C’est une fête chrétienne très ancienne. Avec cette fête, on commémore la purification de la vierge Marie et la présentation du Seigneur. C’est le 2 février. De nos jours, on la célèbre de moins en moins et, en plus, elle a un peu perdu son sens religieux.

Je me souviens, quand j’étais petite, dans la deuxième moitié du mois de janvier, tous les enfants du village, en quittant l’école, nous allions ramasser du bois, surtout des branches d’olivier. Les garçons allaient aussi à la colline « El cerro de la canal » chercher du sparte pour faire des torches « menchos ».

Quand arrivait le jour de la fête, on faisait de grosses piles avec les bois et les branches d’olivier qu’on avait ramassés pendant plusieurs jours. On les allumait quand la nuit arrivait et elles se transformaient en gros bûchers.

Tous, nous nous amusions en chantant et en faisant la ronde tandis que les garçons faisaient tourner les torches allumées qui ressemblaient aux feux d’artifice. Plus tard, quand les flammes étaient devenues des braises, on mettait de la viande, du lard et du chorizo sur celles-ci pour les griller et après on mangeait tous ensemble.

C’est comme ça que finissait la fête de la chandeleur.

Cette fête est également célébrée dans plusieurs pays d’Amérique du Sud, tels que le Pérou, le Chili, le Mexique, etc.

Purificación Navas Martín