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

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