When I first read today’s theme I immediately thought in my favorite sport: Rhythmic Gymnastic.

It’s a discipline that combines dance and music, but without dancing, ballet and acrobatic movements, using implements, as ball, hoop, ribbon, or clubs. The gymnastic present a routine that can be grouped or individual, making beautiful figures with implements, exchanges, jumps, etcetera. The judges determinate the winner watching, for example, the execution and difficulty of the exercises, the creativity of the routine, perfection of movement, leaps or pirouettes that gymnastic do during the minutes they have to perform their routine.

Rhythmic Gymnastics starts as sport in the years 30, at the URSS. Newly in 1984, it became an Olympic Sport in Atlanta games.  It started as a sport just for women, but nowadays men can also practice it, though, it is not very popular, and it’s not accepted as Olympic sport.

The prominent exponents are Ukrainian, Russian, and Bulgarian young woman. They have won almost every Olympic Games. But Spanish and Italian girls have won and have very good gymnastic too.

My favorite is Anna Bessonova. She’s an Ukrainian Olympic medalist. Although she won bronze medal in all around individual in Athens and Beijing, I think the most beautiful routines were performed by her, with perfect movements and no mistakes with the implements. She retired in 2010, so she didn’t participate in London Olympics.

I like this sport because it shows an awesome synchronicity among music, gymnastics and artistic interpretation. I started practicing it when I was 7 years old at school, but when I moved to other school when I was 15, I quit practicing it. That’s a thing I still regret. But at least I can watch it at the Olympic Games, I guess.

Anna Bessonova at Beijing 

Groupal Routines

Summary from a career-related article

The article I chose was titled "Anger of wartime sex slaves haunts Japan and South Korea" and it was written by Justin McCurry on October 18, 2012.

This text called my attention because I think that war victims never receive a direct satisfaction after all the horrors they live. Usually the countries make postwar peace treaties that are may be an economical solution for the nations, but the people doesn’t get anything but traumas and pain they will never forget. It is connected with my future career because I’ve always been worried about women and their (our) legal protection. I think even in XXI century we are discriminated in many ways, so the abuses to woman during the war and sexual exploitation are topics I’m interested.

The abuses started in 1943, When the Japanese forces invaded South Korea. A lot of women were sent to China and were forced to have sex with the soldiers. Along with being sex slaves, they were beated.  But, afraid of ostracism in their own countries, Asian women kept silence and didn’t talk about it until 1991, several years after the abuses.  Kim Hak-soon, a South Korean, was the first one that dared to reveal the truth. After her, more women could start talking. They are still waiting for an official apology or compensation from Japan.

South Korea is still asking for compensation. They argument that there is legal responsibility that hasn’t been settled, and those war crimes were crime against humanity. But Japan refuses to pay compensations directly, because they say all claims were settled by postwar peace treaties. One of their leader even claimed that there was no evidence of the sexual slavery. In 1997, Yohei Kono, then the chief cabinet secretary, acknowledged that the Japanese military had forced Asian women into sexual slavery. He apologized for all the physical and psychological pain and damage caused to the woman.

But that apologizes are no well received and women are still waiting for an official apology and compensation directly from the Japanese government.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/18/forced-prostitution-wartime-japan-korea

My Best Holidays

Hi everyone... I think it’s my study trip were my best holidays. It was in 2008, and we went to Brazil, precisely Porto Seguro and Salvador de Bahía. It was the best trip because I could travel with my best school friends and do a lot of funny things the week we were there.

At day, we went to the beach, which was in front of our hotel, walk along the sea, take sunbath and meet historical places. The people there said that Porto Seguro was the first place Portuguese arrived in XVI century, and it was full of old buildings and constructions. Now, they are National Monuments.

At night, we had parties, and they were pretty cool because all the music was Axé and there was a buffet of fruits, where you could eat watermelon, pineapple, melon and a lot of other delicious fruit. We also went to a water park, with slides and a giant swimming pool with artificial waves. I and a friend tried to reach the place where the waves started, but we (really) nearly drown. At the moment it was terrifying, but when we could leave the pool we laugh a lot.

We also visited Salvador de Bahía. I think is the most beautiful city I’ve ever visited. I especially liked a church that was all gold inside, the beaches with warm water and the old architecture.

The view from the historical city

The swimming pool in the hotel

 Me and a friend in the water park

The waterpark slides :D

Me and my classmates in Salvador de Bahia

San Francisco Church, Salvador de Bahía