THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE MAGAZINE LE MAGAZINE DES LANGUES ÉTRANGÈRES by Sandra Gómez González High-School Student

VOL. 29 No 38. September 2014

THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE MAGAZINE LE MAGAZINE DES LANGUES ÉTRANGÈRES By Sandra Gómez González High-school student

ood morning, today I want to talk about my experience at the ASI events, I remember that when I was in first semester my teachers of Participación Social explained my fellows and G me the different activities we had to do during the semester and they also told us the great events that occurred at the end of other semesters.

Every midterm we had to go to some neighborhoods to do some activities like playing with children or sell- ing food, supplies, or clothes; with the purpose of spending some time with them. Once, I played with the kids, I remember we gave them candies, we played soccer with them and also we painted their faces with drawings like butterflies, Spider-man and Batman masks.

Another time, it was my turn to sell things and I finished early so I played with the children too, we gave them some toys and they were so happy. There, I understood that a little thing can change a lot of things…the great events were so big! My first event was ASI X LOS NIÑOS and I set-up a stand where they could go and play and win prizes, some of my fellows had to take care of the children, actually everyone had to take care of between 3-5 children, and it was our first time so we had no experience in that. At the beginning my fellows started to look for their children because they lost them but at the end they had new little friends. My last grand event was ASI X LOS GRANDES, in which I took care of a senior woman who gave me a lot of tips and she told me about her life and taught me that even if I have a problem, it’s not so much worse than others; that I’ll have, in every problem, an achievement and I should dedicate it to God, because, in her words: “God does not put me through struggles I can not handle”.

I enjoyed every activity because I shared time, happy moments, and the fact that all that I have to share gives them happiness. I feel good, I feel like I have done something that I can do, not just for a grade, but it also makes me feel like a better person. 2

My first day at the IEST By Lorena Bazaldúa High-school student fter months of being very nervous about going to school, on August 4th I started high school at the IEST. I had spent all summer wondering if I was going to do well or not, if I was going to A make friends or if I was going to end up alone. Of course, I had expectations when I first knew I was gonna be here for the next three years. At the beginning, I was really scared because none of my friends were in the same classroom as me, so I was hoping I would be able to make new friends. I was also expecting everything was going to be better than junior high, starting with the teachers up to the facilities.

On my first day of school, I realized I wasn’t the only one who was nervous; it turned out that everyone in my class was very scared too! When I arrived to my classroom everyone was quiet and just chatting on their phones because most of us didn’t know each other. But that was just at the beginning, ‘cause as the days went passing by, we started talking to each other and we even became friends.

On the other hand about the teachers, I thought they were all going to be very strict and maybe even mean but it turned out they weren’t; in fact, some of them seem to be sweet and good people.

And when it comes to the facilities, they were so much better than in my old school: for starters, we didn’t use to have a cafeteria, and this one’s pretty cool. Also, I loved that we have 3 places where we can buy different kinds of food and drinks. The bad thing here is that it’s always very crowded, so it takes like 15 minutes to get your food. Another thing that was better than I expected was the library, I had just seen the lobby and it is so much bigger than it actually looks. It has lots of computers, the books, of course, and even an auditorium!

In conclusion, everything turned out to be so much better than I had imagined: my classmates, my teachers and my classrooms. Now that I’ve been here for 2 weeks and I’ve seen how it all works around here I can tell that I’m going to love spending the next three years of my life here.

By Galileo Sánchez High-school student

am an athletic boy, I love all sports, I like to practice all of them, but there are lot of sports, that maybe I could not do. My favorite sport is soccer, because it is so fun and passionate, but it is not the I sport where I can do my best. My physical condition is good, that’s why I practice athleticism. I like this category, because it represents challenges -I have a respiratory disease-, but it does not represent any reason to give up. I prefer to face every challenge to improve my health I practice athleticism with my classmates in the school, we are the IEST’s Athletics team. My training days are: Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. . I really love this sport and that’s why I would like to invite you to practice it.

By Cristopher Juárez Ramírez High-school student

hen I was 8 years I started to play soccer in the Regatas Corona Club, but I didn’t really like it too much. One day in a soccer practice, I saw a guy who was playing tennis and I liked W how he played. I talked to my mother and I told her that I didn’t really like playing soccer, I would like to try tennis. She accepted my new goal and signed me up for the tennis team. This sport became the most important activity in my life, I love it. For 4 years I started to play in national competitions, but that ended, when I began my high school studies at IEST, because the school, subjects, homework and extra activities demand discipline and time. For a while my option was to stop my tennis practice, but I know I will practice again, because it represents my favorite sport.

A swimmer’s life By Erick Torres High-school student

nce upon a time, my dad encouraged me to try different sports, and choose one that I would do for a long time. I tried soccer, basketball, tennis and swimming, the one that I chose. O I registered in swimming classes to learn how to swim better. I learned the four styles: free- style, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. When I saw that the best swimmer in the world was Michael Phelps, I immediately loved the butterfly style. I entered the official team of the club. This was the best thing I ever lived. I immediately started to swim stronger and more constantly. Now, I´m in the official team and my goal is to represent Tamaulipas in swimming or even more, my dream is to win a swimming world cup medal or an Olympic medal representing Mexico. Now I’m swimming two hours per day, and sometimes I need to wake up at 6 am to go swim at 7 am and then go to swim again at 2 pm, so this is a bit complicated sometimes. Today I’m trying to lose weight to swim even faster than I swim, so I need to work harder to reach my objectives. A swimmer 4

By Paulina Vaca Riestra High-school student very year our team prepares for some- E thing, so this time we went to our 1° state competition of escaramuza which is a part of charreria. You probably don’t know what it is, so I will explain it for you.

An escaramuza team is formed by 8 girls, each with her own horse. We have a routine that are exercises to form figures. It is practiced in a road that has a circle and rectangle shape. The costume is a very traditional Mexican dress, which is long and it has ruffles.

My team is named “Gaviotas” from the Herradura, with them I have gone to five state competitions and two national competitions too. The contests have been held in many places, like Reyno- sa, Victoria, Tuxpan, and for the nationals, we have gone to Irapuato and Lagos de Moreno.

We won the first place on three of the state competitions and on the nationals we had a very good performance. But even when we don’t win, we leave with a happy face, because every time that we participate we return with many memories and a good experience as a team. It doesn’t matter if someone does something wrong because everyone has had mistakes. Also in every trip we get to trust our horses more and realize that without them we wouldn’t do anything.

So working as a team can give you many experienc- es that will make you stronger and better as a part- ner, that you have to help the other every time she gets lost and you also know that if you don’t know what to do the others will be always there to help you. 5

By Ma. Fernanda González González High-school student

Ok , let me tell you something. Don’t even ask me “what is music?” because I will answer “what is NOT music?”. I’ve loved anything and anyone related to music almost my whole life. You may not have a specific genre of it, and it doesn’t matter, so I don’t blame you. There’s an extensive variety of genres, like: jazz, pop, rock, bachata, electro, salsa, pop-rock, electro-pop, samba, metal ,indie, country, blues, reggae, punk, etc. You can even feel music on the “tick –tock” of the clock! (and the party won’t stop, oh, oh, wuoh), the whispers in the halls with the rhythm of their feet; you name it!

Music can get interesting at a certain point of our lives. In my case, it hit me when I was 8 or 9 years old, when I first listened to “Beautiful Girls”, it made my skin chill and at the same time my ears fell in love with it. Though I’m totally conscious the message is not entirely “good”, for those who know the lyrics. Then I heard “When I Grow Up” and then “Lady Marmalade”, since then those are my top 3 favorite songs.

Do you have a favorite song? Don’t worry if you, dear reader, don’t have one. I forgive you.

Now, the serious part. My beloved musical art can also be used in a medical way. Doctors and psy- chologists use it as a way to reduce stress or induce better sleep. Even kids in hospitals have activities where doctors let them listen to music, so they can feel better; they even start to dance! Specialists even recommend it for babies, obviously classical music, so they can have a better development and sleep. So here you see, music is not only entertaining but very useful.

I would like to quote Billy Joel, who once said “I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive ex- pression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music.” I think it’s true because you can feel at peace or relaxed when listening to the music you like, and no matter where you’re from, what’s your name or your country you listen to/like music.

So, now before you finish reading, let me ask you some questions: Would you dance without music? Why do babies sleep with a lullaby? Why is there a national anthem? Why does the DJ try to play the best music in parties? Why do some students like to listen to music while they study? You know why? Because it’s that magical thing that makes our lives better. 6

By Nilse González Jaramillo Engineering student an you imagine a world without music? Think about your favorite song, the one that makes you feel better when you’re sad, the one that the love of your life once dedicated to you, the one you sing every time you’re with your friends at a party or the one that describes perfectly the C way you are. Now imagine none of these songs existed. What a tragedy right? I can’t imagine my life without music. My road to school would be so stressful, with music at least I can fight with the driver in front of me by singing that foul-mouthed Ludacris song that says “Move b**ch get out the way”, and I don’t even talk about parties. Without music I wouldn’t have an excuse to escape from unpleasant people by saying “Excuse me, that’s my song, I gotta go dancing”.

Beyoncé says “put a ring on it” I say “put some music on it.” Everything is better with music, no doubt. A song can emphasize the mood of a situation (ask my friends at Hollywood) or change it completely. Just imagine Darth Vader approaching the screen with his droids side by side and instead of hearing the “Imperial march” you heard “Who let the dogs out”, you would be like “What!?”.

And now that we are talking about Hollywood, it is very curious how the soundtrack becomes a very important part of a movie. Just remember when you saw “Jaws” and you heard that creepy melody, only two notes and you knew the shark was coming. Even if it hadn’t appeared, you’d be scared and expecting it the whole movie just because of that freaking song. You see what I’m talking about?

Sometimes I think it would be funny to have a song for every episode of our lives, just like in the movies. I would have my “driving song”, my “I want to cry like a baby song” or my “I’m home alone on a Friday night song”. Or even better, just like in musicals it would be funny if we could go singing around how we feel or what we think. I can imagine myself looking at my Jack Daniel’s glazed ribs and singing “I think I wanna marry you.” My facebook status would be like “be right back, singing about my feelings”

Obviously I’m just kidding about all this, real life is not like the movies but what I really think in fact is that music is a very important part of our lives, at least of mine. I really believe that the right song can change your mood for better or for worse.

I can’t numerate the times I’ve played a song to make me feel better or to say the things I can’t express by myself. If you’ve done it, you know what I’m talking about, if you don’t I sincerely recommend you do it. As I said before I can’t imagine my life without music, and as I’m used to having a song to express what I think I have one to express this, it is an Andrea Bocelli’s song (if you are a music lover you should listen to it) and says “Vivo per lei perché mi fa vibrare forte l’anima, vivo per lei la musica” which means: “I live for it because it makes my soul vibrate,…” well the rest you can figure it out. 7

DO YOU WANT TO CERTIFY YOUR 6 ENGLISH LEVEL PROGRAM OR KNOW WHAT YOUR CURRENT LEVEL IS?

On November 12th, 2014 at 1:00 pm or 4:00 pm.

THE NEXT ENGLISH EXAM FOR IEST´S STUDENTS

Fee: $ 200 MX

Pre-register at the CAADI until October 28th., 2014.

From December to December

1st. 22nd.

This course is from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Fee: 4,400 MX for IEST’s students.

The TOEFL® test is the most widely respected English-language test in the world, recognized by more than 9,000 colleges, universities and agencies in more than 130 countries, including Australia, Canada, the U.K. and the United States. The TOEFL test can help you reach a higher English com- munication level .

TOEFL ITP TOEFL IBT November 22nd, 2014 November 14th, 2014 Fee: $ 170 USD Fee: $ 600 MX On-line Registration Registration available at the For further information, please www.ets.org.es/toefl Languages Department contact: Coordinación de Idiomas—IEST Phone: 230-25-66 8

By Samantha García Rodríguez English course student

he Independence Day celebration for the Americans and their friends and family takes place with picnics and barbecues, activities associated with the day for example: wonderful parades, T watermelon or hotdog eating competitions and sporting events, baseball games, three-legged races, swimming activities and tug-of-war games. Many cities and towns arrange fireworks and sing pa- triot music, such as "God Bless America", "America the Beautiful" or “American anthem”. It’s a good day to be with family and friends, it is an amazing day for American people. But, what is Independence Day? The celebration of the complete separation of the 13 Colonies from Great Britain on July 2, 1776, and two days after on July 4, 1776, E.U. claimed their independence from Britain and Democracy was born.

John Adams wrote a letter for his wife, on July 2nd and said, the second day of July 1776 could be the most memorable time in the history of America; he believed that it would be celebrated for generations as the amazing anniversary festival, he imagined the celebrations with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illumina- tions. His prediction was off by two days: on July 4, it's amazing that this day is celebrated as he said. When democratic America, was born the nation needed a new flag to represent a new America, the main elements of the flag are the stars and the red lines, and these have changed position for a few years, but ultimately have the same meaning, the number of states and the 13 colonies.

Independence Day additionally commemorates the free- dom of America and honors the men who fought for it. It is a wonderful celebration that unites families, friends and all of the United States of America. 9 By Itzel Saldaña Medicine student

t always seems to be kind of difficult to learn a new language; mostly because in I our country, schools and even people themselves think that learning a second language, such as English, is more important.

I started learning French on my last year of high school, but it didn’t happen because I wanted to, but because I had to. I wasn’t happy at all, I didn’t like French and I never cared about it in my whole life.

I surprisingly ended up liking it, because learning it seemed to be so easy to me, it is similar to Spanish and then I realized I had to go on. Last semester, I decided to take a French course, right here, at the school. One of those conversational courses we all hear about at CAADI and it was better than I expected.

We played games, watched movies and participated in a bunch of fun activities; our teacher was really patient and if we didn’t understand something, she’d explain it as many times as it was necessary for us to understand. It wasn’t the typical course you take and you get bored, it was an awesome experience that I’d like to live again. I love learning new languages, it’s really fun. I’m a medicine student, but I’m sure that, at the end of the day, speaking more than two languages is going to help me in the future.

By Adriana Méndez High-school teacher

he language department in conjunction with the high school department are always focused on the institutional objectives about language education. For this reason the Language Department organized a workshop named ˝BEC Vantage Master Class˝ to involve the languages teachers T with the new bibliography for Anáhuac high schools. This coaching was presented by Barbara Bangle, who guided the book structures´ analysis as well as its con- tent. Teachers such as: Blanca Rangel, Nayeli Gutiérrez, Tania Aguirre, Inéz Garza, Lorena Quezada, Joyce Malibran, Adriana Méndez and Mr. Castillo attended Ms. Bangle‘s coaching, where they exchanged teaching strategies about how to stimulate and offer students a better chance to learn and apply their knowledge in an effective way and in real contexts. The language departement is always looking for new alternatives to improve the language education, for this reason it adopted this bibliography. BEC Vantage Class motivates and prepares high school students to get a Business English Certificate that helps them in their educational and professional career. We are happy to percieve that this change has brought the student community good results.

By Adriana Méndez High-school teacher had enough of hearing the stories about the Mexican footwear industry and its very good prices from León, so I decided to find out on my own if those stories about the city and its I magnificent footwear industry were true. I travelled to León with my family. We had the opportunity to get to know the city and the main economic activity: the footwear industry. León represents the largest city from the “Lowlands” (North-central Mexico) with a population of approx. 1.6 Million. It is considered Gua- najuato’s business and economic capital. Its official name is: “León de los Aldama”, it was founded on Janu- ary 20th 1576 by Juan Bautista de Orozco. I could understand how important this city has been through Gua- najuato’s and Mexican history, because León began to be one of the most important towns in Guanajuato. The history refers to the Independence War as the point when many people abandoned their workplaces in the silver, gold and copper mines in Guanajuato City and began to work in the fields of León, where agricul- ture was the most important activity; since then handcraft and footwear industries became the ones to be considered strong and very competitive economic alternatives for the development of León.

It was awesome to drive through the city, because I could get the impression that León is a very well organized modern city, where people live in a balanced mixture between old and modern archi- tecture as well as large industries and green areas such as “The Metropolitan Park”.

This place is used in different kinds of events; the most important is the International Balloon Fest, which takes place every year in November. Tourists from everywhere come to “F.I.G.” –for its Spanish meaning- to be witness of the thousands of balloons with different shapes and characters floating through the air during the whole day. There is a large camping area, where tourists can stay in the park to be near this famous event. The park has open areas, where people can: do sports, ride bicycles, jog, have picnics, and ride a train around the park. There is also a small city for children, where they can learn urban and traffic rules.

I would like to come back to this city and have the opportunity to meet friends, enjoy the city attractions, its people and culture. 11

Interview by Elena López Gutiérrez Languages student

section, multimedia or I.T. section, reference section and even periodical section. I were talking about a wedding, this would be If In 2009 Mrs. Elia Salinas was given the opportunity to a “ruby anniversary” but we’re talking about our high take over the International Affairs department which school and college. I might be new here but there are was in her words “a new and unexpected challenge” some people who have been here for twenty, thirty or which she “never pursued” or even thought about. even forty years. I want to tell you about Mrs. Elia Now, she says she has found tremendous joy and sat- Laura Salinas Carús who has been working at IEST for isfaction in being part of the most memorable part of a more than twenty years. student’s college experience, studying abroad. One of During her student years and her first working years at the most positive aspects of this job is the openness IEST she remembers the hassle enrollments used to she feels from her contacts in different universities be. Nowadays internet has eased this process and we around the world. She has built a close relationship can enroll in no time but years ago the gym had to be with all the other people in charge of international af- filled with computers for administrative and academic fairs in universities around the world, that is why she enrollments. Students had to go through the adminis- can counsel students giving them information to en- trative section to make the payments and then through sure they have best possible experience abroad. the academic to section to approve the subjects they She remembers years when the IEST received up to were going to sign up for. The school had to prepare twenty foreign students each year and sent many oth- several days beforehand in order to set up the net- ers abroad. Tampico has changed and it has gained a work, create and print each of the students’ lists of bad reputation over the past years, insecurity has af- possible classes, check them against their kardex and fected exchange opportunities. In the past it was easi- make corrections. er to set up bilateral programs where students paid the It was 1993 when she thought her life at school was IEST as if they were studying here but were actually over, she had obtained her bachelor and had passed studying abroad. Now, students have to choose study her exit exam on February. By September she was abroad programs where you have to pay whatever the called back, she would be interviewed by one of her destination school charges. Tampico has become less teachers to become a candidate for the position of sys- attractive for universities around the world because tem analyst. During the past twenty-one years she has they prefer sending their students to other (safer) been working at IEST, she’s been in charge of different places. things such as developing the system for creating the On the other hand, there are new exchange programs kardex, improving the system that is used to register students’ grades, selecting and applying the Library of added regularly and some of them have never been Congress classification for our library. taken like the exchange programs to Korea, Finland or Iceland. The world is constantly changing and unlike Did you know the library used to be where the stationery shop is? Back in the day, the “papelería” used to Tampico’s safety some other changes are very positive. be full of books in shelves behind a counter. If you Through the years the IEST has grown, it added the wanted a book you had to ask the lady behind the library building, it recently joined the Anahuac college counter for the specific book or tell her what kind of network and it is currently book you were looking for and she would go and get it adding the building for medi- for you. The computer classroom which is next to the cine students. Mrs. Elia says stationery shop used to be the reading area and it was “I’m happy to have been part full of tables and chairs for students to use the books. The new library was inaugurated in 2000. of the development of IEST and be able to grow profes- Nowadays there is an auditorium, two computer areas sionally and personally along with printers, a video library, plenty of cubicles for students and teachers, a newspaper archive, a circulation with the school.” 12

Interview by Elena López Gutiérrez Languages student

My name is Juan Martínez Castillo and I’m a proud IEST graduate. I entered IEST’s high school in 1988, back then everything was quite different. The campus consisted only of the administrative building, two classroom buildings, a small wooden cafeteria we used to call “el gallinero”, two soccer fields (there used to be a soccer field where the gym is) and two basketball and volleyball courts (these used to be behind the cafeteria).

The chemistry lab where I took classes in high school was located in the current cafeteria annex. In high school I broke a test tube while mixing different compounds (this was not part of the class), I realized that if I were a chemist I would be a danger to society.

During rain season, getting to IEST was an odyssey, given that the street was not yet paved, conse- quently public transportation didn’t run through the area. There was so much mud that small cars couldn’t drive through. Imagine what it was to get to school on foot! Fortunately there was always some classmate who would offer you a ride even if you didn’t know them very well.

In 1991 I started college, I entered IEST’s computational systems engineering, it was a recently opened major, it had been opened just a year before. It was considered one of the most difficult majors with the most workload. It was common to spend several nights at the computer lab finishing projects during exam week. In those years, I spent time with classmates from all majors, in classrooms, at the computer lab or in sports activities. The relationship all the students had was great. One of the things I remember the most was the vibe that existed within all the community, it was known as “IEST environ- ment” (ambiente IEST).

Shortly after graduating I was given the opportunity to join the workforce at IEST as a system analyst in what we now know as information technology department (DTI). On August 1996, barely a few months after graduating I started teaching. It was the first class I taught to college students. A totally different experience, but one I definitely liked. It’s not just about transferring knowledge, but sharing the philosophy, values and beliefs IEST upholds. Through my working years I have had several positions, I currently hold the Technical Support Coordinator position.

In all these years being part of IEST, first as a student and now as part of the personnel, I feel truly lucky to have seen it grow and being part of the growth of the campus up to what we see today. In this first forty years of IEST, I realize everything we have achieved, not just regarding infrastructure, but regarding services, programs, alumni, recognition on a national and international level.

We are a young institution with room to grow and more to offer to society. For this reasons and more, it’s an honor and a privilege to be part of IEST! 13

By Marco Zavaleta Orta Graphic design student eople say that being afraid is okay and is completely normal because we are all human beings. Eve- ryone says it’s acceptable to feel that way for any given reason, as long as it doesn’t stop you from fulfilling your goals. Some even say it’s even better when this same fear becomes your own impulse P to overcome yourself. But when you hear that old saying your whole life, it doesn’t really make any difference at all now. Words become nothing when you begin to experience a kind of fear you’d never felt before. Any thoughts or strategies on how to approach and overcome difficulties become nothing in a whirlwind of doubts. That feeling that makes your skin crawl and makes you feel like hiding under the bed.

Last summer I had the opportunity to visit Los Angeles, and all of its surroundings. I was mesmerized not only by the beautiful sunsets and scenarios I had around me, but also because of the hope everyone lives with. Whether you’re strolling down Santa Monica’s Pier, admiring the stars at the Hollywood Walk of Fame, or just chilling out at Huntington Beach, you will always find people, or daring artists, singing out with their hearts or playing their instrument with a burning passion that will melt your heart away. I saw drummers, singers, painters, actors, magicians, human-statues; guitar players, violinists and each one of them had a longing in their passionate hearts and performances.

I don’t know what makes them different from us, the citizens from Tampico. I wonder what their secret is to continue pursuing their dreams even though there were days and nights where they would receive no bucks at all, or someone just passing by completely ignored them. I know many people from Tampico, who would totally give up at the first sign of being ignored. I would last a while, because frankly, I consider myself as a perseverant and a bit stubborn guy. But eventually I would give in to the pressure and just walk away if I saw nothing but failure and rejection… but not them! Those L.A. aspiring musicians, artists, and actors would hold on and even seem to enjoy although no one cares. Of course I was amazed by many other things, I learned a plenty of all the cultures that live there and tried countless times new and exotic dishes, but I’ll write about it next time. But what I saw in the street-artists, in every single one of them, really marked my heart.

They say you learn from everything when you travel, that you see everything and everyone with a different pair of eyes, and it’s true. I’ve seen myself differently every single day since that trip. I no long- er see myself as someone who tries hard at everything I do, but I see myself as someone who begins with a determination to finish everything. I can now see hope and I believe that hope is something that must be spread. 14

Le saule pleureur Par María Emilia Rodríguez Vallejo Étudiante de langues

l était une fois, une petite fille qui s’appelait Adèle. Adèle avait un lien profond avec la nature et I aimait passer la plupart de son temps dans le jardin. Elle s’amusait, elle courrait, elle jouait… Adèle se voyait comme une partie du jardin… c’était là qu’elle se sentait vivante. Le jardin était très beau, avec des pommiers, des orangers, des poiriers et des rosiers magnifiques…

Adèle était l’amie de tous, mais, il y avait un arbre en particulier qui attirait son attention. Il ne parlait jamais à personne. C’était un saule très solitaire, et il avait l’air fâché. Donc, un jour, Adèle a décidée de parler avec lui. Timide, mais courageuse en même temps, elle s’est approchée. «Salut», dit le saule… Adèle était surprise, mais elle était aussi touchée par la manière avec laquelle il avait parlé… il avait l’air très triste.

« Qu’est-ce qu’il se passe ? » Elle lui a demandé. « Je suis confondu » le saule a répondu … Mais, Adèle n’avait pas idée pourquoi il était confondu… pour elle, c’était un arbre grand et solide, mais surtout spé- cial… comme aucun arbre.

« Mais, pourquoi es-tu confondu? » Lui a demandé Adèle … « D’accord…je vais te dire mais tu ne peux le dire à personne », et le saule a commencé à s’exprimer : Adèle, je ne sais pas qui je suis…je regarde par- tout dans le jardin et je vois que tous les autres ont de beaux fruits et de belles fleurs…mais moi, je n’ai rien ; Je ne sais pas quoi faire pour porter ces fruits et ces fleurs. Je suis désespéré ».

C’était avec ce moment qu’Adèle a compris que le saule était timide… il n’était pas méchant. La seule chose qu’il voulait c’était de se sentir comme les autres. Et c’était la raison pour laquelle il était toujours seul… il ne croyait pas qu’il n’était pas spécial, et il pensait que le reste du jardin pensait la même chose.

« Pourquoi penses-tu que tes qualités physiques sont ce qu’il y a de plus importants ? … Mon ami, tu dois regarder dans ton fort intérieur…là tu trouveras des fruits et des fleurs plus précieuses… »

« Ou ça Adèle ? » 15

« Cherche, et tu vas la trouver »

Dès ce jour…Adèle et le saule sont devenus amis. Ils partageaient leurs jours et ont appris beaucoup de choses ensembles. Mais surtout, le saule a appris à voir ses qualités et les bonnes choses qu’il avait en lui.

Une jolie amitié avait commencée dans le jardin. Le saule a commencé à sourire, et à parler avec les pommiers, les orangers, les poiriers et les rosiers… il a compris qu’il ne pourrait jamais porter des fruits, ni de fleurs, mais qu’il était unique, spécial et fort. Le jardin entier a commencé à l’aimer, parce qu’il avait com- mencé à s’aimer lui-même.

« Tu ne porteras jamais des pommes car tu n'es pas un pommier, ou des fleurs à chaque printemps, car tu n'es pas un rosier. Tu es un saule, et ton destin est devenir grand et majestueux, fournir des abris pour les oiseaux, de l'ombre pour les voyageurs, et de beauté au paysage ... »

Par Juan Manuel Fernández Salazar Étudiant de langues

onjour à tous! J’aimerais vous raconter ma première expérience à l’étranger. J’avais 17 ans la B première fois que j’ai fait un voyage en outre-mer où je suis resté chez mon parrain à Grasse l’été 2007, une petite ville provençale connue comme la capitale mondiale du parfum. À mon avis Grasse a une certaine magie, si bien qu’on pourrait dire qu’elle n’a rien de spécial par rapport aux autres villes pro- vençales qui ont en plus une belle vue sur la mer. À Grasse c’est possible de profiter d’une vue plutôt mon- tagnarde mélangée avec le style provençal et les couleurs d’un couche de soleil d’été qui peignent la ville entière, et si on a de la chance on peut même voir la mer!

Mais ce n’est pas à Grasse où je prenais mes cours de langues, il fallait marcher tous les jours jusqu’à la gare ferro- viaire (cela me prenait une demie heure par trajet) e t après il fallait attendre le train qui m’amenait à Antibes, une autre très belle ville sur la côte d’Azur qui à la différence de Grasse est bordée par la mer. C’est là où je prenais mes cours de langues, dans un petit château provençal qui s’appelle « Le centre international d’An- tibes ». 16

L’école était composée de beaucoup d’étrangers, la plupart des allemands, des italiens et des suisses, et moi j’étais le seul mexicain, mon niveau de français à l’époque n’avait rien à voir avec mon niveau d’aujourd’hui, je faisais le niveau A2, je ne pouvais même pas parler au passé composé, et comprendre les français parler couramment était une autre histoire, je n’imaginais pas un jour pouvoir déchiffrer ce que les français disent quand ils parlent entre eux! (Cela m’a pris plusieurs années puis que le français est une langue qui exige beaucoup d’habituer l’oreille à la phonétique). Pendant mes weekends j’ai fait plusieurs voyages en France, j’ai visité Marseille (la troisième plus grande ville du Pays après Paris et Lyon), Carcassonne de l’autre côté de la France (une ville médiévale avec un château dont ont peut même voir les Pyrénéens), Monaco Monte-Carlo et bien sûr Paris.

À la fin de l’été 2007 j’ai beaucoup appris en ce qui concerne la langue, la culture et la géographie du pays. C’était une expérience unique qui m’a fait grandir et aussi commencer le chemin sans fin d’apprentissage de la langue. Même si à l’époque je ne réussissais pas à comprendre les francophones 100%, j’étais tellement fier de moi même car la langue française est devenue quelque chose de familier et moins étrange à l’oreille. Je réussissais à faire de phrases plus compliquées plus vite et presque à parler couramment. Sans mentionner les si beaux paysages de la Côte d’Azur, la belle ville de Paris et enfin la douce tendresse de la France, qui revient à ma mémoire surtout quand j’écoute la chanson de « Douce France » et « La mer » de Charles Trenet, sans aucun doute ce voyage ap- partient à un de mes plus beaux souvenirs!

DAVID GÓMEZ FUENTES PRESIDENT

ADRIANA MARÍA MENÉNDEZ PÉREZ INSTITUTO DE ESTUDIOS DIRECTOR OF HUMANITIES DIVISION SUPERIORES DE TAMAULIPAS

ALFREDO CASTILLO Dr. Burton E. Grossman LANGUAGE CENTER COORDINATOR 501 PTE. Tampico-Altamira 89609 ADRIANA MÉNDEZ RAMÍREZ Altamira, Tamaulipas, México EDITOR ( 833 ) 230-2566 coordinací[email protected]