Well done!

Hi all,
This year was the 1st time I decided to start a blog with students. I had no idea what would happen, now I can tell you I am very pleased with the experience and I want to congratulate you all on a very nice job. As stated on the WELCOME section of the blog-this blog is yours-use it to communicate with each other-as you have already done- and feel free to post more photos, more texts etc. For example, I was thinking you could make a list of books, films etc. you would like to recommend your colleagues, what do you think?

Joana

Modern Architecture (Spela, Beatriz and Vítor)

We chose modern architecture to be the theme of our group work because we think it’s an interesting subject, once it’s related to arts and to the present-day’s culture. It could also be an amusing way to walk around our city, Lisbon, and a great opportunity to visit pleasant spaces and find out more about them.

Parque das Nações was the first thing that flew through our minds when we were trying to find examples of modern architecture. It's an important melting pot, where we can find contemporary buildings that were specially conceived to Expo ’98; we thought this “turning point” of national architecture should be also our “starting point” for this research.
Thanks to EU and Expo ‘98 was necessary for Portugal to open its doors and windows, and so we did. For instance, the beautiful Gare do Oriente: the train station, next to the world’s fair, designed by Santiago Calatrava. He chose steel painted in white and glass to materialize giant posts that look like huge cubic flowers that seem wide opened to receive the daylight or even the bright moonlight.

The Atlantic Pavilion (Pavilhão Atlântico) is a previous Expo ’98 building too, designed by Regino Cruz and it holds around 20.000 people. The pavilion is becoming an international reference, so we can’t reduce its importance to its revolutionary modern style, inspired in Portuguese historic symbols, such as the 15th century boats that were made out of wood, like the interior ceilings (of the pavilion), not only for aesthetic reasons, but also to create a better acoustic in the room. In the outside we have a more futuristic style; the oval form of the building and its materials, similar to rubber, etc, remind us space ships from science fiction movies.





European Music Awards 2005, Madonna and Pearl Jam’s last tours, or even sports’ events like “Monster Jam”, are some of the international events that took place here and gave this building more notoriety.

Alvalade XXI stadium was opened on 6 August 2003. The official stadium of football club Sporting is a big, impressive building, boasting a splash of colours which are associated with the team: green, yellow and white. A further point that was of interest to us was that the seats are all coloured in a rainbow of colours, so as to have the feeling of a full house for every game.
But this stadium is not only a sporting venue; the 52 000 capacity building, it is also a grand venue for live music concerts. Previous acts that were performed here include U2.
The architectural genius of this building is down to Tomás Taveira.

Marconi building is, in an aesthetic, architectonic and constructive perspective, a great reference of Lisbon.
As one of the new “Intelligent buildings”, it’s one of the best examples of technology, and a multifunctional space.
It was built in 1992, and designed by Raul Martins. Its design is not as simple as it might look at first. This building is well known for its symmetrical sides that look like stairs leading to the sky.

These are just some examples of modern spaces that unite arts (great architecture) with nowadays’ social and cultural needs that we can find in this improved city. We “left behind” some other buildings that we appreciate because of the time and words limit (e.g.: Ponte Vasco da Gama, Pavilhão de Portugal, …). Maybe we’ll tell you more about them next time. We hope you have enjoyed this tour.

Monuments by the Tagus (David & Rui)

The Oceanary

Lisbon’s Oceanary is a museum of marine biology in Parque das Nações, and was built for Expo ‘98. It was conceived to express in an innovating way, the fact that the seas and oceans of our planet form a single Global Ocean.

It’s populated by 8.000 animals.

And plants of over 500 species.

It integrates five main habitats.

Its central tank has about 5.000 m³ of salt water.

Overall, the Oceanary is composed by 30 tanks containing over 7.000 m³ of salt water.

Vasco da Gama's Tower

Vasco da Gama Tower is a steel structure, 145 meters high, built in Parque das Nações, in Lisbon, for the world exposition in 1998. It’s one of the tallest buildings in Portugal.


The Vasco da Gama Bridge

Vasco da Gama is the most recent bridge over River Tagus in the area of Lisbon. It connects Montijo and Alcochete to Sacavém, nearby Parque das Nações, where Expo ‘98 was held. Its inauguration was on April 4th 1998. This bridge is the longest in Europe, with 17.2 Km, 10 of which are over the waters of Tagus estuary. The distance between its towers is 420 meters. The name of the bridge celebrates the 500 years upon the arrival of Vasco da Gama to India.

Monuments by the Tagus (David & Rui)

Monument To The Discoveries

It was built by Cottinelli Telmo and Leopoldo de Almeida, both Portuguese artists, during the Salazar's despotism, namely in 1940.
- However, it was not inaugurated until 1960.
- It stands 52 meters tall.
- It portraits and celebrates the Age of Discovery period.
- Therefore, the base sculpture is a caravel, and aboard are the most prominent Portuguese explorers: Henry the Navigator, Vasco da Gama, Bartolomeu Dias, Luís de Camões (although he was a poet, he also took part in a voyage to India), King Manuel I (...)
- The pavement in front of the Monument depicts a wind rose, along with a world map that displays the routes taken by the Portuguese during the Age of Discovery.

Cristo Rei

The Cristo Rei is a religious monument located in Almada. This monument was built in fulfilment of a vow formulated by the Portuguese Bishopric assembled in Fátima on 20 of April 1940, beseeching God to keep Portugal safe from World War II. Salazar, in spite of sympathizing politically with Germany, didn’t want to violate the old friendship with the United Kingdom, which goes back to the XIV century, and preferred to maintain Portugal’s position neutral, in order to avoid the War.

-It was inaugurated in 1959.
-It is 109m high, and it is built on a portico 75m high. On its top, the statue of the Redeemer opens his arms wide, facing the city. The arms span is 28 meters.
- It’s one of the tallest constructions in Portugal – 110 meters.

The 25th April Bridge

It was baptized as Salazar’s Bridge (Ponte Salazar), but after the Carnation Revolution its name was changed to 25^th April Bridge.

- It took almost four years for the bridge to be built.
- It opened to traffic in August 6th 1966.
- Its size: 2278 meters across.
- At the time of its completion, the southern tower foundation was the world's deepest (82 meters).
- It was the first suspended bridge in the world providing both a railway and a road.
- The northern tower pillar was built over a seismic fault. This was found out only upon the construction of its foundations. Because of this, it requires maintenance, from time to time.

Terreiro do Paço (also known as Commerce Square)

- It was where the royal palace was located for 200 years.
- In 1551, D. Manuel I moved from St. Jorge's Castle to this location.
- Unfortunately, this palace (and its library, which contained 70 000 books) was utterly destroyed during the earthquake that took place in 1755.
- Later on, this square was a priority to Marquês de Pombal, who reconstructed it.
- In the middle of the Square stands an equestrian statue depicting D. José I and his horse, stomping snakes (adversity), built in 1775 by Machado de Castro, a distinguished Portuguese sculptor.
- In the northern part of the square, an Arch of Triumph can be seen, and it's the entrance to the "Baixa" - Portuguese word for downtown.
- In 1974 the Carnation Revolution (Revolução dos Cravos) would take place here.

Monuments by the Tagus (David & Rui)

There are lots of monuments by the River Tagus. Our work will try to describe some of them, as we talk briefly about their essential history. These monuments are: the Belém Tower, Belém’s Cultural Centre, the Monument to the Discoveries, the Jerónimos Monastery, the 25^th April Bridge, the Oceanary, Vasco da Gama’s Tower, and the Vasco da Gama Bridge. Let’s start with:

The Belém Tower

- It was built in 1515 by D. Manuel, and until 1580 it was used as a fortress.
- In 1580, the Tower couldn't withstand the Spanish siege, and it becomes a dungeon for the estate. The bastion was increased, in order to provide more room for the soldiers.
- In 1589 Filipe II (the Spanish Sovereign) orders the construction of a parallelepiped building, named "os Quartéis Filipinos" (the Filipine Quarters), which would be demolished during the New State (Estado Novo).

UNESCO proclaimed it World’s Heritage site in 1983.

Belém’s Cultural Centre

Belém´s Cultural Centre is one of the most striking examples of contemporary Portuguese architecture. It houses a centre for shows, an exhibition Centre, and a Congress Centre, plus various areas for leisure and shopping.

Jerónimos Monastery

Its construction began in 1501, on the orders of King Manuel I. It was chosen as the Royal Pantheon and was financed by the gold brought from India. It combines the European late-Gothic and early Renaissance trends. Not only it is of unquestionable technical mastery, but it also has an elegant ribbed dome that covers the whole church. It was also classified by UNESCO as a
World Heritage Site.

Art on the Metro (Jason & Jorge)

«----------------------------------»

When considering what topic to write about and take pictures of, the last thing you would expect is an underground system.But Lisbon’s underground isn’t just a plain underground for public transport; it also boasts a wide variety of artistic features. Ranging from statues to murals, the art each station has is unique to each location, adding to the enjoyment of the day-to-day rides for commuters, as well as making each station a tourist attraction in its own right.

The question we asked ourselves when we considered this topic was: “Why is there art in the Metro?”. After looking at the Metro website, out of curiosity, we found out that after the Metro was constructed in the 50’s, they decided they wanted to make this a place to shine over the bad atmosphere of an underground system. The way they thought of doing this was to introduce art to the stations, and therefore make the stations an enjoyable place to wait for a train, rather than a depressing one.

The photos we took highlight, what we perceive to be, the most prominent of the stations in terms of art, as well as ones that we personally enjoy looking at the most.

«----------------------------------»

Photo Essay: Diogo Carvalho & Bárbara Ferreira

TREES

• Water, trees need water to live, they suck up the water through their roots.
  
• Air, trees produce O2 necessary for animal respiration.
  
• Color, all trees start green when they break out of the seed, but the as they mature depending on the tree and the environment, there are innumerable color patterns.
  





• CO2, trees use CO2 exhaled by animals, for photosynthesis.


• Different types, there are various types of trees, characteristic to certain areas and regions of the world.
  
• Seeds, all trees come from seeds, dropped or picked, from the mother tree, and the trees bloom out of the seed.
  






• Materials, various school and work materials, such as paper, pencils, glue, etc…, are produced from the trees.
  
• Shade, many people and animals use the shade provided by trees, to block out the sun on hot days.
  
• Nature, the rarest and most exotic trees are found in nature, normally in very remote parts of the world.
  





• Shelter, trees, in nature, can and often do, serve as shelter for animals. Shelter from weather conditions, predators and other harms.
  
• Roots, all trees have roots which they use to absorb the water underground, to nourish themselves.
  
• Food, some trees produce fruits, which are a source of food to many animals and humans.
  





• Structure, trees are made up of roots, branches, leaves, tree-trunk, and bark.
  
• Lumber, lumber, which is cut from the tree trunk and branches, is used to produce various man-made things used in everyday live. Such as toys, furniture, houses, sports equipment, etc…
  
• Tree destruction, currently the destruction of trees is one of the problems in our society. All the beauty of these elements is destroyed, making our world very different from what it was and should be.
  





• Swing, more commonly in America, many families with trees in their yards hand tires from the branches, making swings for the children.
  
• Outdoors, some people like to plant trees around their country homes, to create a “wilderness” environment.
  
• Indoors, similar to outdoor trees, indoor trees can help create a friendly and relaxing atmosphere for the entire home and family.
  

Pets

What’s a pet?
A pet is an animal kept for companionship and enjoyment.
The common pet species are mammals (like horses, dogs, cats, rodents and rabbits), birds (budgerigars, cockatoos and canaries), reptiles (tortoises, lizards, iguanas, snakes and turtles) and amphibious (frogs, toads and salamanders).

In the first photo we can see two budgerigars. One of them is blue and the other one is green.
In the second picture we have a dog. Her name is Xandy. This picture has taken in a park.

These pets are well treated but there a lot of them are not.
Some people have dogs and cats or other pets but when the holidays come they don’t know where to leave their pets, so some people abandon them.
These people have to learn that if they want to have animals they have to treat them well as if they are people. So when the holidays come these people have to either take them with them the animals or leave the animals with someone that has possibility of taking care of them. There are places where the pets can stay and live as if they were at home and where they are well treated.

So take care of your pets as if they were family.

Photo essay: Shopping Centers

We're going to talk about the main shopping centers in Lisbon. We chose this theme for our project because today's society is mostly based on excessive consuming and people like to spend their weekend afternoons in these places.





This is the oldest shopping center in Lisbon. It's called Amoreiras, because it's located in the zone of Lisbon with the same name. It was built in the early 1990's, when it was an office building. Then, the lower part became a shopping center while the top part is still working as offices today.
Amoreiras was the place where the first McDonald's restaurant opened in Portugal.
When Michael Jackson came to Portugal, rumor has it. that he ordered the manager of Amoreiras to close it down to the public, so he could do his shopping all by himself. Obviously, the manager didn't agree with his demand.





Colombo is the biggest shopping center in the whole Iberian Peninsula. It was named after the famous Italian navigator Christopher Columbus.
It has three floors, more than four hundred stores and a small amusement area called Funcenter with all types of rides and an arcade.
Colombo is the most attractive and visited shopping center in the entire country.







This one is called Vasco da Gama, after the most famous Portuguese navigator. It was built after the Expo 98, to make Parque das Nações more frequented again.
In our opinion this building is the most modern and beautiful in term of architecture, but compared to the other centers, Vasco da Gama is the weakest, not only for the number of stores but also for its location.





El Corte Inglés is not really a shopping center, it's a giant department store, but people use it for the same purpose.
The bottom floor is full of restaurants and movie theaters, while the other nine floors up are nothing but a single huge store. Each floor has its own category: DVDs, software, music and electronics on the first floor,women's clothing on the second, toys on the third, etc.
We think that El Corte Inglés is the most confusing and tiring (because of all the floors) of all the shopping centers.


The location, the architecture, the number of stores are all organized, so that shopping centers become appealing to people.

Hi.

I'm Jorge Teixeira, currently taking courses to see if I can become a sligthly better than average translator of... whatever.

I was born twenty and two years ago in Lisbon and am currently living in Massamá, which is near Queluz.

I like reading, playing computer games, playing football, hanging out with my friends, and going to the theater. I also enjoy acting, and am in a theater group for my Highschool.

This isn't my first scholarly adventure, I've been in other colleges taking other subjects. I've been in Law School and in History: Archaeology.

All in all they were both learning experiences, but I couldn't see them through, so now I'm going for Translation, and I'm sure that this time it'll come out smoothly.

Have fun.

Jorge.

Photo essay

Pairs and Themes

1. Jason and Jorge: Images of the Metro.
2. Teresa and Raquel: Youth.
3. Hugo and Daniel: Music.
4. Tiago and Ana Carolina: Shopping centers.
5. Spela and Beatriz: Arts.
6. David Ildefonso and Rui : Monuments by the Tagus.
7. Atena and Manuela: Nature
8. Diogo and Bárbara : Trees
9. Tiago João and Patrícia: Pets

Photo essay

For those of you who did not attend last class, the pairs for the photo essay have been formed, the themes selected and next Thursday you should bring the first outline of the essay and your first photos to work with your pair. It is to be posted on the 9th November, so please start working!
Have a nice week end!

Joana

Vitor Fernandes

Well, my name is Vitor, and I'm 19 years old (since March 5th). I live in Paço d'Arcos (Oeiras).
Since I don't have Internet at home right now, I'm doing this profile on these slow, slow computers at Univ. Nova de Lx-FSCH, which, by the way, is where I'm taking the course of Lìnguas, literaturas e Culturas- Português/Inglês. About hobbies, I like listening music, mainly House and alternative almost every day. However, I listen to all the kinds of music I find interesting. For example, in my mp3 I have Pink Floyd, just as I have Nine Inch Nails, Marylin Manson, or even house mixes. I also like sport, and I got quite disappointed with the news of students' union. I was expecting to practice volleyball, and now I know they will not create any team. When I have time and a nice state of mind I also like to read, and write. And last, but not least(I know... I need to be more original.) I like to be with my friends, and share good moments with them.
So...this is all I want to say for now. If you want know anything else about me, just get to know me. Nice year of study for everybody.

Phrasal verbs with «take»

This grammar sheet is for you to bring to class on Thursday

Daniel

Well here it goes. My name is Daniel and I live in Vialonga which is near Alverca for those who have no clue of where or what Vialonga is. Now let's go to the basics, my hobbies are drawing, painting, reading comic books, which are said to be for children, but that's actually a kind of misconception that's not entirely correct since in the past decades comics (or sequential art as its also known) have evolved into a fully fledged art form with such amazing works as Wil Eisner's Contract with God and Alan Moore's Watchmen. Other things of interest about me, well let's see, I love going to concerts, specially festivals and just hanging out with friends. Well that's about it, I can't think of anything else that's even remotely interesting to write about me right now, so good night and good luck.(that's pretty corny I know).

Manuela

Hello! My name is Manuela and I am 21 years old. I am from Romania ,Craiova. For the time being, I am an Erasmus student in Universidade Nova de Lisboa where I am trying to improve my English skills. It is beyond any shadow of doubt, that being an Erasmus is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me....on the grounds that now I have the opportunity to pit my wits against the most intelligent students in the world and to improve my English knowledge. I think that now I am standing a good chance of getting rid of boredom and anxiety.
First and foremost, I am very keen on reading and listening to music.I like pop and soft rock. I am also very fond of travelling and meeting people from different countries ,getting to know more about their culture, traditions and way of life.
Roughly speaking, I am very perseverent and stubborn when I have to fulfill my goals. Of course, there are lots of things that could be said but ..: "Time is money" so I will have to leave you now... :) .Bye! See you!

Tiago João

Hi!!! I'm Tiago João, I'm 22 and I came from Proença-a-Nova to Lisbon to study. Proença is a small village near Castelo Branco and it's very boring to live there, but it's always good to go back there and see all my friends and family. I don't know what to say about me... I like punk music, alternative rock, grunge, punk metal...Some of my favorite bands are Green Day, Twenty Inch Burial, The Clash, Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Rammstein, Nirvana, System of a Down...There's not much more to say about me,I guess you'll just have to find out more if you want.

Diogo

Hello everyone, my name is Diogo Carvalho, I'm 22 years old, and live in Alto de Sto. Amaro. I was born in Lisbon, Portugal, but moved to the United States at the age of 8. In the United States I lived in Newark, New Jersey, where there is a big Portuguese community. In the year 1997, I moved to Miami, Florida, where the community is mainly South American. In Miami, the main language spoken is Spanish, so I was sort of forced to learn it in order to communicate with non-English speaking people. In the year 2000, I moved back to New Jersey, but this time I resided in Kearny. My whole scholastic experience, before this university, was experienced in the United States. Therefore, my strongest language skills belong to the English language. On a different note, my hobbies are playing PS2, practicing sports(soccer, basketball, etc...), listening to music(mainly hip-hop and house), and going out to discos with my friends. I look foward to getting to know everyone in this class and maybe even interact outside of the classroom on a more social level. There isn't much more I can say, except to wish good luck to everyone.

Beatriz

Hi there new mates!

My name is Beatriz (before you ask, yes, you may call me Bia if you wish to).

I’m an 18-year-old Capricorn (not that I give much importance to horoscopes but we all end up talking about star signs).

According to the Portuguese civil identification I’m the citizen number 13327975, even though I think that my dreams are what identify me best: being S.Sebastião da Pedreira (Lisboa) my birthplace, and my residence in Queluz (Sintra).

As my Slovanian colleague, Spela, said, “Queluz, it has a palace!”. That’s right and you all should visit it, since it is both an important and beautiful monument (with great gardens and springs), as many others are in Sintra.

This is my first year in college and I had the most amazing start here in Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas! I’ve met some awesome people! They’re so open minded even though they’re different in various ways – coming from different and far places, with different ages, looks, opinions, etc.

I was mainly surprised by their ability to relate to anyone without any prejudice. I think the first two weeks’ “Praxes” were a great way to make us get to know each other, we also learnt how to trust the “new colleagues” thanks to a few group-activities, where we had much fun, for instance, with the “WaterBall” game, Quiz Contest or Dinner/Party. It was an overwhelming reception (thank you 6-pack and company)!

There are lots of things that I think are precious, such as friendship, family, the will to discover and learn new ideas and ways to express ourselves. I’m very into the arts; I wish I could know more about it but at least I’m young and curious!

I LOVE music... I’m totally addicted to U2, Pearl Jam, and, more recently Franz Ferdinand, The Kooks and Yann Tiersen. But I also listen to many others, including rock, indie, grunge and pop. I’m a live concerts and travel fanatic! I dream about being rich just so that I can reach far and beautiful places, listen to Bono Vox and Eddie Vedder whenever or wherever they perform and buy a Picasso. I also think they’re the guilty ones... These modern poets and heroes of mine inspired me not only to learn more about their language and culture but also to be politically/socially aware of my individuality through using my knowledge to think, understand and judge by myself what’s going on in the world today.
Here is a list of warnings about me and my habits:




• I’m a bit crazy;




• I speak very fast when I get excited (don’t tease me);




• I’m kind of bossy (desperately trying to change this flaw!);




• I can be very annoying when I start to speak about my beloved friends and our adventures;




• I’m absent-minded;




• I HATE when people are rude so, watch out!




• Btw, don’t be sad or mad at me if I disagree with you or your opinion. I always do (bad old habit!)




• I always carry my MP3 player;




• I’m always late (sorry!);




• I like to design and paint, when I have the chance to be alone;




• I’m spoiled;




• I like to party or just to chill out with my friends...

By now you must have already realised that I’m easy going, so don’t be afraid of starting a conversation and feel free to ask for help (I’ll try my best!).
I hope I haven’t bored you to death. Kisses and hugs * Beatriz Araújo.