10 February 2012 / by Radmila Gurkova

Choosing to be homeless..?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvvjDOtS2sw

Becky Blanton was Homeless  - but of her own volition – for one year. She is a journalist but decided, after her father died, to hide from the world, travel and become homeless.



She had camped her whole life so thought driving off into the sunset with her dog and cat, in a Chevy van would be undemanding!

At first living in the van was great – going from different campground, taking a shower in toilet blocks and having space to breath - but after a while the heat increased in a hot summer and living with animals in a van at 80 degrees Fahrenheit at night was extremely cumbersome.

At winter the temperatures plummeted below freezing and having to stay in a different place each night to avoid the police; she felt out of control of her life.

It wasn’t until a real homeless person told her she had hope, had a real job as a newspaper editor and could do something positive with her life, that she realize she wasn’t a real homeless person. Becky made a choice to take back her alternate life. Not as a homeless person but as a writer!

DEBATE



  • How many homeless people are there in Spain?

  • Do you give money to help the homeless?

  • Where do they get their food from?


KEYWORDS












































































Word Image Definition Example Listen
Homeless People who live on the streets Larger cities have more problems with homeless people than smaller towns. Listen
Uncomfortable To feel irritated, the opposite of comfortable This seat is really uncomfortable Listen
Life-Changing Altering a person's life or circumstances in a substantial way My new job is a life-changing experience Listen
Cumbersome Difficult to handle because of weight or bulk Although the machine looks cumbersome, it is easy to use Listen
Plummeted To crash, to fall very quickly The stock market plummeted during the Great Depression of 1929 Listen
Volition The act of willing, choosing, or resolving; exercise of willing She left of her own volition. Listen
Hide To conceal from sight; prevent from being seen or discovered  Where did he hide the money? Listen
Sunset The time when the sun goes down It was a beautiful sunset Listen
Choice An act or instance of choosing His parents were not happy with his choice of friends Listen


GRAMMAR STRUCTURES:

Click here to see when we use the word 'Also'

Click here to read about the use of 'ly' endings in English

22

November 2011
Spain election victor Rajoy warns ‘no miracles’
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsUQvKS6x74 Conservatives in Spain are celebrating a landslide victory. Spain's Popular Party leader Mariano Rajoy has told supporters their country's voice must be respected again, after a resounding election win. At the end of a campaign dominated by the debt crisis, the centre right PP secured 186 seats i...

21

November 2011
English tips #9 The tip of the iceberg
by Radmila Gurkova
What does the iceberg expression mean? THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG Example: 'He acknowledges the Occupy Wall Street movement for exposing the inequalities in society, wa...

21

November 2011
Countdown! The famous contest in your topics
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTm4riLuEZk Countdown This famous show has been on TV for many years. In 1991, a Spanish version of the show was released, called Cifras y Letras (numbers and letters). The aim of the game is to come up with the longest word possible, using the 9 available l...

21

November 2011
This week in your classes - Raj Rajaratnam jailed for 11 years for insider trading. The famous money scandal turns into a topic in your classes
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nAYAnwWsfQ Raj Rajaratnam, a former billionaire described by the government as "the modern face of illegal insider trading" was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in prison, the longest insider trading sentence ever. A former hedge-fund manager has been sentenced to 11 years in jail for one of t...

18

November 2011
English tips #8 - Confusing words ?????
by Radmila Gurkova
LIBRARY/BOOKCASE/BOOKSHOP Library - I went to the library to study. ...

17

November 2011
English tips #7 - What is the difference between i.e. and e.g.?
by Radmila Gurkova
i.e. – that is e.g. – for example examples: i.e. - We will have caramel corn, roasted pumpkin seeds, witches' brew and ghost cookies on this spooky night, i.e., Halloween. e.g...

16

November 2011
English tips #6 - For and to
by Radmila Gurkova
For + Noun            To + verb To talk about purpose of an action FOR example: I am going to London for an interview TO example: I have come to Barcelona to see friends ...

16

November 2011
Lesbian actress thrown off plane after kiss
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDV9x_B8mmE An actress who starred in "The L Word" has ignited a firestorm after claiming she was marched off a Southwest Airline flight for a lesbian kiss. Leisha Hailey called for a boycott of the carrier after a flight attendant told them that a passen...

15

November 2011
TED Talk-Justin Hall-Tipping: Freeing energy from the grid
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://youtu.be/rsuB-6-n-MM Why can't we solve these problems? We know what they are. Something always seems to stop us. Why? I remember March the 15th, 2000. The B15 iceberg broke off the Ross Ice Shelf. In the newspaper it said "it was all part of a normal process." A little bit further on in the article it said "a loss that would normall...

15

November 2011
English Tips #5 - Lending / Borrowing
by Radmila Gurkova
Do you know the difference between lend and borrow? Borrow – to take something that belongs to somebody else. Example: Can I borrow your umbrella? ...