GARRETT'S POPCORN

The first time I was in contact with these  popcorns was the 4th of July 2012. I was in  a barbecue celebrating The Independance Day when I tasted some popcorns that were yellow and brown. I didn' t know the trademark of these popcorns but I realised they were delicious.

Some days later, I was walking in the downtown with Ana when we saw a huge queue on the street. We went towards the shop where the queue was to see what was happening and we found out that it was a popcorn shop. So, we got into the shop and we realised that this shop sold the popcorns that we had liked so much.

That evening, we decided to buy some yellow and brown popcorns and we detected that yellow ones were cheese popcorns and the brown ones were caramel popcorns. They were as delicious as those tested  the 4th of July.

Finally, we have got the name of our favourite American popcorns that is Garrett's popcorns. Now, investigating a little we have discovered that this trademark started in 1949.

What I have clear since I tasted them is that if someone comes to Chicago, he or she can't come back to his or her country unaware of its existence.
                  
                                     

TASTE OF CHICAGO

Last thursday I wen to "Taste of Chicago", a gastronomic fair where I could taste some different dishes from different countries.

One of my favourite dishes was "jerk chicken"  that was in the  "Lyanze" stand. This was a stand who offered Ethiopian food. Specifically the jerk chicken had allspice, thyme, chicken, rice, beans and chillies. It was delicious. Another dish that I tasted and I loved was the "steak Jibarito" that was in the "Sabor Latino" stand. This was a stand who offered Puerto-Rican food. This dish was a sandwich made flattened, green plantains instead of bread, garlic-flavored mayonnaise and a filling that included meat, cheese, lettuce and tomato.

Both of these dishes were made with meat and they had some ingredients rich in carbohydrates, in the case of jerk chicken the rice and in the case of jibarito the banana. The jibarito dish was more complete nutritionally speaking, as it has protein (meat), carbohydrates (banana) and vitamins and minerals (tomato and lettuce). The jerk chicken is not as complete because it lacks the vitamins and minerals. Another difference between these two dishes is that the jerk chicken stung more than the jibarito because among its ingredients was the chilli.

The experience of these two dishes has been really good, I have loved both. So, I hope to try food from other countries and their original flavors.

                                     

                                        

BLOOMS TAXONOMY

We use Blooms taxonomy in our classes altough we don' t realise of that. For example, when we discuss a  new of a newspaper in class they (the students)have to interpret what they are reading and to infer deep meanings of some concepts (these two acts are related to the understanding part).

When they (the students) make a report about what they have just read they also analyze what they have understood. At the same time that they write their report they have to check if they have understood properly the text. That means that they have looked up at the dictionary  the words which  meaning didn' t know. Besides, they have had to clarify some concepts, to justify their statements and also to be critical about what they have just read. After that, they should conclude what they have just understood about the topics of the new. These acts are related to "evaluating".

If they have had to complete their report with some other information or classify the information they have read, then they are "applying".

Finally, when they produce their conclusions and they generate their final report they are "creating". So, in each activity, we use some of these processes that Blooms Taxonomy suggest without realizing.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY MUSEUM

1) Why people get older in different ways?
- Which factors are related with the way that we get older?
- Which of these factors can you controlled?
- Which are the habits that you can change in order to get that factors under control?

2) Why does a tornado spin?
- Which factors apart from the wind take part in a tornado?
- Can you explain the mechanism of a tornado?
- What can we do to predict it?

3) Why does lightning strike?
- Which materials do you think that are related  with the lightning?
- Do you think that lightnings touch the ground?
- Which kind of field is related with lightnings?

4) What do you know about the ants?
- Do you know if the ants of the same nest smell alike?
- What do ants do when they meet?
- If their scents are unfamiliar, what do they do?

5) What does a plant need to grow?
- How do they carry water from the soil to their leaves?
- Do you know what the differences between the xylem and the phloem are?
- What is the chlorophyll?

4th of JULY in CHICAGO

This experience started yesterday when we went out to have dinner in a marvellous restaurant called Alhambra where we also danced Salsa. During the dinner Judy reminded us that the 4th of July they celebrate the Independance of the United States of America from England. To be ready to celebrate the 4th of July, Judy put a flag of the USA in the building, near the entrance of the house. 

And the 4th of July arrived and we went to a barbecue with Judy, her sister-in-law and her niece. There, in the barbecue, we met a lot of wonderful people that were very friendly. Some of them knew Spain and knew a few Spanish  words that practiced with us. We really had a good time in the barbecue and the food was delicious. I ate a cheeseburger with chips and after that strawberries, watermelon and grapes. Everything tasted really good.

Later, we went to a beach and we bathe in the lake, it was what we really wanted after supporting 100ºF during all day. In a restaurant called "the Dock" that is near the lake we had dinner and we met another Spanish girl called Maria who lives in Chicago since the year 2000. We really have a good time with her.

At the end of the day, at about 21.30 we saw the fireworks and listened a low music that we had on the right. The fireworks were the perfect end to a perfect day.

Thank you Ana, Bella and Judy for this great day!!