About Words

This time I am going to talk about something that I have never dared to write about before: language. I am aware that this topic is hardly ever discussed in newspaper articles and even less, among school newspapers. For that reason, today I am going to give language the space I think it deserves, since is the most shared ability among human beings, by just writing about it.

To me, language is more than a mere tool for communication. I believe that both spoken and written language are ways of expression as well as sources of knowledge. From the sentence I type to comment you pronounce we express some information or knowledge. Surprisingly, it does not matter if a statement corresponds to reality or only to the speaker’s point of view, it will always contain knowledge.

Words are the smallest unit of a sentence which carry meaning by themselves. However, they need to be grammatically interconnected for them to make sense as a statement. I believe in the necessity of using interconnected words when the purpose is to achieve efficiency in communication as well as in the idea of considering words as an independent unit with full meaning.

For instance, when I think about words I see them as meaningful concepts which we can compare, analyze, weight, observe, listen, create, express, communicate… without being actually conscious about it. And what proofs this mini ‘theory’ is the fact that humans have word-choice.

Every word I write comes from a previous word-selection process in which I choose the term that expresses the best the message I want to convey. For instance, I just decided to say ‘convey’ and not the term ‘transmit’, which could be considered as a synonym for having a similar meaning. However, there is something in the way I perceive words that makes me think about all my choices and eventually, decide the one I ‘like’ the most.

That is the main reason why I am such a slow writer. If I had the time, I would spent hours and hours to write a single sentence. Sometimes. I get so obsessed with the words that before I actually write them I need to make sure that I know the meaning and definition of all of them, so I avoid those which I consider irrelevant.

Words also have subjective weight according to the value I think they carry:

· Amor, people, mirror, Bharat: 2kgs

·Like, nice, stuff: 1/2kg

Just the word Bharat, for instance, has a huge history, etymology and value behind it-which I think is fascinating. I don’t expect people to appreciate the words the way I do, since not everyone weight words with the same scale. Moreover, people select their words differently to fulfill different purposes and from different perspectives. However, they all contain some knowledge.

And you, how much do you care about words?

Saramago

En la entrada de hoy, después de días sin escribir, os dejo un fragmento escrito por Saramago que me recuerda algo que ya pensé otras muchas veces en relación con la literatura y con la vida:

Escribir en primera persona es una facilidad, pero también una amputación. Se dice lo que está ocurriendo en presencia del narrador, se dice lo que él piensa (si es que quiere confesarlo) y lo que dice y lo que hace, y lo que dicen y lo que hacen quienes con él están, pero no lo que ésos piensan, salvo cuando lo dicho coincida con lo pensado, y sobre eso nadie puede tener seguridad.

skype date

Tomorrow at 5 p.m (spanish time) I have a skype date with my friend Isabel.

It might sound very childish if I say I am so excited about it... but it is actually true.

I feel like hearing her voice while she updates me in her new life. I feel like listening to her stories and telling her mine.

No sé si mai llegiràs açò però, t'estime.

Respect the environment- UWC values

The Lights are ON.

And so are the fans, and the stereo and the fairy lights, but no one is in there. I walk into the empty room and turned them off. ‘They must have forgotten to do it’ I say to myself.

I understand that sometimes we just forget to turn off the lights of the shower, courtyard, common room or A11; It can happen to anyone, no? We all live very intense and busy lives with no time… so, it´s completely understandable.

However, I must say that being environmentally responsible doesn´t take much time. I believe (Although psych HL students should confirm), that the time required to remember the way from the AQ to the gym is much longer as compared to the time and effort needed to turn off the lights: ‘click’. Even so, the lights are never off.

At this point of the article I feel that I should ask you, my dear reader, whether you consider you are environmentally friendly. Our community, Mahindra UWC, is always boasting about its ecofriendliness. However, it is funny how we generally don´t care about leaking taps, running fans and switched on lights.

We have to remember that living in a biodiversity reserve and sharing UWC value about not harming the environment we are obliged to take care of the smallest details. Of course, it is easier to join organic farm or EPA to appear ecofriendly. Nevertheless, it is harder to actually change your lifestyle. Why can´t we have sign-ups for switching off lights? Do we really need to formalize everything? We always claim to be adult, why can´t we behave as ones?

The answer is quite obvious, the responsibility always lies on the community not on the individual. We can always say someone will come after me to the classroom and finally switch off the lights. As soon as we all understand and accept our individual responsibility for taking care of the environment only then, we can claim to be agents of change.

You have to remember that even though it is tongue in cheek article I am begging everyone including myself to become more aware and actually start changing your lifestyle. Is not that hard to turn the switch of the light or fan. It requires only a little bit of thinking.

Maite and Bartek

Non-Normative Movement Society

The Non-Normative Movement Society (N²MS) es un nuevo estilo de vida. Apuesta por romper con las normas del movimiento y aprender a expresarse corporalmente de una manera creativa y libre.

Luego, fuera vergüenzas! Ponte música y baila, inventa tus propios estilos, siéntete libre!!

No somos muchos los que conocemos esta filosofía y aun menos los que la seguimos, ya que la sociedad se formó hace escasamente un mes en MUWCI. No obstante, cada vez son más los curiosos que preguntan el significado que esconde la formula N²MS .

Muchos estaréis de acuerdo en que a veces nuestros movimientos carecen de originalidad o expresión; la rutina y el estrés son algunas de las causas. Nuestros movimientos, bajo el efecto del estrés, se vuelven tensos, incómodos, demasiado útiles y eficientes.

Tanto el cuerpo como la mente necesitan esa liberacion!

Con lo bonito que es caminar con los ojos cerrados, sentir el pelo en la cara y el aire en la espalda... Bailar a oscuras con la música alta, hacer volteretas en la cama.

Dress up: swine flu is on campus

No. No tengo gripe A.

Pero el virus ya lleva rondando por el campus más de una semana infectando a todo aquel que pilla.

El gobierno de Maharashtra nos comunicó las medidas de precaución el día de su visita y todo el mundo parece hablar de esta pandemia. La mayor preocupacion es que infectemos a las aldeas de nuestro alrededor y para prevenirlo hemos estado una semana sin ir a los pueblos y sin recibir a nadie del exterior.

Soy de las que creen que el virus H1N1 es mas propaganda política y beneficios para las multinacionales que un virus agresivo y peligroso- como lo describen aquí.

Lo que si me preocupa un poco es el hecho de que vayamos a las aldeas y infectemos a los nativos con el virus; cualquiera.

Porque no creo que los nativos de los pueblos estén inmunologicamente preparados para estar expuestos a ciertos virus. Especialmente, si los hemos traído nosotros desde cualquier rincón del mundo...

Incontables dosis de tamiflu, mil mascarillas y muchos, muchos viajes para el ministerio de salud.

Pero la salud no tiene precio.

being a first year, again

In less than one week I have been to Bombay twice; more than 13 hours by jeep although, not a single minute was boring. In fact, during my multiple trips I had so many thoughts and feelings that kept my mind busy.

While coming back to campus the last time, right after having picked up my first years, I was so amazed. And so were they. New streets, roads, drivers and green landscapes for them.

For me, even though it wasn’t my first time, it was also really special.

Because I was “rediscovering” those roads. And the most interesting part is that I could even remember how I felt in that trip, (already) a year ago. I saw myself in that moment of excitement, tiredness, confusion but happiness and I compared it with the second year Maite that is writing now this article.

When we arrived to MUWCI that feeling increased even more. 100 unknown names to remember, unseen corners, new roommates. I was as lost as my first day in muwci, except that this time I could speak the language…

I suddenly felt I was like a first year again but being conscious of all what I have learnt here, and realizing of all what I still need to learn and discover this year in MUWCI.

I hope, that if you are a first year you enjoy everything happening around and you continue this adventure.

On the other hand, if you are now a second year I hope you can be able to look one year back and smile.

Text escrit per al periodic del cole!