Cats Scratch, Dogs Bite

ESL Group Story Writing Class December 29, 2011

I had been out of work for nearly six years but I wasn’t too concerned because I still had plenty of money stashed away from the money that I embezzled from my former employer.  That’s right, I stole money from that cheap bastard because he robbed me of what was most dear to me!

I don't want to recall that memory anymore, it's painful and my biggest secret in my heart.
We say that money doesn’t buy happiness, but it's wrong. During those 6 years I spents my time under the sun. But nothing lasts forever...  One day I came home from a fishing expedition and my girlfriend told me that 3 men were looking for me. One was old, the other 2 were young and looked bad.

Being far from the madding crowd, away from the hustle and tussle, din and bustle of city life, the most cherished thing for me was peace. I wanted to get my composure back at any cost. But What is this? Is my past running after me once again?
I was very upset and started to prepare for escape and wondered if I should take my girlfriend with me. I thought the world was ending so I wanted to do something I never did before.

I looked at my girlfriend and thought about how faithful she had been to me. She had my back when I was arrested for stealing from my boss. Because of her testimony, I was released. I got away with the crime!  I decided to take her with me on my new adventure.

We went a small and peaceful village. Nobody knew us and we had a new life there. During those days, were happy and forgot all of our guilt. But unexpected things happened...

Story Class. Thursday 29 December. 6am PST. One time only

Alianaluz is back for a visit and will teach a Story Writing class tomorrow. Too bad it's one time only.
See you at the school.

Teacher: Alianaluz Rivera 
Class Runner: oo Broono - CHI 

This class: TEXT. Story Writing. During this class students will write a short story. Join us. Come have fun and get your creative juices flowing! 

The first class is free. If it's the first time contact the Class Runner 30 minutes before class. Cost: 750L (1.9 euro; 2.9 US$; 300YEN) 
More classes: http://www.drive-through-esl.info/

School Party Pictures

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO ENLARGE

 This is the club where we had the party. It's on hiromi Collas' land and she also did all the decorations outside...

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO ENLARGE

... and inside

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO ENLARGE

There were many people who had not been at the school in a long time. It was so good to see them.

I had a lot of fun. In this picture I'm the one with the glow sticks.

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO ENLARGE

For the first hour orion (kristof.titanium) was the Dj, then magros, Adhams and hiromi took turns at the dj booth.

See you all at the next party. maybe this time you won't have to wait 3 years!

Happy Holidays

School Party Friday Dec 16 at 6am PST

hiromi Collas and Taiyo Klees, are organizing a school party for Friday 16 December at 6am PST.
Everyone is invited: students, teachers, Help Team members, Class Runners and group members.
We don't have many parties so you'd better not miss this!
It will last one hour, so don't be late.
The party will be at Hiromi's place: http://slurl.com/secondlife/The%20Gate/241/220/2002

Christmas Party

You are all invited to the Christmas Party December 16 at 6am PST.

Hiromi Collas will be the guest. Thank you!

To teleport to the party click here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/The%20Gate/238/221/2002

Japanese Time Class Calendar

New Class: Dictation. Mondays at 7am PST

The teacher reads a text, then dictates it (says small group of words twice) and students write it.
Then the teacher reads it again so students can make corrections. Finally, the students receive the text so that they can check how they did it.


Teacher: Skyrahdalilaelda Sapphire
Class Runner: Giovanni Tweak - ITA
This class: VOICE - Dictation Comprehension, Spelling.

New Class: Thursday 9am PST

The Practical English Program starts Thursday November 24 at 9am PST.

Lesson 1 at the Café: introducing yourself, meeting people, ordering beverages

Lesson 2 at the Airport: Travel, custom, security controls

Lesson 3 at the Hotel Reception: booking a room, hotel check in and out.

Lesson 4 at the Bank: opening and closing a bank account, depositing, withdrawing and exchanging currency.

Lesson 5 at Hospital: arriving at the Hospital or Emergency Room.

Lesson 6 at the Garage/Salon: going to car repair and getting a haircut or a hair dye.

Lesson 7 at Home: everyday object and actions. 

Teacher: Inge Qunhua 

Class Runner: Giovanni Tweak - ITA 

Practical English Program - VOICE Class 1 at the Café: Vocabulary and phrases related to meeting people, ordering drinks, introducing yourself and small talk. 

* The Practical English Program is for students whose English is very basic or who have studied English years ago. 

* It is designed to give students language skills to deal with everyday situations in SL and rl.

New Classes

2 new classes start this week, both Thursday:

The class at 6am PDT is a reading, comprehension, writing class. We'll read simple texts, explain the words and expressions and write sentences using the words and expression from the texts.
THIS CLASS IS RECOMMENDED FOR BEGINNER STUDENTS.

The class at 12pm is like the class Wednesday 6am. Reading, comprehension, discussion. It's a better time for European students.
THIS CLASS IS FOR INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED STUDENTS

Song Lyrics class on Saturday

This week only
Song Lyrics class Saturday 12pm PDT

Teacher: Adhams Darkstone 
Class Runner: Giovanni Tweak - ITA 

This class: VOICE - English through songs. Comprehension, discussion. 
Today's class: "Someone like you" by Adele 

During this class we'll listen to a song, read, explain and comment the lyrics. 
Comments and submissions are welcome. 
Test voice before class. Microphone strongly recommended. The first class is free. If it's the first time contact the Class Runner 30 minutes before class.

The Mermaid's Song

ESL Group Story Writing Class 25th August 2011

The water looked as clear as crystal and was washing gently up against the rocks.  The sand felt warm and soft as it stuck to my feet while I walked slowly across the beach.   What a beautiful day it was and yet, I wasn't happy, even if I was on holiday. 

I felt lonely because there was no internet connection at the hotel and I couldn't get online, where most of my friends were.   When I was watching, I saw a beautiful girl. She was swimming.  It was a surprise to me because it's too early here.   Silent waves and breeze make me settle down.  Then I'll ask to her say hello.   I become to feel pleasant.
I walk slowly, looking at her swimming, she is beautiful, I stop in front of her and smile, she smiles back and comes out of the water.  Wow!  She was walking to me.   My heart beat faster.  What can I say?  She is so beautiful.  When I was thinking, she said "do you what a drink with me?"

By The Moon

ESL Group Story Writing Class 11th August 2011

I was walking along a narrow road slowly, taking in the scenery around me breathing slowly in and out.  I needed to catch my breath because I has just seen  something that was really out of the ordinary.

It was a really dark night, without a moon, only clouds in the sky.  I looked along the forest and could see something moving behind the trees  but I couldn't define what it was.  Maybe a big bear?    When I wanted to run, the bear caught me.    My mother told me that bears only eat you when you are moving a lot.  So I thought that maybe I should have slowed down a bit but it was too late. I had a big bite mark on my right leg.

I started to run as fast as I could away from the bear and I got lost in the forest, bleeding.  Soon it was dark and I started to hear very scary noises.   Then I saw a big bridge and after the bridge, one big castle. I ran and knocked the on door asking for help. Then that's when it became a really bad day for me.  I saw that the bear was coming.

Night Call

ESL Group Story Writing Class 11th August 2011

The best way to improve our English skills is to practise as much as possible and under different situations.   In our Story Writing Class we all practise our written English skills as a group and form a short story through taking turns in sentence writing.    The story is all original work by our class members with only spelling and grammar changed to help students see their work presented in the way it was intended.  They always feel great because they have something to show for their efforts and they have also created their own text that they can read here on our blog to practise their reading & comprehension skills. :)

Sometimes our stories make sense and sometimes not but always the class comes up with something new and interesting.  You can read today's composition below.

Savanna

Night Call

There was a legend that people used to talk about many years ago. Of course we never believed it was true but sometimes when it's really quiet some people are left alone with the shadows of the night moving and creeping about them and they start to think "I wonder if it's really true?"

I was home alone that night.  I was so tired I could not sleep.  I couldn't help but listen to the sounds of the night.  Then I heard someone knocking at the door.  I took my baseball bat and I went downstairs.

Foot by foot, I got to the door and looked up through the windows that were near.  I could only see a few cobwebs floating in the breeze.   The air was very cold and blowing through the cracks in the window.   I decided to keep my baseball bat close as I just knew that something was not right.   I really thought I had heard something but I guess not.

The White Stop

ESL Group Story Writing Class 28th July 2011

In our Story Writing Class we all practise our written English skills as a group and form a story through taking turns in sentence writing.  Sometimes it makes sense and sometimes not but always the class comes up with something new and interesting.  Our class was given homework to read the story and compare the finished story with their original typed sentences from class.  This was to show the little changes in grammar and context and help all to understand better construction.  They are usually only very small changes but it helps to see where we can all improve.  This is all their work showcased as it was intended.  Another fun offering!  :)  I did use UK spelling here for corrections but it makes no difference if one uses U.K. or U.S. types.

Savanna

 The White Stop

"It's been raining cats and dogs all day today"  said the old lady to another man standing next to her. The man looked at her with eyes wide open and said "What do you mean?"   The lady laughed, her dark eyes sparkled as tiny rain drops ran down her face.   "Oh dear, I'm sorry.  That just means it's been raining very hard.  There's lot of silly sayings in my language.  "Well I'm glad bus stop still mean the bus stops here" said the man.    

"I'm waiting for the bus to hell.  Do you want to come with me, old lady? We'll meet demons and monsters  and we'll have to fight them.  I can see the lights approaching. What do you say?"

The old woman with a wide smile on her face took her bag and showed a present.  "Merry Christmas!" she added "I don´t think demons are able to fight at Christmas."

From Rags to Riches

ESL Group Story Writing Class 21st July 2011

In our Story Writing Class we all practise our written English skills as a group and form a story through taking turns in sentence writing.  Sometimes it makes sense and sometimes not but always the class comes up with something new and interesting.  Today we talked about the fact that there are two different versions of spelling in the English language, the U.K. and the U.S. versions. This class uses the U.K. version. You can read today's composition below.  All work is by our students and only spelling and grammar has been changed to help them to see their work showcased as it was intended.  I'm so proud of my class. :)

Savanna

Standing outside in the dark and chilly night air were two friends.  Two people who had a lot of things in common.  They loved going places together and shopping for their favourite hobby but standing in long lines was not something they enjoyed.  They were stuck in line waiting for their credit card transaction to be over as  they can't buy without money.  Then, they decided to buy only with cash.

They decided it's time to start to work because they used to spend their parents money. When they bought something new they went home and found out it was something used.  So they were then in a bad mood.

When they arrived at home, they saw the food had run out too and they started to feel hungry. The smart friend said "What we can do now?  We don't have money to buy food because we spent all our  money on unnecessary things.  They decided then to find work but the problem was that they did not know what they were able to do. They had a big problem because they didn't have an ID Card.

Cubicle Zombie

ESL Group Story Writing Class 14th July 2011

Today we had another fun gathering of the school's creative minds.  I was privileged to lead a group of fine students though a creative story writing class.  This is sentence writing with a twist, where we all practise our written English skills as a group and form a story through taking turns in sentence writing.  Sometimes it makes sense and sometimes not but always the class comes up with something new and interesting.  Being my first day teaching with the school, I was surprised at how well we did as a group.  We focused on our spelling, punctuation and grammar.    I really hope that everyone who was part of the class will be back again to play the sentence game again with me.  You were ALL terrific!

Savanna

Here is what we came up with:

Oh no!  That awful alarm clock just had to go off again.  Every night I set it to wake me up ready to go to work but I always hope that the night will never end.  I just want to dream about beautiful places and exciting events.  I looked out my window and to see.

"Hmmmm", another beautiful day.   I turned around and went to the shower.  I took a comfortable outfit then went to the garden.  In the garden I found a surprise.  In the place where there was a big magnolia tree, there was also a big hole.  So deep, that I couldn't see the bottom.

In the hole I went, deeper I went  and further.  Then monsters,  vampires and Frankensteins attacked with lasers, grenades and power pistols.  So I took my sword and BOOM, everyone died.  Then I went  home to play runescape and my friend said "Dude what happened to your face?".   As I let my fingers go over my cheeks I noticed there was something moving under my skin.

I couldn't believe that my skin became blue.  My body became so big after that. It swelled up. I thought maybe I'm in a dream.  So I bit myself to see.  I felt pain, oh no, I felt so scared.  What happened to me?  What should i do?

Then I saw a light in the sky.  My head hurt very badly then I fell down.  I didn't know what was happening.  I felt the warmth of something running down my face.  I didn't dare to even look at what may lie below me where I had fallen.  Then I felt my body floating and I opened my eyes.   I looked around and saw the little green people.   I tried to speak but my voice was gone.   I could hear what they were talking about,  I closed my eyes again.   "Oh my, what is it?"  A terrible dream?  I should be working, what time is it? I will lose my lunch time.

"Hey, relax, cool down", I heard a voice saying.  "You are a fatty pinky thing, but I'm not freaking out like you are.  I'm little, I'm green, so what?"  "I need to pee and I'd like some tea.  Could we go to your place?"  The thing then said, "NO! I'm not a tea drinking man dude.  I like vodka and bread with sausage".

Basic Grammar Series: Homework July 21, 2011

The lesson of Monday, July 18, 2am PDT is canceled.

Next lesson will be Thursday, July 21, 1am PDT.
Homework: ELF BP 32 simple present /present continuous homework.
Please add your name to the name of the notecard.

Story Class is back: Thursday 6am PDT

New teacher!
Welcome to the school Savanna Rose (sleepymoma Resident).
Savanna will teach Story Class on Thursdays at 6am PDT.
I hope to see you all there.

Song Lyrics Class

This week's song is: "I will survive" performed by Cake.

Song Lyrics

A Catchy Tune

ESL Group Story Writing Class

June 26, 2011

                                                                                            

One morning last summer, I was riding my bike along a country road. I had to look down lots because the road was a dirt one, very bumpy and uneven and I wanted to make sure I avoided any sharp rocks that could puncture my tires.

Because I was looking down, I didn't see a car stopped there. And something bad happened.

The bicycle wheel got punctured and I could not continue. I had to carry my bicycle by hand.

The sun was beginning to rise now and the cool morning quickly turned hot. The road became steep and I panted and sweated as I struggled to carry my bike up the hill.

I felt thirsty. I looked for a river.

I was so tired that I thought I couldn't move my feet.

Suddenly it started to rain. I lay down on the grass and I let he rain fall into my mouth.

Even the few droplets of rain that fell into my mouth were refreshing. I felt invigorated and even though I had enough strength to go on now, I didn't want to.

I wanted to enjoy the feel of the warm rain on my face and the aroma of the wet grass.

And We Won't Have the Recipe of the Franchina Lemonde

 

ESL Group Story Writing Class June 19, 2011

                                                           
It was snowing again for the fourth day in a row, and it was the middle of July in Arizona! Then I took my coat and tanning lotion with me.

So I went to the nudist beach but it was full of people. As there was no place for me, I came back home and I drew all the shades and began to listen to classical music in the dark.

After a while I got all sweaty and tired, and I started to prepare some lemonade. The doorbell rang, and there was a cop at the door.  He didn't seem bothered by the fact I was naked and sweaty.

I answered [or "told] him that I had no permit and that I didn't care about that. I decided to go explore the abandoned factory at the other side of the street and I entered through a small window, and then I was in a large room with tags on the walls.
I told him I wanted to go to China. So I decided to prepare some food for the trip.

English Grammar for Beginners Series

The English Grammar for Beginners Series start Monday Jun 13 at 2am PDT.
Two classes/week Mondays 2am PDT, and Thursdays 1am PDT
It will last 15/20 classes.
The teacher will be Sol Nagy and the classes will be VOICE.


Here is the description of the first 2 lessons:

Monday June 13 2001, 2am PDT
The English Alphabet; Alphabet practice; Numbers; Interesting numbers; am/is/are  The questions What ...? Who ...?; Fill in all the lines

Thursday June 16 2001, 1am PDT
English Greetings, Introductions; People, Places, Nationalities where?; Who is this?/Who are they?; What to say.

It rained visitors!

Wednesday June 8 The 4pm PDT class was published in second position in the "Featured Events" section of the Destination Guide in SL™.

Magros and I were swamped, flooded, overtaken by 63 visitors in 3 hours, at least these were those recorded by the radar. 

Too bad none of us had the time to take a picture

Meglio Comprare Oggetti Virtuali e Copiabili all'infinito che un Libro Raro

ESL Group Story Writing Class May 29, 2011

Several years ago, I placed an ad in a newspaper offering to buy a rare book. No one ever answered the ad, and after a while I forgot all about it.

After five months, I got a letter from someone who told me that he had a lot of amazing rare books.
He wrote: "we need to have a meet talking about the deal."

I was happy that someone was interested but he hadn't written his or her phone number or e-mail address and there was no return address. So I thought it was a joke.

The signature was also very strange. I showed it to a friend who told me: "It looks like an SL™ name.”

The book in question was: The Memories of Taras Schevchenko" (who is not related to the player, for those of you who are wondering).

He was a Ukrainian poet and I thought SL would be the best place to look for someone interested in a rare book.

I thought, "Why would someone send me such a detailed offer to buy a book, ask me to meet, but not provide a way for me to contact him or her?" I tossed the note into the fireplace. As it began to burn, puffs of smoke began to rise from the burning letter. The smoke took the form of a tiny man. It looked like a holograph!
 

Down the Rabbit Hole…AGAIN!

ESL Group Story Writing Class May 22, 2011

Have you ever gone somewhere for the first time or spoken to someone for the first time but thought to yourself: "I've been here before" or "I've seen this person before”?  Well, yesterday, I had that odd feeling of deja vu.

But I didn't know why I had that feeling. I thought maybe I was working too hard.

Suddenly, I decided to go to my therapist.  I went to the waiting room to wait for my turn to enter. I sat on the chair while I was thinking about what I was going to say.

I had been with this therapist for a long time. He was ok, but I had made no progress at all with my problems. I was still very afraid of talking to people. The therapist was the only person I was talking with. I communicated with everybody else by text.

And They Lived Happily Ever After

ESL Group Story Writing Class May 15, 2011

                                                                   
                                                                           

One fine summer morning, I decided to go for a walk in the park. I took a book with me, intending to sit a while and read, when I got there.

I saw a girl approach me and she sat next to me. I saw that she also had a book.

She had long brown hair and she looked beautiful when she smiled.  She saw me looking at her and she said: "Hi how are you? May I help you?"

I hardly spoke, I just thought to myself that I should say something.  Then I gathered myself and said, "Um do you mind me sitting here?"

She replied, "Sure.”  I was sitting there with my heart beating fast.  I admired her for a long time. Then she began to make conversation with me. 

We talked for some time, then I noticed the day was half gone.  I invited her to dinner and she said "Yes."

As I stood up and motioned for her to follow me, I said, "There's a nice restaurant on the other side of the park. Let's go there."  She nodded her approval and we walked across the park, crossed the street, and went into the restaurant.

I thought that maybe I should ask her what she disliked, so I asked her, "What don't you like to eat?" And she answered "beef."

A few minutes later she went to the restroom. But she had left her iPhone on the table.

The devil in me was laughing evilly, "Finally, an iPhone!"

New Classes: Tuesday and Thursday 2am PDT

Tuesday: VOICE, Business English
Thursday: VOICE, Listening - Comprehension - Discussion

Pearl Jam

 

ESL Group Story Writing May 8, 2011

                                                                                                

I was walking along the beach when I spotted a beautiful cream and pink-colored shell partially buried in the sand. I stooped down and picked it up.

I thought I could bring it home and give it to the person I really love...

I thought I would give it as a gift and send it to my friend. It would be lots of fun for my friend, if he got them.
When I opened the shell, I saw a big pearl and I was very happy.

I took the big pearl to my beloved sister. When she saw it, she screamed, and I don't know why she was so excited.

I asked my sister why she screamed and she responded by pointing to the pearl. I looked carefully at the pearl and noticed that it was glowing and that it was emitting a soft melodic sound.

I thought that probably it was not a normal pearl, but a kind of magic one. I thought maybe I could ask the pearl to make some of my wishes come true.

I thought that probably it was not a normal pearl, but a kind of magic one. I thought maybe I could ask the pearl to make some of my wishes come true.
I took the pearl to the store to see if it was a real one.  The owner said, "This is a really expensive pearl."

The True Origin of The Green Lantern

ESL Group Story Writing Class May 1, 2011

                                                              
                                                                                
1. Yesterday I went to the park.  It was a hot, sunny day so I wore a pair of shorts and dark sunglasses. I saw two cats playing together. I ran around them and felt like a kid. Suddenly, my father shouted at me. He said "Look!  There is something!"
When I turned my head to look, it was too late; something had bitten me. Then I felt pain and I fell asleep.

2. When I woke up I was in a giant jar filled with a green fluid. I turned and I saw my father in a similar jar next to mine. He looked like he was sleeping. Even though I was immersed in this fluid I could breathe easily. It actually had a refreshing minty taste.

3. I tried to wake my dad by tapping on the glass with my knuckles. But he didn't budge, so I tapped a little harder.
So i tried to think about how to get out of the jar.  I sat down and thought about a video game with a similar situation to this. Nuclear pollution caused a mutation in dogs had to catch people and experiment on them. I was afraid that that could really happen in Japan.

4. Unfortunately, this was not a video game and I had no weapons. I could not get out of the jar and I could not find any weapon inside it. So I decided to drink all the green minty fluid.

Business English? Thursday 1am and Sunday 4am PDT

There are 2 Business English classes this week.

Thursday 1am PDT (voice). This is a permanent class, every Thursday 1am PDT.
It will take place in an office and in other locations (airport, hotel, restaurant, etc.).
This Thursday the class will be: Invitations, Offering, Terms of Payment, Job Responsabilities, Requesting, Asking for Help.

Sunday 4am PDT (voice) This class is part of a four-class series.
This Sunday: Business English. 3/4
Scripted conversation, vocabulary.
Today's class: Presentations

Meandering Plant

EFL Group Story Writing Class April 17, 2011

The bus jerked to a stop a good six inches from the curb so I had to jump from the second step of the bus onto the sidewalk in order to avoid stepping into the muddy puddle of water that had accumulated in the gutter. I looked down at the Craig’s List print-out that I held in my hand, and then looked up at the tall building that stood in front of me.

In this building there was the ACME office. I read their job ad. I called them and they told me to come in for an interview. They told me it was a very good job, well-paid, no experience necessary.

So I went to the boss’ office to ask why this job was so good because I couldn’t believe it. When i arrived at the office a fat man said, “Hi, welcome, please have a seat and tell me what you would like to drink.”

And then the boss talked to me and said "...because we really need you to do this work." "That's why we're offering such a high salary for the job," he added. Then I said, "But what exactly do I have to do?"

Song lyrics class. Now on Sunday 6am PDT

The title says it all.
This Sunday's song is: "American Idiot" by Green Day

Piggyback

                                           ESL Group Story Writing Class April 10, 2011
What a beautiful day!  The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and a warm breeze was blowing, so I decided to go to the park.

I started to walk slowly to the park. When I arrived there, I saw a man who was playing with his cute, big dog.

I prefer cats to dogs so I wondered why this man didn't have cats instead of dogs.  "Am I selfish?" I asked myself.

The dog was running away from the man. The man started to run after the dog, yelling for him to come back, but he slipped on a banana peel and fell in the mud. He was all dirty and all the people in the park started to laugh.

I thought that I should help him but I wasn’t sure. Then I heard a cat sound.
I looked down and there in the mud, sitting next to the man, was a tiny kitten. The kitten climbed into the man's lap and started purring. From somewhere in the distance, I heard the man's dog growling.

Double Take

                                  ESL Group Story Writing Class April 3, 2011
                                                          
The young man sat quietly in the window seat, in the last row of seats on the train. He watched the other passengers enter the train and take their seats.

When he saw a beautiful girl coming towards him, he thought the girl was going to sit next to him, but he was wrong. She was just passing him on her w ay to the restroom.

Suddenly, he realized he was very hungry.  He ordered something and started to wait for the girl while he was eating.

The young man quickly forgot about the girl and began to check his email.
Just as a photo attachment to the email that he was reading opened, the waiter arrived with the bowl of soup that he had ordered. The train lurched and his soup spilled all over his laptop.

In Search of Double O

                                                          March 27, 2011
At first I thought he didn't wake up in time, and then I thought he had connection problems but when he didn't answer to SMS I started to worry and I decided to go to Fuxin to find out.

I took a connecting flight from Tokyo and I landed in Shenyang. I rented a car. Traffic was horrible. It took me 4 hours to drive 135 km to Fuxing. Finally, I arrived at the Huifeng hotel. I took a short walk to the International Garden and I started to ask people if they knew OO Broono.

And it was difficult to find OO Broono because he was using his Chinese name, so I decided to...
...go to the pub which OO always loves to visit.  I thought maybe somebody would tell me where he was.  I took a seat first, ordered a whisky, and waited for someone who knows OO.

I took a sip of whiskey.  It tasted rather odd, but I took another sip anyway.  I looked up and there was a man standing in front of me, staring at me.  I said, "OO?"  He responded, "No, I'm not OO but I can take you to him."

Time change

Time has changed in North America: from PST to PDT.
If you see than a class is one hour later than usual in Second Life time it means that for students outside North America the class is at the same time.
If the class is at the usual Second Life time it's now one hour earlier for you.

March 27 time will change in Europe and the classes will go back to the usual time. One hour earlier for students outside Europe.

The Fourth Dimension

                                   ESL Group Story Writing Class March 13, 2011

                                                    

It was a rainy, cold Saturday evening and I was in a bad mood. So what did I do? I went to the movies alone-bad idea!

I left my home and started to walk through to a DVD shop. When I arrived there, I asked the shop owner if he could recommend a film for me to watch.

He said that there was a new movie out, in 4-D. He gave me the disc and glasses. I asked him what was the fourth D, and he answered: "Find out for yourself.”

When I got home, I turned on the T.V. and began to watch it. I wondered why I saw lots fog around me. I felt like I wasn't just sitting there watching the movie. Maybe my chair moved. I got the feeling that I was in the movie. I saw a girl who looked like a sheep.

Seeing this weird fog and sheep-girl only put me in an even worse mood. So I grabbed the remote and tried to turn off the movie. But instead of going black, the screen began to glow and the fog thickened, turned blue, and began spewing out of the screen. The sheep-girl stepped out of the T.V. screen right into my room and headed straight for me.

I was shocked. I couldn’t decide what to do next. I stopped for a while and stared at the girl, carefully. She had a golden key in her mouth and it was shining.

I took the key out of her mouth, I put it into my right ear and turned. Nothing happened. I tried the left ear and I heard a click. The girl, the smoke disappeared. I went to sleep and the next day I went to the store to return the DVD.

Ordinary Day

                                ESL Group Story Writing Class March 6, 2011

                                                       

It started out as any other ordinary day in the city. The sound of the sanitation truck and the honking of car horns woke me up.

I crawled out of bed and slipped on an old pair of jeans and a t-shirt. I yawned and proceeded downstairs to make a quick breakfast before leaving for work.

I was so sleepy even though I had gone to sleep very early. I had felt there would be something strange that day.  I left home and started to walk to the bus station.

I was listening to music with my iPod-like device. I guess the volume was loud and I was walking following the beat of the music because I noticed there were people following me. They were walking and dancing at the same time, like in an 80's music video.

Maybe I was on T.V., I thought, because I saw some cameras in front of me. So I tried to do my best and I was dancing with the other people.

Then it dawned on me that the cameras merely traffic cameras, and not from some television show.  So, I stopped dancing, turned down the volume of my music, and kept walking towards the bus station. But the crowd of people bopping their heads to my music and following me kept growing.

I looked around and found that I was surrounded by people in every direction. As the crowd grew, I quickened my pace to escape the overwhelming sea of people. Before I knew it, I was at work, but still the people surrounded me.

It was like a crazy dream. I’ve always wanted to be a pop star. It was my dream. I stopped for a while and thought maybe I drank too much beer last night.

The boss walked to my desk, his face purple with rage: "Didn't you get the no-dancing memo?" he screamed at me. "You are fired. Take your personal effects and most of all take these people out of here.

Hungry Like an Italian

                                     ESL Group Story Writing Class February 27, 2011
                                                                                                                                          
Last summer I took a long trip on a train. I was traveling from Poland to Italy.  I thought I would meet my colleague. I never saw him before, but when I called him I heard a girl's voice on the phone. I was afraid to hear her voice, but her soft and nice voice put me at ease.

I didn't know what kind of work we were supposed to do in Italy, but I was very excited to visit Italy because I wanted to taste the food.

My friend invited me to a luxurious restaurant for dinner that night. I felt so excited and started to think about the delicious taste of Italian foods.

The train hadn't even made it to France. Yet I was already torturing myself with thoughts of the delicious food that awaited me in Italy. My stomach started to growl so loud that the elderly woman who was sitting next to me lifted her eyebrow and said,

 "I think you need to have a little snack, dearie." And with that, she opened the crumpled brown bag that was on her lap, took out a shiny apple, and handed it to me.

I wanted to wait for my food but I couldn’t say “no” to her, so I took the apple and pretended to eat it.
When I finally arrived, the train was so late. I saw a girl waiting for me.

Practical English program now at 4am PST

Time change: The Practical English program has moved from 2am to 4am PST, on Sunday.

It can be done on different days, at different times.
Contact a Help Team member or a Class Runner.

Martian Memories

                                           ESL Story Writing Class February 20, 2011
I went to mars today. So, I decided to take my country's flag and human knowledge. This was the first time that humans went there.

I got off my space ship and looked around first. It was a dark place and also very cold. I started to walk slowly. 
 
I was looking for Jenny, this was her name.  I met her in SL. She had written "I keep SL™ and RL separate" in her profile.

I stopped to ask one of the few Martians who was sitting on a rock by the entrance of a cave, if he (or she or it) had seen Jenny.

 I had on a special breathing apparatus, of course, since there's no oxygen on Mars.  Surprisingly, the Martian understood me, even though I hadn't yet asked him the question out loud. He was able to read my mind!

The Martian told me about Jenny.  She is a scientist and she lives nearby. I decided to visit her house.
She was investigating human behavior and using SL to study it. I went to her house and met with her. She remembered me and said, "Oh, I know you. You are that guy who asked me if AI wanted a free class at the ESL school in SL."

But I didn't remember her. Obviously she was using alts. I thought I had found my soul-mate, this is why I had traveled to Mars. And now I find out she is a cheater who uses alts. I want to go back to Earth!

I stopped to ask one of the few Martians who was sitting on a rock by the entrance of a cave, if he (or she or it) had seen Jenny. I had on a special breathing apparatus, of course, since there's no oxygen on Mars.

She looked at me and said, "I never cheated on you, sweetie. I use alts for my research."  I hadn't said a word so I was shocked. She winked at me and said, "I can read minds, dearie. The Martians taught me how to do that."

A Fishy Story

                                     
                                      ESL Group Story Writing Class February 13, 2011
                                                                                                                                       
One beautiful spring morning when I was all alone at home and had nothing to do, I decided to take a dip in the small pond that was in a shallow patch of woods behind my house.  It was a bit brisk out, but I thought, "What the heck, a little cold air and a little cold water out doors will do me good after having spent so much time indoors during the long winter.”
The weather was really so cold and wet during the winter but now the sun was shining in the blue sky like a gem. I felt a light wind on my face. There was an awesome fragrance in the air, and it was coming from the spring flowers.
I tried to catch a fish when I went into the water. I felt so good that I forgot all my wants and needs. I was enjoying myself there. Suddenly, I saw a big, red jewel deep in the water. I thought, "Maybe I could go get it and give it to my girlfriend."

That jewel will make my girlfriend so happy. I can imagine when she wears the jewel she will look so pretty with it on. I started looking into her heart. Hopefully, her heart will be as beautiful as that gem stone.
So I took a big breath and dived down. I kept swimming deeper and deeper but the jewel seemed to get farther away.  Suddenly I realized I had no oxygen left. I was still far away from the jewel and too deep down to go back to the surface.  I panicked, I thought I would drown and I passed out.

Lag Meter

When you lag in SL open the Lag Meter.
It will tell you if lag is caused by your computer (Client), by your connection (Network) or by SL (Server).

How do you open the Lag meter?
Click HERE


http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Viewer_2_Moves#Lag_Meter_and_Statistics_Bar

It’s Greek to me

                                                      
                                  ESL Group Story Writing Class February 6, 2011 
                                                      
My favorite color is blue. I always wear blue, I always use blue decorations in my apartment, and I always eat blueberries. My car is also blue.

I love blue sky. One day I decided to buy a house which has a big terrace with a view of the blue sky.
I didn't know what I really wanted to do, so I just randomly called a number.

It was a Greek number. The lady on the phone told me the sky is often blue in Greece, like the sea, that blue is their national color and that most houses have blue frames, doors and shutters.

So I decided to go. I arrived at the new modern airport and I rented a car.It was a convertible. I jumped into the car, turned the radio on, and sped away.
The car was blue and I stopped at a gas station which had big, blue balloons in front of it. It was a nice day and the sun was shining in the blue sky.  I realized I was hungry and went into a fast-food shop.

Practical English Program. Sunday 2am PST

Starts Sunday, February 6, classes at 11h in Europe , 6pm in China and 7pm in Japan.

Teacher: Inge Qunhua
7 classes. Limit 6 students. Enrollment open. E-mail giovanni_tweak@yahoo.com

The beginner course is for students whose English is very basic or who have studied English years ago.
It is designed to give students language skills to deal with everyday situations in SL and rl.

A1 level "Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type. Can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has. Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help."

1 Sun 6 Feb Café
2 Sun 27 Feb Airport
3 Sun  6 Mar Hotel Reception
4 Sun 13 Mar Bank
5 Sun 20 Mar Hospital
6 Sun 27 Mar Garage/Salon
7 Sun 3 Aprr Home

Lesson 1 at the Café: introducing yourself, meeting people, ordering beverages
Lesson 2 at the Airport: Travel, custom, security controls
Lesson 3 at the Hotel Reception: booking a room, hotel check in and out.
Lesson 4 at the Bank: opening and closing a bank account, depositing, withdrawing and exchanging currency.
Lesson 5 at Hospital: arriving at the Hospital or Emergency Room.
Lesson 6 at the Garage/Salon: going to car repair and getting a haircut or a hair dye.
Lesson 7 at Home: everyday object and actions.

Inside Jokes

                             
           ESL Group Story Writing Class January 30, 2011
                       
I was looking for a job; I was really desperate. An ad on the internet said: “Tour the world and make people happy.” I called and set up an interview.  They told me the job was in the produce department of a new, big supermarket in China.

On the airplane from Chicago, my city, to Fuxin, a man with a black suit, black sunglasses, and a black hat sat beside me and told me he was from the C.I.A. and he had a deal for me.

I was curious about the "deal." But the thing is that there was no deal. The man in the black suit had a gun with him!

I was concerned about the deal. Then I was fearful.I didn't know why the C.I.A. would need my help, because in China, there is no such secret agency.

And I was very afraid about the gun, because people were forbidden to use guns here.  But a gun was pointed at me.

I didn't have a chance and couldn’t do anything, I thought.  I asked him what he meant, and he said, “Help me search for a discount shopping group that is buying things in China.


I had a terrible fear of flying but now, also I had a cold gun pointed at my back.  The old lady who was sitting near me saw the man and his gun, and she started to shout: "Help, help, there's a hijacker here!"

Pumas in Kansas

                             
                                      ESL Group Story Writing Class January 23 2011                      
                                                     
Last summer, my car broke down during a cross-country trip from New York to California. I’m not sure exactly where I was when it broke down because my GPS and cell phone stopped working when my car stopped moving.

I do know that I was somewhere in the state of Kansas because I passed the Missouri/Kansas state-border-crossing sign about an hour before the breakdown.

I was starting to search for a gas station. I got out of my broken car and started to walk quickly. While I was walking I saw a sign. “Gas about 3 Miles” was written on the sign.

When I finally arrived at the gas station, I was really very tired and thirsty. An old man saw me and asked, “Hey stranger, how can I help you?”

I said, “I need help! My car is broken.” But in my mind I thought "I hope he can help me and I hope he doesn’t do bad things to me."

He just told me that he had tools and can repair my car, so I needed to get into his car, he said. I warned him not to do any bad things to me because I have a GPS and " if I disappear, the police will find me," I said.

 He turned to me with a puzzled look on his face and said, "Why would you think that I'll do bad things to you?" Then he winked and added, "I think you watch too many horror films, stranger."

So I reluctantly got into his car and pointed in the direction where we needed to go to get my car. As we neared my car, I noticed that something dark was moving inside of it.

Falon’s Precious Nightmare

                             
                     ESL Group Story Writing Class January 16, 2011
                           
 Falon was a very brave girl. Every Thursday night she would take a slow, long, stroll through the graveyard that has stood for over 200 years at the edge of the small village where she lived.

She was never afraid of anything. One day she decided to go into the jungle near the village where she lives.
She didn't think of herself as brave, she just wasn't afraid of the dead. She knew they are all around us. She could feel them in the jungle too.

She thought, "Maybe I can find something interesting in here." So she looked around for a special object, and she found a ring.

She found a ring and it was interesting. She suddenly said, “Ohhh my precious!"  It was a favorite object for her.

She wore that ring and something happened. She felt something burning in her body. Suddenly, her body turned red.

Even though her body felt as if it were on fire, she was calm (because she wasn't afraid of anything, after all).  She looked at her red hands and at her red arms. "Interesting," she thought. Then she saw a lake in the middle of the jungle.

She slowly walked over to the lake and looked down at her reflection that shone clearly on the flat surface of the water. Her entire body was glowing red.

While she was watching her reflection in the lake, she noticed something moving on her back. It was a long, red tail moving like a wild snake.

She started to learn how to control the tail.  She wanted to keep it hidden from view most of the time, but she also wanted to use it as a whip when necessary. In the jungle she became good at catching small animals. One day she was hunted by a terrible jungle lion…

One day she saw a boy go into the jungle and she tried to get to know him, but he saw a terrifying thing. So when he saw her, he ran away, very fast. That boy noticed the worse thing on earth. He ran so fast but he could not run away from Falon's arms.

She tried to say something to the boy but she couldn't. She opened her eyes and discovered that she was dreaming. She said, "Aw, it was a nightmare."

New Year’s Eve Melissa

                                              ESL Group Story Writing Class January 9, 2011
                                                                                      
You won't believe what happened to me on New Year's Eve!  At 10 o'clock in the morning, I started celebrating by myself a bit early. I cracked open a bottle of champagne that someone had given me for Christmas, and took a swig right out of the bottle.

I started to drink champagne. It was a bit cold and snowing outside. My little kitten Angel and I were alone in the house. I started to watch the street from my window, while I was drinking. Suddenly, a car stopped in front of my house.

I didn't know what was happening but I think maybe someone went the wrong way down the street, so I didn't really want to know who was in that car.

A woman got out of the car. She was Melissa, a new colleague at work.  She was very pretty, but no one talked to her at the office because she said she liked to RP and to experiment with witchcraft.

She started to walk towards my door. She appeared to be looking directly at me through the window. Suddenly, I felt self-conscious about drinking so early in the morning, so I quickly took another gulp from the bottle and then shoved it beneath the table next to my chair. The doorbell rang.

I stood up to go to the door. I could hardly stand. She was smiling at me with her angelic face. I thought, "What luck! I'll not be alone this Christmas." She came into the house and gave me a package. "Take this, it's for you," she said. When she gave me the package her green eyes were sparkling like a puma.

I was very happy and I opened it. I found an HTC phone inside. I didn't know if this was a gift because there was no note inside. Was I missing some information?

Lost and Found

ESL Group Story Writing Class December 19, 2010

                                                         
It was a dark and stormy night. I was walking down a road because my car had broken down, my phone battery had died and there was no one else traveling on that road. I saw a light in the trees of the forest on the side of the road. I went in towards the light.

I was standing there waiting for someone to do me a favor. Suddenly there was someone next to me offering to do me a favor. Without hesitating, I asked him for the favor. That person said, "How much you want to pay me?"

I was surprised because my wallet didn't have much money in it. I was so surprised because I didn't have much money to offer him. I decided to solve the problem myself, and I kept walking in the forest.  Suddenly, I noticed a strange light behind the trees.

A big strange disk looked dazzling. It looked like a space ship. I thought that I should run but I couldn't move. Maybe I never saw this strange thing happening.

The big space ship sucked me up into it and I saw some animals. My face turned red because I was afraid and I urinated on myself.

EGG-xactly

ESL Group Story Writing Class December 12, 2010

                   
                                                  
I always wanted to have a pet for myself --especially a cocktail parrot-- because I think they are smart animals, for a bird. One day when I was walking down the street, I saw a white cocktail parrot in the pet shop window.

But when I saw the price, I thought, "Wow, it's so expensive!" So I thought that maybe I could buy two eggs and watch them be born.

As I was walking away with the two eggs I heard a noise. I turned back and I saw the cocktail parrot thumping against the glass, like he wanted to call me back. So I went back to the store. The owner of the store opened the door. “Welcome back" He said.

I walked up to the parrot's cage and before I could do or say anything, the parrot said, "And where did you think you were going with my babies?" I wasn't shocked to hear the parrot talk, because I knew parrots could talk, but I was surprised at what the parrot had said.  I answered, "I just wanted to take them home with me to watch them hatch."  The bird started to cry so I went to the owner.

So I asked the seller how much the bird was. He said, "Hey man, if you want to buy it, I can give him to you for free. But are you sure you want him?

Yes I want him," I said, but in my mind I thought "OO don't buy him, you will become poor!" But I couldn't control my mouth, so I really needed to work hard...

As I was walking home with the bird, in a cage covered by a black cloth --which was sold to me by the pet store owner, and not at a discount price-- I asked myself why I had such a negative thought in my mind, After all, I was just  taking the "mother" of the eggs home with me to my family of six brothers.

But I couldn't figure out why I kept thinking that it was a bad idea to take these eggs to my home.  I pushed the worrisome thoughts out of my head and continued on my way home.