Friday, March 31, 2017

Friday 31st March 2017...THE GIRLS!!!!

I want to write this post and tell you about my girls Paola and Daniela!!!

PAOLA!!! DANIELA!!!!

Below is my post from December 2008 when I first met Paola...

No joke it was cool this morning had to get my socks and sweater out until the sun came out.
I went for my first Spanish lesson at 9 am this morning. The course is listed as “Survival Spanish”, I was the only one signed up and I really enjoyed the class and learned quite a bit without having to deal with conjugating verbs. I go each morning at the same time five days a week. Of course it didn’t hurt that my Professora, Lilly was quite stunning!!

I then walked into town and saw these interesting sights…

The next part of my day was incredible and so touching. I had signed up to sponsor a child from a local orphanage and to take the child Christmas shopping. I was a little apprehensive as the instructions were very open, an appointment was made for me to go to the orphanage and pick up the girl and take her shopping then bring her back to the orphanage. I went with an open mind and I was blown away.
First of all it was very difficult to find the orphanage

when I rang the bell the door was opened by the Madre, who greeted me and took me inside. Madre then went to fetch the girl I was to take shopping. Please meet Paola, she is 8 years old.

We introduced ourselves and then we left, as soon as we started to walk down the path so nonchalantly and lovingly Paola held my hand. We walked about 300 yards till we found a taxi, we tried to talk to each other and she held my hand the whole time and looked at me with those eyes and kept smiling.
The instructions I had were to spend 500 pesos and Paola could pick what she wanted. We went to a big store where we first bought some clothes that she picked out.

Paola chose a pink dress, a white sweater, gloves, hat and some sandals. The next aisle we went into was the hair aisle where she picked a hair brush and clips for her hair and then some gel for her hair.

Now it was time for chocolates!!

Of course Paola had to have a toy…

We then went through the checkout

then went for a drink and a treat and then took the taxi back to the orphanage.
Paola was so sweet and I was smitten with her and already decided that I was going to make an attempt to make a small difference in her life. When I came home I checked the web site for the orphanage www.santajulia.org and found that it is possible to join a program called “Support a girl”. For a monthly donation some of Paola’s needs will be meet.
I have some wonderful friends who gave me money before I left for such a need so we are going to pool our resources and join the program with Paola as our girl. You know who you are and thank you!!!!!!
I took the taxi from the orphanage to the place I had my lesson this morning to do my volunteer work. I have volunteered for 90 minutes three days a week in the class where I went yesterday.
Today when I went to the class the teacher Patty asked me if I would also go to another class as well. Boy I have been a “teacher” for one hour and already I am in demand!!!!
I took my computer to class and showed the kids photos of snow, whales, where I live, pumpkins and my family. The kids were great. I then went to the next class where the children were a little younger.

Please no comments about my art work on the black board!!
Tonight I rounded off a great day by going to the local church around the corner for a live play. It was a very tiny theatre about 75 seats and the play was a comedy and was very well done, I really enjoyed the evening. Want to know how much admission was?? 20 pesos, 2 dollars!!
Today goes down as one of my best days for years I really am not able to articulate the sheer joy of being with Paola, her exuberance, her smile, her happiness and her complete trust in me.
Hope you all can share with me in the joy of today, blessings Les

What happened next is that I became a part of Paola's life but I felt it important when I took her out to have another girl come with us and that is how I met Daniela!!!

The three of us spent a lot of time together in the following years but then the story story changes and it became sad to where we are today and I do not know where Paola is and Daniela is still in Casa Hogar but I am not allowed to see her.......BUT I have put together a wonderful photo album of the Daniela and Paola and I know where she goes to school and next week I will go and see her and say good bye to her there.......

I shall never forget these two little angels!!!!

Yashi Kochi!!!!

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Thursday 30th March 2017......a calm day!!!

With tennis this morning and then my session at the gym with Joe and then home for the afternoon and evening and watched a great tennis match from Miami..

This I think is an interesting article...

Making a noise about machismo in Mexico

By Katy WatsonBBC Mexico and Central America reporter

Media captionMany Mexicans are fighting to stop all-too-common violence against women

"Machismo has to die," chanted protesters as they walked through the centre of Mexico City last month.

Thousands of people came out onto the streets to say enough was enough.

The macho culture is all pervasive in Mexico and many of those at the march think its emphasis on male pride is a contributing factor in the high rates of violence against women that Mexico is experiencing.

It is estimated that nine out of 10 women (link in Spanish) have been subjected to sexual violence, whether on the streets or at home.

'Tired of the violence'

"I'm here because I'm tired of the violence against women in Mexico," said Ana Carlota Velazquez, a student.

"I'm tired of living it and hearing it happen to my friends, in the streets, on public transport, in university and at work."

The women were joined by thousands of men. Many were carrying placards.

"I need feminism too", read one. Another read: "Because she's my sister, my girlfriend, my wife."

Femicide

"We want to stay alive," other protesters shouted.

The extreme end of gender violence is femicide, the intentional murder of a woman because she is a woman.

marchers pass by on a sunny street, April 2016 — Image captionMexicans fed up with high levels of violence against women took to the streets

It is a particular problem in Mexico. According to the country's National Commission to Prevent and Eradicate Violence against Women (CONAVIM), on average six women die a violent death each day (link in Spanish) in Mexico.

Accurate figures are hard to come by. States differ in the way they collect data and in how honest they are with the figures.

Even CONAVIM admitted getting accurate data was a challenge.

This is made harder by the fact that it is hard to prove that a murder was committed because gender alone. As a result, femicides are massively under-reported.

In a country where up to 99% of crimes go unsolved, many victims' families often do not go to authorities for help because they believe it will not change anything.

Murdered in Mexico State

Irinea Buendia with a picture of her daughter Mariana and writing in Spanish around it — Image captionIrinea Buendia's sign which shows a photo of her daughter translates as: "I did not kill myself. You killed me"

Ciudad Juarez used to be known as the most violent city in Mexico, a city where hundreds of women went missing.

But Ecatepec, part of poor Mexico State on the edge of the capital, has now surpassed the reputation Ciudad Juarez once had.

Irinea Buendia lives in Mexico State, not far from Ecatepec. She says her daughter Mariana was killed by her husband.

He had a history of violence and had threatened to kill her. But when Mariana was found hanged in the marital home, her death was recorded as a suicide.

"The first thing they say is 'what did you daughter do for him to treat her like that? What did she do to make him kill her?'," Ms Buendia tells me.

"But men don't own women. Just because there's a problem in a relationship or in a marriage doesn't mean that murder is the answer."

Therapy - is it hard to be a man?

On the other side of Mexico state, a workshop is trying to tackle the root of the problem.

A group of men - and two women - are sitting in a classroom, with a psychologist at the whiteboard.

"Is it hard to be a man?" he asks the class.

There is a real mix of responses from the participants. One breaks down as he tries to explain his point of view.

Another says no, if you know how to behave decently, it should not be hard at all.

One of the participants, Alberto Trinidad Martinez Nava, was sentenced to 28 years in prison for raping and killing two women.

He is now free and says his attitude has changed.

"It was all about me," he says. "Machismo - it was just me, me, me. I belittled women. I had that bad attitude that women would be under my control but I know that not to be true now."

'Violence is accepted'

"If we only focus on the victim, the perpetrator will continue to be violent in new relationships," says Marisol Zarco Reyes, a psychologist at Mexico State Council for Women.

"Sadly, perpetrators of domestic violence are born seducers so they finish one relationship and move on to the next so we saw the need to focus on them, too."

close up of Alberto in room full of people on seats — Image captionAlberto Trinidad Martinez Nava served a prison term for the rape and murder of two women

"Getting them to admit they are the perpetrators of violence is half the process," says Ms Zarco.

"Unfortunately in our society, violence is accepted. They are taught that violence is the way to keep power."

The issue of gender violence is a worldwide problem but Ms Zarco says there is a cultural problem particular to Mexico, too.

"Machismo is a hegemonic model of masculinity in Mexico," she says.

"The man who shouts, who has to hit people to show his power. Yes, there's machismo in Mexico."

'Ongoing struggle'

The workshop is part of a bigger initiative called Mexico State for a Life without Violence, which supports women who are vulnerable to domestic abuse.

According to a victims' agency run by the government, 90% of victims of sexual violence are women.

And for women like Ms Buendia, the struggle against the culture of violence goes on.

After five years of campaigning, the Mexican Supreme Court last year ordered her daughter's death to be re-investigated from a gender perspective.

It is a move that Ms Buendia thinks could be hugely significant for many other cases that have also not been investigated as femicides.

These are small steps in a country where a lack of resources - and many say a lack of will - have meant crimes against women have gone unpunished.

But they are progress nonetheless

My brother has taken his adorable wife Janet and their daughter Sam to Barcelona for a few days and happy to report he is maintaining the male dominance of our family with a scrabble win!!!

Yashi Kochi!!!

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Wednesday 29th March 2017...stuff!!!

A really easy morning I do not get many of these so I enjoyed this one...I have been gradually selling and giving away stuff that I really do not need and the last item was my TV but my great landlord Gregg wants to buy it so that will save me the time to post it for sale......met two of my special lady friends today both by accident and said goodbye to them..lovely to see them.......then I walked to poker and the winning hands keep coming this time only 50 pesos but better than the alternative.

A full English class tonight and it was awesome sitting around the table just talking about all sorts of things after we all told what thing we had paid forward since last week and they all had something to say and then after class Laura stayed behind and she told me that she wanted to thank me for the confidence that I have given her over the months she is no longer afraid to speak English in the community..she humbled me what a lady!!!

Arrived home in time to watch a great tennis match from Miami I was looking in the crowds because 4 of my good women tennis friends are there watching but I did not see them.

So my final big tennis slam takes place on Sunday and then I leave the following Sunday.......hope your day was a great one!!

Yashi Kochi!!!

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Tuesday 28th March 2017........the shortest blog!!!

Here is my day...played two hours of tennis this morning!!!!!

Then watched 6 hours of tennis on TV!!!

Boy am I ever tired!!!!

Yashi Kochi!!!

Monday, March 27, 2017

Monday 27th March 2017...........An relaxing day!!!

In December last year I met this wonderful couple at the Community church, Carol and Harold...we had a few dinners together including Christmas day gathering.. you know when you meet someone new that instantly there is a connection and there was here...since then sadly Harold passed away a month ago but today Carol invited me out to her horse ranch in the country.....

I stopped here to buy some flowers to take..

and then drove out to the ranch...enjoy the photos the ranch is so beautiful, serene and gorgeous!!!

The flowers I brought...

We sat here and had a delightful lunch......

one of the many horses on the property...

It was such a lovely afternoon and really good to see Carol again!!!

Tonight was my English class and again just a wonderful time I printed off a sheet about 6 things happy people do not do..we read them talked about them...and now guess what?? Yes watching a hockey game!!

Yashi Kochi!!!

Sunday, March 26, 2017

SORRY!!!!

I was trying to change the look of the blog and messed up and do not know how to get it back I have lost all that archive list on the right...help!!!!!!!

Sunday 26th March 2017..a special day in the UK!!!

When is Mother's Day 2017? UK date, facts and traditions

Watch | Mother's Day in quotes

01:16

00:3401:16

It's Mother's Day tomorrow

Mother's Day - or Mothering Sunday - is on Sunday, March 26.

The day is always on the fourth Sunday of Lent, exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday and usually in the second half of March or early April.

The day is a celebration of mothers and the maternal bond and traditionally children give flowers, presents and cards to their mothers, and other maternal figures such as grandmothers, stepmothers and mothers-in-law.

When did Mothering Sunday begin?

The day has long been associated with mothers and family. For centuries it was custom for people to return home to their ‘mother’ church on Laetare Sunday – the middle of Lent. Those who did so were said to have gone ‘a-mothering’.

The day often turned into a family reunion and a chance for children working away from home – often young domestic servants - to spend time with their mothers. Many used to pick flowers from the verges along the way to leave in the church or hand to their mothers when they got home.

But it was American social activist Anna Jarvis (1864-1948) from Philadelphia who lobbied the government for an official day to honour mothers in the US, and is regarded as the "Mother of Mother's Day". She dedicated her life to the cause after swearing she would do so after her mother's death.

However, over the years Jarvis became increasingly concerned at the commercialisation of the day, saying "I wanted it to be a day of sentiment, not profit." She also didn't like the selling of flowers and the use of greetings cards which she described as "a poor excuse for the letter you are too lazy to write".

Anna Jarvis founded the Mother's Day holiday in the United States

The day took off in Britain when vicar's daughter Constance Smith was inspired by a 1913 newspaper report of Jarvis' campaign and began a push for the day to be officially marked in England.

Smith, of Coddington, Nottinghamshire, founded the Mothering Sunday Movement and even wrote a booklet The Revival of Mothering Sunday in 1920. Interestingly, neither Smith nor Jarvis became mother’s themselves.

By 1938 Mothering Sunday had become a popular celebration with Boy Scouts, Girl Guides and various parishes across Britain marking the day and communities adopting the imported traditions of American and Canadian soldiers during the war.

By the 1950s it was being celebrated throughout Britain and businesses realised the commercial opportunities.

Mothering Sunday or Mother’s Day?

When you say 'Mother’s Day' you're actually referring to the American version, although the term is widely used in Britain too. In the US, Mother's Day falls on Sunday, May 14 this year.

The French celebrate Mother's Day on the last Sunday in May, where a family dinner is the norm, and traditionally the mother being honoured is presented with a cake that looks like a bouquet of flowers.

Mother’s Day in Spain is celebrated on December 8th. Spaniards pay tribute not only to their own mothers on this day, but also to the Virgin Mary. The day includes religious celebrations across the country.

I want to take this opportunity to wish all Mums today a wonderful safe and happy day....I always think more about my Mum on this day and what a wonderful and special lady she was!!!

I did Skype my family today and wished them a happy day!!

I did not know what these folks were..now I do!!!!

DEFINITION

Millennials (Millennial generation)

WhatIs.com

Contributor(s): Matthew Haughn

Millennials, also known as Generation Y or the Net Generation, are the demographic cohort that directly follows Generation X.

What, exactly, is the Millennial generation?

The term Millennials is usually considered to apply to individuals who reached adulthood around the turn of the 21st century. The precise delineation varies from one source to another, however. Neil Howe and William Strauss, authors of the 1991 book Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069, are often credited with coining the term. Howe and Strauss define the Millennial cohort as consisting of individuals born between 1982 and 2004.

Other proposed dates for Millennials:

According to Iconoclast, a consumer research firm, the first Millennials were born in 1978.
Newsweek magazine reported that the Millennial generation was born between 1977 and 1994.
In separate articles, the New York Times pegged the Millennials at 1976-1990 and 1978-1998.
A Time magazine article placed the Millennials at 1980-2000.

Overall, the earliest proposed birthdate for Millennials is 1976 and the latest 2004. Given that a familial generation in developed nations lies somewhere between 25 and 30 years, we might reasonably consider those the start and end points.

There is a great deal of variation from one individual to another within any generational cohort. Nevertheless, the particular environment for any generation affects those individuals in ways that are observable as broad tendencies. This definition of the term discusses those reported tendencies for Millennials in the workplace, Millennials and technology, Millennials and culture.

A snapshot of Millennials, according to their press:

Millennials grew up in an electronics-filled and increasingly online and socially-networked world. They are the generation that has received the most marketing attention. As the most ethnically diverse generation, Millennials tend to be tolerant of difference. Having been raised under the mantra "follow your dreams" and being told they were special, they tend to be confident. While largely a positive trait, the Millennial generation’s confidence has been argued to spill over into the realms of entitlement and narcissism. They are often seen as slightly more optimistic about the future of America than other generations -- despite the fact that they are the first generation since the Silent Generation that is expected to be less economically successful than their parents.

One reported result of Millennial optimism is entering into adulthood with unrealistic expectations, which sometimes leads to disillusionment. Many early Millennials went through post-secondary education only to find themselves employed in unrelated fields or underemployed and job hopping more frequently than previous generations. Their expectations may have resulted from the very encouraging, involved and almost ever-present group of parents that became known as helicopter parents.

Millennial statistics (Source: Pew Research):

50 percent of Millennials consider themselves politically unaffiliated.
29 percent consider themselves religiously unaffiliated.
They have the highest average number of Facebook friends, with an average of 250 friends vs. Generations X's 200.
55 percent have posted a selfie or more to social media sites versus 20 percent of Generation X.
8 percent of Millennials claim to have sexted, whereas 30 percent claim to have received sexts.
They send a median of 50 texts a day.
As of 2012, only 19 percent of Millennials said that, generally, others can be trusted.
There are about 76 million Millennials in the United States (based on research using the years 1978-2000).
Millennials are the last generation born in the 20th century.
Twenty percent have at least one immigrant parent.
Sam sent me this today it was taken at my brother's church you see acting silly runs in the family!!!

Malc is on the right!!!!