Audiobooks

 

            Books! Reading! Learning!

            I am a bookworm, better yet, a book dragon. If you see me reading, you can be sure I am in a happy place though my eyes might well up at times depending on the plot. And yes, I am always carrying a book or my e-reader. However, I get high on the smell of a paperback.

 I love reading what other people indicate and every now and then I tend to ask what they are reading via social medias or in person. Since I teach teenagers, I end up reading a lot of books written for this age group. I have learned to appreciate these books because they are easy to read and once you begin, you do not want to put them down. 400 pages in an afternoon is easily absorbed in one sitting.

Nonetheless, I belong to two book clubs. One where we only read Japanese authors and the other classic and contemporary authors from many different countries. In both clubs the books read are in Portuguese, which I have joined to improve my Portuguese. It is working because now I feel my fluency in writing in Portuguese has improved a lot and I am able to read faster than I was used to doing.

            Reading a book in one sitting is fantastic; however, there are some books that need to be read which are more classic and the language is tougher. For example, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. Great novel, however, the language used is quite hard, mainly the vocabulary used by some of the characters. As I have said, great novel. I do read rather fast (took a speed-reading course many years ago) however, when I read the classics, my brain gets stuck on how to pronounce some of the words. Maybe it is because I like to learn new words. Perhaps it is because I am a language teacher and pronunciation is important.

            Whatever the reason may be, I have discovered that the audiobook has helped me appreciate the classics (mainly in Portuguese) much more. These audiobooks are read by professional readers, mostly actors, and they do read them in a way that keeps you interested. For example, I listened to one in which the reader changed his voice for each character. It was amazing. You can listen to them, in my case, while cooking or cleaning.

            When you see that the audio is 8 hours long, do not get discouraged. Two mornings in the kitchen is enough for that. Sometimes, I also take the book and follow along. But in this case, sometimes I stop when the word is new for me, which is not bad, but not the purpose of the activity.

            If you are reading to improve your grammatical structures and vocabulary, I recommend you read the book and keep a notebook to jot down the new words. However, if you are reading for pleasure, audiobooks are fantastic!

Written: January 24, 2022

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R-E-S-P-E-C-T

 

RESPECT

They are some people who can say whatever comes to mind about anything and everything; anybody and everybody. However, when you say something about them, they can´t seem to handle it. They are so hypocritical; it makes you sick.

The funny thing is that they end up doing exactly what they complain about the other. What is one to do with a person like this? Perhaps the best thing to do is play the game and let them think they are right. Lack of respect is what this is called.

According to the Cambridge dictionary, in simple words, respect has two parts: 1) having respect for someone because of how their actions impact others and 2) showing respect by changing your actions to be sure you don't have a negative impact.

I believe that we do not have to agree with what everyone thinks, says or does. In addition to this, you do not have to convince others to agree your beliefs (in any area). However, you must ( I realize that must is a very powerful word in this sentence, but it is necessary) respect others.

Written: January 19, 2022

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The Third Floor Abyss

3:40 am, you are awakened by your cell phone ring. You pick it up, recognize the caller and between thinking that something serious has happened and answering, you drop it. It hits the floor with a bang, probably disrupting the neighbor downstairs. You let out an ugly curse word as you pick it up and place it on you ear waiting for the caller to speak. ‘Mrs. X is everything alright?’ You take a deep breath. ‘Yes, yes, what happened?’ You always think the worst has happened. ‘Your mother has requested an ambulance and we are calling to know whether you can meet them at her house’. Between saying no and knowing that if you were called it meant that all the other family members said no, so you say yes, of course. It´ll take around 30 minutes to get there.

It takes you a bit longer to get there, after all you were deep in sleep. Upon arriving, you realize that you have left your mother´s house keys at home. Being away in isolation for the past two years due to the pandemic, you put those keys away. However, after greeting the paramedics who kept repeating that they had been waiting for the past fifteen minutes, you search for the keys – to no avail. Luckily, your youngest sister lives nearby. You turn to the paramedics, whose eyes say that they are one step from packing everything back in the ambulance and leaving, and tell them that you will be right back.

As you drive like a race car driver to get the key, you seem to be under a super natural power – adrenaline. It keeps you going as far as you need to keep on going.

Your mother was not feeling well, which was clear, but all her vital signs were great, better than yours. She was having a panic attack according to the paramedic. The big question was to take her to the hospital or not. At this point you are the one that starts to have a panic attack. Having spent Christmas and New Year´s alone away from gatherings, being judged by family and friends for being so radical, you were now going to be thrown into the lion´s den of covid and the flu – the ER.

It takes your mom around an hour to reach the a decision and you are the one who needs to call the shot- ok, hospital it is.

Being in the passenger seat of an ambulance is fun and scary at the same time. It feels like a rollercoaster ride. Sadly, this wasn´t the first time you were riding in one. Hopping on to get in a big issue when your legs do not always obey your commands. The paramedic at the wheel asks you if you need help, you thank him and say that despite the young face, your body is old. He laughs as he turns on the engine and starts off to the hospital at full speed.

So many thoughts come to mind during the ride, a short film of the past two years flies by. But the one thing that you blurt out to cut through the silence is how much you miss driving fast. Adrenaline – still hanging in there. The ambulance sways along the highway ; the siren is turned on twice. High emotions.

At the hospital there aren´t a lot of patients, perhaps because of the early hour. Maybe people wait until after having breakfast to go since they know that it will be a long wait. After the nurse checks your mom´s vitals once again, you are taken to the 2^nd floor. Your mom is placed in a wheel chair and you have to do the pushing.

The 2^nd floor is pretty calm, 5 patients and 5 companions, therefore, there was a place for everyone to sit. Before x-rays, there would be blood work and medication to reduce your mom´s throwing up. At this point, you decide to go down to the cafeteria for some coffee and get something to eat. Not being able to eat just anything due to your dietary restrictions, you are relieved to see that they serve gluten-free cheese bread. However, because it is placed in the same container as the other snacks, there is probably gluten contamination. Nonetheless, it is better to suffer from that than low blood sugar. Luckily, the cafeteria is empty. It is your first experience since the pandemic began, two years, of eating in a public place without a mask protecting you. Even though you know you are alone, it still feels creepy and not right. It just meant that it would take some getting used to. You eat as fast as you can before other clients arrive.

Back on the 2^nd floor, your mom is still receiving the meds because it took them forever to find a good vein. Good thing you didn´t see how many times she had been poked. As you sit there and wait, you start wishing you had grabbed a book to read; it was going to be a long wait.

Fighting between staying awake or giving in to dozing off, a nurse calls you aside and whispers that your mom´s covid test is positive and you need to go immediately to the 3^rd floor – the covid and flu ward. Your heart skips a beat, not only because you will be thrown into the lion´s den, but also because you need to break the news to your mom.

You cannot believe that you have been so careful avoiding group gatherings and just like that - poof - go luck!

The elevator doors open on the 3^rd floor which looks like a war zone. People coughing, throwing up; all 25 seats taken by those feeling sick, some in wheel chairs while their companions stand up against the walls. Rage grows inside you. What you see in inhuman. Even hospital employees are there waiting for their covid test results. Every time the elevator doors opened, more and more people came into that room. You try to stand where there are fewer people- to no avail. You seem like a people magnet, especially to those who do not wear their masks properly or want to talk. It is as if your fear is luring them towards you; similar to a wild animal which attacks another because they can smell the fear. You just smile behind the mask and move to another place.

In the end, it turns out that your mother´s symptoms had nothing to do with covid. Good thing she had taken her 3 vaccine shots. However, quarantine is a must and everyone who she had been in contact with need to be tested; especially you.

Written: January 8, 2022

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Classes Have Begun

Back to work she went after teaching from home for four years due to the great virus. The week prior to this, she had gone to the invisible island with her colleagues. Nobody ever mentioned it and nobody ever went back there. However, everything had changed.

The school was not a building anymore. I was an ally with closets. Each closet had technological equipment to assist the teacher. There was a kilometer distance between each closet so as not to bother the next class. It seemed like everyone needed to adapt to the new system.

The closet would open five minutes prior to the lesson, the closet door would open and some chairs would rise from the ground. Pretty high-tech, nonetheless strange.

Classes were smaller due to the great virus. Many people could not keep up with the sanitation recommendations; sadly, lives were lost. However, she was happy to be back.

The teacher´s lounge was also a closet, but it had a coffee machine and a food machine with even gluten-free and vegan products, which was a plus. She went there to great her co-workers before the first class of the day. Most of them she did not know.

The first bell rang and she headed to her classroom, I mean, her closet. Few students showed up. Some that she thought had switched to other schools due to financial issues. The student explained that many schools had shut down because of lack of staff and infrastructure.

Although it looked like we were in the middle of the street, there was a gigantic dome that protected them from rain, snow and wind. However, the sun provided the light they needed and were also protected from its rays. All of this was very new to her. After all, she had been teaching from home via computer.

During this first day back, she decided that she would just talk to the students about their break, expectations, insecurities, etc.

Everything was going well until one student asked if the end of the world was near. She asked the other students to give their opinions, some negative, others positive. Meanwhile she was seeking her heart and brain for her own answer. “You know my father always told me not to worry about the end of the world, because it ended for those who passed and eventually everyone was going to pass one day. No one wants to live forever”. The students put one those question mark looks on their faces. They had listened to the answer and were coming up with another question.

“So many people died due to the great virus and all those horrific stories about people turning into cannibals not to starve. Would it be great if a meteor just blew up the whole planet?”

Once again, the teacher allowed everyone to answer before she spoke. Like most teachers, she answered with a question “Why do we need to blow up this beautiful planet because of its inhabitants? Wouldn´t it make more sense for people to stop being selfish and start caring about making a change?” There was silence. If you listened really hard, you could hear their brains ticking.

The bell rang. “Tomorrow we can continue our talk. Have a great day!”

Written: January 12, 2022 (based on a dream)

 

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The Invisable Island

It was supposed to have been a field trip for the teachers and the coordination. The boat ride was not the best nor did it feel like the safest; small boats, rough waters and high waves. Getting to the island seemed like it was taking forever.

Unfortunately, I had missed the first boat and ended up going with other co-workers; most of whom I did not know. I felt like a fish out of water. While most of the staff had gone back to face-to-face classes, I had stayed home for the past four years waiting for the virus to lose its power. People had changed. I had changed.

When we reached the island, our clothes were drenched, so we needed to change into the school uniform. Even that had changed. The uniform for the women consisted of a very tiny pair of shorts that looked like a skirt; shorts-skirt. It was gray and the hems were red. There was a white t-shirt with the school´s red logo on the upper left-hand side. It must have been really cute on the young students, but on me, nearly 60, it looked hideous. I felt like an old woman trying to show others she was younger by wearing clothes that were designed for a much younger body. As footwear, white, red and gray sneakers - pretty comfortable. Everyone was in uniform. The only difference was that the men were wearing gray slacks or gray cargo shorts. We looked like an army troop.

What was said at the meeting could have been sent in an email, like every meeting that we had had prior to this one. I guess, they wanted to make a change and try out the island so that it could be used for field trips. Whatever the reason, it wasn´t mentioned; as usual.

Time to return. I had to go to the restroom. Sadly, a few teachers and I were left behind. They should have waited. They should have counted all those in the group before leaving, just like we do when we take students on a field trip so that everyone returns safely.

We ran to the beach and were approached by a suspicious looking man who said he could take us. We really had no choice, soon it would be dark. To our surprise, he headed in a different direction. When questioned about it, he just laughed. The laugh sent chills up my spine.

The island we were taken to was covered with BBQ pits. To my horror, the meat on the BBQs were people. It was an island with cannibals. There weren´t registered cannibals in the country. Therefore, this must have been a result of the hard times and lack of food during the great virus. People had lost their jobs and were starving. People were dying anyway; meat is meat some thought.

I needed to save my life. As the ship captain was forcing my co-workers off the boat using a harpoon threatening them, I tried to escape.

I really can´t remember how I did it, but I managed to stay on the boat and fled when everyone had gotten off. I felt bad and relieved at the same time. What a selfish act, but I was no superhero at this point. The ship captain didn´t care, he did have a relatively good catch for that night. I turned on the motor and headed back to the original island where we had had the meeting. I went back to the lodge, decided to spend the night and try to return home on the next day.

As I was reaching the lodge, I noticed some houses next to it and saw a mother and her three children arriving home. The children were wearing the school uniform, I figured that they were students from the school I worked at. As I approached them, though my gut told me not to, I startled them. I noticed their uniforms were not fit for their bodies. My gut screamed louder and I just ignored it. I asked them if they studied at the school and after a few minutes the mother said they did. However, she looked at my uniform and then theirs before answering.  I quickly asked what time the boat left in the morning that headed for school. She said 5am. I thanked her and headed for the lodge. The look the mother gave me was the same look the ship captain had given us before taking us to the BBQ island. Had he really taken us to another island or was it just the other side of this same island?

I ran to the lodge and locked myself in the bathroom waiting for the sun to rise.

 

January 10, 2022 ( Based on a dream)

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The Pillow

 

As I was diving home from a very long day at work with a head full of issues, I stopped at a red light, looked to the left and noticed a store that sold mattresses and pillows. It suddenly dawned on me that I needed to get some pillows. Pillows have a due date and should be changed from time to time. The ones at home were way overdue. Funny how small observations can erase all those problems that were hogging up the space in your mind while driving.

As I was checking out the store window, I noticed a homeless man, very handsome one in fact, but by the looks of him you could tell that he had been living on the streets for a long time. This man was getting ready to settle down for the evening. He laid out his cardboard mattress, and to my surprise, his pillow – a plastic bottle. How ironic, he slept under the marquee of a store specialized in mattresses and pillows; you think he could have been gifted one.

However, the plastic bottle was a useful object. I managed to notice that there was liquid in it; perhaps his drinking water. Besides this, it was much easier to carry around than an actual pillow.

As the light turned green and I started to drive away with these thoughts on my mind, he got comfortable for another night´s rest.

Written: January 8, 2022

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The Horrific Bacterium

 

         Forced to go back to work, the teachers went, at least those who were still in the profession because during these tough years many had given up their professions due to bad working conditions while many just dropped dead. Besides this, many were not going to college to get certified, they were choosing other professions that could be done safely from home.

         Since she had been a teacher for over forty years, she was used to the job even though the pay was low and due to the lack of staff, the classes had more students than the room could hold safely. You might think that I am talking about a public school where the classrooms are usually overcrowded, but she worked at a private school where the tuition was very high. Before the world turned upside down, the maximum number of students per classroom was twenty-five with a comfortable distance. Now, fifty students were all grouped up and cramped into a classroom as if they were sardines in a can.

         When she entered her classroom that morning, she noticed that the desks were placed in a circle. Most the students were standing around those seated while others were squatting or sitting on the floor, which was not recommended at all. To manage a class in these conditions was not easy and the new recruits did not stay long.

         Besides the rate of resignations, because of these changes, most of the staff started getting sick. Ten years had passed since the great pandemic and many more outbreaks afterwards. Masks, hand sanitizers and somewhat of a social distance needed to become habits like brushing your teeth every morning. Nevertheless, it was not everyone who followed these recommendations and others who simply got sick or decided to live a life of we are all going to die one day.

         Ten years after covid had hit, more and more people started getting sick with this flesh-eating bacterium. It was something repulsive to see. People´s skin just fell off when scratched or rubbed. It reminded the older generations of Leprosy; however, it was known that for Leprosy there was a treatment and a cure. This new bacterium, on the contrary, no one knew anything about it, except for the fact that it could be transmitted only through the air which meant that you could not catch it via touch. But through a sneeze it was bullseye if you were not wearing a mask or wearing it incorrectly.

         The infected ones stayed isolated in their homes or hospitals so as not to be lynched if seen outdoors roaming the streets. A breakthrough was that the bacterium died when the host died. It fed on live flesh. As soon as the media released this piece of information, people started taking matters into their own hands stating that it was for the greater good.

         That morning, the teacher walked into the classroom overtaken by fear. The desks were set up in a circle, much more than fifty, but she wasn´t going to count. Although she was afraid, her eyes smiled and welcome those youngsters to her class. For this day, the first day back, she had planned a conversation class where students could speak their minds about what was going on. They needed to be heard and the teacher was all ears, even though she was aware that it could have been anyone´s last day. The future s not promised to anyone and everyone will pass one day.

         Silence filled the room when a boy sneezed. Alarms went off. Men dressed from head to toe in hideous yellow plastic suits stormed into the classroom to remove the boy who had sneezed. They were going to take him for tests to check whether he had been infected.

         As they seized the boy, they lifted his sleeves and saw the wound which was growing fast. The girl sitting next to him screamed and many fainted. The whole class needed to be dismissed and tested. The results of the tests needed to come out before returning to school. However, in this case, it was known that if one person had caught it, most likely everyone would probably catch it.

In the end, one by one would be eliminate from the face of the earth.

 

Written: December 30, 2021 (This was based on a dream I had)

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The Party Street

 

         Loud music, loud voices, screams, it all boils down to noise. On this street, located to the left of the building that I live in, about three streets away, there is a tiny bar on a corner that only sells booze; no food at all. Parties are held on the street every Friday night from dusk to dawn. Sometimes the party goes on until Sunday night. The people who go to this gathering buy their drinks at this bar or take their own for they stand around in the street listening to the music that is played at the bar.

         Several times the police are called because of all the noise especially in the middle of the night. The people scatter and hide when this happens but then they come together again like pimples after you have eaten a lot of chocolate after the police have gone. There are nights when the police are called four or five times. During the lockdown, the owner of the bar was arrested, but his faithful clients raised money to set him free.

         New Year´s Eve, last night, the music started around 7 pm, and hasn´t stopped since. Now there is even a microphone and loud speakers. It seems like when people are losing their energy, a deep voice tries to boost them up. At first, I thought it was a man who had been hired to be the DJ or even a Zumba instructor (just because of what he was saying). He started blasting away this morning around 10 am. It even crossed my mind that perhaps it was just a man being vindictive for not having been able to sleep all night long. This thought appeared because the music seemed to have died down a bit and the kind music played had changed, but the microphone has been used at several periods of the day.

         All I know is that I have to watch TV at a much higher volume than usual to make it seem like background noise. The worst thing is that it is only Saturday, one more day to go.

         Happy New Year!

 

Written: January 1, 2022

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