The letter of complaint

Dear Mrs. Saar,

I'm writing on behalf of my class to let you know about some of the problems we have experienced during our first year of gymnasium. To start off, I must say, that Tallinn Secondary Science school is one of the best schools in Estonia and there are many things that have been done to make our everyday experience better. But there are still issues that should be improved.

Firstly I would like to point your attention to the awful smell in bathrooms. It may seem like a small thing to complain about but it affects every person in this school, both students and teachers, daily. Couple months ago students from the class 11 hung up fresheners in both girls and boys bathrooms. That was a small thing but the change was huge, especially in the small cabins on fourth floor. I suggest to invest some money into buying high-quality automatic fresheners. That wouldn't be too expensive thing to do but it would make everybody's school days better.

My second complaint is about not having a place to leave our sports bag during the classes. I understand that the school house is small and there are many students, but something needs to be done about this situation. Most of the students in Tallinn Secondary Science school go to some kind of practice after school. Physical exercise helps us get our mind off the school work and get some rest before we start homework. Right now, we leave our sports bags somewhere in the cloakroom, where they are on people's way all the time. Plus the wardrobe holder is mad at us because we are not actually allowed to leave the bags on the floor. But what are we supposed to do then? Some of the possible solutions to this problem would be a locker system or a separate classroom for bags.

Thank you for your time and understanding. I’m sure that if these two problems found a solution, our school would have even better environment. I am open to answer any questions and help you in any way possible.

Yours sincerely,

Kai-Brith Kalda

Review on "Meie aja kangelane"

Couple months ago we visited Endla theatre with my school to see the staging of Mihhail Lermontov's famous novel "Meie aja kangelane".  The producer of this production is Galina Polišuk. This being a school trip, my expectations for the play weren't too high but I was surprised positively.

From the moment when I stepped in the hall, I was intrigued by the interesting scenery. There was a real water on the stage! I had never seen anything like this before. The water was used throughout the performance to show storms, boats drifting, escaping. The audience didn't have to feel left out, because they got wet as well - at least people in front rows did. Another interesting detail was the construction of chairs, tables, music instruments, wooden planks, and other old objects. It looked as if it could fall apart every moment, but was strong enough to withstand the actors climbing on it. I think it was a perfect symbol of messy human mind.

The spectators were witnesses to a very interesting and relatable story. The main character Petšorin, played by Priit Loog, is a handsome young officer, who has money, skills and everything else he could wish for. But he is bored. He spends his life trying to find something worth living for. We can see the officer trying his luck in  Russian roulette, risking his life in duels and playing with several ladies. Petšorin's desperate and miserable searches for happiness will make some feel sorry for him while others hate him for taking advantage of people. No matter, which side you represent, you will find yourself completely enchanted, living and feeling with characters in the play.

It would be a sin not to talk about the excellent acting as well. On the stage stepped up both young and inexperienced as well as older actors and actresses. Either way it was a pleasure to see them perform. My favourite character in the story was Vera who was played by Karin Tammaru. Vera is strong and independent woman. Tammaru did a very good job playing this role. Some other main artists are Carmen Mikiver, Fatme Helge Leevald, Sander Rebane, Jekaterina Novosjolova, and Jaan Rekkor.

I can't not mention lightning designer Karmen Tellisaar and sound designer Feliks Kütt. They did amazing job, especially with the storms. The sound was so loud and lighting so realistic that it made me feel like I was in the middle of the storm myself.

To sum up I dare to say that "Meie aja kangelane" is a successful complete stage work. Every detail is in the right place to leave the audience with unique experience. It is that kind of performance that you can't take your eyes off the stage and that kind of story that it will stay in your thoughts for a long time.

Phrasal verbs

Hello!

That's the spidergram about some phrasal verbs that you can make with the verb "take".

Have a nice day!
Kai :)

Connected but alone

In her talk, Sherry Turkle said that connection would lead us to isolation. That was one thing that really made me think. She said that we were trying to have everything, be everywhere and talk to everybody at the same time. But we can't do that! I hadn't given it a lot of thought before I saw this video. But I think she is right. The direction, we are heading, is bad. I use my phone way more than I should. I feel a constant need to check my messages or facebook. Even during dinner I sometimes talk to my family and text at the same time. It is very impolite and I feel bad doing this but I don't seem to be able to stop. In this situation, when I'm at a dinner table, listening to my mom and answering to my friend in a phone at the same time, I don't give my full attention to neither one of them. I'm not really participating in neither one of the conversations. That means I can't build a relationship with neither one of them. And this, I think, is what Turkle really thought when she said that connection would lead us to isolation. When we are trying to be connected to everybody, then we can't truly connect to anybody.

It's the worst when we spend time with friends. We meet up to talk to each other and have good time together... But usually what happens, is that we all just sit in a room, our eyes on our smart phones, talking to somebody else. Once in a while we might show a picture from our phones to each other or tell a joke what we had just found, but that's all the conversation there is. And this is really stupid. Couple weeks ago me and my friends from my old school decided to spend time together. One of my friends had the best idea!! She took a shoe box and told to all of us to put our phones in that box. We promised to each other not to touch this box unless we needed to call desperately. We had a great time that evening! I'm so happy I got to really talk to my best friends again!

I think this is what we should do. We should take our time and relax. We don't have to have everything. We don't have to be everywhere. We don't have to talk to everybody. And we can't get to know each other and really enjoy each other if we are trying to be connected to someone else at the same time. Nowadays life is very fast and I know it's a difficult thing to ask. But when you are at a dinner table or with friends, then leave your phone somewhere else. Put it away so you wouldn't feel a temptation to reach for it. And try to forget about what someone might be writing to you at this moment. Give your full attention to those people and the conversation you are having with them. You might be surprised by how it feels to have a real conversation.

Turkle's talk really caught me out of guard and made me think about this topic. I must admit: I am guilty! From now on I will be leaving my phone in my room when I have dinner with my family. I won't be staring at my phone during meetings. And I will leave my device in a bag while spending quality time with friends. I am going to be truly connected to my own life again.

Turkle's talk:




Unplug and have a good time! ;)
Kai

A haunted house

About this time one year ago I heard an interesting story from my friend. It was Halloween time and we were getting ready to visit a haunted house. I'm afraid of dark, therefore I was scared! My friend then decided to tell me about her first (and last) time in a haunted house.

It was when she was 13 years old. They went to a famous haunted house in a big town where the scarers were allowed to chase you and touch you. She lost her friends in the dark house and was all alone in a room with scary clowns. They ran after her and she paniced terribly. It was so terrible that she started to scream and cry wildly. Then the clowns went away and a nice lady helped her out of there. This experience has had a lasting influence on her. She has never been to a haunted house any more and she can't stand clowns. She gets terrified every time she sees a clown.

Needless to say, when I had heard her story, I wanted to stay far away from all the haunted houses. But all my other friends were going. I couldn't stand being left out, therefore I decided to go. It was awesome! We went to a small haunted house in our town and it was more funny than scary. I'm so glad I was brave (or stupid) enough not to listen to this one friend and experience this by myself.

Happy Halloween!

Kai

The purpose of Chocolate

To give you a small window into the purpose of chocolate, I would say that throughout the history the main function of this sweet has been melting women's hearts, therefore the main source of income for chocolate factories are young men, who have gotten themselves in trouble and need to melt their girlfriends' hearts.

See you soon!

Kai